GOING BACK SOME 21 YEARS

I spoke to R.Senthilkumar from Avinashi, who is back in Malaysia reading the Nadi after a long gap, a couple of days ago. He was the one who read my very first Nadi in 2002 when he was in Petaling Jaya. Speaking to him, he shared that he came to know about me having posted my Nadi reading that he had read back then from a reader of this blog. We went back to the day I saw him, and returned again to find and locate my Nadi on my second visit, and finally read it on 14 December 2002. He was the one who after the reading passed me a booklet on the names of the Siddhas compiled by Thaaiveedu Thangarasan M.A and a leaflet of his that carried the message that a temple was to be built at Kallar. Senthil told me that Agathiyar had asked Tavayogi to build through the reading that Senthil did. He also filled in the missing piece of the puzzle as to who the Nadi reader Tavayogi mentioned that he had followed to Malaysia in 2004 after Agathiyar told him to come over and preach the Siddha path. Tavayogi had accompanied Senthil and his father, a Nadi reader too then. I conveyed my gratefulness to him for not only reading my Nadi in 2002, but also bringing Tavayogi to our shores in 2004. I met Tavayogi only the following year when he came again, this time to officiate an affiliate Peedham of his in Batu Caves. The rest is history, or rather his story carried in this blog.

A couple of weeks back, I dropped in on T. Ramesh, who is back too in Brickfields. If Senthil had sort of done the groundbreaking ceremony, Ramesh nurtured me further, calling me over and reading the Aasi Kaandam some 56 times when Agathiyar gave me further guidance. Ramesh too told me back then that he had read for Tavayogi in the past before he took up monkhood. I am blessed to have my Nadi read by these readers who read for my guru too. I am grateful to Agathiyar, who guided Tavayogi, for guiding me too. 

Dr. Krishnan who was an astrologer and Siddha physician only mentioned the Nadi sometime later when I saw that his predictions did not materialize for me as they did with others. Posing the question to him, only then did he begin to speak about the possibility of having been cursed in previous lives that acts as a deterrent, holding back all the goodness we are to receive in this life. I asked him if he could tell from my horoscope, and he pointed me to the Nadi telling me that only the Siddhas knew these divine secrets. I did not seek out a Nadi reader then in 1996. I left it at that. It was only during a casual conversation with my colleague in 2002 that he spoke about his experience reading his Nadi a couple of years back. It amazed me when he told me that they could also speak about our past, besides our future. I remembered what Dr. Krishnan had told me about the curses from the past. I asked him to get an appointment for me and there was I seated before Senthil that day in December 2002 awaiting eagerly for what was in store for me. But after giving my thumbprint and going through three bundles of leaves, I could not acknowledge any leaf that fully pertained to me. Senthil kept to his practice and limit set on leafing through the Nadi, and we agreed to meet another day. This time around, after leafing through the third leaf in the very first bundle, I agreed that was mine. Yet he did not read it that day but requested that I come another day, giving no reasons this time. Finally, it was read on 14 December 2002. He read the General canto or Podhu Kaandam, Karma Kaandam, and Shanti Parikara Kaandam. Senthil then made his way hastily to Sivabalan's prayer room, the host who accommodated him during his stay in Malaysia, to conduct a short prayer and returned to continue with my Jnana Kaandam reading. After this reading at the age of 43, Agathiyar asked that I come in for another reading when I was 45. 

While Tavayogi stops short of the approaching dusk whenever he reads the Jeeva Nadi and Agathiyar too mentions that it is late afternoon and had asked that the Nadi read by Mataji come to an end at AVM, Lord Murugan made an exception coming after dark in the Jeeva Nadi read by Taranibalan Aiya and simultaneously coming through a devotee to heal my aching back. On the other hand, the Kaanda Nadi is read even after the sun goes down. 

I was 45 when I met Tavayogi on our shores in 2005. After verifying the leaflet regarding the building of a temple for Agathiyar that I received from Senthil in 2002, as his, I told him that Agathiyar had asked me to come to the path in my Nadi. I also told him that he had asked that I see him again when I was 45. Tavayogi pointed me to Ramesh. And so the rest is my(story) as carried in this blog. 

Meanwhile, I had the honor to communicate in writing with Annette Merle Cleveland from Australia, who was featured in an episode of Discovery Channel and posted on YouTube at https://youtu.be/hQnCaU_vPwg?si=eKZd3OnySkG48OEV. It was the very first introduction to the Nadi and its mystery that I came across. She had a website and also authored "Nadi Astrology: The Secrets of Life Revealed!" I carried a passage from her blog as an introduction to Nadi in my book IN THE PATH OF THE SIDDHAS. She mailed me after reading it. Agathiyar surprised me by mentioning her name in my Nadi reading in 2010 and told me that she had his blessings. I conveyed the message to her. 

I had regarded the Nadi revelations as personal. I only decided to reveal, some of its contents after returning from Tavayogi's ashram in Kallar in October 2005. Tavayogi, who had given my wife and me and other disciples initiation in the form of a mantra of Agathiyar earlier, had also cautioned us not to reveal the mantra. But as we parted, Tavayogi told me to reveal it. I understood that the time had come to reveal all things related to the Siddhas. In an e-mail to me on July 22, 2011, he wrote, "Hello my son, how are you? I have noticed all the videos and other web pages that you have uploaded on the web. It's all awesome, and you have done fantastic spiritual work, I am very happy" and later on in September 2011, he wrote again, "My dear son how are you? We hope that all of you are well. There is always sage Agasthiars blessings for you all. It's happy to note that you added some photos to Flickr from indianheartbeat, as well. Spread the power of Agasthiar all over the world, thank you."

In September 2019 anticipating the coming of the pandemic and closure of borders and lockdowns Agathiyar drew the shutters to AVM and as the Nadi readers too had to return to their families in India as the virus reared its ugly head he began to come through devotees with messages, never for once breaking the tie, communication, and conversations with us. 

When there was a spate of accusations thrown at certain Nadi readers and the Nadi and ultimately the Siddhas calling it a fake and labeling them as frauds, I just could not sit quietly doing nothing. The accusers all stop short of describing their search to read the Nadi and the process of looking for their Nadi. Nobody spoke about the Aasi Nadi where the Siddhas call us in for readings. They did not talk about the continuity that comes with this initial reading, which binds a bond and relationship with the Siddhas that blossoms over the years. I began to write about my experiences in reading the Nadi and posted videos and recordings on YouTube and Podomatic's Podcast platforms, for I had seen and realized positive outcomes and results, to the extent that some asked me if I was a Nadi reader myself and had a Nadi in my possession. Just as one must hang around long enough to know the guru, which Tavayogi mentions as some 12 years, one visit to the Nadi reader would not give the true picture. If we are there to test them, they too shall play the same game. If initially, I was angry and saddened, after reading about how Yogi Ramsuratkumar took the beating from a mob, telling Perumal that they are here to do their work and let us do God's work, I shall adopt the Yogi's stand too and let them do damage to the Siddhas and their medium of communication the Nadi and the readers, as that is what they have chosen to come to do and become. We shall continue to do God's work. 

SETTLING THE SCORE

Being a Virgo, I am known to be critical of things. Then I realized that we cannot go on criticizing, but need to bring these changes rather than hope someone would do it. But how much could one do, and how far can one push others? Then we have a journey to reckon with too. If we are to focus on bringing these changes in all the fields that we come across, we will lose sight of our own journey to realize the soul. But then Lord Muruga in asking me to build him a temple tells me that I shall do it differently. I wonder how can we do it differently when temples are strictly governed by Agamas? I guess watching me bring change in the worship and rituals during puja for the Siddhas at AVM has brought the Lord to ask us to extend these changes to the worship at the temple too, if it had materialized. But since I did not take up the tasks, Agathiyar came later, telling me that he had tested me. 

While some saints uphold non-interference as regards to others' Karma, others are known to take them on. Just as Tavayogi refused to use the Jeeva Nadi in his possession for his own purpose but was willing to read for others, Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Bhagawan Ramana who took on pain and suffering telling us that it was God's will, were moved to help their devotees come out of their sufferings. Tavayogi too who never messed with others' Karma but showed them to Agathiyar made an exception in my daughter's case, telling me that we need not carry out the remedies or Parikaram given by Agathiyar in her Nadi. It should not be seen as a disobedience on the part of the disciple but a deal between the guru and the disciple. I guess it is only when we have attained a state where we are beyond the reach of Karma and its tentacles, that we can be involved in ridding the sufferings of others, for then it is not the individual guru doing it but the Prapanjam and the divine working through him.

We, too, have an option here whether to live our Karma by non-interfering or minimal interference or seek ways to come out of it or rectify them. The Siddhas are only willing to help us out in this if we are ready to seek them and follow as they dictate. I guess as a starter, we should seek their guidance in clearing the backlog and settling our dues and past debts. I sought to know my past, and it was revealed. Then we need to worship Lord Ganesha, who is known to remove the obstacles in place. The elephant is known to tear down the jungle and make it anew. In the documentary series, "Secrets of the Enchanted Forest" aired on the channel, "Love Nature", we learn that "The Asian elephants have spent their entire life mapping and memorizing the forest. They are the unofficial custodians of these forests. No one knows more about how the forest works. They shape the entire forest. These forest gardeners of nature's garden create the forest landscape." 

I saw the results. My fate was changed. Just like an elephant shapes the entire forest, my destiny was shaped by the divine hand. A new destiny came into sight as I traveled the path of the Siddhas after taking up the calling in the Nadi to worship them. Agathiyar reminded me to be cautious of all my actions and thoughts and to keep in mind that it creates Karma as I journey along. If Tavayogi in asking me to conduct the Homam in my home to appease the wrath of nature, Agathiyar comes along and tells me that it was for the good of the Prapanjam. In the wake of the pandemic, Lord Shiva comes to ask us to assist and aid Prapanjam in battling the common foe. Prapanjam herself comes much later, asking us to do it, foreseeing a revival of the dreaded virus. We carried out all these directives. 

In introducing me to charity and feeding, having sampled it at Tavayogi's Kallar Ashram, Agathiyar sends some 30 youths from Thondu Seivom to carry it out on our shores. He opened our eyes and hearts to the sufferings of many unfortunate souls. Through our charity arm Amudha Surabhi, we moved to bring some relief to them. Sensing the arrival of the pandemic Agathiyar had us go within bringing the shutters down on AVM and the many gatherings, Satsang, group puja, and charity. Help a hungry man by feeding him and you have brought relief to him. The donor gains merit and is relieved of his karma. Similarly, the karma of the one fed is exhausted that very moment, too. The score was balanced. Any further gathering of merits on our part would result in taking another birth to reap its fruit and benefits. He had us withdraw from all the above. Now it was time to face our soul and work on empowering it. In having us go within, Agathiyar worked on us silently and subtly. He brought us to terms and to a state of acceptance. Today, we are prepared to accept whatever comes our way, knowing pretty much that he is in charge of our lives. We have given in to his will. It is only when we give in to his will and carry out his tasks that we do not earn and accumulate the Karma of both our good and bad actions.

In coming to this realization and total surrender, one has to be ready to face the full impact of Karma, which before this moment came in installments and was carried over several births. Now we have to settle the score for good. We have to return to the pure nature of our soul, leaving the baggage that tagged along not with the soul but with the gross and that Tattvas that made it. 

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami says "Before the experience of realization, karmas were dealt with in individual increments", after realization, "the sum total is seen."

"After the realization of the Self, Parasiva, the forces of dharma and previous karma still exist, but through the force of the realization of God, much of the impending impact of karma has dwindled, and it is faced differently, treated differently. The spiritual destiny is realized."

"One does not have the experience of realizing the Self until all of his karma is in a state of resolve. When this begins to occur in him, he actually sees that man is not man, man is the Self, God, for his karma and the forces of his dharma have begun to become transparent to him. Through the power of his realization, karma is created and simultaneously dissolved. This occurs for the one who lives in the timeless state of consciousness. If one were to realize the Self each day, he would live his life like writing his karma on the surface of water."

"The swamis who renounce the world and do tapas are trying to burn the seeds of the karmas that they did not bring with them in this life." In another sense, they are helping to rid the karma of others. "They set fire to the whole house. They renounce the world and put restrictions upon themselves that others don’t."

Paramahansa Yogananda speaks about astral and causal karma too, something new to us. 

"In Nirbikalpa Samadhi the yogi dissolves the last vestiges of his material or earthly karma. Nevertheless, he may still have certain astral and causal karma to work out, and therefore takes astral and then causal embodiment on high vibration spheres."

Paramahansa Yogananda writes,

"When the yogi has reached his infinite goal, all his actions, miraculous or otherwise, are then performed without karmic involvement. The iron filings of karma are attracted only where a magnet of the personal ego still exists. Their incarnations on this planet are not subject to the rigid restrictions of karma. Sri Yukteswar himself was serving on an illumined astral planet called Hiranyaloka as a savior to help men work out their physical karma. He aids advanced beings to rid themselves of astral karma and thus attain liberation from astral births. Even as in his earthly incarnation, he had occasionally assumed the weight of disease to lighten his disciple’s karma, so in the astral world his mission as a savior enabled him to take on certain astral karma of dwellers on Hiranyaloka, and thus hasten their evolution into the higher causal world."

Dhanvantri in the coming days after Tavayogi went into Samadhi, asked us not to be saddened if others regard his leaving as a passing and demise, and assured us that he was still guiding us in the form of Light. 

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami adds to this new chapter of the soul's travel.

"You would truly be an artisan, an absolute expert at working out karma in the mental and spiritual spheres, and could begin to help work out karma for other people."

Both Yogi Ramsuratkumar who removed other's Karma by lighting a cigarette and smoking it and Bhagawan Nithyananda, in consoling their devotees before they left their mortal frame, are known to have mentioned that they could do a better job in these realms. They never deserted us. 

Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000 write, 

"Whose works are all free from the molding of desire, whose karma is burned up in the fire of wisdom, him the wise have called a sage. Then freedom is achieved, and the man may either remain, as the Rishis have remained, to aid in the evolution going on in the Brahmananda or may sink to rest."

Paramahansa Yogananda writes, "Such voluntary returns are called Vyutthana or reversion to earthly life after Maya has ceased to blind."

Coming under the shadows of a guru, we are assured that it is not a lone battle against Karma. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains,

"Karma is transferable. One can take on some of the karma of other people, work it out for them, and make their burden a little easier for them. The guru guides and also shares a bit of the heavier burdens, if one is fortunate enough to be dedicated enough to have a guru who will lend his powers in this way. But each aspect of the karma, the outgrowth of the dharma, must be passed through by the disciple, creating as little as possible of similar karma on this tenuous path of the repetition of the cycles of life. The guru may take unto himself, into his nerve system, some of the heavier areas of your karma in the same way your parents performed this function for you, perhaps unknowingly."

Paramahansa Yogananda in AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI, Self Realization Fellowship, 1990, adds that "Only great gurus can assume the karma of disciples." Paramahansa Yogananda struck the shoulder of a chela with a burning brand only to free him from painful death; thus satisfying the karmic law through slight suffering by fire. 

Agathiyar who is said to receive all souls who seek to know their past and find ways to change their present and future, once sent a man away without reading further. He asked that the man leave his presence immediately, in his Nadi. I wondered what could be the cause of anger in him to refuse a reading. I realized then that one is blessed if the Siddhas come forward to reveal our Nadi. There is hope for us. That poor man was sent away to live out his Karma. 

Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das in SANATANA DHARMA published by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000 give a hint.

"Only a full and clear knowledge of the causes in the past resulting in the suffering of the present could justify refusal to help on karmic grounds."

We dread to think about what we have done in all the past births that have justified yet another birth. Ramalinga Adigal spells out all the possibilities that could have resulted in his birth in his literary work MANU MURAI KANDA VASAGAM.

“Did I create fear in others? Did I hurt my loved ones? Did I summon and tarnish others, Did I stop others from making donations? Did I smear my friends? Did I sabotage friendships? Did I speak gossip that led to families being destroyed, Did I refuse to help one in need, Did I increase taxes and rob others, Did I make the poor suffer? Did I act unjustly? Did I stop the means of income of others? Did I entice others and cheat them, Did I rip work but refuse to pay accordingly, Did I adulterate rice with pebbles? Did I ignore the hunger? Did I refrain from feeding the poor? Did I expose those that had taken refuge with me, Did I aid those who committed murder? Did I scout and spy on behalf of thieves, Did I snatch properties belonging to others and lie to them? Did I sleep with those who had lost their virginity? Did I abuse virgins whom I had a responsibility to protect? Did I rape those who already had a husband? Did I lock up birds in their cages? Did I not feed the calves? Did I build up this body by consuming meat? Did I poison drinking water? Did I fall trees that gave us shade? Did I destroy others out of revenge? Did I demolish public halls? Did I not listen to my parents? Did I not greet my Guru? Did I not give my Guru his dues, for his sustenance? Did I envy the learned? Did I find mistakes in the writings of the wise? Did I offend devotees of Shiva? Did I offend the yogis? Did I prevent the public from conducting their prayers by shutting the doors to the temples? Did I smear the name of the Lord? What sin did I do, I do not know”, questions the Saint.

When I was disillusioned in my bachelor days by what was happening around me where I saw friends and relatives suffer and perish, and though I became angry at God, I never deserted my puja and temple visits. But he chose to give me a break. 14 years later he spoke about my Karma in my Nadi reading in 2002. I understood the reason for all the suffering we go through. Since I had brought a baggage of Karma with me he sent me on a pilgrimage to deposit them at numerous temples and burn the rest through performing Agamas, rituals, and charity. After my family too came to the fold of the Siddhas and came under the tutorship of Tavayogi, Agathiyar, taking us by surprise, then decided to reveal my wife's Nadi, without her presence, without giving her thumbprint, and without the question and answer session that all those who come for reading including me have to provide and sit through. He spoke about my wife in my Nadi. Since there were no remedies given I knew that she was spotless. When I took my elder daughter for her reading, there was no mention of remedies either. She too was spotless. When I took my second daughter for her reading she like me had a long list of remedies given. Sharing the list with Tavayogi over the phone, he surprised me, telling me there was no need to carry them out. If Tavayogi took on her Karma, Lord Muruga comes in a Nadi reading in 2018 telling me that he has rewritten by fate. I and my family are forever indebted to the Siddhas for playing a pivotal role in our lives, showering their blessings, and turning off many events. They have saved us on many occasions too. It is all in these pages of the blog. So how do we repay them?  By leading the life they wanted and breathing the life they lived. 

A MOMENT IN THE COMPANY OF KIDS

Over the weekend when my two granddaughters were with us, the grandma was calling them to take a bath. As they were engrossed in coloring, I switched off the lights and drew the curtains shut, creating darkness so that they could not pursue their activity and would head for their bath. But the 3-year-old outsmarted me, telling me not to shut the lights and draw the curtain, for she might trip and fall on the way to the bathroom. Similarly, some time back, her mother was calling her for a bath. This same 3-year-old replied that she would bathe when she was older, quoting her mother, who used to tell her that she could do adult stuff when she was older. 

When I was with my grandchildren last evening, I called over the eldest and told her that there were three schools of fish in her aquarium. She corrected me that there was only one and the rest were an illusion. This 6-year-old surprised me by mentioning the word illusion. On further query, she told me that she learned it from one of the many field trips her parents took these children. Someone had told her that our perception differs according to where we stand. 

If the eldest and last obey and listen, the middle always gives excuses not to do a thing. But it is truly fun being around them. They unknowingly expose our weaknesses and we at times feel ashamed of our actions. Children have a tendency to explore and find out. They are hungry for knowledge. The elder picks up everything shown, given, or told her. The middle is more of an observer than a doer. The last rushes to participate, not wanting to be left out. 

If at times in disciplining my grandchildren I do shout at them, they still come around. I did ask them why they do that, knowing I shout at them. They whispered in my ears that it was because I played with them. Children indeed live in a strange world filled with adults and adults talk much of it that they cannot comprehend. They are left in the dark over many matters considered incomprehensible to them by us. Adults do not know how to speak with children. Instead, in trying to break the ice or impress them, they make fools of themselves. They try to imitate and mimic a child and fail badly. Children are intelligent and are like a sponge. Do not underestimate them. 

It is reassuring to know that what is being said in these pages of Siddha Heartbeat holds water, for how can we explain the continuous surge and spike in readership. 

I am also learning and analyzing whatever little experiences I gain sitting in the comfort of my home. As I had always frowned on those who chose to keep things secretive and deprive us of answers to our genuine intent to know walking the path, I decided to share whatever little I could make of life and its journey into the mysterious realm of the Siddhas. 

I do not claim I have answers to all the unknown occurrences and also the happenings that take place. But I am willing to learn together too. In sharing these posts, I realize that I am also learning when Agathiyar comes to explain and when I read up on the experiences I go through. I often call over Mahindren to discuss our thoughts, for he does tend to bring clarity to many matters and reaffirm my thoughts. Often many of these posts are an offshoot of our discussions, too. 

THE HOMECOMING

I wrote in an earlier post that "The day we are pure to the soul we shall merge in God that day. In progressing towards this goal, we have to purify the body and mind first by embarking on a journey. But it now seems that there is no journey in the very first place that has to be undertaken and a destination or goal to arrive if one is identified with the soul that is ever pure in nature. This can happen in a matter of seconds compared to taking on a physical journey and an internal one. But to arrive at this understanding one cannot avoid traveling the aforementioned journey."

This truth was relayed to us at many moments through hints that came along but we failed to see it thinking that it was all out there to be explored. In autographing my copy of his book "Andamum Pindamum" released in 2007, Tavayogi stated this truth with these words, "God resides within you in your heart. This is both the starting and ending point of the journey". ஆண்டவன் உரைகின்ற இடம் தங்கள் உள்ளம். அதுவே பயணத்தின் தொடக்கமும் முடிவும். It is to be noted that he did not mention this in welcoming me to the path but only after having brought me places in 2005. 

The Little Soul in Neale Donald Walsch's "The Little Soul and the Sun", knows pretty well that it is Light, yet it wants to experience Life. But as all is a play of God, every memory is kept stashed away. We fail to see that all that we seek is already at the feet of the Lord. For want of experiences, they let it be, knowing pretty well that we shall return to them. We learn lessons from the experiences gained along the journey and eventually return to the state of Buddha, Light, Oneness, and Awareness. 

Prem Niranjana shared Odhara Moon's wonderful post on FB some time back.

"SEARCH FOR A MASTER"  

A man went in search of a Master. He was ready to go around the world, but he was determined to find the Master, the true Master, the Perfect Master. Outside his village, he met an old man, a nice fellow sitting under a tree. He asked the old man, "Have you ever heard in your long life ... look like a wanderer ..." 

He said, "Yes, I am a wanderer. I wandered all over the earth." 

The man said, "That is the right kind of person. Can you suggest to me where I should go? I want to be a disciple of a Perfect Master." 

The old man suggested a few addresses to him, and the young man thanked him and went on. 

After thirty years of wandering around the earth and finding nobody who was exactly fulfilling his expectations, he came back dejected, and depressed. The moment he entered his village he saw the old man who had become very old now, sitting under a tree. And suddenly he recognized that he was the Master! He fell at his feet and said, "Why didn't you say it to me, that you are the Master?" 

The old man said, "But that was not the time for you. You could not recognize me. You needed some experience. Wandering around the earth has given you a certain maturity, a certain understanding. Now you see. The last time you met me, you had not seen me. You had missed. You were asking me about some Master. That was enough proof that you could not smell the fragrance. You were utterly blind; hence I gave you some bogus addresses so you could go. But even to be with the wrong people is good, because that is ... how one learns. For thirty years I have been waiting for you here. I have not left this tree." 

In fact, the young man, who was not young anymore, looked at the tree and was even more surprised. Because in his dreams, in his visions he was always seeing that tree and there was always a feeling that he would find the Master sitting under this tree. Last time he had not seen the tree at all. The tree was there, the Master was there, everything was ready ... but he was not ready." - Sufi Story

Sriinaath Raghavan who is known to give us gems writes another.

"There was an ardent practitioner of Kriya Yoga who would go to the Mountains often to meditate. On one such trip, he unexpectedly happened to meet the Eternal Yogi, called Babaji. He fell at Babaji's feet, and told the great Saint, how he always wished to see him and receive Deeksha. The Saint however kept silent and listened with a patient ear, because all of them who happened to meet, more or less told the same thing. After the Seeker finished talking, Babaji asked him to follow through a dense jungle, winding their way across many slopes, till they finally reached a cave, where the Saint lived. They sat inside and Babaji offered the Seeker a drink of something plain like water, but one that refreshed him to the core. Then the Seeker settling himself down asked, "Can you initiate me into the practice of Kriya Yoga?"

Babaji gently nodded his head in approval and imparted the highest wisdom of Kriya to the Seeker. The Seeker after receiving the teachings felt uncommonly dejected and turning towards the Master complained, "Master this was not how it was mentioned on the website, it was far more complex with a lot of Mudras and Bandhas?"

Babaji once again nodded his head gently and vanished from sight. It is said that this Seeker still roams the Mountains in search of Babaji, who is yet to confirm which one is right, He the Master of the Kriya or the Website. Alas! No matter what, we can never look beyond the book because we are hooked."

Swami Muktananda proclaims that the Masters themselves were the secret! Paul Zweig in the introduction to Swami Muktananda’s THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP, Syda Foundation, 1985, (Muktananda, The Perfect Relationship, 1985) writes, 

“He (Swami Muktananda) felt that God's ‘secret’ was not contained in any Sanskrit formula, ancient ritual, or technique of meditation; that severe austerities and physical deprivation would not reveal it. He felt that the ‘secret’ resided with great beings, with saints; they were themselves the ‘secret’ and he could learn what they were by loving them and sitting at their feet. After almost twenty-five years he (Swami Muktananda) met Bhagawan Nithyananda who became his Guru.”

Paul Zweig adds, 

“Swami Muktananda himself traveled all over India seeking a Guru. He became a monk at the ashram of Siddharuda Swami. After almost twenty-five years, he met Bhagawan Nithyananda who became his Guru. Swami Muktananda realized that the ‘secret’ was with the Guru and so the need for one to learn at the feet of such a Guru. Paul Zweig writes, “In a flash of self-understanding he knew that he had found his other half; that now he was whole again.” 

As the Sufi saint told the seeker, "You were utterly blind; hence I gave you some bogus addresses so you could go. But even to be with the wrong people is good, because that is ... how one learns", and as the seeker in the second story wanted a more complex practice, I guess this is the reason we keep coming back again and again until we recognize and submit and surrender to the guru and the divine. I am glad that my search stopped after Agathiyar showed me to Supramania Swami and Tavayogi. 

We have become both religious and spiritual tourists embarking on religious and spiritual journeys and disembarking at a place only to hitch a ride and board the next transport that comes along. It is a cycle that we repeat. We go in cycles finally ending up nowhere. All these journeys, instead of diminishing our ego, only fuel it further. If we think that we have become spiritual in trending a path it is not to be so. We are only religious and religiously trending it, upholding the traditional practices, adorning its symbols, following the codes of practice, and even willing to give our lives to uphold them. We are so steeped in it that we dare not make changes. We are not at liberty to take charge and bring changes. It is law and has to be abided. We are condemned if we fail to uphold or deviate from the path. There is no true expression of the soul here. On the contrary, it is only when we summon our soul to the front that we are truly spiritual. If religions bond us to beliefs, knowing the soul truly frees us. Now I understand why Tavayogi told me that the soul cannot be caged. 

We often fail to realize that we are already a Buddha or the Enlightened One. If only we drop the veil that covers this truth, we shall realize our true selves. The guru comes to help us shed the veil not by removing it for us but by taking us on a long walk and giving us experiences both bitter and sweet, and finally knocking some sense into us to bring on the realization of the soul or self. Tavayogi, Agathiyar, Shirdi Sai Baba, and recently Yogi Ramsuratkumar have all given me a knocking too to arrive at knowing my true self. 

From the onset after visiting my home the first time, Tavayogi saw my growing tendency to heap praises on him that if left unchecked shall flower and have me heap garlands and worship him as God, he stopped me and nipped it in the bud. Instead, he showed me to Agathiyar. Later visiting him at his Ashram, he had me drop all "my prized possessions" including the nine-gem studded gold ring that I wore on my finger and the Rasamani bead that I wore around my hips. He had me drop the thought of wearing a Rudraksha bead on me even before it arose telling me "We do not need these." In our excitement to show others a way out of the problems that they shared with me and my wife in the beginning years of our worship, we gave free advice that landed us in trouble, Tavayogi bluntly asked us "Why do you involve? Show them to Agathiyar." Agathiyar in asking me to build a temple for him in my Nadi reading, immediately broke my thought bubble that elevated and lifted me off the ground telling me that I must be pretty special to be given the tasks. The young 24-year-old lad, Sivabalan who continued to bring in the Nadi readers from India after the demise of his father and who accompanied me during the reading, burst the bubble that moment telling me that Agathiyar had mentioned it to some 50 others before. Recently reading Ruzbeh N Bharucha's book, "The Fakir - The Journey Continues" Shirdi Sai Baba revealed the reality in my asking Agathiyar that I did not want anything that he had to offer. Thinking that it was the ultimate asking, I told him that I just wanted him. I wanted him to come within me and reside in me for the rest of my life. I did not anticipate that wanting Agathiyar would have me accept both paradise and filth. Baba in showing Rudra paradise and then bringing him to sit among the filth, tells him, "So we sat in paradise and now we sit in the bowels of filth. If your focus is your master, then neither will matter." He points out that though we love the master, we love our weaknesses a little bit more, which is very true too. "It was all about whether you loved your master more or yourself." Agathiyar in having me go within had a noisy neighbor move in too at the same time. Now how was I to meditate? Though Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal explained that these adverse forces were a much-needed component on my spiritual journey traveling the chakras within towards attaining Gnanam, they added that I had to face them squarely and had to combat and overcome them silently without any confrontation, in simple terms to bear it and be patient. But I failed miserably. Then Devaki Ma in sharing glimpses of Yogi Ramsuratkumar's life and his experiences, speaks of the moment he is beaten up by a mob. In stopping one Perumal who wanted to avenge the injustice done to the Yogi, he tells him to let it be and that they have come to do their work and let us do God's work. I too took another beating. I am forced to submit and surrender to the consequences. I understand now why Lord Muruga when he came to us back then, kept asking us again and again if we had truly surrendered. At times we question ourselves if we are truly sincere in saying that we have surrendered and that we only want him in our lives. As usual this realization came after the experience. 

Though I have had several knockings, meant to bring on a deeper understanding of life and its purpose, Agathiyar offsets it by spiking the readership numbers of this blog, bringing on a smile on my face.

ARRIVING THERE

Many things said, seen, heard, and read that did not make sense in the past have begun to make some sense after having experienced it and have come to be understood only now after some 44 years. My solo journey of worship to the deities began at age 20 in 1980 when I landed my first job in a coastal town. I had so much time on my hands after office hours that I indulged in prayer and visited several temples that were a stone's throw away. That is when I indulged and immersed myself fully in prayers, japam, and recitation of mantras and songs. As these were the days before the internet encroached and came to envelop our lives, I searched in the books I could lay my hands on for songs that I could use at prayer. I had an altar made and laid out the many pictures of deities and worshipped them both at dawn and dusk daily. It brought contentment, peace, and joy as I looked forward to yet another day where I could sit with God. 

But when life dealt blows to those close to and around me I could not understand why it was taking place. God whom I saw as a loving figure was dealing blows to them and taking away their lives. I could not accept it. I had so many questions in my mind then as what I read of God did not tally with what took place. After 8 years, in 1988, Lord Shiva took mercy on me, seeing my anguish in tons of questions relieved me. He came in a dream and simply told me to shelf all my questions to a later date. I did just that. I went a step further and stopped all forms of worship at home and in the temples, and all my reading and discussions with others. The day that the Lord mentioned came some 13 years later in 2002 when I understood its reasons. Agathiyar spoke about Karma in my first Nadi reading. I could connect all that I had seen around me take place, heard, and read to the underlying factor called cause and effect or Karma. In preparing me for this day of revelation, Agathiyar mysteriously sent my nephew a year earlier with a message from his Paramaguru Gopal Pillai having come through a devotee. It was the groundbreaking ceremony in a sense. I was passed on the Vasudeva mantra through an energy initiation coming through my nephew. I was told to observe the Navaratri festival that was only days away. I did as told. It paved the way for me to meet my Moola guru and read the Nadi the following year. In the reading Agathiyar who spoke about the effects of Karma had me carry out remedies and pilgrimages. He paved the way for me to make my maiden journey to India that otherwise was never in my thoughts. He also hinted that I shall meet my guru in physical form. I was blessed to have not one, but two gurus come into my life. If Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai in bringing his guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar to sit with us and chant in 2005 introduced me to God in the form of walking gurus and discipleship to them, Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal in introducing Homam fanned the flame of devotion in me and drew down the bridge that enabled the Siddhas and gurus to come down to us and work on us. Agathiyar in the meantime brought other Siddhas to guide me through the numerous Nadi readings. Tavayogi came by and showed us Yoga Asanas and Pranayama officially in 2007 reinforcing the practice that I picked up from books in my bachelor days. Agathiyar came as a bronze statue into my home in 2010 and we conducted libation to him. He soon sent many over to my home after their Nadi readings to watch and participate in our home prayers. The act of carrying out feeding and charity that I got to sample at Tavayogi's ashram was continued on our soils with the aid of these youths. My home took on the name Agathiyar Vanam Malaysia (AVM) and the charity arm of Amudha Surabhi (AS). As we progressed along the way under the watchful eyes of the Siddhas and our gurus, in acknowledging our work Agathiyar and Lord Murugan gave the names Gnana Kottam and Agathiyar Tapovanam too. 

Just as one traverses the ground in Sariyai, Kriyai, and Yogam to arrive at Gnanam, the four phases that are often mentioned in the sacred texts and by the Siddhas, BKS Iyengar in his "Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali", HarperCollins Publishers India, 1993, introduces us to Patanjali's lists of four padas that are similar in nature. If Agathiyar told us that he was only giving us the practices that the Siddhas have tried and excelled in, BKS Iyengar taught from experience and is considered the world's greatest teacher of yoga today. 

Samadhi pada, (that Sariyai brings on), "deals with the science of disciplining the fluctuations of consciousness beginning with the code of conduct". Sadhana pada (as in Kriyai and Yogam) "gives detailed information regarding the practices". Vibhuti Pada then "explains the hidden wealth which comes through these practices". Kaivalya pada which "speaks about cultivating actions that cannot produce reactions" comes with the dawn of Gnanam "so that consciousness may dissolve in the light of the soul for the very being." 

If our parents started us off with Samadhi pada which was devotion to the deities, the guru comes to bring us to carry out Sadhanas in the Sadhana pada. We then step into the Vibhuti pada moving towards the inner quest (Antaranga Sadhana). By having us go within on an internal journey, it gives insight into the very purpose we came for. Finally, "In Kaivalya pada we lose our identities and merge in the soul (emancipation)" says BKS Iyengar, who reversed his fate by taking hold of Yoga. 

After six years Agathiyar brought the shutters down on AVM and AS. He told us to go within just in time as the pandemic spread its wings. Meanwhile, as the Nadi readers returned to India, the Siddhas and deities came through devotees to continue to guide us. As BKS Iyengar in revealing Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras", says that Patanjali listed ways to attain Yoga or union, beginning with the control and mastery of external issues and finally bringing one within, the teachings took a turn from rituals and practices to that of divine and spiritual knowledge (Atma Gnanam). It was time we met our soul (Atma Tarisanam). 

From Yama (or restraints and ethics of behavior); Niyama (or observances); Asana (or physical postures); Praṇayama (or control of the prana (breath) and Pratyahara (or withdrawal of the senses), that Iyengar classifies as a forward journey, Patanjali takes us on a reverse path, or a return journey now moving inwards, from the body towards the soul. Patanjali shows the way to how one can reach the abode of the soul forever so that all the actions he performs in the world, will not reflect any reaction, hence severing the fine thread of birth and rebirth. It is time I tried to carry out Dharaṇa or concentration and Dhyana or meditation that leads to the state of Samadhi or absorption. As Devaki Ma in sharing glimpses of her guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar says that the Yogi says that life is a movie, we sit back and watch the movie that goes by on the widescreen of life. 

I wrote in an earlier post questioning if two people see and understand a single thing differently, how can that be real? As our worldly perspective tends to vary with where we stand and the knowledge that we have gathered, is that why the world is said to be an illusion or Maya?  The unseen and unheard seem to be more real than this world. When I attended a course on Neuro-Linguistic Programming at the office back during my working days, the presenter held up an ATM card and asked us to describe it. We all answered that it was an ATM card. Asking us to describe further we each had added on to what appeared real before our eyes. After hearing us out, he brought us to think out of the box. To the one seated directly before him, he only saw a fine line. The one seated to one side saw the front of the card embossed with the particulars of the cardholder and the one who sat on the other side saw the back of the card with the conditions that came with ownership written in fine print. But the card was one. This is how we see life too. 

Swami Vishnu-Devananda in his "Meditation and Mantras", Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, Om Lotus Publications, 1978, writes that "What is perceived or cognized by an individual is entirely dependent upon the orientation and tendencies of that mind and not on the object itself, for the object is one." He enlightens us further. "The object remains the same, but when it is perceived by more than one mind there immediately arise varying views of that object. It is the individual attitudes or karmic situations that determine how a person sees something." 

He adds that an object is either known or unknown to the mind because of the coloring of the mind. Could this be the various veils of colors that Ramalinga Adigal reveals as hiding the truth from our eyes, that deceive us, and create an illusion? Patanjali says that we are not of the body; neither are we the mind. We are the witness, Purusha, the self. Sitting alone in silence, only the Purusha remains. The Purusha witnesses the thought go by and over time loses its attention on it too. What dawns on us during these moments is self-knowledge. Patanjali concludes, "For a person who has transcended Prakriti, the qualities of nature come to an end for they, the three Gunas, have fulfilled their purpose - which is to push him through growth and to create the field for transformations on the path to self-realization." How wonderful. Reaching the finale. Kaivalya is that state in which the Gunas attain equilibrium and merge in their cause, having no longer a purpose. The soul is established in its true nature, which is pure consciousness. End.

The soul had been replaced with deities over time. If we had drawn the curtains at the temple's sanctums and revealed the deities in stone for ages, when are we going to draw the curtain of ignorance and see the soul that resides in us as life within us? That is the day of the dawning of Gnanam. The soul henceforth comes both as God and guru and enlightens us in all matters tapping from the Akashic records and the vast libraries in Ether. I recall Tavayogi's words which he autographed my copy of his first book "Andamum Pindamum" as "God resides within you in your heart. This is both the starting and ending point of the journey".

ஆண்டவன் உரைகின்ற இடம் தங்கள் உள்ளம். அதுவே பயணத்தின் தொடக்கமும் முடிவும்.

When I complained that I could not go within as there was so much noise around in the neighborhood, Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal asked that I be patient and learn to live with it. I could not understand why the Almighty divine could not remove these problems and troubles. They told me that it was a part of the journey towards attaining the state of Gnanam. I was told that all experiences that we gain, and the lessons learned, and which are registered in the soul pave the way to attaining Gnanam. Today I realize that if we thank the gurus and upagurus who come by to guide us out of the miseries of life, similarly we need to thank all those who give us these miseries too for they bring on learning. As Neale Donald Walsch wrote in his children's parable titled "The Little Soul and the Sun", we had asked for it so that we could experience them. 

Devaki Ma in sharing stories about the Yogi mentions that the Yogi told her that he was beaten up badly after he arrived in the town of Tiruvannamalai coming from Kasi in the north. He received a beating. Later he told one Perumal who came to his aid and wanted to retaliate, that the foursome had come to do their work. "Now let us do God's work." I have come to understand God's play too and shall try to take everything in my stride and as Lao Tzu says we shall go with the flow. For a yogi, there is no positive or negative about karma. For a yogi, karma is neither white nor black, for others it is threefold - black, white, and gray meaning there are subjective reactions to the work that must be carried out, and this, in turn, creates new karma.

Swami Vishnu-Devananda translates a sutra of Patanjali that says, "Liberation (or Mukti) takes place when the mind has the same purity as Purusha itself." There you have it. The day we are pure to the soul that day we merge in God. In progressing towards this goal, we have to purify the body and mind first. But it now seems that there was no journey in the very first place that has to be undertaken and arrived at but identifying with the soul that is ever pure in nature. This can happen in a matter of seconds compared to taking on a physical journey and an internal one. But to arrive at this understanding one cannot avoid traveling the aforementioned journey. When Tavayogi took me on a pilgrimage to Holy spots, just as we started on the journey, he uttered to me "Only now the true journey begins." Patanjali says that the journey inward is true renunciation. I guess I have arrived there as I seem to have renunciate everything a householder beholds and holds on to. Nothing interests me now. I feel contented staying home and doing the only task Agathiyar has given me - blogging. Through blogging, I get the sense of connecting with people in thought. I guess it is true vice versa seeing the drastic rise in readership over the past week.

MAGIC IN THE AIR

After asking readers to conduct homam in their homes, many responded well, including my 3-year-old granddaughter. Staying with us over the weekend, she asked to carry it out as many as three times a day. I accommodated her request. A reader and friend wrote in,

"Vanakam aiya, I was just about to WhatsApp you when I opened your blog and saw this post! https://agathiyarvanam.blogspot.com/2023/12/let-us-come-together-in-prayer_14.html?m=1. What a coincidence? Actually, Agathiar appa informed me in jeeva nadi reading to conduct homam at my home. I was "wondering" how to do it...can I do...etc... But finally, I decided to proceed and told myself that Agathiar Appa would guide me. I just bought the small homam kundam and homam things. I decided to use your "24 Minutes Sidha Puja" book as a tool. Then I saw this blog post! I shall play my small role too, aiya. Your blog post always has a message for me, aiya. I was so worried to perform homam, but now I'm ready."

She messaged me later "Did use your book only aiya. Thank you so much for your guidance" and sent me a couple of photos too.

We are told in the opening scene of the movie "Jungle Book" that "Many strange stories are told about the jungles of India, but none so strange as the story of a small boy named Mowgli." So too are many strange stories told of gurus and masters and the divine. If my mother used to feed us with many such stories of the divine having walked the earth in the past and making visitations to the homes of devotees, it has become a reality now as we see these happening in our midst. Coming as humans and establishing their teachings, these gurus continue in the subtle form, making brief appearances to some. As the gross body limits their mission, they tend to materialize as energy and vibration too, making known their presence to those capable of connecting. The teaching continues in a subtle form. The gross body that is identified with the guru remains an object of worship. His name continues to be chanted and spoken. I used to wonder how is it that we are awakened from our deep slumber by the call of our names. Similarly, the mere mention of the names of these gurus draws them to us, too. The unseen and unheard seem to be more real than this world, for our worldly perspective tends to vary with where we stand and the knowledge that we have gathered. If two people see and understand a single thing differently, how can that be real? This is why the world is said to be an illusion or Maya, I suppose. 

If I had come up with a detailed itinerary on my maiden trip to India in 2003 to carry out my parikarams or remedies for my past karma that was listed by Agathiyar in my very first Nadi reading, throwing in numerous other visits to all the temples on the route, not wanting to miss any, on my subsequent trip in 2005, I did nothing of that sorts. I went with the flow, the moment Tavayogi stopped me abruptly just as I began to mention on the phone that Agathiyar wanted me to go places in my Nadi reading. He volunteered to bring me to all those places without hearing me out. I followed Tavayogi trying to keep pace with him. That indeed was an adventure, not knowing where we were heading and what to expect. Agathiyar threw in many miracles along the way. I was completely emptied before embarking on the journey. I did not read about those places nor carried preconceived notions, or images of places, as Pandit Gopi Krishna writes "suggested by the pictures already present in my mind".  Hence, I could fully receive what I saw, felt, smelt, touched and heard, or was told. 

Similarly, when Agathiyar told me that the energies that had stagnated in me were released on that blessed couple of days in 2022, I was taken by surprise as I never knew nor felt a thing or had warning signs before the happening. Neither did I dwell in it, as Agathiyar assured me that all was well and that the energies would do their work and I need not do anything further. Knowing that as usual, Agathiyar gives the experiences first before coming forward to explain these situations, there was never a need for us to read up and store those readings and build up our imaginations and expectations only to become frustrated when nothing moves. 

In the face of adversity, some can lose their faith and hold on to the divine. They begin to blame God for not saving their close and loved ones. Is God obliged to keep us alive forever? Do we not see natural law unfold daily before our eyes? Men and women, children and the aged die daily. Trees and plants rot and die or are felled. Animals, reptiles, and insects too perish. So why does dead of a kin or friend affect us so much? It is because of the bond that is created over time. If gurus were born just like us and lived like us but at one point in time were claimed by the divine to do their work, it should come as no surprise that we too shall wither one day. It is just a matter of time before the final calling comes.

If Agathiyar comes these days whenever we desire to see him, at times he comes on their own accord to address us too. If generally we had managed to figure out who was present before us by their gait and posture, hand mudras, and their tone, at other times they tend to introduce themselves. When Yogi Ramsuratkumar came, he introduced himself as the beggar. He told me that my guru Supramania Swami was with him too, hence pointing out to me his presence too. When Agathiyar comes, he tells us that Ramalinga Adigal is with him too. He, at times, calls out for Tirumular and Bhogar too. And they appear. Agathiyar told us in a Nadi reading for a devotee that the Siddhas had gathered at AVM to sit in at the Homam we conducted in the presence of Tavayogi and Mataji during their visit in 2016. When my daughter was down with dengue fever and warded many years back, Agathiyar told Suren in his Nadi reading done in Chennai then that both he and Tirumular were at hand and made her platelets go up. When I arrived at Kallar Ashram for the very first time, Tavayogi during his morning walk the next day, told me that Agathiyar had come and inquired what he was going to give me. Agathiyar told me that the Siddhas though were one, took many forms for specific tasks. So it seems that the one does manifest in many forms to address us. 

A GIFT OR A BURDEN

I was reading a story "Hans in Luck" by Joseph Jacobs to my 6-year-old granddaughter a couple of days back. It was the story of a man called Hans who gains permission from his master to visit his poor mother. The master rewards him for being a faithful servant for the past 7 years with a lump of silver as big as his head. 

Hans carries the chunk of silver on his shoulder and leaves to see his mother. Soon he comes across a man on a horse. Exhausted from walking the distance carrying the silver, he trades the silver for the horse, thinking that now he has a ride. In parting with the silver, he tells himself that it has saved him a great deal of trouble carrying the heavyweight. Wanting the horse to go fast, it throws him off. A shepherd driving a cow grabs onto the horse. Hans tells himself that riding a horse is no joke and trades the horse for the cow, thinking that he can milk it when thirsty. When trying to milk the cow, he finds out that the cow is dry. It gives him a kick. A butcher driving a pig along helps him to his feet. Telling Hans that the cow was only good for the slaughterhouse, they exchange the animals. Coming across a man carrying a goose, he is told that the villagers were looking for one who stole a pig and ran off. Fearing that this could be the pig, he makes yet another exchange. Entering the village with the goose, he comes across a tool grinder, sharpening knives and scissors. Hans thought, if only he had one, he too could make money like him. Hans is given a grindstone that lies beside the villager in exchange for the goose. Hans makes his way to see his mother. He stops to have a drink of water in a river flowing by. He lays the stone by his side, but it rolls into the river. Contrary to thinking that he would cry at having lost the stone, Hans rejoices instead. As he watches it sink, he springs up and dances in joy. With tears in his eyes, he falls on his knees, and thanks heaven for its kindness in taking away the heavy stone. He tells himself that no one is as lucky as him. With a light heart and free from all his troubles, he walks on. 

Does this story remind of us? I guess our journey here is quite similar to his. Indeed, we are forever seeking something else, always eyeing the other and wanting it too. So too is it in our religious and spiritual ventures. Our eyes are set on a target and a goal, just as in the material world. Then again when the divine showers its grace and gives us gifts, we could reject them, or should we choose them, we need to be prepared to let go when the calling comes. Eventually, we too rejoice in shedding the weight that we carry with us. Finally, we realize that there is true joy only in letting go. 

Would the very first sage have seen the target or have it shown to him?  Who was his guru? Was there a path laid out there for him to travel? I doubt it. I believe he made the path by walking it and experiencing it for others to follow. He must have chosen to reveal it to others too. I guess that is the reason Agathiyar wants me to share too. 

LIGHTING THE YAGNA/HAVAN/AGNIHOTRA/YAGAM/HOMAM

In asking readers to conduct a Homam many responded positively. However, someone told me that currently, the situation is not permissible as a family member was down with influenza. I replied to him that he has all the more reason now to do it. The Homam/Yagam is both a preventive measure and a cure. Whenever any of my family members are warded I do not wait around for updates from the hospital but rush back and perform a Homam seeking divine grace. I let the doctors and nurses do their work and turn to God to look over their shoulders. When Tavayogi was warded I conducted a Homam for his recovery. Later Agathiyar tells me that the Siddhas too came together to conduct a Yagam for the same purpose. Tavayogi regained his health and stayed on to delegate his duties and transfer the skill of reading the Jeeva Nadi in his possession to Mataji. He went into Samadhi a year later. A government servant who was suspended was reinstated into his job after he participated in the Pornami Homam at AVM. A man who was supposed to go to the gallows after the authority found drugs in his car that he had borrowed from his friends was freed after his wife rushed to India and participated in the Yagam at Kallar Ashram. A man who was asked by Agathiyar in his Nadi to participate in a Homam before he turned 60 for reasons only known to Agathiyar turned up at my door after asking around if anyone was doing the Homam. Someone had shown him to me. Similarly, Agathiyar sent many youths to watch and participate in the Pornami puja at my home including lighting of the Homam after their Nadi readings. Recently he has asked several devotees in their Nadi readings to start doing the Homam in their homes too.

Though I have silently reasoned with him at times, I was always one who never gave excuses but followed the rules and obeyed the laws and directives especially if it was from Agathiyar. I saw results in doing so for he knows best, right? So, when Tavayogi told me over the phone to carry out Homam in my home I voiced my fear telling him that it was the jurisdiction of the priests. But he replied it was a simple ritual. Light up the flame and recite the names of the Siddhas, he told. Later when he visited Malaysia and my home again, we watched him fine-tune the rituals and we adopted them. I soon began to read about it and came up with a book "Feeding the Flame" that I published online for the benefit of others too. After going through the books by the numerous authors whom I have quoted extensively in this book, I realized the magnitude of the benefits derived from performing the Homam or a bigger version of it the Yagna or Yagam. 

Tavayogi celebrated Agathiyar's Guru Puja annually to commemorate his birth or Jayanthi at his Ashram in Kallar. The highlight of this two-day celebration is the lighting of the sacrificial fire or Yagna. He started performing the Yagna on his ashram grounds beginning with five numbers of Yagna pits and expanding to 108 on the directive of Agathiyar after the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, to calm down Mother Earth and Nature and thus lessen the natural calamities and as a result saving lives and properties. The AVM family was finally blessed to participate in this event in 2016. We were given the honor to sing the songs that accompanied the lighting of the Yagna and participate actively in the other rituals too. Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar carries on the tradition in his absence. This year it will be held on 30 December. We at AVM had been doing the same until Agathiyar switched the day to coincide with Thaipusam for us. Since Agathiyar's statue has moved to the home of another devotee, I await his instruction regarding his celebration. 

According to 'Sivagnana Siddhiyar' and 'Sivagnana Siddhiyar Supakkam', "keeping alive the sacrificial fire Yagna and performing with ardor the religious acts associated with the sacrificial fire" is categorized in the Path of Sarputramaargam (Kriyai) or the Ritual Worship of Siva, which is also known as the Path of the Son (of Siva). 

"Fresh-smelling flowers, incense, sacred lamp, articles for the ritual ablution of the idol, food offerings to God, five-part purification, seat for the deity, invocation of the God in the form of Light and of life into the idol, invitation of the deity, worship by pure devotion, eulogizing God with love, offering flowers, keeping alive the sacrificial fire, doing all these ritual acts daily. By these acts the devotees abide very close to Ninmalan (Siva with no impurities)."

In re-reading "Feeding the Flame" and posting excerpts from it here, I realize that the sudden and spontaneous explosion in my abdomen a year back and the subsequent release of the energies aroused through the practice of Pranayama as early as 2007 that had ponded for some time and its journey through the Chakras to the Sahasrara creating a sensation and tickling feeling in the crown of my head throughout the day and right now too as I pen these words is explained in 'Sivagnana Siddhiyar Supakkam' as the next phase, Sagamaargam (Yogam) or Attaining the Form of Siva, or the Path of Companionship, the third of four paths.

"Control of the senses; regulating the two breaths (in-breath and out­ breath); realizing the essence of the six Adhara Kundalini Chakras with triangles and squares; worshipping the presiding deities of each Chakra; ascending to Brahma Randhra and inducing the lotus bud to blossom; stimulating the Sun Mandala there and helping the resulting Ambrosia spread all through the body; worshipping and meditating the effulgent Siva without remissness; and observing the Ashtanga Yogam. These devotees will get the form of Siva."

There is one more phase yet to be accomplished that of the final path, Sanmaargam  (Gnanam) or the True Path.

"Wisdom from all Puranas, Sastras,  and Sacred texts of all External Religions; elucidation of all and rejecting the falsehood as untruth; knowledge of God, soul, and fetters; acquisition of True Knowledge of the righteous path for attaining Siva; and merger with Siva without any differentiation among Knowledge, Knower and the object of knowledge. People in this just path acquire greatness and attain Siva."

If we learn that the Brihad  Narada Purana states that one who performs the Yagna tends to 'transport' twenty-one generations before him to Lord Vishnu's temple, in the Siva Puranam Yagna is said to be the supreme means to please Lord Siva and as such the Rishis were instructed to come down to earth and perform Yagna for 1000 years. It is said that Lord Siva grants boons at the closure of the Yagna. We learn that the Vedas mention Yagna as a means to fulfill man's needs and to keep away obstacles on the path of his material and spiritual progress. It is mentioned that in ancient times besides both material and spiritual gains, massive Yagna were conducted by Kings and householders to create monsoon seasons, bless childless couples with a child, bring good fortunes to the householder, awaken latent soul forces, solve problems in politics and governance and to eradicate germs and bacteria. Lord Siva too in coming to us at the height of the pandemic asked us to help strengthen the forces in the Prapanjam to combat the common enemy by lighting the Homam in our homes. Later Prapanjam herself fearing another bout of uprising conveyed the same message. Agathiyar in asking me to do it revealed in the Nadi that it was for the benefit of humanity and all of creation. Konganar says that Agathiyar was born out of the Yagna or Agni. I guess in doing the Yagna it summons Agathiyar to come forward and grant us our wishes.

We are told that as the gross fire is subtle in nature, when sacrifices are offered into the Yagna it is consumed by the fire and made subtle too. With the aid of subtle wind, this then enters the atmosphere and Diu Loka where the Demigods receive their food in subtle form. We learn that it is mentioned in the Bhagawad Geeta that man has to nurture Demigods through Yagna for his advancement. 

There we have it. All the reasons to conduct a Homam. I got immediately on to doing it and carried out the Homam at 12 noon today. Another devotee sent me photos of the Homam he conducted too.

The couple Krishna and Deviy who are currently taking care of Agathiyar's Murthy sent me photos of their puja too.

The couple who are caretakers of the Murthy of Agathiyar at the Eco City temple also conducted a puja for him.

A similar puja, to ward off or minimize the effects of calamities that he foresaw, was done for Agathiyar at the Karpaga Vinayagar temple in Brickfields too after Agathiyar instructed devotees in a recent Nadi reading.

LET US COME TOGETHER IN PRAYER

 

I am overwhelmed with the response or rather the readership of this blog over the past week. Tavayogi asked me to speak about the Siddhas when we went over to officiate an affiliate Peedham of his in Banting when he was in Malaysia many years ago. I was taken by surprise as to what was I to speak about them since I was a freshie then and knew nothing about the Siddhas. But as he waited for me to say something, my mind raced to figure out what to say. Since I only knew him, for a short while then too, I began to speak about him, sharing whatever little I knew about him then, and cleverly diverted to singing the Arutperunjothi mantra which everyone joined in. I escaped that moment of trial and test.

I think I figured out why the temple project was dropped by Agathiyar. Agathiyar who asked me to build a temple for him in my first Nadi reading in 2002 and Lord Murugan who joined the bandwagon asking for a temple in another Nadi reading in 2018, seeing my reluctance in engaging in a project of such magnitude, later told me that they had tested me if I would take up the tasks. I had passed the test. Agathiyar added that he did not want to trouble me with such an immense task in my old age. I guess Agathiyar decided that many others would be keen to build temples. Instead, he gave me a task that I could carry out solo without engaging with others in the comfort of my home - blogging and video editing. He asked that I continue writing. 

The late Dr.Krishnan, astrologer and Siddha physician told me once that I would write books. I guess that prediction has come true with the emergence of the numerous websites created back then the current blog and the online publication of several books documenting my pilgrimages to India and meeting my gurus, the many miracles that Agathiyar performed, and the many revelations he made as I walked the path. A year back as I saw several transformations that became rather obvious as opposed to the many subtle transformations that began in 2007, Agathiyar asked that I drop singing his praise in the blog but instead write about these changes so that those keen to reach the state of light would know what to expect. Agathiyar gave me the experiences first and educated me later on what was taking place. He gives me the subject matter and the words and the sentences too. It is all news to me too as I research further on the subject and share it with readers. I am learning together with my readers too. At times his writings amaze me so much so that I stand before him asking him how he does it and thanking him immensely. 

After certain parts of Chennai were submerged in flood waters recently Agathiyar warns us of an impending tsunami. This event was foretold by Agathiyar many years ago. As the Siddhas do not refer to the Gregorian calendar that we adopt but refer to specific events Agathiyar mentioned that when a specific nation reaches Mars, an earthquake would take place in the ocean floor of the Pacific Ocean that would bring about a tsunami which would devastate a major portion of the earth's face.  It is said that in the last major flood, Agathiyar traveled to the Arctic where it was safe. In the event we see another deluge Agathiyar is said to have mentioned that the hills of Kutralam were the safest place. When I went over to the cave temple in my wife's hometown many years back, the priest pointed out remnants of ocean life within the caves which could only mean that these caves were submerged in water some time back in the past.

Tavayogi usually takes hold of science in explaining religion and spirituality and vice versa. In both his books he has dealt with it. What science can't explain religion does. Similarly what religion cannot explain science does. Man takes numerous births taking numerous forms in creation. All of creation besides living off others gives back to the cycle of life. It is truly wonderful. Only some souls break the cycle and return to the raw essence without having a form name position or authority, choosing to remain in the source, as energies and vibrations. 

Tavayogi who initiated the lighting of the Yagam in the aftermath of December 26, 2004, asked that I carry out its smaller version the Homam in my home too during the annual Jayanthi celebrations for Agathiyar that followed. He said that it was to appease the wrath of Mother Nature.  I did as told all those years until Agathiyar came along and changed the date for us asking us to hold the annual event coinciding with the Thaipusam celebrations. The annual Agathiyar Jayanthi celebrations shall be held on 30 December this year at Kallar ashram. As for AVM, we are awaiting Agathiyar to give us a sign. Although Agathiyar had halted all forms of rituals at AVM, Lord Shiva in coming to us at the height of the pandemic told us to light a homam to help the Prapanjam in her fight against the dreaded Covid-19 virus and subdue its effects. Some time back Prapanjam herself told us to carry out the homam again as there was a likelihood that the virus would rear its hood again. As foretold figures are on the rise again currently. Then there are other dangers lurking too. Two of my grandchildren just recovered from a bout of dengue fever. Many we know are down with influenza in this monsoon season. Asking my granddaughter who had questioned her mother what was the very first virus that man succumbed to some time back, if there was an A-to-Z listing of sickness, I searched the net and was surprised to find it. https://healthiermetoday.com/common-illnesses-and-diseases/

Although we have let go of rituals, the Siddhas tell us that we can pick up this tool as and when required. The time is right for us to engage in it once again considering the many dangers lurking around us. Let us all play our small role in lighting a Yagam in our temples or its smaller version Homam in our homes to lessen if not avoid the said consequences of this phenomenon that has been taking place since time immemorial. Imagine the extent of assistance we can give the Prapanjam to beat the odds if all readers of Siddha Heartbeat were to take up this tool.