DEMYSTIFYING TRANCE

As today is Chitra Pournami, a day of celebration for Lord Murugan, as it is with Thaipusam many devotees go into trances and dance their way to meet the Lord. How do we explain these?

After 5 years Agathiyar has left AVM to make his rounds to his devotee's homes. The last time he did that was in 2016 accompanied by Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal and Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar who visited Malaysia. He visited some 10 homes where puja was conducted and both Tavayogi and Mataji spoke. After Tavayogi's visit, Agathiyar then directed me that he was not to be moved. 

He did make his rounds upon arrival on our shores in 2010 too visiting some 3 homes then. 

Meanwhile, after bringing down the shutters on our puja and charity programs in September of 2019 which surprisingly came before the outbreak of the Covid Virus later in December; after the lockdowns that followed in March of 2020, and after a period of some 2 years when a majority of us have been vaccinated, Agathiyar has chosen to leave for the homes of his devotees. This move was initiated by Balamurugan who invited Agathiyar over to his home. Balamurugan was also instrumental in bringing the Jeeva Nadi to Malaysia too. The Jeeva Nadi has never left the Kallar Ashram grounds prior to this. Seekers would have to head towards Kallar Ashram either on Wednesdays or Saturdays to have a reading. But when Balamurugan called up Mataji to inform her of his visit to the ashram and have a reading, she informed him that both Tavayogi and she will be coming down to Malaysia. Balamurugan enquired if they would bring along the Nadi. Mataji cited the above saying that the Nadi had never left the ashram grounds but added that they would seek permission from Agathiyar. Permission was granted and we all had an opportunity to have read the Jeeva Nadi thanks to Balamurugan.

Mahindran has followed suit intending to conduct a puja in his home on 1st May followed by Rajah on 15th May. I guess many will come to know and will invite Agathiyar too. Before leaving today for Balamurugan's house Agathiyar strictly told me and my wife not to involve ourselves but to let the host make the purchases, prepare and conduct the puja entirely. Let the host conduct the puja in its entirety he said and nothing shall be considered wrong. He shall come to conduct it further he told my wife and me. 

This reminded me of Lord Murugan in the Jeeva Nadi reading in 2018 telling me to step aside and allow him access to play his lila. I did as told and the ever playfull Lord came and created chaos felling devotees down like tree stumps, with the tremendous expanse and surges of energies that day. Today Agathiyar in having me step aside again, took the realm and monitored the whole puja with assistance from one of several manifestations of Aiya, whom we presume was Maduraiveeran. Lord Murugan took time off amidst his busy schedule too today as the day coincided with the Full Moon of the Tamil month of Chithirai, Chitra Pournami, a day auspicious to him to be with us and bless us too.

Maduraiveeran Aiya had a message or two for us too. He reminded us that the lamp we light at our home altars and in other pujas is to be worshipped. Hence we are not to light anything from it further. For instance, we have seen people light camphor and joss stick from it. This has to stop. Aiya told us the significance of the flame too. They shall watch us through this flame. I remember Supramania Swami telling me to light the flame and that he shall watch me through it. Imagine he was in Tiruvannamalai, India and I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In another instance, Aiya who came into a cousin of my friend while having a drinking session asked my friend to "deliver' him to a particular temple some distance away. He kept pointing to the flame lit in the temple asking him to hasten his pace of driving. Upon arriving he asks him to light the camphor and left his nephew's body immediately.

Another thing he pointed out to us was that once the flames from the homam or yagam or fire pit die down we are not to rekindle it. It is a sign that our offerings into the flames have been received well. We need not sustain the flame further. They decide on the closure. 

I remember clearly how I used to stand before the Chinese Gods at the home of a Chinese medium who would then go into a trance and write Chinese characters on a strip of yellow rice paper, burn it and have me drink its ash that was dropped into a glass of water, a simple treatment for all my ailments till the age of 13. Then later as a teen, I watched people go into a trance and either Aiya, Amma, or other deities speak through them at home sacrifices and temple celebrations. Even as I chose to keep my distance then, I never knew that I would get close to these phenomena later. My brother used to go into a trance and speak the Chinese language. What surprised us was that he had no prior knowledge of it. Then I came to witness even gurus who had gone into samadhi or passed on come through their followers and say a word or two. Thus my nephew's paramaguru Gopal Pillai had him deliver a message to me that henceforth lead me to my guru Agathiyar in 2002, Supramania Swami the following year, and Tavayogi a couple of years later. I came to know only some years later that the message given to me in 2001 was from Agathiyar himself. Gopal Pillai was a conduit in the immense network of gurus. The following year I read the Nadi for the very first time and Agathiyar took me in. In 2003 Supramania Swami of Tiruvannamalai took me as his disciple and Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal of Kallar Ashram took me under his wings in 2005. 

We were blessed to have Yogi Ramsuratkumar too come and say a few words besides Tavayogi through devotees too. We noted that this phenomenon came to be once the Nadi readings stopped as the readers were not accessible during the pandemic.

Agathiyar upon arriving in Malaysia in the form of a bronze statue let me on a secret. He told me he shall walk the earth and be present that day on the 3rd January 2010 to bless all those gathered for his fest or Vizha. How was that to be? He said that his soul shall reside in my body while mine shall be in his statue or murthy momentarily. 

The evil Sambanthan plots to have Arunagiri's body that the latter stashed away in the towers of the temple of Arunachaleswar at Tiruvannamalai for save keeping so that his soul could return to it after he returned with the magical flower or Parijata Malar that cures the King's eyesight. Sambanthan has his followers bring Arunagiri's body to him where he buries it so that Arunagiri cannot possibly enter it again. If we are told that Arunagiri remained in the form of a parrot that he took to carry out the mission till his last days, I read later elsewhere that it was not so and that he took his human form again.

I look towards my daughter who is an avid fan of Marvel movies to help me out here: "Watching the 3rd episode of Marvel's "Moon Knight" I could see similarities between the show and what took place at AVM all these years. Lord Muruga had asked that my father give way or in Marc's case from the movie, his other personalities ask him to surrender his body so that they could take over and do their work. In another scene from the episode, several Egyptian deities use human 'avatars' to congregate in the Pyramid of Giza and pass judgment on Khonshu, who uses Marc's body as his own avatar. In order to have direct communication with us and guide us, the Siddhas and deities sometimes need to borrow our physical forms to convey their messages or perform their miracles. The scene in the pyramid reminds me of when Agathiyar and Kali once had a conversation with each other through my father and a devotee respectively here at AVM. 

I suppose by picking certain people to work through, they gain access to not only their body, but also their skills, knowledge, and vocabulary. The way they healed my eye through the surgeons who operated on me as their medical capabilities were required, or how Agathiyar once could not find the right word to describe part of the female anatomy as the word was not known by the devotee he was speaking through. They often take many pauses when speaking, as if sifting through the current body's mental dictionary and trying to find exactly the words they require."

Readers can follow my daughter's film reviews at her website, "The Film Critic" at http://the-film-critic.weebly.com/

It is true that they source the right words from our existing library of the vocabulary of words. It is equally true that they can also feed the appropriate language though it might be alien to us as in my brother's case speaking the Chinese dialect and Ma Kali coming into the devotee who spoke to Agathiyar in an entirely unheard of language as mentioned above. Agathiyar took the liberty to have the words in the Jeeva Nadi in possession of the late Hanumathdasan Aiya appear in the Malay language for a seeker from Malaysia so that he could read it himself too as the latter could not comprehend the Tamil language used in the Nadi.

Hence who can comprehend the Siddhas, deities, and the Gods and their play?

SILENCE

SURRENDERING & GIVING BACK

When I went for a Nadi reading for the very first time in 2002, just as others are told about their present lives and what they were going through that we come to learn from the Siddhas are very much linked to our past lives and the karma we earned over time and many births, I too was told the stark truth about my former lives in the General Canto, Karma Canto and the Santhi Parikara Canto. Agathiyar could have let me face the consequences of my past actions. But instead, the most compassionate one chose to give me several parikaram or remedies or cures or course of actions to be taken to counter, subdue and lighten or possibly eradicate in total the cause. I was blessed to read my Gnana Canto too initiated by Sivabalan who had brought in Nadi Nool Aasan Senthilkumar then. In it, Agathiyar told me to visit all 5 temples of Lord Shiva or the Pancha Bootha Stalangal besides Palani. The uniqueness of these 5 temples of Lord Shiva that I came to know later, was that they were constructed for the respective elements namely earth, water, fire, air and space. For a beginner on the path, he is told to go and physically be in these places, to enter these sacred spaces. He is told to be at these temples so that he touches the ground there; inhales the air there; dips and baths and drinks the water there; touches the flame or arathi showered to the Gods and Goddesses there and imbibes the heat of the sun that shines down at these places. I made my very first pilgrimage to all the temples and abodes that Agathiyar had listed in my Nadi the following year. As Agathiyar had asked me to come back for another reading only three years after the first reading, and when I was 46, even as I wondered how and when the reading would come by since I was introduced to the existence of the Nadi by Siddha practitioner Dr.Krishnan in 1996 and only came to read it in 2002 after a colleague shared his experience in reading it two years earlier, Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal on the day I met him for the very first time in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, initiated and directed me to Nadi Nool Aasan Ramesh who was then in Kuala Lumpur, to read my Gnana Canto again. This time around Agathiyar mentioned my gurus in more detail after just hinting about the coming of them in the first Nadi reading in 2002. 

The gurus initiated us to take up Kriyai, having us come out of Sariyai that involved temple worship and service to God. It was now service to the Guru and society in the form of Karma Yoga. We were told to learn about the 5 elements that maketh the body now, moving from what we saw established externally in the 5 temples for these elements. We were then taken to the next level that of Yoga. 

We were told to cleanse the body and mind and avail them for the arrival of the divine energies within. After one qualifies on the path raising from an ordinary bhakta or devotee who brings his palms together in prayer before the deity and looks towards the skies and heavens for salvation; through Kriyai he learns to bring these deities first to his home through home puja and having them reside within the statues and pictures later. Then through Yoga he learns to bring the deities to reside within himself. The divine shall then bring out the Gnanam from within one. Such a one is a chosen candidate to build a shrine or temple for others to pray to and pray in. This shall be his purpose in life to experience God and share his experience with others too. These and many other facts are explained by PremKV too on his YouTube channel.

We look toward the skies and the massive monuments left behind by our ancestors with awe. But we fail to see the greatest miracle that is both a mystery and mystical in us. Life right from conception and birth, nay even before that too, till the last moments we spend in this physical body, and even after that has always amazed and mesmerized me. It makes me ask who is the genius behind all these? Who is the creator? Where is he? Where does he reside? Is he accessible to us? For one I came to realize that we are all co-creators of his in this grand design and grand play of his. He does not do the work directly but through us. But are we suitable candidates to carry out his divine work here? He shall reach out to us if and when we are ready for a change and fit to take on his massive work. For that to happen we need his grace. For that to happen we have to reach out to him. If we are obsessed with our desires and leave his thought out, he steps into the shadow. 

Just as Marc Spector tells Steven Grant to surrender his body to Marc so that the alter can protect them both in the new Marvel series "Moon Knight", it is only when we surrender and give this body to him that he can work on us and others. Lord Murugan came to several of us asking us to surrender to him before he can even initiate changes in us. Are we ready to surrender ourselves?

THE SIDDHA PATH DEMYSTIFIED

My "Siddha Heartbeat" blog carried the following tagline, "Taking the First Step into the Mysterious & Mystical World of the Siddhas" back then in 2013. The mystery has been demystified. There is nothing mystical nor mysterious about the Siddha path. Only the hype surrounding it keeps it a mystery and under lock and key and distances us from it. The path that is one of practice and living it out in our daily lives has been driven into the dark recesses and corners and beyond our reaches by certain quarters. Caution notices are placed before its entrances that create apprehension, fear, and hesitation in seekers. 

We had already kicked off our lives with good values inculcated by our parents. We had frequented temples and done home worship under the guidance of our parents who are our very first gurus, without knowing that we had taken the very first step in spiritual advancement known as Sariyai. We were instilled with belief and initially fear of God. Towards this purpose, the wise men and women of the past gave us numerous sacred texts while others have written extensively on good morals and attributes. Later in learning these texts at school, the guru now in the form of the teacher, instills these values in us further sometimes with the need of a cane. Thiruvalluvar gave us the "Thirukural". Avvai gave us the "Athi Chudi" and "Konrai Venthan". They speak about morality, virtues and values. The very first lesson that they teach us is to bring change in our behavior, speech, and beliefs. They emphasize character building, good behavior, right conduct, right knowledge, and yogic practices. They ask us to restrain our anger, lust, and ego. Thiruvalluvar in the "Thirukural", reminds us of the following: Be righteous, Be kind in speech, Be grateful, Maintain self-control, Do not desire another man’s wife, Be forgiving, Do not envy, Do not covet, Do not slander, Perform charity, Be truthful, Abstain from anger, and Be courteous. Avvai in her work entitled "Athi Chudi" has 109 advice for us, amongst them: Do good, Control anger, Do not hinder aid to others, Feed the hungry, Help the needy, Keep reading, Do not be jealous of other’s achievements, Help your relatives and friends grow with you, Look after your parents, Do not forget those who have come to your aid, Do not secure what does not belong to you, Do not venture into things that are degrading by nature, Abstain from using harsh language, Refrain from thinking degrading thoughts, Do not harm others, Give your best in every venture that you undertake, Lead an honest life, and Respect others. Again Avvai in her "Konrai Venthan" has 91 pieces of advice for us. Through another work of hers "Muthurai", she has 30 pieces of advice and another 40 in "Nalvazhi". We know the reason to adopt such values in life as we grow up into adulthood and look around us at the negativity that surrounds us.

Coming to the gurus in physical forms, we step into the second stage that of Kriyai that is introduced by them. 

Once the truth dawns on us that all our efforts shall lead only to further frustration in life as we are not empowered to change things to our liking, we turn to the Siddhas for further guidance.  Coming to the Siddhas they ask us to engage in the following positive activities: Do good; Be joyful; Conduct prayers; Meditate; Be compassionate; Feed the poor and the animals; Help the needy; Do charity; Live a life of virtue; Fulfill one's responsibilities towards the family and nation; Be pure at heart and the disciple shall be at peace; Be truthful. In being truthful, he shall face challenges. In those circumstances do nothing, and the disciple shall see bliss, they assure us, and finally, they advise us to take things one step at a time. 

Coming to the Siddhas they exposed the subject of karma and its influence on steering our lives. We are asked to turn a new leaf and carry on the good deeds that shall then chart a new destiny, erasing our earlier fate to a certain extent in this life, and coming back to continue erasing the rest in further births. 

Searching for more information we learn that all the ancient cultures spoke about karma. 

"Many religious traditions —notably the Abrahamic religions that emerged in the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam)—place reward and punishment for human actions in the hands of a divine lawgiver. In contrast, the classical traditions of India—Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, much like the Vedic sacrificial theology that preceded them—view karma as operating according to an autonomous causal law. No divine will or external agent intervenes in the relationship of the moral act to its inevitable result. The law of karma thus represents a markedly nontheistic theodicy or explanation of why there is evil in the world. (Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/karma)"

While both religions and their masters left it at that the Siddhas dwelled on this subject and helped mankind by proposing that we atone for our past mistakes, and carry out remedies to offset these karma. Traveling in a car, we cannot foresee what is beyond the turn or corner until we traverse the bend. One who flies in a light aircraft or helicopter sees a larger picture. To an astronaut, he sees the whole world. Just as our view expands as we change our mode of travel the Siddha who are in an elevated plane and are spiritually elevated see far and beyond. If man has conquered space the Siddhas who have conquered both space and time could look into the past, present, and future. The Siddhas saw through our past records and arrived at present-day solutions to counter the effects of karma. In "Karma and Reincarnation" - An Inspired Talk by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, we learn that "The akashic memory in our higher chakras faithfully records the soul’s impressions during its series of earthly lives, and in the astral/mental worlds in - between earth existences. Ancient yogis, in psychically studying the timeline of cause/effect, assigned three categories to karma. The first is sanchita, the sum total of past karma yet to be resolved. The second category is prarabdha, that portion of sanchita karma being experienced in the present life. Kriyamana, the third type, is karma you are presently creating."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains further karma from the perspective of science. "In physics - the study of energy and matter - Sir Isaac Newton postulated that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Push against a wall. Its material is molecularly pushing back with a force exactly equal to yours. In metaphysics, karma is the law that states that every mental, emotional, and physical act, no matter how insignificant, is projected out into the psychic mind substance and eventually returns to the individual with equal impact. For, as we exist now is a sum total of all our past lives. In our present moment, our mind and body state is the cumulative result of the entire spectrum of our past lives." 

In reading the Nadi for the first time, we are told that we had caused hurt to others and ridiculed the sacred texts and rituals hence the need to pay for our wrongdoings by taking another birth and correcting these wrongs. So birth is a result of stepping on others' feet. Then we are also told that unfulfilled desires lead to us taking births. We come back to relive these desires. Then we are told later that others' desires go towards awarding a birth to us too so that they can live out their desires with and through us. So it all sums up that man is meant to live in society. For this purpose man had been given 5 tenets by Agathiyar at the Tamil Sangam in the past. These 5 are summarized from Vashisht Vaid's blog at https://holysageagathiyar.com/ as follows.

1. He says that man has to first and foremost understand his purpose in taking birth. The Nadi comes to a layman, seeker, or aspirant to reveal his purpose. The Guru comes to the disciple to reveal his purpose. The sadhaka in going within learns his true purpose in taking birth. These are the means man comes to realize the cause of his birth and his mission. To a layman, he is told he took birth because of past karma. To a disciple, he is told that he has come for a mission to undertake for the good of society and mankind. To a Gnani, he realizes that he has come to merge with the divine. This reminds me of Dr. Bhani, a Siddha physician and devotee of Agathiyar, who gave a talk in one of the gatherings at a local Peedham many years back. He told us that songs of the saints can carry an inner meaning. They could be seen from an entirely different perspective by people of different standings in life too. For instance, the popular song of praise to Lord Ganapathy by Avvai that goes as follows, 

வாக்குண்டாம் நல்ல மனமுண்டாம் மாமலராள்

நோக்குண்டாம் மேனி நுடங்காது - பூக்கொண்டு

துப்பார் திருமேனித் தும்பிக்கையான் பாதம்

தப்பாமல் சார்வார் தமக்கு.

carries three different understandings depending on the status of the listener. He went on to explain further. As a school-going kid, his class teacher would tell them that it was a song in praise of Lord Ganapathy and was sung in front of the statue or picture of him. Later as he took up Siddha medicine his guru told him that it was purely about medicine and treating illness and disease. When he came under the discipleship of his spiritual guru Yogi Ramaiah he was told that it was a song of Gnanam. A single song can carry so many variants of its meaning according to the listener's status. If the Dr. stopped short of telling us that it was a herbal preparation, my friend a Medical doctor, shared the components of this herbal preparation.

"அவ்வையார் தந்த பாட்டு.

திரு.....திருநீற்று பச்சிலை

மேனி......குப்பைமேனி

தும்பி.....தும்பை

கையான்.... கரிசலாங்கண்ணி

பாதம்.... சிறுசெருப்பாடை

கற்ப மூலிகைகள். பாதம் கிடைக்கவில்லை

"The ratio is 1/4:1/2:3/4:1:1&1/4. It is to be taken twice a day, a half-hour after breakfast and half an hour after dinner. For the first 12 days, with honey. For the next 12 days with ghee. Then, a break. Can be taken in 3-monthly intervals."

2. With his purpose known then, he should come to thank the divine creator or energy that brought forth his birth (through consultation with the lunar forefathers and their angelic hierarchies that co-exist with us down here). Agathiyar asked that we show appreciation to the divine that gave us an opportunity to take this birth again to come to terms with it and sort out our lives. Living a purposeful, meaningful, and fruitful life, coupled with a sense of gratefulness will then bring forth the showering of his blessings. These blessings and the efforts in carrying out his dictates result in the soul or Atma gaining strength or Soul Power or Atma Balam. 

3. Agathiyar asks that we then thank all the caretakers both seen and unseen, in the present and the past. 

4. There arises then an obligation on our part to "dutifully aid and help, the ongoing evolution of all co-existing human beings." 

5. The final task is to extend this aid and help, towards "the ongoing evolution of all co-existing beings and entities, existing upon the lower levels of the evolutionary ladder, dutifully supporting the manifested matrix or prapanjam." 

If Agathiyar in his 5 tenets for mankind spelled out the above five responsibilities of man thus fulfilling his purpose in taking a human birth that is considered precious and that is to be treasured, Bhogar shows us the way to rise from a mere man, to reach at least midway attaining the state of partial Siddhahood. What Bhogar says tallies with the messages given by Agathiyar and Patanjali too. Patanjali as we know gave us the "Yoga Sutras" while Svatmarama gave us the "Hatha Yoga Pradipika". 

1. Purging the body of toxins accumulated over the years. Agathiyar Kuzhambu is one such concoction that Agathiyar told us to take for the purpose of cleansing first and later strengthening the physical form. Agathiyar Kuzhambu is said to be one of the 32 Siddha medicines taken internally listed in the "Gunapadam Siddha" text literature, which covers a vast area of indications besides being a purgative. The major ingredients of this drug are Perungayam, Kadugu, Induppu, Rasam, Vengaram, Naabi, Manosilai, Omam, Aritharam, Karunjeerakam, Nervalam. (Source: Muralidass SD and Shree-Devi MS: “Agathiyar kuzhambu”- not only a purgative- an overview. Int J Pharm Sci & Res 2019; 10(5): 2156-63. doi: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.10(5).2156-63. and http://ijpsr.com/bft-article/agathiyar-kuzhambu-not-only-a-purgative-an-overview/?view=fulltext)

2. To substitute or replace Rajasic or Tamasic food with Satvic food that includes lots of greens, and fruits. Before beginning Yoga, Patanjali had stipulated that we adopt a similar diet to facilitate the body to conform to the demanding needs of Yoga. 

3. To learn to breathe properly by adopting breathing techniques as taught by the Siddhas. Tavayogi who officially initiated me into the path of the Siddhas after I took up the call of Agathiyar in the Nadi, initiated and taught us Yoga Asanas and Pranayama techniques, bringing us to have a new insight on Yogam. Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal came frequently to fine-tune and assist further.

4. Bathing the right way so that we do not surprise, jolt or freeze the body and to prevent slag in the nerves in old age as a result of this. Agathiyar asks that we sprinkle water thrice over the top of the head and then go on to wet our feet. Then we pour water over our limbs beginning with the legs, moving to the torso and abdomen till the shoulder. Then wash the face thrice and only then pour water over the head. If we are dipping in the stream, river, or ocean we do accordingly too. We are told to retain water in our mouths too while bathing, elsewhere. 

5. Finally Bhogar asks us to appreciate and acknowledge nature and learn to love all of nature and live with it. This is the first step in linking with the prapanjam.

Coming to the Siddhas we get to know that karma can be tackled and our lives redirected. They want us to become equal to them and become Siddhas capable of taking our lives into our own hands too. The Siddhas had the strength, might, and power to even change the planetary course of events and things we came to understand. Having gained this Siddhi they remind us to even let go of that hold too, surrendering to the forces of nature in place.

The Siddhas revealed their aspirations for mankind through the numerous Aasi Nadi readings that kept coming too, back to back in subsequent years. They have conveyed much through the Nadi. But it was never to make us superhumans or magicians. We were to evolve into a man with a divine nature. The Nadi is a means of communication between the Siddhas and their disciples. The Siddhas give instructions through the Nadi. Just as Manickavasagar sang  that one needs God's grace even to worship them we are told that one needs the blessings of the Siddhas to arrive at an accurate account of a Nadi reading and also to step into their abodes. Hence we are set on a path of worship to the deities and Siddhas before everything else. The Siddhas ask that the disciples perform prayers at temples to appease the planets and to garland the Gods to please them. They send us to these temples to carry out our parikarams or remedies before having us step into their path. They speak about the need to go on pilgrimages. They encourage disciples to go on pilgrimages to temples and Siddha abodes that would respectively help change one’s perception of God and the Siddhas. They assure us that they shall wait with open arms for our arrival at these destinations. They promise that they shall receive the disciple and accompany them on their pilgrimages to these temples, shrines, caves, and samadhi. The Siddhas ask that we help finance the building of temples and other places of worship. An excellent example is that of the Siddha Korakar who advised the presiding King of Tanjore, Raja Cholan to build a temple to counter the karma that he had earned when he went to war with the neighboring states. We are told that Korakar personally supervised the construction and completion of this temple known as Breehadeswar temple. They encouraged us to visit and pray at their abodes and dwellings. Though we understand that most temples were initiated by the Siddhas in the first place, the irony here is that most temples outlawed the Siddhas preferring to carry out worship to the main deities, the pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. In receiving us, they assure us that happiness shall prevail in the lives of the disciple as a result of these daily prayers to the Siddhas. Their advice to the disciple is that he needs to be steady in his or her mission even when confronted with people who shall shake their very faith. The disciple is advised not to heed these harsh and discouraging words but instead to carry on with the prayers. There is much good in prayers, they assure us. All the disciple’s problems shall be relieved step by step through prayers. He is reminded not to give up on prayers. Worship Siddhas and attain much say the Siddhas. The disciple is encouraged to recite the Maha Mantra – Arutperun Jothi. They ask to recite the names of the Siddhas too. They request the disciples to chant Lord Murugan’s name for it is light too. Bliss and joy are acquired by chanting the Lord’s name, they say. They mention that they are in the form of light in this world too. They request that the disciple spread their teachings. The disciple is requested to stay on this path. The disciple is to continue consistently with the spiritual practices that the disciple is currently following. She/he is advised not to get distracted. The disciple is encouraged to conduct research, and continue the aforementioned practices, prayers, and rituals to their utmost satisfaction. 

The following are further aspirations for their disciples. They want the disciples to live the life of a Siddha and he shall live like Sivam too they say. The disciple needs to establish himself firmly in the path of the Siddhas. He has to be faithful to this path. God’s name should flow through the breath of the disciple. Let the thoughts revolve around the Siddhas. Let the thoughts be centered on them day and night. Receive the advice of the Siddhas with devotion. Follow the advice and guidance of Siddhas. Spread their teachings. Invite them into our homes. Make them a part of the family too. When confronted with danger, call out to the Siddhas and they shall protect. Admire the sages and decorate the Siddhas in the heart’s eye. They too shall decorate the disciple similarly. Research into the reason for taking birth. Being a disciple of the Siddhas, and having chosen to follow their path, live then with pride. 

If the disciple adheres to the wishes of the Siddhas, they promise much in return. They shall perform miracles just for their disciples. Visions and miracles shall take place at their abodes, caves, and samadhi. The disciple shall witness miracles happen at his home too. They shall appear to the disciple. They shall show the disciple his path. The disciple becomes a true friend and shall be highly regarded by them. They shall love the disciple as much as the disciple loves them. Once a disciple comes to this path, others around him too shall follow suit. Family members and others shall benefit from the disciple’s association with the Siddhas. The family and others too shall have their blessings. They shall care for the disciple and his family. They shall grace their presence in the disciple’s home. They are greatly moved by the devotion of the disciples. Never miss the worship of Siddhas at home, they remind us. Then great saints shall live with the disciple, they proudly declare. When the Siddhas are established in the home of disciples then the disciple has no need to spend his life at an ashram. Siddhas shall visit the disciple’s home then. They shall test the loyalty of their disciples occasionally but they shall not let down the disciples. They shall advise and witness the disciple do prayers and meditation. For those who follow their path, they give assurance that the disciple’s wishes shall come true. All the disciple’s efforts will pay off. The disciple shall see much progress come his way. The disciple’s aspirations shall be realized. The disciple’s asking shall be granted. They shall provide the disciple the knowledge to drive away ignorance. They shall be present in the disciple’s thoughts, words, and deeds. The disciple shall realize joy and bliss each day. The disciple shall attain a sweet voice, youth, and clarity of thought through prayers to them. They shall send their messengers to deliver their word to their disciples. The disciple shall realize the reason for his birth. They shall be a companion. Just as the parent takes care of the child, they shall take care of the disciple. The disciple shall have their grace immediately. They shall live in the disciple. God shall live in the disciple. The disciple shall become one with them. 

They speak on Yoga. The Siddhas advocate the practice of Deha Sudhi, and other breathing techniques (Pranayama). They say, preferably, these practices should be initiated through a guru. The disciple is to practice meditation daily as a result of which they shall gain full concentration. The disciple needs to just concentrate on their meditation while they shall take care of the disciple’s other needs. To enable advancement in the disciple’s practices and meditation, the disciple is requested to sit on a seat made of wood covered with a white cloth during meditation, and to meditate for twelve minutes daily with eyes shut and the sight focused between the brows, chanting their names. To progress further in the spiritual endeavors, he/she is to meditate sitting on the Tharpai grass. They assure the disciple that the disciple shall receive great benefits from this practice. The thinking ability shall improve. Temper shall be gone. Health shall improve. The body shall become robust. The disciple shall gain clarity. The disciple shall see changes during these stages of meditation and prayer. The disciple shall attain knowledge and speech attributes and other benefits through meditation. The disciple shall achieve the highest meditation through the path of the Siddhas. The disciple shall gain all that the Siddhas and elders have attained, they assure us. All efforts and practices shall not be in vain, they assure. 

Having told us our role and part on the path and the returns in coming to their path, the Siddhas speak about the Guru/Discipline relationship. The Siddhas ask that the disciple fulfill the responsibilities towards the guru without a second thought, full-heartedly, and without mistake. They remind the seeker to choose the right guru who shall lead him further on. They remind him to chant the name of the guru daily. They add that if that is not possible, to allocate a day in the week in prayer for the guru. They reveal that gurus come around so that the disciple shall know the truth. The truth shall be revealed through the guru. They encourage the disciples to gain merits by visiting gurus and places of worship. And they ask that the disciple be patient for the time will come when this transmission takes place. With the blessings and grace of the Siddhas the disciple shall be protected from harm, they promise. 

With the coming of the guru in a personal and physical form, the wide gap is bridged giving us access to the world of the Gods and Siddhas. Through their teachings and guidance, we build up the body and soul to make it a suitable dwelling for the Lord. The Siddhas tell us to care for the body for it is only with this body that we can achieve God-realization. Thirumular mentions in his "Thirumanthiram" that he had regarded his body initially as filth and as dirt only to realize later that it is the abode and temple of the Lord. Since then he had taken extra care of it. When Tavayogi taught me some Asana and breathing techniques when he was in Malaysia in 2008, I did not realize the value of his teaching then. Later Agathiyar in the Nadi mentions that it is a treasure chest that he has delivered to us. True enough upon further reading I realized the importance of Asana and Pranayama for one seeking the divine. Tavayogi mentions that there is eighty-four major Asana coinciding with 8,400,000 species on the face of the earth. He quotes from Agathiyar’s "Saumiya Sagaram", verse 250, where it is mentioned the nine Asanas that are of utmost importance. They are Go‐mukha‐Asana, Padma‐Asana,Vira‐Asana, Simha‐Asana, Path‐e‐Asana, Mukt‐Asana, Mayura‐Asana, Vajra‐Asana and Suga‐Asana. 

As food is related to the wellbeing of the body and its purpose, in seeing us move through the states of Sariyai, Kriyai, and Yogam, they spoke about food intake. The Siddhas recommend consuming pure natural food and avoiding excessive salty, sweet, sour, and pungent food. They advise us to adhere to these requirements since when meditating excessive heat would arise in the body of the disciple. The disciple’s body shall generate heat due to yogic practices. Since heat shall increase hence there is a need to take only satvic foods to counter the heat. 

Finally, the Siddhas are not the least against marriages. They encourage their disciples to marry and carry out their responsibilities to their families. They ask that their disciples walk the path to Godhead without deserting the families. They never called for the seclusion of oneself. On the contrary, they have asked us not to neglect our families and responsibilities but to attend to both worlds, the material and spiritual. They were only concerned with a balanced life. All they wanted of us is to lead a righteous life and fulfill the purpose we came for. 

These were practical guidelines and practices given out to the aspirant on the path. Discipline is a major factor in attaining the goals that are seen to be missing in seekers. Hence they fall out on their observances and practices. In all these revelations the Siddhas never promised heaven and earth. They do not lure us with sweet promises and gifts. Although they gave us assurances, whatever said had to be practiced and put to work by us. We still needed to put in the effort. Those who come in search of the Genie's lamp or a wonder machine or a jackpot machine will be disappointed. I understood that this path is not for all too. 

Having introduced us to his 5 tenets and the Nadi readings, Agathiyar provides all the tools that serve to enhance and enrich our purpose in taking birth. The mission and tasks and their accompanying techniques, methods, and tools work further in strengthening our body, soul, and spirit. To aid in seeing through these 5 tenets in life the Siddhas drew up a concise plan dividing it into four stages namely Sariyai, Kriyai, Yogam, and Gnanam. After following in the footsteps of our parents and ancestors engaging in Sariyai all life long, we are introduced to Kriyai with the coming of a guru. Following in the footsteps of the guru for several more years, we are brought to the next stage that of Yogam or the science of restoring the health of the physical body and that of the soul by him after having proved our worthiness. Eventually, Gnanam shall dawn on its own. Once we take care of these obstacles and weaknesses, our perception and understanding will change accordingly. The world will still be the same but we shall see it in a new light and from a different perspective. We shall accept everything as God’s doing. We shall go with the flow. Moving into this stage, nothing is understood, instead, everything is known. 

I came to the path with a calling to see my Nadi in 2002 which was followed by the worship of the Siddhas as directed by Agathiyar. Tavayogi had seen to it that my purpose was done. When in the many visits he made to Malaysia after 2004, once on our way to officiate a branch peedham of his in Banting, he told me to speak about the Siddhas. I told him "What do I know about them to talk about?" as I was pretty new. During his speech, he surprised me by telling the audience that I shall speak. I was dumbstruck. I asked myself "Where do I start?" I began to speak about Tavayogi. Then I switched to singing the Arutperunjothi mantra while everyone followed. I was saved by the mantra that day. When I wind up my show back then deactivating my YouTube account, FB, the numerous websites, and informed him, Tavayogi questioned me "Why my son? Let it be". I had to create everything from scratch. In 2013 Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal endorsed our years of worship by giving way to me and my family to sing the praises of the Siddhas during our brief visit to his Kallar ashram. That was "graduation day" for us. After "graduating" in 2013, I began my "postgraduate". In 2016 when Tavayogi gave me and the rest of the AVM members from Malaysia the honor to lead the puja together with the devotees from all parts of India, during the inauguration of the new Kallar Ashram, we were deemed to have completed our "postgraduate". Agathiyar on his part mooted me to write. He came often to ask me to continue writing. I guess he had more confidence in me than I had in myself. Though it was an honor to carry their words, cherish and live by them, the truth remains the truth. Nothing can be added or subtracted from it. The blog came to a halt on its own accord in contrast to the numerous occasions earlier where I had contemplated ending my writing. This reminded me of my move to become a vegetarian overnight for no reason at all some 24 years back. Agathiyar did not give any "script" or subject to write about for some time. I guess much has been said in these blogs. Even the above is a repetition of previous posts. The Atma begins to cry out knowing the number of births it took just as saint Pattinathar lamented. When one comes to an understanding where it dawns upon him that he has indulged in life's affairs over and over again taking countless births and is going to be reborn again and again he comes to a state that affirms enough is enough. The Siddhas then lead us to a new frontier that of knowing our Atma. We settle in our Atma, coming to terms, and accepting the play of God. We realize the futility of trying. We surrender. I now understand why Agathiyar had replied asking me to look around me when I, in reply to his asking as to what I wanted, mentioned that I wanted to take birth upon birth and serve him. Even those who spearhead organizations affiliated with him and serve him tirelessly, shall not break the chain of birth and death unless and until they learn to let go!