Coming to the Siddhas we are told that all our problems are due to our past actions in this life and in other previous lives. Recently I came to know that our account of those deeds even goes back to Yugas. It shook me up when I heard this. Is there then no escape?
If we thought initially that it's through our efforts that we achieve a stand in the material world, coming to know about karma from the Siddhas we come to realize that it is all a result of and due to the blessings received and merits collected from our past actions. Similarly, if we thought initially that it's through our efforts that we achieve a stand in the spiritual world, Ramalinga Adigal tells us otherwise that it is solely through God's grace. As we have often heard the elders say that "அவனன்றி ஓர் அணுவும் அசையாது", now I understand that besides seeking the Siddhas' blessings we need their grace. It was his grace that opened the doors that were shut as we entered the Vaitheeswaran Thaiyalnayagi temple in the Tapah Hospital compound. As my granddaughter and Mahin's family sang the Arutperunjothi mantra standing on the apron at the entrance of the temple, the priest who had just moments ago told me that the temple was closed for the afternoon, surprisingly invited us in, opening the grilled gate and drawing back the curtains to the sannadhis. The Paramaguru Sri Jeganatha Swami came to bless and shower his grace on us.
Agathiyar in my first Nadi reading acknowledges the amount of time and energy I had spent in worship beginning from the days of my childhood till my bachelorhood where I took on the practice of yoga too. He also acknowledges that I did not see the results of all this worship and practice. Why was this? He tells me that the karma that followed me into this birth stood in the way of even receiving the results and benefits of my good intentions and practices. He told me that the curses that were brought on me by my past actions too stood before me as hurdles and obstacles confirming what the late friend, astrologer, and Siddha practitioner Dr. Krishnan told me when I asked why his predictions did not come true for me.
Ramalinga Adigal's collection of songs the "Thiruarutpa" is practically a conversation with God. Going through it we see how intimately he is bound to his beloved and expresses his feelings, happiness, sadness, fears, and various other emotions. He too lists a long list of possible sins that could have justified the need to take numerous births. If our past good actions came to bless us with goodies and the bad ones brought on sufferings in this material life, it is God's Arul or grace that sees us through our spiritual journey, a journey that thenceforth is laid out by him for us. If the blessings of our ancestors, parents and elders and the Siddhas help cushion the effects of our karma, it is the grace of the Siddhas and the divine that opens all the doors that once were shut. So now we know all the more that we need their grace besides their blessings. If their blessings clear the room of all the things we had kept and hoarded over many births and Yugas, in receiving their grace the windows are opened and their light enters into the otherwise dark room. Now we are ready to go on an internal journey of joy and bliss.
We have so many relationships come into our lives. Parents and siblings, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, children, sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren, schoolmates, teachers, friends, and colleagues. Then comes a special relationship with that of the guru. If our parents introduce us to God in the external and with form, the guru introduces us to the God within us and the Atma. Ramalinga Adigal and Tavayogi speak about another relationship that is less spoken about or ignored till he arrives knocking at our doorstep - the angel of Death. As death comes knocking on all doors, Ramalinga Adigal pleads that Lord Muruga at Tirutani brings on him to transform into the other bodies, so that he can escape the clutches of death. God showers his grace on him and gifts him the desired bodies.
When our efforts fail it is time to look up to the divine. He is telling us something. He is telling us that our karma is in the way. As to how to know and settle or face this karma, we are pointed to the Siddhas. The Siddhas shall disclose our karma and show us a way out. The calling comes to take up their path. A guru is sent to guide them. The guru starts them with rituals and practices. The guru introduces them to Yoga. For these few the Siddhas shower their grace. With their grace, all doors are unlocked. A new adventure begins in their lives. Sadly many forget the Siddhas after the revelation in the Nadi only to come back for another reading when trouble brews again. Very few stick with the Siddhas, worshipping them and bringing them into their homes and their lives.
Efforts and practices shall not bear fruit without first knowing and eradicating one's karma. Blessings of others, the elders, the ancestors, the deities, and the Siddhas, shall help us through this task besides us taking the initiative to carry out the remedies given. With the added benefit of worshipping the Siddhas, the grace of the divine is tapped and our lives change. A new life and future await us.
Any practice, event, task, etc was always started with a prayer in the days of yore. This was done to receive the blessings of all those seen and unseen gathered around and the grace of the divine asking these divine forces and energies to see through it without any hiccups. These days we skip this crucial part and directly engage in the work, start a venture, or a practice. We have pushed the unseen forces and energies aside. We believe that only we exist. We believe only in what we see around us. If we do not see it we do not believe it. Many things are not seen but are felt. As we cannot explain them we brush them aside. Agathiyar who takes many forms, as the first granite statue at Agasthiyampalli, as the bronze statue at AVM, as Jothi in the Kallar hills, as Lord Shiva at the Nattadresswar temple in the middle of the Kaveri river at Erode, etc tells us that they come as the vibrations or Athirvu as they did at our puja at AVM, and the feelings or Unarvu that we pick up and realize in these moments. We only need to be aware of these moments and know that they are present. Bring sacredness to every action and task, be it in eating and drinking, breathing, watching a sight or a movie, listening to a song, reading, bathing, and in sex too. Be in the moment and take in the taste, sight, sounds, words, chill, and warmth. Take in the essence, the prana, the substance, etc. Learn to tune in with your surroundings. Learn to connect with them in nature. Their grace then comes forth.
