IN THE PATH OF THE SIDHAS

Siddhars are those who have attained perfection in yogic practices to ultimately reach the stage of immortality. Through higher-level yogic practices they attain a state of ultra luminosity that results in invisibility; thus they remain impervious to ordinary vision. Such siddhars work incessantly for the propagation of knowledge and the evolution of souls. Now there are many who may ask !"hy is there a need for these leaves and this system in the first place#! "ell the Sages stated that by the time man evolved himself to these modern times his mind would have become so clouded by the things of this world that he would have forgotten his true spiritual nature. $onse%uently this astrological system was created to bring people to a memory and reali&ation of their true divine nature. The Sages also said !That from the chaos of the modern times a yearning would rise within the heart of man to seek beyond the supposed limitations of this world.! Thus this system of truth was written by eighteen Sages for each individual soul and shows the entire role of the soul from the beginning of time. Thus whoever is destined to look into the leaves will find their way to a Nadi reader of their own accord. The very word Nadi in Tamil means destined to come on own accord. Thus the enlightened Sages were instrumental in chronicling spiritual information onto these palm leaves for the benefit of humankind. Therefore Nadi 'strology is a means to show us where we went wrong in respect of our duties why we are e(periencing the difficulties that we are having and offers a solution as to how to resolve these problems. )urthermore these ancient beings also set out to reveal a method by which each soul could discover the e(istence of *od in this diverse universe. They knew that a +ivine power e(isted which was an infinite form of energy that e(isted in all creation. $onse%uently they set about putting into place the prescribed paths of karma and devotion so that all human beings could have a guiding light to reali&e their true spiritual natures. The Sages recogni&ed the oneness of both science and spirituality, 'nd -ust as students of science today know that atoms are the basic unit of every substance the ancient Sages recogni&ed that the +ivine was present as the atom in the microcosm and as the largest of the large in the macrocosm. Thus they believed that if you could understand this concept of the atom you could in turn understand the unity within everything.

PREFACE T./ .01'N 2/3N* is considered the highest amongst all beings. 3n 'di Sankaras words hesays 45nly through god6s grace may we obtain the three rarest gifts7 human birth the longing for liberation and discipleship to an illumined teacher.89 The Human Birth 5ne needs to understand the reason for his or her birth as a human being. .e needs to know the mission that he has to accomplish in this world. .e needs to prepare this body so that god is received into this body. *od then resides in this body in every cell and atom and brings changes to this body. The changes take place internally which slowly influences ones outer appearances thoughts and the way one sees things. Swami 1uktananda in his book "./:/ ':/ ;50 *53N*# - ' *03+/ T5 T./ S<3:3T0'= >50:N/; published by S;+' )oundation 9?@? says 9 3n an article that 3 read some time ago the author mentions 'di Sankara having said 45nly through gods grace may we obtain the three rarest gifts7 human birth the longing for liberation and discipleship to an illumined teacher AguruB.8 Sankara is probably the greatest intellectual 3ndia has produced. 'lthough a staunch defender of -nana as the only way of liberation he composed poems prayers and songs to the gods principally Shiva. <erhaps his loveliest prayer is this one 4)orgive me Shiva my three great sins. 3 came on a pilgrimage to Cashmir forgetting that you are omnipresent; in thinking about you 3 forget that you are beyond thought in praying to you 3 forget that you are beyond words.8 3n another article the author says Shantideva the eight century 3ndian saint wrote these human leisure opportunities and faculties are very rare to obtain and easily lost; if one s%uanders the chance to fulfill the aim of human life how will such an opportunity arise again# .uman birth is a rare gift for only as a human can you be devoted to god the creator. The body is the vehicle for longevity while the spirit is the vehicle for immortality. The soul yearns to be free and through our

becoming aware of this we undergo what the mystics call awakening where we then begin to center our life on a high spiritual ideal. ' new aspiration is born in the soul which frees the need of a larger draught of air a more e(pansive hori&on and which desires direct contact with the indefinite e(istence. 3n order to attain the highest illumination we all have to pass through a spiritual birth. 1an as a creature brought into being out of nothing certainly is at the mercy of his creator. 1an as a spirit by becoming spiritually conscious he can control his destiny. The self is not known through the study of the scriptures or through the subtlest intellect or through much learning; but he who longs for him knows him. .e makes us dead to our own e(istence and alive to his own. *od appears when the ego dies. @ )or so many years you have been living in the awareness 3 am an individual and for this reason it is very difficult for you to immediately accept the awareness 3 am god. ;ou have been filling your mind with negative thoughts and feelings about other people and about yourself thinking that you are small that you are weak that you are sinful. ;ou have spent your life trapped in limited identification. This is ego the sense of limited individuality which has trapped you for innumerable lifetimes. The Swami in T./ </:)/$T :/='T35NS.3< published by S;+' )oundation 9?@D %uotes <oet Saint Cabir Kabir wrote, As long as I was looking for you, I did not see you. I went from door to door knocking, yet none of the doors was yours. I looked for you on so many paths, yet none of them led to your court. However, when I received Ramananda s grace, when guru Ramananda erased me and I became completely pure, I saw that you were behind me like my shadow. !herever I went, you were there before me." Similarly Sankara prays 4)orgive me Siva my three great sins. 3 came on a pilgrimage to Cashmir forgetting that you are omnipresent; 3n thinking about you 3 forget that you are beyond thought; 3n praying to you 3 forget that you are beyond words8. 3n E03/T 13N+ )/':=/SS ./':T - T./ T'53ST <'T. T.:50*. ST:/SS F S<3:3T0'=3T; by 2rian =uke Seaward published by >ohn "iley F Sons 3nc. .oboken New >ersey GHHD Teilhard de $hardin is %uoted "e are not humans having a spiritual e(perience. 3nstead we are spirits having a human e(perience. I..earthly e(istence is enshrouded in many veils of illusion. 3t

is a brave soul on a noble adventure who attempts to lift these veils. .... 3f you recogni&e that you are indeed a spirit on a human path then every situation that you encounter will be a learning e(perience. This is how consciousness evolves. The drive that inspires the human -ourney is a desire to have this view of life - a clearer understanding of lifes mystery and role or purpose in it. 3n */1S ):51 2.'*'J'N published by Sri :amanasramam GHHG 2hagavan :amana says to a devotee who was praying that she should have more fre%uent visions of Siva 4Surrender to .im and abide by .is "ill whether .e appears or disappears; await .is pleasure. 3f you ask .im to do as you like it is not surrender but command to *od. ;ou cannot have .im obey you and yet think you have surrendered. .e knows what is best and when and how to do it. .is is the burden. ;ou have no longer any cares. 'll your cares are .is. Such is surrender. That is bhakti.8 ? The Longing for Liberation The body is needed to reali&e god. There is the common believe that the soulK atmaK -ivatma unites with god or paramatma after death of this body. .owever Saint :amalingam of Jadalur South 3ndia A9@GL -9@MNB says otherwise; there is no union with god after death. The union has to happen right now in this body in this very birth. The sidhas having e(perimented on themselves and with the blessing and the guidance of god have proofed that this body of ours need not drop dead at the end of its lifespan. Sidhas are believed to be living until this day. Now how did they do it# This yearning for liberation which leads eventually to the yearning for god reali&ation appears when one starts to consider all that is being seen sensed heard touched and felt is not permanent. 5ne then looks for T.'T which is permanent. .e then discovers from one already on the path to god reali&ation that what he is searching for that which is permanent is the bliss that is derived through devotion to god and eventually in reali&ation of god. So can we know the very e(istence of god or of his nature at least# 3n :/3N$':N'T35N7 T./ S50=S S/$:/T >50:N/; O ):51 'T1' O The 2haktivedanta 2ook Trust The 3nternational Society for Crishna $onsciousness is written 't the time of death the soul is considered to enter a new body either immediately or after a lapse of time. .indu te(ts mention that there are @NHHHH species of life forms beginning with the a%uatics and culminating in the human. 'll species are manifested in the early stages of cosmic creation when the living entities AsoulsB are impregnated within material nature. These indestructible and eternal souls gradually evolve through the different species or types of material

bodies beginning with microbes and amoebas rising through the fish plants insects reptiles birds and animals to the human and superhuman AdemigodsB species. So the evolution process is really an evolution of consciousness. The different categories of material bodies AspeciesB e(ist because there are millions of categories of material desires. These different life forms are nothing more than machines designed by the material energy to fulfill different material desires. 5ne has to remember and ponder over the blessedness that the human being has gained for it is the human who is offered the chance to become free from the cycle of birth and death and no other organism or living form. "e should not fail to make use of this human birth or human form to find ways to break this cycle of birth and death and to achieve liberation. "e have to appreciate this very birth and take steps to be liberated in this very birth for we might not get another chance to be born as a human for years to come. 5ne could descend into the lower species. 9H 5ur entanglement in the material sphere is the result of an unending chain of actions and reactions developed in this and previous human lives. This is known in Sanskrit as karma a law of nature analogous to the modern scientific principle of action and reaction. 5nly the human species however is sub-ect to the subtle but e(act law for only in the human form does one have advanced intelligence and freedom of choice. 3n lower- than- human life forms the soul is covered by much grosser forms of mind and body; therefore the living beings within such bodies are totally under the control of nature. 2ecause beasts microbes insects and plants do nothing more than automatically serve their instincts they are not held responsible for their activities. They do not incur karmic reactions. 3n one human life we can create sufficient karma to keep ourselves entangled in the cycle of birth and death for thousands of lives. 's human beings we also have the rare opportunity to become spiritually enlightened with transcendental knowledge and the chance to break the endless cycle of reincarnation. The term reincarnation means that 3 am a spirit soul who has entered a body. .owever there will be suffering. These sufferings include birth death old age and disease. 3t can take many lives or you can do it in one lifetime. 3n T./ 0=T31'T/ 'NT31'T/:3'= <':T3$=/ - ):51 'T1' O The 2haktivedanta 2ook Trust The 3nternational Society for Crishna $onsciousness is written The soul known in Sanskrit as atma being far more subtle than matter endures the death e(perience without being harmed or in-ured. Nor is it sub-ect to the laws of birth growth and deterioration. 5ne personal form of god is the super soul dwelling within the hearts of all living beings; witnessing every thought and action awarding the living beings the result of their karma arranging for them to accept an appropriate physical body lifetime after lifetime. 5ne needs to recogni&e the true path. The path of the sidhas is where one cares for this body to

reali&e this mission of receiving god in him or her and eventually merge with god. Therefore for one who dies a mortal death he has not accomplished this mission successfully i.e. he has failed in his mission. 3t is a sad day then. "e should shed tears for him for not fulfilling gods wish. *od wishes everyone of his child to reali&e the truth that this body is immortal and take steps to prepare it to unite with him while still alive in this body. )or one who has achieved this union we can re-oice at his or her achievement. Saint :amalingam goes away from the normal e(planation given where the soul unites with god upon death. 3t is usually thought that this union takes place eventually with or without effort the time taken depending on the amount of effort directed towards it. .owever Saint :amalingam says we have to bring god into us. That means preparing this body to receive god and eventually place him permanently in the various organs itself. That is the only way to remain alive and overcome 99 death. 3f you do not drop death you will not be born again. Saint :amalingam did prove it by demateriali&ing and merging with god. Saint :amalingam had achieved this feat. .e had prepared himself. .e had purified his thoughts and body. .e had performed deeds that drove away ignorance and brought him merits. .e had yearned for god with utmost passion and god had to submit to him finally. *od came into him; into his body; into every cell and atom. Then changes started to take place in his body. /ventually he demateriali&ed into =3*.T and merged with god. 3t is ama&ing to know that he made it happen right here and as recent as in 9@MN. =et us recall the message of the worlds great upanishadic Sages retold by Swami Satprakashananda in his book 1/+3T'T35N - 3TS <:5$/SS <:'$T3$/ 'N+ $0=13N'T35N published by Sri :amakrishna 1ath $hennai +eath is not your final end. +o not give way to despair. ;ou are not destined to be sub-ect to this play of dualities forever. There is the Supreme 2eing The very perfection of e(istence "hich you can reach in this mortal life and where you can find life beyond death

and complete fulfillment of your ideal. Therein is the culmination of your knowledge Therein is the consummation of your love Therein is complete rest and therein dwells unruffled peace. There shines the light that never fails 'nd there abides -oy unbounded. .ow can man reach that# Through this very life 2y regulating this mortal life he can reach the immortal. Discipleship to an Illumined Teacher 3n a biography of ;ogi :amsuratkumar ;5*3 :'1S0:'TC01': T./ *5+$.3=+ 5) T3:0J'NN'1'='3 by Truman $aylor "adlington the author writes The master ASwami :amdasB knew the Truth and the "ay and knew as well that there was nothing he could say to provide a short cut for the disciple A;ogi :amsuratkumarB. 2y the law of occult causation all progress on the path must be won by the individual through personal effort. Thus one who knows the way cannot speak; understanding that the aspirant constructs the path much like the spider spins its web out of its own being. 3n the relationship established between ;ogi :amsuratkumar and Swami :amdas there was little philosophical thought or practical guidance given. The rapport between the master and the disciple was on much subtler levels involving not so much principles of truth as the use of higher forces in bringing about actual transformation. 9G 'nother paragraph in the same biography describes 'fter lifetimes of seeking out worldly e(periences and understanding a man turns him back to the phenomenal worlds and begins to search his inmost being in an effort to reali&e the source of spirit from whence he sprang and to which he must return. *radually through the constant impact of dull and unadventurous lives he becomes insensitive to the vibrations of the outer physical worlds within which he is a functioning entity. .e becomes aware of the interior spiritual vibrations and proceeds to -ourney inward to the kingdom of the soul. The outer world loses its desirability whereas the formless spirit nature assumes paramount importance. The individual reoriented himself to the higher mind and thus begins to touch upon greater awareness. ;et with his sensitivity still in but an embryonic state spiritual struggle hardships and merciless trials of endurance assail him. The waters of purification crash down upon him and threaten to carry him deep beneath the surface of the waves. 2ut with the advent of soul consciousness he stabili&es himself in spiritual life wherein he is responsive to the vibration of the subtler realms and directed by the purposes of the soul. The rapport between guru and disciple is on a much subtler level indeed as mentioned by the author of the biography on the ;ogi :amsuratkumar involving not so much principles of truth but the use of higher forces in this case the workings of the sidhas in bringing about actual transformation.

:amsuratkumar once e(plained that some days all was clear to him and he felt as if he was standing in the highest heaven and he knew he was a son of god. "hile at other times he was dragged down from pure ecstasy into the depths of abysmal gloom. 5n the sub-ect of subtle forces it was said that 2hagawan Nithyananda of *aneshpuri made a similar statement towards the end of his life. 3t appears that there were many signs of his impending passing but his devotees were mostly unaware of them. 5ne-woman devotee properly interpreted some of the signs and was distraught to learn of his plans to depart. .e said to her 4"hy are you crying# +o not cry. 1ore is possible on the subtle than on the gross.8 )rom the book +3J3N/ *:'$/ T.:50*. T5T'= S/=)-S0::/N+/: by +.$. +esai 2hagavan :amana read out the following %uotations by <aul 2runton +ivine *race is a manifestation of the cosmic free will in operation. 3t can alter the course of events in a mysterious manner through its own unknown laws which are superior to all natural laws and can modify the latter by interaction. 3t is the most powerful force in the universe. 3t descends and acts only when it is invoked by total self-surrender. 3t acts from within because god resides in the .eart of all beings. 3ts whisper can be heard only in a mind purified by self-surrender and prayer. 3t is a descent of god into the souls &one of awareness. 3t is a visitation of force une(pected and unpredictable. 3t is a voice spoken out of cosmic silence - 3t is $osmic "ill which can perform authentic miracles under its own laws. 9L 3n truth god and the guru are not different. >ust as the prey which has fallen into the -aws of a tiger has no escape so those who have come within the ambit of the gurus gracious look will be saved by the guru and will not get lost; yet each one should by his own effort pursue the path shown by god or guru and gain release. /ach seeker after god should be allowed to go his own way the way for which he alone may be built AmeantB. 3t will not do to convert him to another path by violence. The guru will go with the disciple in his own path and then gradually turn him onto the Supreme path at the ripe moment. Swami 1uktananda in T./ </:)/$T :/='T35NS.3< published by S;+' )oundation 9?@D says ;ou will never hear the guru critici&e you. 3nstead when you are in his company you will e(perience your own divinity. ;ou will never be found guilty in the gurus eyes. ;ou will find in them only the praise of your hidden inner god. Be Grateful *. Jalmikanathan in his book 1'C/:S 5) 3N+3'N =3T/:'T0:/-:'1'=3N*'1 published by Sahitya 'kademi Ae-book at http7KKwww.vallalar.orgB traces Saint :amalingams -ourney on the

pathway to god dividing it into three portions -ourney on the purgative way -ourney on the illuminative way -ourney on the unitive way. .e e(plains further The purgative way is that part of the long path which one treads towards the godhead and in which one purges oneself of all desires and attachments of all imperfections of all acts of commission and omission of shortcomings in renunciation of shortcomings in the total love of god in the passion for the apprehension of the godhead. The illuminative way is that part of the path which comes after the purgative way and in which one gains illumination knowledge and gnosis. The unitive way is that part of the pathway in which the pilgrim marches on with buoyant and -oyous steps filled with hope and freed from doubt or misconception. The -ourney is characteri&ed by a sense of urgency. The pilgrim in this part of his -ourney begins to walk fast then breaks into a loping trot finally gallops on with increasing tempo towards the beckoning smile and the outstretched arms and is soon locked in an eternal embrace with the beloved the eternal being the godhead the ground of all being. The -ourney on the unitive way is composed of several factors of e(perience. :ecollection and %uiet contemplation ecstasy and rapture dark night of the soul and unitive life.