Hinduism
Agastiyar - versatile Sithar
Thilaka V. Wijeyaratnam
Agastiyar was a Sithar spoken of even in the Vedhas. So his period
would have been over 3,000 years. He was a versatile person - a poet,
sithar, rishi, sage, native physician, an alchemist and was the head of
the first Sangam established by the Pandya King. He was also a
householder - his wife being Lobamutharai. But he was a hermit - a
sanyasi all the same. He, like the other sithar consumed ‘Kayakalpa’ - a
substance that if taken would extend one’s life. That was the cause for
the sithars to live through many eras.
When physicians in Europe were bleeding patients to rid of bad blood
to cure them of illnesses, Agastiyar had gone a long way with herbal
treatment for illnesses. He was the one who founded the “Chitha Vaidyam”
or “Ayulvedham”.
Apart from nature cures, Agastiyar like other sithars moved among
men, teaching them to follow the righteous path and be good, honest and
honourable and be religious.
God Muruga Himself had preached to him at a phone called Ilanchi.
Agastiyar was supposed to have visited Indonesia, Borneo, Cambodia and
Malaysia.
He was also an astrologer. He had written about individuals on olas
and even now astrologers read the “Kandam” of a person by referring to
the ola scripts. He also contributed to Tamil Language, especially a
research in Tamil Garmmar.
He not only wrote about Tamil Language and grammar, but also he wrote
on topics like, native treatment, the herbs concerned, alchemy, plant
variety, Yoga, Magic and Astrology. He was a versatile sage and scholar.
Many were his disciples.
Among them were the Sithars - Pulathiyar and Theraiyar. Even
Tholhapiyar had been one of his students. He also knew the past, present
and the future.
All were welcome to his ‘Ashram’ - hermitage. He allowed freedom of
worship in there.
Though he helped people to live healthily, he was not satisfied.
He asked God Muruga, “Is knowledge of health enough for the people?”
In other words he meant that people should be spiritually enhanced too.
God Muruga had imparted knowledge to him on the past, present and
future.
Agastiyar was consoled. Sithars like Thirumoolar, Pokar, and
Ramalinga Swamygal were there in the Kaliyugam to protect the people and
lead them on the spiritual way of life. In fact, Agastiyar was the
progenitor of the Sithar tradition.
His utterings are meaningful.
“Lead a noble life and occupy a high position in life.”
“Be humble. Avoid the paths to destruction - which are many on
earth.”
“Do not go after impermanent objects.”
“Realise the Truth - the Absolute Truth.”
“Don’t be taken up by flattery - people flatter you to reduce you for
nothing.”
“Control your anger.”
“Stand by your word of honour - do not betray the trust one has in
you.”
“Daily duties must be followed carefully.”
“Do not blunder.”
“Do not tell lies. Do not get involved in futile arguments.”
“Your soul must mature like the top-heavy sheaf of paddy.”
“The only way to reach spiritual enhancement is to keep your mind
pure.”
“If the mind is pure, mantras are not necessary,
If the mind is pure ‘pranayama’ is not necessary,
If the mind is pure your good state is guaranteed,
If the mind is pure mantras too will be effective.”
From this it is understood that if one wants to attain spiritual
maturity, only a pure mind is needed. None of the other exercises are
necessary. He says God Himself dwells in the heart of the man with a
pure, clean mind. If the mind is pure, the thoughts that arise in the
mind is also would be pure. Pure thoughts lead to good words. Good words
beget good actions. Thus a pure mind enables a person. Agastiyar also
knew in which hills, forests or mountains were medical herbs to cure a
particular illness. He was close with nature and was of the opinion that
nature has the remedy for all illnesses.
Agastiyar was a true Saivaite - a Siva worshipper. Legend has it that
Agastiyar on seeing many people suffer from various kinds of illnesses
had prayed to Mother Goddess - Parasakthi to tell him way to help these
stricken with ailments. The Goddess asked him to pray to God Siva to
find a remedy. He was awed at the thought of praying to God Siva. He
again pleaded with Mother Goddess to appeal to God Siva as a mother for
the sake of those whom He created.
And when Goddess Parvathy appealed to God Siva, He was supposed to
have told her in which forests, hills and mountains the herbs, varieties
of leaves and yams could be found to prepare native medicines to cure
all illnesses. That was how it is said in the book on Sithars, the
native medicine known as “Chitha Vaidyam” was introduced by Agastiyar
and other Sithars.
Yoga Swami of Yaalpaanam
K.S. Sivakumaran
Lankan Hindus of earlier generations might have heard of Yoga Swami
of Yaalpaanam. He was a sage who passed away in his 94th year in 1964.
We tend to recognize the greatness of people only after their demise.
But Yoga Swami was an exception. He was honoured in his time in his own
native land. He had a missionary life for nearly 65 years. Learned and
the uninitiated visited him to get his blessings.
The annual “Ther” chariot festival of Sri Sivasubramania
Swamy Kovil Bandaranayake Mawatha, Colombo took place
recently. The Kovil has two Ther chariots. Here the chariots
which were taken in procession around the streets of Colombo
City. Picture by A. Muduraveeran |
Swami Vivekananda of Bengal in India visited Yaalpaanam in
1897.Vivekananda was the deciple of the sage Ramakrishna under whose
name the Ramakrishna Mission all over the world functions. Vivekananda
mesmerized the Americans and the westerners with his famous Chicago
Oration explaining the Vedanta of the Hindus. I was overawed to notice a
street named after the great Vivekananda in the heart of Chicago when I
was living in the U.S. in the beginning of this century.
Vivekananda’s Lanka visit had inspired Yoga Swami who was maturing
spiritually. At this point let me digress a little. However much on
might have progressed in spiritual life the initiation by a Guru is a
must.
The greatest sages and intellectual giants had all their Gurus. Young
people may not be impressed by the simplicity of the Gurus. Some of the
Gurus might not have been literate. They might have even classified
these saints as men fit to be sent to a lunatic asylum. Yoga Swami too
had a Guru in the name of Chellappah Swamy. We learn that the latter was
labelled a ‘mad man’ then. But Yoga Swami’s teachings and activities
were akin to the Zen sect of Buddhism say scholars.
It is revealing to note that Yoga Swamy was born a Catholic, but he
abandoned all formal religions. He followed the path of the great sages
transcending all forms and names. He was a true ascetic at heart and
followed the middle path. He was an outright ‘Athuvidhist.’
He taught Monism (There is only one). At the same time he encouraged
Duvidham (Dualism) as a stepping stone to that abstract philosophy of
Monism. In this respect his philosophy can be linked with that of
Thaayumaanvar of the 17th century. I am tempted to compare
Thaayumaanavar with the metaphysical poets of the West.
Like Mahavira who was a contemporary of Siddhartha, Yoga Swami too
might be considered a fatalist since he felt complete surrender or
unalterable natural law of evolution to the almighty.
At a lower plane Yoga Swamy was active in politics, the growth of
Hindu culture, and propagandist against alcoholism. Among his followers
were the German Swamy and the son of Lord Soulbery who was the first
governor-general in independent Ceylon.
This article is based on a booklet authored by the late S.
Ambihaipahan
The Essentials of Hinduism
Continued from Nov. 06
Before answering this question, we must ask ourselves another
question-”Why should we reach God?” To enable us to answer this question
we have to make some enquiry about:
1. The nature of God,
2. The nature of ourselves, and
3. The nature of our present condition.
(1) God is a Being beyond human comprehension. We gather from the
‘Sastras that He is spiritual in form’. He is almighty, omnipresent,
just, all-merciful and ever-blissful. He is the fountain of eternal
heavenly happiness, and He is a goal from which there is no return, when
once reached. He is always full of love towards the souls.
(2) Souls are themselves spiritual in form and in their pure state
are fully capable of enjoying the eternal heavenly happiness in the
presence of the great God. They are, so to say, of the nature of
crystal, ever ready to receive the reflection of the object before which
they are placed.
(3) In their present state, they are merged in ignorance, covered up
by the veil of Pasa. They have therefore no idea of the exalted nature
of God nor of the relation that exists between them and God. If they
merge out of their present state of ignorance, they will find themselves
in the presence of God and will be in the enjoyment of heavenly
happiness.
Systematic instruction
Religion provides the necessary means to remove our ignorance and to
enjoy heavenly happiness in the presence of God. The question may now be
asked whether a religion is necessary to reach the presence of God.
We know that even in ordinary worldly matters, we are invariably in
need of systematic instruction imparted by competent teachers on
accepted textbooks.
Personal endeavours
Can we then dispense with the services of a guide and depend on our
personal endeavours for the securing of heavenly beatitude which is
beyond the range of our practical knowledge in our present state of
existence? A course of instruction on the subject is indispensable, and
it is this instruction that is called our guide or religion. We may,
without the help of a religion, try to conform ourselves to what are
known as the moral and social laws of our country, but such a trial will
not be of much avail.
Need guidance
The moral laws themselves have to be explained to us and we must be
instructed on the necessity of conforming ourselves to those laws. We
cannot depend on mere self-help for such instruction: and even supposing
that we do not require any help in the observance of our moral and
social duties, heavenly beatitude or our salvation in its proper sense,
cannot be secured without the help of an efficient guide. The observance
of moral rules is only a preliminary step necessary to qualify us for
receiving instructions on the method of securing heavenly beatitude.
Heavenly beatitude is a grand realization which it is not in our
power to adequately describe, and it would be absurd on our part to
attempt at securing it without a religion to guide us.
Mystic region
Heaven is a mystic region of which we have not the remotest idea, and
can we expect to reach that region with our human exertions? It is a
region that cannot be identified by location, but we can only say, if at
all we venture a description of it, that it is a stage in which we enjoy
God.
To attain that stage, we must be made to know God, feel God and
realize God. That is our enjoyment of God - our enjoyment of heavenly
bliss. Such an enjoyment cannot be realized by us with our personal
endeavours, groping as we are, in the labyrinth of intellectual
darkness.
Labyrinths
We are covered, nay, twisted round in a very intricate manner, by a
thick veil of material sheath: and inside that sheath we are again
entwined by an equally intricate astral sheath, and there is a third
sheath further inside which is the cause of the two outer sheaths.
We have to be conducted through the labyrinths of these various
sheaths and the numerous obstructions caused by them and led before the
presence of God.
The essentials of Hinduism written by Mudaliyar Sabaratnam has been
described as one of the earlier works in English that gives an
exposition of Hinduism in the light of Saiva Siddhanta.
To be continued
Ramboda Sri Hanuman temple worshipped by Buddhists
Chelvatamby Maniccavasagar
Sri Hanuman Temple at Ramboda, a hamlet 4,000 feet above sea level
surrounded by tea estates in the district of Nuwara Eliya, is popular
and is a miraculous temple and thousands of devotees both Buddhists and
Hindus visit this temple daily particularly during Full Moon Poya Days.
Sri Hanuman Temple at Ramboda, |
More than 5,000 devotees from all parts of Sri Lanka visit this
temple to receive the divine blessings of Sri Hanuman at this temple and
all are served with ‘Annathanam’ mid day meals.
Prompted by the inspiring faith in the divine, spontaneous unselfish
urge and truly voluntary effort combined with spell-binding united
action, cutting across religious denominations and political ideologies
an idea to build a temple for Sri Hanuman at Ramboda came to the mind of
Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda when he visited Ramboda a few years ago.
This village was considered to be the place where Sri Hanuman set
foot in his search for Sita. Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda was
tremendously fascinated by the scenic beauty, serenity of the location
that he felt that Ramboda was ideal.
The Chinmaya Mission of Sri Lanka with the consent and blessings of
Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda purchased a plot of 10 acres where this Sri
Hanuman Temple is presently situated.
Sri Hanuman is the embodiment and personification of physical
prowess, of mental and spiritual discipline, intellectual uprightness,
emotional balance and moral splendour.
According to Sage Valmiki, Sri Hanuman is the best of all characters.
Hanuman represented the most cultured youth of his times. He expressed
maturity, intelligence, alertness, calmness, smartness, nobility,
humility, honesty, boldness, devotion, respect, courtesy, all bundled up
together.
Sri Hanuman was praised as the best of the servants by Sri Rama. He
was considered the best among men who did much more than the different
tasks entrusted by his master. Even as a messenger of Sri Rama, Sri
Hanuman was very competent in communicating with Sita in Asoka Forest
and devised some means so that Sita may listen to his words without any
fear.
He addressed her in gentle words praising the noble qualities of Sri
Rama. Hearing these words from Sri Hanuman, Sita was extremely delighted
at the news of Sri Rama. To Sita, the heroic Hanuman appeared like the
Asoka Flowers and she was deeply amazed and took Sri Hanuman to be a
formidable being.
Sri Hanuman, the effulgent son of Wind God humbly approached Sita,
worshipped her and said that he had come as a messenger at Sri Rama’s
command. Hanuman fully realizing Sita’s thoughts about Sri Rama, began
to speak in words pleasant to the ear, causing immense delight to her.
In order to create confidence in Sita’s mind, Sri Hanuman gave a ring
with Rama’s name engraved on it. Sri Hanuman said that Sri Rama has made
it and he had brought it for her confidence.
He comforted Sita by saying that her sorrow would soon be over.
Undoubtedly Sri Hanuman was an envoy par excellence. Indeed, Sri Hanuman
is one of perfection, personification of erudition, culture, competency
and efficiency.
The President of the Chinmaya Mission of Sri Lanka S. Mahenthiran,
Gowri Mahenthiran, Sivanandini Duraiswamy, Somasunderam and several
others are rendering remarkable spiritual service to the devotees both
Buddhists and Hindus irrespective of caste, religion or creed.
The consecration ceremony (Kumbabishekam) of Sri Hanuman temple at
Ramboda took place on April 8, 2001 and the ceremony was performed by
Sironmani Shivachchariya Chakrawarthy Kiriya Kalanithi Navaliyoor
Viswanatha Kurukkal.
The head of the World Chinmaya Mission Ven. Swami Thejomayananda gave
his blessings for this consecration ceremony.
Sri Hanuman was a perfect servant. Though, he accomplished so much
for the sake of Sri Rama, he was utterly devoid of vanity. Humility and
self effacement were his hallmark and his utter devotion to Sri Rama
will be cherished till the end of this world. The deeds done by Sri
Hanuman, none else in this world could even conceive of attempting.
Crossing the sea and entering Lanka and accomplishing the task set by
Rama, not only fully, but beyond the hope of all should be really
commended.
Virtues are the ornaments of a cultured person. Sri Hanuman
exemplified all the good virtues and ever remained as the servant of Sri
Rama.
Let us all worship the Sri Hanuman temple at Ramboda and receive his
divine blessings. |