In The Midst of Sidhas

In The Midst Of The Siddhas

19^th Sept 2005 - I woke up at 4.40 am. Nadarajah was sound asleep on the concrete bench outside the peedham. I sat to meditate. Eventually one by one each disciple woke up. Tavayogi and I were served milk. Throughout my stay at Kallaru I notice Nadarajah, prepares two tumblers of milk in the mornings and the evenings before bed, but serves it only to Tavayogi and me. I felt odd that he should ignore the rests but did not question him. Tavayogi invited me along on his usual morning walks and bath at the river. He threw his shawl over to me asking me to cover my body as it was a cold morning. We came down the slope onto a railway track, stepped on a path that took us to a road before passing some homes in this small village known as Agathiyar Vanam. This road led us to the Ooti-Methupalayam road. Tavayogi pointed to me the place where he met Sage Pampatti Sidha on one of his regular morning walks. The sage had talked to him about an hour in Telugu before eventually revealing himself. We walked up until the Forest Rangers posts and turned back to the ashram. We then collected our clothing and headed down the railway track again for the river  for our morning bath. On the way to the river Tavayogi told me Sage Agathiyar appeared to him the night before and asked what he (Tavayogi) was going to do for me? Tavayogi in return asks of the sage what he was supposed to do, to which the sage replied he would let Tavayogi know the day after.

At the river we placed our sandals aside and stepped into the river to wash our cloths. After having our bath and drying ourselves, Tavayogi decided that we take another route back to the Peedham. He went back across the river for my sandals even though I told him I shall get them myself. Along the way back, Tavayogi showed the spot on the riverbanks where elephants had come for a drink. The tracks were still fresh on the riverbank. He showed me an inscription on a wall officiating the opening of a clinic  with the words Agathiyar Vanam on it. Tavayogi apparently during his days of wandering was told in his nadi to set up his ashram at a spot where he would find this inscription. Tavayogi went in search of this place that eventually brought him to this village. He has since then been in Kallaru for the past five years.  The aborigines settled here later. The Indian Government is currently in the process of building homes for theses aborigines beside the Peedham. (These homes are now completed)

Prayers at the Peedham were simple. Tavayogi lighted a camphor and started singing a couple of hymns on the sidhas, followed by the rests of the disciples singing the sidha potri hymns. After prayers, breakfast consisting of idli and sambar was served by the ever faithful Nadarajah.

Later in private, I showed Tavayogi my written copy of the nadi reading. He read it. He pondered on the places that I had to go as mentioned in the nadi. He then said, “We shall think about it”.

Sivan Malai And Sivavakiyar’s Cave

That morning, the first day of my stay in Kallaru, Tavayogi asked if I wanted to go to Ooti or Sivan Malai. I chosed Sivan Malai. An elderly man who had come to the ashram for the Pornami prayers and had stayed back, wanted to follow us. We left for Sivan Malai in Kangayam at 10 am, passing through Tavayogi’s hometown Tirupor. We reached Sivan Malai and had Lord Murugan’s darshan. Sage Sivavakiyar had meditated in a cave beside the temple on this hill. The temple authorities had sealed off the entrance to the cave. We meditated at this entrance which was adjacent to the main shrine of Lord Murugan. Very strong winds prevailed at this locality. As we circled the temple which was atop one of the numerous hills in Coimbatore, we were practically blown off our feet. We left at 1.45 pm. We passed Vathamalai Vinayagar temple.  Tavayogi told me Pothigai, Courtallam, Kallaru, and Sathuragiri were places where Sage Agathiyar had set his foot before. We stopped for lunch at Kangayam.

Uthiyore And Sage Konganar’s Cave

We came to Uthiyore where we walked up a flight of stairs to a deserted Murugan temple. We crossed the hills passing through undergrowth, tredding the rocky terrain to the cave where Sage Konganar had meditated. Tavayogi told me Sage Konganar installed the deity at the present day site of the famous Vengadasalapathy temple in Tirupathy. Strong winds blew as we scaled the mountain on our way to Sage Konganar’s cave with Tavayogi saying, “Right, hold one, we are coming” and turning around to me he added, “They are inviting us” (refering to the sidhas). After climbing a couple of hillocks we stood at an opening to a cave formed by several hugh boulders. There were a few compartments in this cave. We crawled into a opening that turned out to be just large enough for both Tavayogi and me to sit. This apparently was the cave that was occupied by Tavayogi when he was roaming the length and breadth of India in search of answers.

Tavayogi broke down in tears as he started to sing some hymns on Sage Agathiyar. I cried too. Then Tavayogi took me to the adjacent cave where Sage Konganar had sat in meditation. He slided down a small opening between several boulders to reach a large cave followed by me and the elderly man. Here as elsewhere Tavayogi sang a couple of hymns on Sage Agathiyar. He then asked us both to recite the Sidhar Potri hymn. The elderly man was well versed in singing this hymn and was reciting it at a fast beat track. As I could not keep up with him, I chose to let him sing alone while I closed my eyes in meditation. Upon opening my eyes Tavayogi was holding the sacred ash in a piece of paper in front of me. He applied the ash on my forehead and the old man and gave us some to bring back with us. After a photography session we prepared to leave. That’s when I asked Tavayogi why he was leaving behind the sacred ash. He questioned me if I had brought the ash along. I answered in the negative. We both looked at the old man who accompanied us from the Peedham. He answered he did not bring it along either. That was puzzling. If we did not bring it along, from where did it appear? I was pretty sure it was not there when we stepped into the cave. What we saw on arrival was a photo of Lord Rama and Sita and remnants of charred firewood and bricks. Then Tavayogi reveals, ‘The Sidhas had come. They had blessed us, by showering flowers on us". "They were extremely happy", he added. He then asked me, “Do you now understand the reason for your journey?” Although I nodded my head to his question I was still puzzled. We started back the trail into a small township where Prem was waiting and drove towards our next destination, Chennimalai.

Chennimalai And Sage Punakeeswarar’s Cave

Chennimalai was where the samadhi of Sage Punakeeswarar is situated. We passed through a temple ground to reach the samadhi on top of the hill behind this temple. There was a narrow opening in the rockface, which Tavayogi tried to enter but could not. It was pitch dark inside and we decided we would sit outside the opening and meditate. On the way down the hill we had to come around the temple as the temple was closed for the night. Monkeys had begun to gather here for the night. Later I came to understand that the Kanda Shasti Kavacham was first offered to the world in this temple by Balan Devaraya Swami. The sun had already set as I returned to Kallaru in joy after having seen the samadhis of the sidhas, thanks to Tavayogi.

On the way back we stopped at a Mariamman Temple near Methupalayam where Tavayogi had taken shelter when he lost his eyesight earlier in life.[1] The temple was closed for the night. This temple was famous because the Goddess here had cured devotees who had lost their eyesight including Tavayogi.