Siva Shankar Baba knows that he is a Siddha Purusha. But how will you understand this? What is the yardstick with which you will try to analyze whether I am Siddha purusha or not?

A Gnani knows himself. Once he has realized himself, he worships himself knowing that he and God are one and the same. Vallalar sings, ‘My Lord, My Master, the Ruler of my soul pervaded my spirit; when I think of this, springs of bliss gush forth from within my being. How do I ever explain the bliss I experience?’ When Siva Shankar Baba states this, you find it difficult to accept it. Whereas there were so many Mahaans before our times, who have shared their moments of bliss. I am not singled out for divine bliss. You too are welcome to it. You have not sought it, so you have not attained it. Seek and you shall attain. Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the doors shall open. You have not asked, so you have not obtained. What can I do about that? You are frittering away your lifetime in chasing material needs. Is life to be spent on materialistic pleasures? When will you start seeking that Lord who is the only One worthy of being sought?

Adi Sankara came across a tiny puddle of water in which some fish were struggling. He requested the passers by for some water. They replied, ‘Don’t you have any other work? Drought has led us to struggle for the past ten years for drinking water. We need to walk ten kilometres for fetching drinking water. What do you know of our problems?’ Adi Sankara asked for the way, walked the ten kilometres to the pond, fetched water and poured water in the puddle. The fish jumped happily in the pond. Immediately the clouds darkened and there was a heavy thundershower. Adi Sankara told the villagers, ‘Here is such an easy way to appease the Rain God. And you tell me that you have been suffering for the past ten years without water.’ This is the ecstatic height of love that a Mahaan can attain.

Only when such experiences happen, we start understanding spirituality. Scriptural knowledge is of no help. You do not become a spiritualist with half-baked knowledge you dish out of books. Experience is the best guide. There is no relationship between scriptural knowledge and spirituality.

By experience, one can attain the state of Kannappa Nayanar who was illiterate. He is now offered a sanctum on par with Lord Siva, all because of his love for the Lord. Spirituality does not result from knowledge. It is ‘Valarivu’ that is always existing within you. And love is the only device using which you can realize the force within. One becomes a Gnani from what he has learnt of life. And this learning comes from within. It surfaces only when you fight against the human tendency to be appreciated for your knowledge. You must decide that you really don’t care whether you are handed bouquets or brickbats. Neither praise nor criticism affects a Gnani. Whether you garland or strike, a Gnani neither rejoices nor grieves. Neither joy nor sorrow affects him.

Once you attain this state, you can accomplish anything you want. Once your thoughts are focussed and strong, whatever you think, happens. You can convert a mud house into a golden tower. You can cure a sick person. But you cannot use this for your selfish needs or boast about it. You cannot use it on yourself. A bank manager can sanction you a loan of five lakhs. That is his job. But if he takes thirty thousand rupees to pay for his son’s education, he will be behind bars.

A Mahaan gains so much power; but he cannot use it for himself; if he does, it becomes a misuse. God punishes him. A Mahaan is powerful enough to help you. But he needs to test you if you are worthy of his help. He has to make you fit enough to receive His Grace. Fresh milk turns rancid if the container is not cleaned properly. You are vessels. I have to cleanse you of your worldly karmas before you benefit by my Grace. Spirituality is the process of cleansing - Doing away with the negative karmas and refining the good ones. Otherwise one desire will just lead to another. You will complain of monetary problems. Once it is solved, you will squander it away on unnecessary habits. It will come to naught.

A true Gnani attempts to transform you from your very roots. He does not stand to gain anything from you. His task is to transform you. Spirituality does not feed your desires. Spirituality uproots your desires.

I should not give you something just because you ask for it. Like a mother who spanks her child for trying to catch hold of a scorpion, a Mahaan advises you, diverts your attention from bad to good; if necessary, he will take you to the right path by force.

All and sundry cannot do this for you. If someone’s interest is your money, he will predict that it is your good time, or praise you to the skies or scare you. I do not indulge in any of these pranks, because there is nothing I want. Someone brings me food; I eat. If not, I will fast. It does not make any difference to me. I do not have any craving or yearning.

Alexander expressed his desire to meet the enlightened Dandemus. He sent his general to fetch Dandemus. Accordingly the general went to the prophet and told him, ‘Alexander the Great wants to meet you and has sent a palanquin to fetch you’. Dandemus replied, ‘If Alexander wants to meet me, let him come here’. The general was shocked, having been so long accustomed to people getting elated at being summoned by the emperor. The mystic said, ‘This tree offers me shade. The stream nearby gives me water. I eat the fruits and roots that nature has provided in abundance. I have no wants’. The general warned, ‘Alexander will behead you’, and the prophet laughed, ‘It is this body he will destroy, I can always assume another body’

This is the true state of a Siddha Purusha. He does not believe that the body is real. He is capable of taking on some other form. That is true liberation - Separating the spirit from the body in one’s lifetime. I am eternal. I have no end. Death is not the end of me. This is spirituality. You cannot destroy me. You can put an end to this body addressed as Sivashankaran. But you cannot destroy this inner body called Sivashankaram. I can take on some other form. This is what we call ‘Parakaaya Pravesham’. It is a siddhi. But I do not make use of it. This is a healthy body, so why should I discard it? I attained self-realization with this body as my vehicle, and God Graced this form with His Divine Presence. So I maintain myself well. As saints sang, ‘Liberate us from this cycle of births and deaths’ and again ‘If we can enjoy Your presence within us, then let us take more births’. Seems contradictory, but this is the bliss one attains from realizing God’s presence within.

As long as the body is used to satisfy materialistic urges and talking lies and inflicting verbal injuries on people, it is a bane to us. You surrender yourself to the Lord and He makes you His abode, then this physical form as the instrument becomes a boon. You will be able to see His Golden Lotus Feet, His winsome smile, His blazing (red) form. Then you will seek more births for the sake of retaining the Lord within. This is my state.

Whether you believe this or not, I am least bothered.Siva Shankar Baba has realized divinity. Will I have achieved this if I continued to be a businessman? Everything changes at some point. When God decides the time is ripe, He will sever all your bonds and make you His instrument. Then you will have no interest in material wealth, family etc. Thevaram sings that it is God who conquers us, experiences our karmas and makes us revel in thoughts of Him always. Then we constantly sing His glories.

Like the Saivite saint sings, ‘I wallowed in the mire like a stray dog. God bathed me in His eternal compassion and placed me on a pedestal’. Such exquisite expression!  They have recorded their experiences so beautifully in Thevaram, Thiruvachagam, and ThiruArutpa (Hymns in praise of the Lord). Unless people have undergone such experiences, they cannot sing of it.

‘Your love mellowed my heart, brightened the light within; the bliss of divine nectar pervaded my being. O my only treasure. O Lord! I constantly sang your eternal praise and have now attained you. Tell me what I must do further.’ At this state, you will ask of God what work He has for you.

He who is a Siddha is Lord Siva Himself. So declares Thirumoolar. Siva and Siddha Purusha are no different. That is why it is said the ways of a Siddha Purusha are the ways of Siva.

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