Part 3
Adigalar as Avatar

Bangaru Adigalar

In the previous chapter we have enumerated the various details of an Avatar. Now and then in the history of humanity a person is born whose spiritual knowledge, love, and power exceeds that of normal human beings - indeed outstrips the excellences of even saints whom we revere - that for many centuries thereafter mankind can scarcely catch its breath for awe and adoration.

Now we are most fortunate to have such an Avatar or Incarnation in this modern age, at a time when we are facing so many crisis's in our lives. For there lives on Earth, in Tamil Nadu itself, another such Avatar, one far more comprehensive and powerful than any we had known before. We have here among us His Holiness Arulthiru Bangaru Adigalar who embodies within himself the whole range of spiritual knowledge, the whole gamut of spiritual moods and experiences and who manifests a redeeming spiritual power, unconditional and immeasurable. Nor did he come alone. With him came so many other souls of immense spiritual magnitude - a whole constellation whose identities have yet to be revealed in full.

Speaking from conviction, Adigalar is the Avatar of this age, the Adhiparasakthi Herself, that is, the Absolute Brahman itself. Saints and sages enjoy more bliss and display greater love and attraction since they posses sattva guna in much greater amount than ordinary human beings. Adigalar is considered an incarnation with a preponderance of Sattva. Hence, these two qualities radiate from his personality in the highest degree.

The fact is that, apart from Adhiparasakthi, he has no separate personality and it is the Divine in him that attracts people towards him, his utter absence of ego and simplicity endear him to all. Most people who come to see Adigalar once, can not resist the urge to visit him and obtain his blessings again and again. All are drawn towards him by his heavenly charm, an indescribable divine attraction. It is immaterial whether he talks to them or not. To see him is enough to recompense for all the trouble they have taken in their journey to Melmaruvathur. At this juncture I invite your kind attention to those days just a few years back when there was Veppilai Manthirippu, devotees used to throng in endlessly again and again to get the blessings through Veppilai Manthirippu and also to avail themselves of the opportunity of having Dharsanam of Adigalar, the Avatar, at a closer distance.

Devotees love his various attitudes. His simple trust in others, his absolute faith in the words of those whom he loves or respects makes him great. Adigalar is not an ordinary man, but the Supreme Godhead, Adhiparasakthi Herself, who has descended to Earth and is playing the role of an Avatar.

I bow down to His Holiness, Arulthiru Bangaru Adigalar, the Divine Incarnate of Adhiparasakthi, adored Divine Mother of all, who is pure, eternal and infinite by nature and who, out of Her abounding grace for us has assumed a human form.

Adigalar - The Embodiment of Divine Bliss

Being inseparably united with the Supreme Spirit, Adhiparasakthi, which is nothing but Bliss Absolute, Adigalar has become the very embodiment of divine bliss and he is always cheerful. He is the Supreme personality of the Godhead, the Adhiparasakthi, the fountain head of everything and the last word in transcendence. How Adigalar is the same Divine Mother Adhiparasakthi, the eternal original person, is very difficult for an ordinary man to understand. He is Sat-chit-Ananda, the eternal form of Bliss and knowledge. He is transcendental, and above the influence of time and space. A devotee of Adigalar is undoubtedly above any miss-understanding of the transcendental position of Adigalar.

Adigalar transmits the divine bliss to the world in various ways. First of all, his very presence radiates Bliss and creates a blissful atmosphere. Young and old, literate and illiterate, worldly minded or devout, people afflicted with sorrow and anxiety or otherwise, all alike feel relaxed and happy the very moment they come within his enchanting circle. Secondly, Adigalar actively endeavors to remove the sorrow of the people. He is extremely sensitive to their sufferings and can deeply sympathize with them in their woes. Whatever the relationship, all feel that Adigalar is their nearest and dearest. I worship Adigalar, the Avatar of Divine Mother, who is the original person - absolute, infallible without beginning.

Attitude Towards the World

Adigalar has a material attitude towards all creatures. The Universal Divine Mother, Adhiparasakthi, out of Her material affection towards Her own creation, has incarnated as Adigalar to allay the suffering of all creatures. While She and Her incarnations remember this relationship, ordinary beings forget it and suffer untold misery. The incarnations, therefore, try their utmost to lead them to understand their divine nature, which is the sum way to attain lasting peace and bliss.

The uniqueness of Adigalar lies in that he manifests the fullest amount of divine bliss and at the same time is utterly human. No other incarnation came so close to humanity in his earthly existence as Adigalar is doing. He lives and moves among us like an ordinary human being so that he can be easily approached even by the downtrodden and poor people and village folks. Through his charming humanity and deep sympathy and simplicity he is drawing all towards him and is beckoning all to enter the kingdom of Eternal Joy.

Adigalar's Conception of Religion

The story of Adigalar's life is a story of religion in practice. His life enables us to see Adhiparasakthi face to face. No one can read the story of his life without being convinced that Adhiparasakthi alone is real and that all else is an illusion. Adigalar is a living embodiment of Godliness. His sayings are not those of mere learned man, but pages from the book of life; they are revelations of his own experiences over many many births.

Adigalar integrates all spiritual paths of the world. He gives an entire gamut of spiritual practices geared to individual tastes, temperament and requirement, which are fully acceptable to a rational temper. At each point we are surprised at his natural flexibility in meeting the particular needs of an individual seeker.

The priests of most of the religions of the world have preached to their followers that the acceptance of the particular dogma they advocated, the prophet whose claim they upheld, and the rituals they prescribed, are sufficient to assure their salvation. They also preach that those who do not do so are going towards their doom. Adigalar is against such a conception of religion. Adigalar never believed in dogmas or sectarian spirit. He has the greatest compassion for each person. His life is a vivid picture of spirituality in action. Every nerve and every cell of his body is vibrant and alive with spiritual realization. Adigalar is a channel through which wisdom is moving towards us. His words are the highest source of peace, wisdom and strength and are also consoling.

It is worthwhile considering what the implication of such a nonsectarian view is in regard to religions which have as one of their principle aims, the proselytization and herding of all the people of the world into the net of their dogma. It is such an attitude by some religions that has led to persecution and bloody wars in the name of the God who at the same time preached love to us all.

From actual experience, Adigalar demonstrates to the hilt, the validity of all religions and is able to declare the great truth, "One Religion, One Mother" (Ore Kulam, Ore Thai), that is the Universal Religion and the Divine Mother. It means that there is only one Supreme Being irrespective of the caste, creed, religion, nation, etc., etc.

The acceptance of Adigalar's doctrine of "One Religion, One Mother" is the antidote to the position of exclusiveness in religion and removal of the ill-fame that it has attained in the eyes of many as a consequence. Religions of Semitic Origin having plenty of funds and organizational experience and set up, look upon people with a liberal outlook as a field from which to harvest a bumper crop of converts. Conversion due to sincere conviction should always be welcomed, but if it is achieved through the monetary power of high pressure advertisements and salesmanship tactics, it will become a social menace or evil. It will lead to politicization of religion, which means, in frank terms, the destruction of religion. The acceptance by all of Adigalar's doctrine of "One Religion, One Mother" can alone release religion from this catastrophe.

Adigalar's is therefore a Universal Religion that accepts all religions as valid, not by a syncretism of parts of them consolidated into a whole, but by acceptance of each having its distinct identity though having a common end. Adigalar's Universal Religion believes not only in universal tolerance but accepts all religions as true. The Vedas declare: "Ekam Sat Vipra bahudha Vadanti" -- "Truth is one; sages call it by different names."

God can be approached as our Father, Mother, Master, Child or Beloved. Again, one can think of Him as nameless and formless. There is no rigidity in the method of approach or in the conception of the Godhead. According to one's natural tendency, one can practice any Religion. The most important point of all is sincerity and steadfastness.

Adigalar's Universal Religion is one which has no location or time. It is infinite like the Divine Mother Adhiparasakthi it preaches, and whose sun shines upon the followers of Krishna and of Christ, on saints and sinners alike. It is not Brahminic or Buddhistic, Christian or Mohammedan, but the sum total of all these, and still has infinite space for development. In its catholicity or universality, it is embracing in its infinite arms, and finds a place for every human being from the lowest groveling sewage not far removed from the brute; to the highest man towering by virtues of his head and heart almost above humanity, making society stand in awe of him and doubt his human nature. It is a religion which has no place for persecution or intolerance in its polity, which recognizes divinity in every man and woman and whose scope, whose whole force will be erected in aiding humanity to realize its own true divine nature. In the near future, all the nations of the world will follow this Universal Religion.

After all, religion is the eternal relation between the eternal soul and eternal God. As truth, every religion is sacred and must be respected. God is beyond senses and mind. The only way open to us is to hear a person who has realized the truth himself, and then to struggle to realize it in our own lives. It is in this context we turn to the teachings of Adigalar and find in them a marvelous harmony of all apparently contradictory religious ideals.

In the present age, Adigalar is fulfilling the need of the time and is showing the way. Let us all pray to Him, the Reinstater of Dharma, the Embodiment of all Dharmas, the Incarnation of the age, the Greatest of all Incarnations, to show us Dharma and its path and to give us strength in follow it.

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Last updated on Wed Jan 20 2010 at 9:58:01pm