Stop Talking & Start Listening to Your Breath

 

Spiritual journey is needed for calming a hyperactive mind. Sidda purushas have immense powers. They are catalysts in our spiritual journey. Whenever we visit a Samadhi, our mind gets lot of peace. Be it Arvind Ashram & Mother in Pondicherry or Shirdi Sai baba or Satya Sai Baba or Mantralayam Shri Raghavendra Swami – there is something about siddha purushas that we cannot deny….there is an unexplained power. Praying to siddars will make us happy and wipe away our tears.

Tiruvannamalai Ramana Maharishi, Seshadri Swamigal, Yogi Ramsuratkumar – they are gurus who have really helped us. Even our revered Shankaracharyas are divine souls – thinking about them, looking at the sacrifices that they have made makes us happy and contented. Kanchi Maha periyaval, Sringeri Maha Periyaval – they have done so much for our Tamil Brahmin community that we can never ever tire of speaking about them.

Everyone wants a disease-free life. We want a life where there is abundance of happiness and positive energy, where we can give happiness to others. If we understand siddhars, relate to them and seek them with a pure heart then happiness will become our constant companion. We will surely get what we want when we reach out to the gurus. Velliyangiri Hills is where Lord Shiva was doing penance. These hills are called as “ Bhoologa Kailasam”. This hill is special because there were so many siddars who were staying here.

Pazahani swamigal, Sivayogiyar, Sadguru Sree brahma, Agori Vimalananda, Azhukkucchamiyar, kalathi chamiyar, mysore chamiyar, milagay chamiyar etc. lived here. Let us learn about Velliyangiri Swamigal. He was born in Salem in a place called Chinna Kollampatti. The 5th son of Chinna payya Koundar and Pachiyammal. When the boy was 9, a desire for spiritual quest invaded him. He ran away to Kutralam in Thirunelveli. For the next 10 years he was with Sankarananda Swamigal as a disciple in “Sankarashram”. He learnt yoga, medicine, rasavadam. Then with the grace of his guru he undertook a journey towards North. When he returned to Tamil Nadu in 1960, he had become a sidda purushar. He settled in Velliyangiri Hills and started growing exotic herbs.

People who sought him were taught the “vasi” yoga. Vasi yoga is – balancing the breath within our body. It is different from pranayama. Pranayama is breath control. “Vasi Yoga” is passing the air to specific cells in your body for a specific period of time. Vasi is the breath that pervades our entire body. It will make your body disease free. We will be less impulsive and become more mature in our approach. If you do vasi yoga religiously, the benefits will slowly start accruing to you. It is also believed that vasi yoga can burn away your previous sins and karmas. Velliyangiri Swami’s main advice was – “ Talk less; Listen to your breath”. Focus on your breath. He lived in the hills for 20 years. Then he came to Mullungadu village where he attained Samadhi eventually. But so noble was his soul that he never sought publicity. He did not want to tom tom his achievements. Every marghazi month, Swamigal used to practice complete silence for 30 days. He would stay in the Krishna caves in Velliyangiri Hills. His disciples used to make – balls of moong dal for him. That was his food for 30 days. After 30 days, Swamigal would narrate his experiences to his disciples. Once he shared the experience of having interacted with the divine cow – Kamadenu. He never encouraged a crowd that moved around him. He did not want many people to know about him. The ones who approached him never left his ashram empty handed.

People, never make fun of any siddars. They have immense powers. They make great sacrifices. We need to respect them. They are like fireflies who lit up our spiritual path whenever it is shrouded in darkness. Once he was drenched in the rain. A passerby made fun of him saying – “ You are supposed to be a big man. Then how come you are getting drenched?” Swamigal merely smiled at the passer by. The very next day when he was walking in the rain, he was bone dry as not a drop of water touched his body. This reinforced the belief that Velliyangiri Swamigal was no ordinary being, but a great soul! He attained Samadhi on 21st February 1986.

30 years have passed by. But his mystic powers are legendary. Those who have prayed to him have always been blessed by him. What he has said so many years ago – Stop talking and focus on breathing – is what modern day gurus like AOL Sri Sri are advocating. Velliyangiri Hills is in Coimbatore and Swamigal's Samadhi has provision for doing meditation. If we practice deep meditation here, the wide spread belief is that swamigal helps you in streamlining your breath. We feel that he is sitting close to us and monitoring our actions. Sitting and meditating in the Samadhi for 10 minutes will empty your mind – of all fears, frustrations, anger, jealousy…. We become one with nature! Let us always remember this – Stop talking, Listen to your breath!