Sage Agastya: The Golden Ball of Energy

THE GOLDEN BODY: Meeting with the Sage Agastya in Arunachala It was a retreat with Mohanji and in meeting him for the first time in Arunachala, Tiruvanamalai in this incarnation. The unplanned journey to attend Mohanji's retreat was soaked in tremendously challenging and miraculous leelas. The school holiday tickets were initially booked, months in advance, for a pilgrimage around India to visit samadhis of some of the SRF masters. I requested for immediate cancellation of all train and bus tickets, as well as pre-booked hotels when in the middle of the journey, I saw on Facebook that Mohanji was in India. I am extremely grateful to Rahul for his calm and gentle surrender and flexibility, in rebooking impossible tickets last minute. I feel so blessed. He knew I have been listening to and reading about Mohanji online for many months prior to that. Naturally, I want to meet him. I did not know much of Sage Agastya and I have seen a cover of a book somewhere in some bookstore that says 18 siddhars. I never got around to read it but was hoping to buy it one day. He had a wonderful way of introducing himself to me. Arunachala is a pilgrimage hill and town that the disciple of my Guru recommended for me to visit. Many Hindus call it "The Kailash of the South". My family and I often visit there during our school holidays. What drew me there first was the story of the immortal Guru of Paramahansa Nityananda because his samadhi is inside the Arunachala temple. It was my favourite place in the temple premises. There was no way that I had money to afford the retreat of Mohanji even if all tickets were refunded. I wrote his staff and they offered that there is a free satsang on the last day and only pay minimal amount for food and tour. Mohanji physically did not attend the hike. I walked with his devotees along with my family. I have climbed the hill many times, but I thought I don't mind going up again. I went up with zero excitement and no expectation. It felt like "just another climb", as we always visit the hill. Every visit of course was unique. On the way up, one of Mohanji's woman devotee around the same age of my mother, had trouble walking with her shoes and she kept stepping on her saree. I offered her my slippers and hiked all the way up barefoot. She felt like a mother to me. I would want someone to offer their slippers to my mother, if she was in the same trouble climbing up a hill on a pilgrimage. I have always secretly wanted to climb barefoot, but never got to. It was a nice experience and the woman won't stop thanking me. I should be the one thanking her for making my dream to hike barefoot come true! Somewhere on the way up after passing and visiting a few caves, I felt transported to another inner realm but did not leave the space. It was staying where I was but seeing more. I looked around and the others seemed to be oblivious of what I saw. They were busy concentrating on the trail or enjoying the space and sometimes chatting. I saw in my mind's eye a human traffic jam in the mountain! Hundreds, perhaps thousands of disembodied pilgrims, saddhus and sadhaks were climbing up and down the mountain. Some were not even in robes, just regular people in jeans and shirt going up and down like coloured holograms interpenetrating each other. Almost physical, but not quite. Physically, there were only a few of us there, along with other local pilgrims. So many of them were passing through each other! As if they could not see each other too. Even without their physical bodies, they decided to stay on earth and continue their tapasya. They say Arunachala is Lord Shiva Himself and sometimes see fire blazing on top of the mountain. After a little while, in a corner turning now to descend from the mountain was thousands of blazing golden dust shimmering in bright light. It was blinding but it did not hurt my mind's eye nor my physical eye. I did not flinch in its brightness. It was a Still - Expanding - Bright - Gentle - Powerful - Light. It was taking a very subtle form of a meditating yogi but there was no physical skin, not even a hologram. It's like gathering millions of golden flickering fireflies but it was the middle of the day, so it was brighter than the sunny day. A brighter golden shimmering light seen in the midst of day! The electric golden light was gently and gracefully constantly expanding. My eyes was not even closed. I kept winking but it wasn't my physically eyes that was seeing. I felt every atom of my body stood witness to that. The energy of the Golden Body radiated Stability, Deep Silence and Unshakable Stillness. My Being asked: Who Are You? What Are You? But without words nor thought. My lips were sealed. In the Silence of my Being, every cell of my body was penetrated with His infinite ever expanding Deep Stillness that soaked every atom in the universe. At least, that's how I felt it. A G A S T Y A I did not hear the word nor was it a thought. It wasn't even a knowing. The silent sound, at that point, was penetrating Everything in Existence and moving In All Directions. It did not startle me nor fascinate me because the Being flooded me with Silence. It was a Thoughtless Witnessing State. Calmness all around. Inside and Out. Upon my return to the plains, I asked Rahul. Who is Agastya? And I told him about what I just saw. And he wasn't surprised. Mohanji must have mentioned him once or twice too.