Regarding the above 'Event', some hold that when Sambanthandan prayed to Kali to appear and She was about to leave, the little Murugan stopped her saying, 'Mother, how can you leave Me alone and go somewhere?' So She did not appear. But some say that Arunagiri sang the 'Devendra Sanga Vaguppu' and prayed to the Devi not to appear. Some others say She appeared immediately before Sambanthandan and said to him that She could be seen by him alone and not by the king and others. Another version is that the Devi was bound by Her promise to Sambanthandan to give Darshana only for a period of twelve years which period was over just the day prior to the event and so She did not appear at all. He, however, requested Her to at least not allow Murugan to manifest Himself, to which She agreed. And so when Arunagiri sang the 'Athala

xliv Sedanarada' song, the Lord did not appear. He, therefore, sensed some mischief somewhere and through his Yogic vision found out that the Devi was holding Murugan as a small baby on Her lap and entertaining Him with Her conversations, thus preventing His appearance in the assembly. Arunagiri, it is said, sang the Devendra Sanga Vaguppu and then the Mayil Viruttham to which latter's tune a peacock danced before the Kali, and She, being enamoured of the melody of the music and the dance of the peacock, unconsciously loosened Her hold on Murugan when He jumped over to the peacock, hastened to the assembly and gave Darshana. (This view is untenable, as we have seen that the Lord appeared in no time.) The Lord cannot be bound or held in check by anything except the true love of His devotee, which can attract the Lord from any realm and manifest Him in no time on the physical plane. Moreover, to Arunagiri Lord Murugan was not merely the personal God or Ishta Devata (cult-God), He was also the Supreme Being. This is evident even from the above Tiruppugazh. Though the Lord is addressed as the son-in-law of Lord Vishnu, etc., which all point to the theological aspects of Him, He is asked to come dancing in such a way that when He dances, everything, everywhere, dances, including Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and Kali dances with Lord Siva, the Bull-Rider; etc., which reveal that He is the Supreme Reality that is behind and beyond even the Trinity. This is amply made clear in another poem also (T-433, 'Agaramumaagi' sung at Pazhamuthirsolai): "O Lord who is (the beginning of all things) like the Akara or the letter 'A' which stands first in the alphabets, who is the Lord of all things, who is beyond everything, who is the essence of all things, who is Brahma, who is Vishnu, who is Siva, who is beyond this Trinity; who is all things here, who is whatever thing anywhere is, and who comes as the sweetness (of all things)." Again in the last verse of his treatise on God-Realisation, the 'Kandar Anubhuti', Arunagiri gives the experience of a Jivanmukta who is established in Sahaja-Samadhi Avastha or perpetual God-consciousness --- for a Jivanmukta everything is God. He says: "O Almighty Lord Guha! O Supreme Being, Who comes (as all these which are) with form and without form, as what is and what is not, as flower and (its) fragrance, as gem and (its) radiance, as body (universe) and soul (universal spirit) (that pervades and animates it), as the rules of righteousness and Moksha (that is attained through them) (i.e., as the means and as the End), and as the Guru! Bestow Thy Grace (on all)." எல்லாமாயும் குருவாயும் வருகின்ற குஹப்பெருமானே, நீ எல்லோருக்கும் அருள் புரிவாயாக.

Here we can have a little diversion. Sometimes a doubt arises as to which cult did Arunagiri belong? Was he a Kaumara, or a Sakta or a Shaiva or what? Arunagiri was a Saint of the highest Advaitic Realisation and all such saints belong to a class of their own, they belong to GOD (இறையோன் பரிவாரம்) and not to any particular cult, i.e., they are neither Kaumaras, nor Saktas, nor anything else, though from our limited point-of-view we may dub them as this or that. In respect of all saints we say: "The bliss they enjoyed they want all of us to enjoy." --- யாம் பெற்ற இன்பம் வையகம் பெற. The Advaita-Acharya Sankara, who is regarded as an incarnation of Lord Siva, instituted the Shan-Mata or the six cults as six ways of approach to and realisation of the same Goal, -- God, Supreme Being, Brahman or the Absolute. This he did as the taste, temperament and

xlv inclination of devotees differ, according to their practice from their earlier lives. As the six cults do not lead to different Goals but to one and the same Goal, they are meant to bring unity among the followers of the different cults. Also, it implies that one cult is not superior or inferior to the other, as they all lead to the same Goal. Each and every cult has the transcendental (Nirguna Brahman, as the Goal) and relative (Saguna Deity worshipped, as the means) aspects implied in it. The transcendental aspect of every cult includes the relative aspects of all the cults and does not contradict them. Thus the saints who have realised the Absolute through any cult do not belong to that cult alone but to all of them. Cults are only paths or practices for the practitioners, not for those who have attained the Goal; also not for God, the Absolute. To which cult does Lord Murugan, or Devi, or Lord Siva belong? To which cult does Sankaracharya, who instituted the cults, belong? So is the case with Saint Arunagiri, Swami Sivananda and others. They do not belong to any cult but provide guidance to the followers of the different cults. Swami Sivananda gave initiation to devotees of all cults according to whoever is their Ishta Devata (cult) and guided them to realisation. He even allowed himself to be attired as Krishna, Siva, Devi, Murugan, Jesus, etc. when devotees so desired, to help them in their worship/meditation. Arunagiri has sung the glory of all the Deities in his Tiruppugazhs though they are primarily addressed to Lord Skanda. Even as God does not belong to any cult but all the cults lead to Him, so also Saints of the highest Advaitic Realisation do not belong to any cult but help followers of all cults to reach the Goal. They are interested in the welfare of all -- 'Sarvabootahite rataah'. They belong to God, to the whole of humanity and their teachings are universal. They cannot be confined or limited to any particular cult. To dub them as belonging to this or that cult would be a poor understanding of them and not a proper respect paid to them.

To emphasise the unity among the cults he instituted, Sankaracharya also introduced it in the lives of his followers. So, the heads of Mutts appear as Saivaites wearing Vibhuti strips and Rudraksha Mala; sign letters of blessing as 'Narayana Smriti' and repeat 'Narayana, Narayana' when devotees bow to them; and do daily Puja to the Divine Mother.

Now we continue the story. The Murugan that Arunagiri manifested was not so much the cult-God but the Supreme Reality that is behind the different manifestations. Hence, there should be no question of the Devi holding Skanda or vice-versa somewhere in Kailasa. It does not, however, mean that one God is inferior or superior to another. Every manifestation of God has different aspects: at least two, --- the Absolute and the relative. Lord Krishna was not merely the friend and charioteer of Arjuna but also the Bhagavan or Supreme God who gave the Gita-Upadesa as also showed Arjuna the Visvarupa. Similar is the case with all gods, - Lord Skanda, Devi, etc. The Lord is all aspects at once, and it is the attitude of the devotee with which the Lord is invoked, viz. Sattvika, Rajasika or Tamasika, that determines matters. Arunagiri had pure devotion and his invocation was not motivated by personal ends, while that of Sambanthandan was prejudiced and motivated. This accounts for the spontaneous manifestation of Lord Skanda and the non-appearance of the Devi,

xlvi respectively. God is a slave of the devotee's love, whichever the God be, and whoever the devotee be. The incident only proves the greatness of Arunagiri and his pure love for God, which was equally great towards the Divine Mother, too, as can be seen from many of his Tiruppugazh songs. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that he had the blessings of the Divine Mother, too.

Under such circumstances, to say that the Devi was holding Murugan fast, preventing Him from coming to the assembly would at best disclose one's inadequate understanding of Arunagiri's love for Murugan as also his concept of God, which was one of the Supreme Reality behind everything. That is why Arunagiri says in the above Tiruppugazh, 'O Lord! Come dancing so that when You dance, Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, Kali, etc., --- everything dances!' When such is the prayer, if Kali were really to hold fast to Murugan, Arunagiri's prayer would have manifested not only Murugan alone but would have brought the Kali, too, with Him.

Again there are many versions, according to the hearsay stories, as to what happened when Lord Skanda gave Darshana in the open assembly (from page xlii). It is said that the king lost his eye-sight due to the divine brilliance which human eye cannot endure. It is unbelievable that in that large assembly only the king lost his eye-sight! If at all anyone, it should have been the evil-minded Sambanthandan and not the pious king.

Before we proceed further let us see whether anyone ever loses eye-sight by the darshana of the Lord. Usually, devotees pine and pray for darshana of the Lord and there are many devotee-saints (Nayanars, Azhwars, and others) who have had darshana of the Lord, but none lost his/her sight. Moreover, it was not even the terrifying Vishwaroopa Darshana (Cosmic Form) or a Mass of Brilliant Light that the Lord showed in that Sadas (assembly) but the most enchanting form. We know Murugan is an embodiment of eternal youth and beauty, and with the dancing peacock nothing could be more soothing not only to the eyes but also to the heart and soul of those that were fortunate to have that darshana which is rare to get. Even by the Vishwaroopa darshana which Lord Krishna showed in the assembly of the Kauravas and to Arjuna in the battle-field no one lost his eye-sight. Even when Arunagiri fell from the temple tower and the Lord appeared, held him in His arms and saved him, he did not lose his eye-sight. On the other hand, Arunagiri's Wisdom-Eye (Divya-chakshu or Jnana-chakshu) got opened. No one lost eye-sight by the darshana of the Lord.