Sacred Items Associated with Agasthiyar Vazhipaadu

 Sacred Items Associated with Agasthiyar Vazhipaadu

Many miracles took place before and during the giving of Agasthiyar Vazhipaadu. The greatest miracle of all was of course the giving of the sacred text itself! However, all this began with the very first sacred idol that was found by Gajaraj Swamigal's daughter Anuradha in the early 1980s in Madikeri, a small town in Coorg, in Karnataka, Southern India. 

This two-inch wooden idol was picked up by Anuradha on the stairs leading to the house of Gajaraj Swamigal. Thirty years later, Sage Agastya himself explained how the statue arrived there. Details of this can be found in the book, 'Agasthiyar Vazhipaadu: Making of a Sacred Book.' 

Sage Agastya instructed Anuradha in a dream to ask Gajaraj Swamigal to carve this statue out of a piece of old wooded beam lying in their house. He left for a pilgrimage as directed by Sage Agastya. When Anuradha saw that the feet were not in proportion to the statue, she took up the chisel and hammer and carved the feet herself! The dream and what happened after is detailed in the book, "Agastya's Disciple: Firsthand Chronicles of an Extraordinary Life.'

Gajaraj Swamigal carving the statue below.

Ganesha

Gajaraj Swamigal used to make clay idols of Ganesha every year. One year, he started making quiet a big statue and was not able to finish it. Suddenly inspired Anuradha completed the idol within half an hour!

Rudrakhas

Three sacred Rudrakshas made their way to Gajaraj Swamigal. This first rudraksha on the yellow thread was said to be connected with Dattatreya. Sage Agastya said it had come to him from a Dattatreya temple. The moment he received it, Gajaraj Swamigal tied it on his head and went into deep meditation. There was a glow around him that day. 

Drawing of Gajaraj Swamigal wearing the two rudkrakshas by his granddaughter Roshini who was a clairvoyant when she was young.
Description of what occurred when the second rudraksha was given to Gajaraj Swamigal below.

The second rudkraksha was Eka Mukhi rudraksha has displayed power very clearly since it was given to Gajaraj Swamigal. It moved strongly only towards Gajaraj Swamigal when it was given to him and nearly twenty-five years later, it moved strongly towards his spiritual son who was chanting mantras on a video call.  Held near others, the rudraksha moves away. Details about this can be found in the biography on Gajaraj Swamigal. 

This was the third rudraksha. It is not known how this came to Gajaraj Swamigal. There is only a reference that this rudraksha was blessed by a Siddha and bestows Siddhis to the one who wears it. There is a reference to it in the notes written down by Anuradha below at that time. Later during the giving of Vazhipaadu, Sage Agastya explained about the origin of the rudraksha. He instructed Gajaraj Swamigal to wear this on the forehead, lefthand or neck till the end of his life.

Simple Belongings

The pendulum, rudraksha bracelet worn by Gajaraj Swamigal. The white beads worn by Arul Thai Vijayalakshmi

This watch was the only one that Gajaraj Swamigal wore throughout his life. It was a watch won by his daughter Anuradha when she was around three years of age in a national painting competition organized by HMT. 
All these items are now with Anuradha at her home in the US.

 Ganesha gave a special blessing to Anuradha when the smoke from the incense sticks clearly formed an elephant shape at her home in the United States. Below is the still shot. Since the photograph was on live mode, the forming of the smoke into the shape of the elephant can be clearly seen in the video at the bottom. 

This is the live video of the smoke forming the elephant face in 'live mode'

of the photograph.