Nandhi

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Nandhi was born and raised in south India. His journey into the spiritual realms began when he was 4 years old.

His journey started as a little boy, sitting on the shoulders of his father while on a pilgrimage to Swami Ayyappa (a shrine in South India). It was in this pilgrimage that he witnessed a divine event that would forever guide him through his life.

The pilgrims had to walk through 40 kilometers of forest to reach the shrine and it was night time. They got lost, having taken the wrong path. While under the dark canopy of trees in the forest, there seemed doubt in being able to get back to the main pathway. Just then a tiger that was nearby roared. Everyone of the pilgrims were scared and they all kept chanting the Swamy Ayyappa mantras. The chants of the sacred mantras became louder and louder. It was then that Nandhi saw a radiant being, as though luminescent, walking out of the darkness.

Nandhi immediately alerted his father and soon, all the pilgrims felt a wave of comforting and protective energy, There was no more fear. There a quiet and the pilgrims stood around this radiant being who was smiling. He said, "So you all seems lost! Let me show you the way!". The radiant being pointed out the directions to the pilgrims and while the pilgrims were talking to each other.

Nandhi saw the radiant being gradually disappear. All the pilgrims, including his father, realized that the person who came out of the darkness to guide them was a divine being. For Nandhi, this radiant being was an ancient friend, waiting forever to connect.

Years Later:

Many years later, while living in Madras (Chennai), Nandhi went through the experience of death. A young saint, whom Nandhi had never met before, knocked on his door. He told Nandhi that Nandhi’s karmic death had come and he had been sent to take Nandhi through the process. Without any hesitation, Nandhi followed him into the forest, actually in joy knowing that soon he would connect back to his ancient past. The saint initiated Nandhi into the Siddhar path after taking Nandhi through a death-like process. From this moment on, Nandhi knew that he was awakened and his true purpose of having been born in India revealed itself.

Soon, Nandhi plunged into the ancient India and there were all his teachers waiting for him! In the vast lands of India, each Sage specializes in a particular dimension of wisdom- some in Siddha medicines, some in prayer rituals and meditation, some in hatha yoga, and some in Vedic studies. For Nandhi, it was on connecting to the Siddhar Sage Ayya that at once, all the branches of the ancient wisdom came together.

The Siddhars do not like popularity and crowd. In fact, Siddhars throw stones at people around them so to discourage all but the determined seeker! For many months, Nandhi would climb up the Thiruvannamalai, the sacred mountain ever so often, to be near Ayya, each time hoping that Ayya would call him in. Ayya would often test Nandhi’s resolve in many ways. Finally, after 4 years, Ayya initiated Nandhi.

After being initiated by Ayya, Nandhi felt the secret doors to the ancient wisdom open up to him. He felt Ayya’s presence in his daily yoga practice. Ayya’s loud silent teachings guided Nandhi, as though it was only a remembrance of earlier teachings. It was in Rishikesh, the foothills of the Himalayas, when Nandhi was taught by Ayya, the art of being able to take the body to a state where it is not affected by extreme cold or heat. Soon, Nandhi learnt the ability to take the body beyond hunger. With Ayya’s guidance, Nandhi could now understand and experience the state of higher consciousness, called by the Siddhar Sages, the state of sleepless sleep that in ancient Tamil and Sanskrit is mentioned as “Turiya”. Each day was a pilgrimage as a journey into the ancient knowing. Nandhi lived with many enlightened Sages, learning and practicing their yoga over the years while being connected to Bhairava Sekarswamy, Siddhar Ayya, Siddhar Rajaswamy, Saddhu Krishnaveni Amma, Mahasivaswamy and others- an ancient connect which was a spiritual umbilical cord nourishing Nandhi in the wisdom of yogic grace.

The most empowered gift Nandhi received from the inner journey into wholeness was- to wake up to the several layers of his existance.

The first is his heart's passion as the childhood dream he had- the vision that is now becoming a reality as the Ariven Community. After knowing himself as the Spirit having the human experience, the most profound realization was to know, "What am I here on Planet Earth for!?" This inspiring vision now unfolds- where giant sanctuaries are created to save the lives of thousands of retired cows and oxen- sustaining large organic farms that allocate 50% or more of the vegetarian food produce to feed the hungry. Global Sanctuaries for Retired Animals- www.ariven.org.

The second is the Oneness with humanity as in The Declaration of Consciousness: http://declarationofconsciousness.org.

The third is the gift to Humanity as Consciousness to be the Yogi: World Yoga Day: http://worldyogaday.com.

Nandhi lives in Santa Monica where he pursues his heart's endeavors and his aspirations as a Siddhar Yogi.

For more information about Nandhi, please visit his website at http://Nandhi.com.