Working English translation of the Tamil teaching — for review.
Everyone who follows a spiritual path needs a few symbolic objects to remind them that their attention should be wholly on the spiritual at all times. Most people wear malas of various kinds. Because a mala is always near the heart, it presses upon them; it stands as an armour and protects them. So it is held that on pilgrimages such as Sabarimala, and while doing japa and meditation, one should wear a mala. No one who follows a spiritual path should be empty-handed; one should wear at least one bead. That bead too differs for people of the twenty-seven nakshatras. Most people choose the rudraksha mala — but rudraksha has many kinds according to its faces, so for some people it does not suit. By wearing the right mala one can quickly reach one’s spiritual goals.
After that, one should learn a personal mantra from a spiritual Guru. Then each person should receive from the Gurus a yantra designed specifically for them, according to the aspects of their birth and the support of their chosen deities, and worship it every day. These yantras are designed and given here. The tantras for worshipping those yantras should be learned from the spiritual Gurus. So — the bead (mala), the mantra, the yantra and the tantra: whoever follows these four correctly in their spiritual life has no need of “avsadam” (that is, medicine), because their mind is always joyful, and that itself is the eternal healing herb.
Just as ordinary people rise each day, bathe, eat and tend to their bodies, so those who follow a spiritual path need practices to prepare the mind, and the spiritual objects that support them. These are given at the ashram. Those very objects become the person’s chosen and family deity, protecting them; when all their prayers are placed upon it, they gain a strength as of a thousand people beside them. We design and give such spiritual objects to each person according to what suits them.