1. The Serpent

2. The Indian Elephant

3. On the Roots of Morality

4. Shastric and Sectarian Traditions

5. The Monkey

6. New Year

7. The Swan

8. BEING Conceals and Reveals - Vallalaar

9. Concluding Thoughts

10. The Two Ways of Merging

11. The Margosa

12. Tirukural - Moral Value of Knowledge

13. Timeless Message of Vedas

14. Tiruvaasagam - Purity is Freedom from Caste Identities

15. BEING is Beyond  Vedantic Philosophies and Sciences - Vallalaar

16. Thirugnaana Sambandhar Thevaaram

17. Humility and Divine Grace - Tiruvaasagam

18. BEING is Not only Illuminating but Also Nourishing - Tiruvaasagam

19. Tirunaavukarasar Aruliya Thevaaram

20. BEING is about to destroy ALL religions - Vallalaar

21. God, Soul & World - Sri Ramana Maharshi

22. Buddhist Parinirvana

23. BEING is One but who SHOWS Himself as MANY - Metatheism

24. Dreams and Visions

25. Dreams and Visions - Transductive Perceptions

26. Dreams, Visions & Memory

27. The Equals of Men (women)

28. On the Virtues and Vices of Atheism

29. Selections From Tayumanavar - Being is Real Happiness

30. The Mystery of BEING that Invites Meditation on Him - Tayumanavar

31. Dreams & Visions

32. BEING is the Substance of All Substances - Tayumanavar

33. All Religions are False and Insane - Vallalaar

34. The Meaning of Polycephalic Icons

35. Vegetarianism: Recommended in Vedic Scripture

36. Conception and Consciousness

37. Being Must be Installed in the Heart - Nammalvar

38. BEING is the Deepest of the Deep Structures of the World- Tayumanavar

39. Einstein on Panentheism and Spinoza's Pantheism

40. BEING does not Punish the Evil Doers - Vallalaar

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The Serpent

The serpent is not an attractive creature. With its ill-repute for venom and
silent creep, people fear and avoid them. But serpents are fascinating.
Biologists have erased misconceptions about the creatures which have eyes
without eyelids, which smell through their mouth, detect without an external ear
sound waves from the ground which are transmitted via skin to a spot near the
ear-bone, which don't use tongue for tasting. Some snakes discern changes
temperature by sensing infrared rays: and locate warm-blooded preys. Snakes emit
an anal odor to allure a mate. Strange creatures indeed!

From the most ancient times serpents have been viewed with reverence in many
cultures. In Babylonia, Greece, Africa, the old Americas, and India, the serpent
have been worshiped. In India, the practice persists. In the Judeo-Christian
tradition it is looked down upon. Like the Hindu legend which says elephants
once flew, the Old Testament suggests that snakes once walked, and lost their
legs because they persuaded Eve to bite the forbidden fruit. But the Bible also
says that the serpent is "more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord
God had made."

The cobra is the most dreaded snake. It can be as long as six feet and six
inches thick. It can raise its anterior ribs and expand its neck into an
impressive disk, often with white patches on the back. In this posture it is
awesome. It has two rows of teeth in its upper jaw, and fangs con-nected to
poison glands. The creature feeds on frogs, lizards and rodents. It shies away
from humans, but responds vigorously if stepped on. Its venom is not as potent
as that of some other snakes, but it can be fatal. Thousands of people have died
of cobra bite. Yet, there is a taboo against killing a cobra; this is so in some
Islamic countries also.

Symbolized in the thousand-hooded snake of Vishnu (Sesha), the serpent is sacred
in India. It is venerated and periodically propitiated. On the fifth day of
Sravan, Naga Pancharni is observed in some parts of India: On this day people
fast and pour fresh milk into snake pits.

The reverential name for serpent is Naga: the term refers particularly to cobra
Capella. Much mythology has grown around this also. One imagines. a Naga god,
with human face and serpentine body, wielding enormous power. There was a race
of Nagas in Hindu lore, born of Rishi Kasyapa and his wife Kadru, daughter of
Daksha. They populated the nether world, Patala Loka. Female Naginis, were
supposed to be beautiful.

There were three serpent lords who ruled over the Nagas. Sesha was the major one
who also carries the weight of the earth. But the one who reigns in the kingdom
of the Nagas is V?k¬€Takshaka is the third Naga king.

According to the puranas, the Nagas once lost their kingdom to the Gandharvas.
But they regained it with the assistance of their sister, the River Narmada. It
is said that Narmada persuaded Vishnu to help the Nagas in this recovery.

Ancient Indian geography refers to Nagadveepa, a mountainous country as one of
the seven subdivisions of the subcontinent. It was inhabited by the Naga race.
Maybe it referred to a people who worshiped serpents. The city of Nagpur derives
its name from that mythic country. Certain semi-savage tribes have been
identified with the Nagas, but it has also been suggested that the Pallavas came
from the Naga race.

Not all cobras are benign. There is the legend of the aquatic Kalia which
attacked Lord Krishna when he jumped into the Ganga to fetch a ball that had
fallen there during a game he was playing. When Krishna summarily defeated him,
the serpent offered its hood to lift Krishna to the surface. This episode is
celebrated in a festival called Nag Nathaiya.

In Hindu mysticism the coiled serpent represents the kundalini: a mystical power
that lies dormant at the base of the spinal cord, which can, in principle, be
aroused through yogic means. Some say it is this power that is represented in
the serpent seen twirling around Shiva in his iconography. Others have said that
the serpent on Shiva represents his anger through which he dominates the world.
The coiled serpent is also said to stand for Time which, in the Hindu vision, is
cyclic in nature.

In India, one may see street jugglers handle the cobra with remarkable skill, in
some cases while the animal still carries its poison fangs. The creature seems
to react by raising its hood and swinging with half its length in a vertical
posture to certain tunes that the snake charmer plays on a wind instrument. It
extends its ribs and pumps air with its lungs. One gets the impression that the
cobra is enjoying the music. This has prompted composers to create special
music and songs for the cobra. Actually, like any snake, the cobra does not
possess the usual auditory system, and can barely hear the (to us) audible
frequencies. The sway of its hood is a reaction to the motion of the snake
charmer's head which it follows with characteristic eagerness. Certain tunes are
not to be played in the evenings for fear of attracting the cobra in the
neighborhood.

V. V. Raman
April 7, 2006

The Indian elephant, or Elephas maximus indicus, as biologists refer to it, is a
sub-species of the mammoth beasts that roam the wilds of Africa and South-Asia.
Elephants are gentle and slow in their sway, but they can become excited and go
berserk. They have thrived over the ages in many parts of India: from Himalayan
slopes to the southernmost tip of the subcontinent. For all its massive
strength, the elephant is a vegetarian, thriving on grass, leaves, shoots and
fruits. It avoids direct sunlight as much as possible, prefers dense forests,
and thoroughly enjoys bathing by itself.
Elephants wander in large herds, led
by a female. Occa-sionally does an unsociable rogue elephant move away.

Indian kings had elephants as part of their armed forces. In the 4th century BCE
Porus checked the Alexander's advances with his elephants at the Battle of the
Hydaspes River.

The elephant has an unusual appearance: tusks and trunk several feet long,
weight of several hundred pounds, peaceful gait, small eyes for a large body,
large ears, etc. Like other noteworthy things on the Indian landscape, it became
part of the Indic mythic lore.

Among the many mythic beings that arose during the Churning of the Ocean there
was a magical white elephant called Airavata. It was an incarnation of a serpent
king (Naga). When it emerged Indra promptly appropriated it as his vahana
(vehicle). In the 1950s I visited a place called Darasuram, near Tanjavur, where
I saw the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Airavatesvara: Lord Shiva whom
Airavata had worshiped.

Airavata, is also sacred in Thailand, known there as Erawan. During a brief
visit to Bangkok in 1960 I went to a Brahma temple there which they call the
Erawan Shrine.

The Vishnu Purana says that at one time Brahma held to egg shells in his hands.
Eight male elephants emerged from his right, and eight female ones from his left
hand. These were white in color, and they had four tusks each. They are the
Titan Atlas of Hindu mythology, bearing the planet Earth. According to the
Balakanda, however, there are only four such elephants. Their names are
Vir?ha, Mah?dma, Saumanasa, and Bhadra. When Vir?ha, out of fatigue,
gently moved his hear, the whole earth would tremble: that's how earthquakes
came about.

Then there is a legend to the effect that at one time elephants had wings and
they used to fly freely in air. But it happened one day that an elephant crash
landed on a large tree under which a rishi was instructing his disciples. The
branches broke, rudely interrupting the lecture. The enraged rishi cursed all
elephants and deprived them of their wings. Out of pity they were allowed the
power to produce clouds. So today, all they can do is trudge along on ground,
having lost their capacity to fly.

Perhaps the most charming of all Hindu deities is Lord Ganesha: the gentle
elephant-faced god who guides the devout through solemn undertakings: whether
the writing of a book, a travel to a destination, the conduct of a wedding, or
whatever. There is insightful symbolism here. The elephant's face is huge
compared to that of a human. This is to remind us that the Divine is far greater
than the human. By fusing the two elements of grandeur and smallness in one
body, the Ganesha figure may be understood as representing the link between
the finite and the infinite. The imperceptible continuity in the figure between
these two aspects is meant to suggest a similar seamless connection between Man
and God. If humans seek communion with the divine, we need the assistance of
this linking principle. That is why practically all Hindu ritual-worships, at
home and in the temple, at a consecration of a building or in the performance of
a recital, begin with an invocation to Lord Ganesha.

If the elephant stands in our way, it could block us in our forward march. But
it can itself walk through thick jungles, fallen trees, thick bushes and all,
sweeping away any hurdle that may come on its course. For this reason Ganesha is
also regarded as the god of obstacles, (vighneshvara), as one who removes or
destroys hurdles (vighnavinayaka), and also as a boon-giver: varadm? Ganesha
transcends sectarian boundaries

The elephant's twisted trunk is to remind us that the road to higher truths is
never straight or direct: it has many twists and turns. The single-tusk is often
taken to remind us of the Oneness behind Multiplicity. As for the modaka -
Ganesha's favorite edible - it is sweet inside like the inner soul, while the
white insipid shell is like the gross physical body surrounding the soul. Even
Ganesha's mouse has been given a meaning: This creature is regarded as a thief
that steals away things, indifferent to whether these are good or bad. So it is
viewed that the inner spirit which experiences everything is itself indifferent
to their intrinsic virtues or lack thereof. Ganesha's winnow-like wide ears are
meant to say that he dusts away the irrelevant words addressed to him.

The magnificent animal does reflect the magnificence of the Divine. I take
inspiration from the imagery of Ganesha every morning.

1. Human beings are, among other things, moral beings: This means that, unlike
other creatures, our behavior is often influenced or conditioned by the notions
of right and wrong, good and bad.

2. The question is: Where do such moral principles come from? Philosophers, religionists, and ethicists have been arguing about this for at least a couple of thousand years.

3. There are three kinds of laws in the world we know:

First there are the laws of nature uncovered by science. These cannot be
violated by anybody.

Next, there are the statutory laws, formulated by common consensus in most
countries. They can be violated only under threat of penalty.

Thirdly, there are the moral laws, such as don't tell a lie, do not cheat, be
faithful to your spouse, don't look down upon fellow humans, be kind to others,
help the needy, etc. The question is, what would happen if one broke such a
moral law?

Religions say we will be punished one way or another, sooner or later.

Indeed, historically, most moral laws may be traced to various religions.

Religions have formulated ethical frameworks which restrain our instinctive urge
to behave in self-serving and self-gratifying ways.

4. For the vast majority of people, ethical principles become significant when
they have as their source a higher authority. According to the Divine Command
Theory, we must be moral because God told us to be so, through the Ten
Commandments, through the Shariya, through the Vedas, through Tirukkural,
through a Shastra, a swamiji, or whatever. Unfortunately, religious authorities
also instill (now and then) convictions of self-righteousness for one's own clan
or tribe, and sometimes instigate the hurt of others who are affiliated to a
different group or a different moral code.

5. One of the insights of the 18th century Enlightenment was that it is possible
to be decent and kind and compassionate and just and moral without being
affiliated to any traditional religion or on the basis of some scripture or
ecclesiastical authority. I subscribe to this view.

6. One may still wonder about the source of moral principles. Evolutionary
psychologists have tried to explain this in many ways. I will not go into those
theories here.

7. My own views: A moral principle can never be justified on a rational basis.
What some have said about belief in God: "I believe because it is absurd," may
also be said about some moral principles: "I want to be helpful to others even
when it is hurtful to me." The ultimate moral principles are quite simple:
"Don't consciously hurt others in any way. Try to be helpful to others in some
way." I don't care where these principles came from.

8. So, to come to what we are grappling with in NS: We must stop personal as
well as institutionalized dehumanization and exploitation of fellow Hindus. It
is not enough to proclaim that in ancient times low-caste Hindus wrote great
epics and anti-caste poetry, and that the Vedas and the Agamas don't sanction
caste-discrimination. All that is fine.

But I couldn't care less, because they have not prevented the horrific
discrimination in Hindu society that has been perpetrated for ages.

I will not engage in caste or race discrimination: not because it does or does
not say so in sacred Sanskrit or in terrific Tamil. I would also like to see my
fellow Hindus do the same, no matter what their source of inspiration is.

Regards.

Pathmarjah

http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewlite.php?t=2171

Original Agamams were in Tamil in addition to it being in Sanskrit

These original four Agamams were in Tamil in additon to them being in
Sanskrit which is gleaned from the references in the verses in Saint
Thirumoolar's Thirumanthiram which are as follows:

"Ariyamum Munth Thamilum udane solli
kaarikaiyarkku karunai seithaane"
Then did He in Sanskrit and Tamil at once,
Reveal the rich treasure of His Compassion to our Lady Great.

Thirumamthiram - Verse 65

"Thamil sol Vada sol enum ivvirandum
unarththum avanai unaralumame"
The Lord who in Tamil sweet and northern tongue
Life's mystery revealed.

Thirumanthiram - Verse 66

"Thangi mihamai vaiththaan Thamil Saththiram"
He contained too the Tamil Sastra, in lone splendour set,

Thirumanthiram - Verse 87

Agamams the source of early Saivite philosophy of Tamil Nadu

From all available evidences it could be proved beyond doubt that Siva
Agamas in Tamil were the original holy texts of Saivaism of Tamil Nadu, long
before the Vedic religion from north India having Vedas in Sanskrit as its
principal holy texts, gradually took a place of pride along with Saivaism in
Tamil Nadu in the subsequent periods.The God Siva's forms such as
Sivalingam, Siva with Gangai and crest moon in his knots of hair with snake
around his neck and a blue kandam on his throat, and the trident in one
hand, the Nadarajar, Lingothbavar, Somaskandar, Thedchana-murthi,
Arthanadiswarar etc etc are only known to us from Agamams.

(8) Saivaism and Vedic Religion

The Siva Agamas were also known as Thanthiram and Saiva Nool, while the
Vedas were also known as Manthiram, Aranam and as Veda Nool. The
religious scriptures - namely the Agamas & Vedas - of the two religions the
Saivaism & Vedism, were practised side by side in Saivite Temples in the
pre-medieval, medieval, and post-medieval Tamil Nadu. This is confirmed by
the following references.

"VedaNool, Saiva Nool, entru irande nookal,
veru uraikkum nool ivatrin virintha nookal
aathi Nool anaathi amalan tharum nool irandum
Arana Nool, Pothu Saivam arun sirappu noolaam."

Meikanda Nool

"Aravu oli Agamangal, Arivar ari Thoththirangal,
viraviya Veda oli, vinnellaam vanthe ethirnthu issaippa"

7th Thirumurai - pathikam 100, verse - 8

"Vethamodu Saivaneri vilanga vantha kavuniyanaar"

Periyapuranam 453

"Saivam muthal vaitheekamum thalaiththonga"

Periyapuranam 302

Simian primates are our closest cousins in the biological world. Monkeys belong
to this group, and there is a rich variety of them. The word monkey came into
English from the name Moneke of an animal in the German translation of a fable.

It is bad enough that we trap these innocent creatures from their natural
habitats and put them in cages in zoos for our amusement. Even more sadly,
though with undeniable benefits to our species, thousands of monkeys are
subjected to various degrees of discomfort, pain, and even torture on occasions,
in the name of medical research. Humanity owes them heart-felt gratitude for
all the suffering inflicted they have been subjected to in our quest for
remedies for human ailments.

But in many parts of India one can see monkeys happily sporting on tree branches
and road-sides, sometimes snatching away an article or two from a careless
passer-by. In some places of pilgrimage they are even treated with reverence.
This is the extraordinary cultural impact of the Ramayana where the monkey chief
Hanuman is a pious and unswerving devotee of Lord Rama. Any monkey is therefore
regarded metaphorically as a manifestation of Hanuman. A hymn to Rama says:

"yatra yatra raghun?a k?anam tatra tatra mastaka anjalim

bh?av? p?locanam m?tim nammascha r?has antakam

Wherever the story of Rama is sung, there Hanuman sheds his joyous tears.

Since Hanuman is in that place, of evil forces we need have no fears."

Hanuman was erudite and wise, virile, virtuous, and highly intelligent. He had
magical powers which enabled him to change his shape and size, shorten and
elongate his tail, and fly across land and sea. His progenitor was Varuna, the
Vedic God of the air. He impresses us, not as a monkey, but as an extraordinary
personage who exemplifies wisdom and piety. The hymn of the forty couplets that
the poet Tulsidas composed for Hanuman has become a devotional classic in the
Hindi-speaking world, recited religiously by millions of people. If Hanuman is
represented as a monkey in the austere presence of the powerful prince Rama, it
is perhaps to remind us humans that we bear to the Divine the same humble
proportion: the image of Hanuman-Rama puts the Man-Divine stature in the right
perspective.

The monkey is also one of the animals honored on the Chinese calendar: the ninth
month in the twelve-year cycle is named after it. Then there is a famous legend,
dating back to the Tang dynasty, in which a monkey named Sun Wu'kung emerged
from a rocky egg which had been fertilized by the wind (v?putr?). He became
the Monkey King. He mastered the arts, the sciences, and the magical craft by
which he could change his form at will, and even fly. He knew about the secrets
of immortality. The resemblance to Hanuman has not been lost on scholars of
comparative cultures.

In Tibetan lore there is a legend in which Avalokiteshvara initiated a monkey
and sent him to Tibet for meditation. There, while the blessed creature was
contemplating on Buddhist virtues, a demoness, imbued in lust, approached him,
and begged him to marry the monstrous maiden. (This reminds us of the encounter
between Shurpanaka and Rama.) The meditating monkey refused, but she implored,
threatening to marry another ogre, and beget more ogres in the land, and they
would devour thousands of children. Finally, the Bodhisattva monkey, with
blessings from Avalokiteshvara, relented. From their union were born children
with two broad natures: some had the qualities of stupidity, impatience,
harshness, etc.; while others had qualities like patience, sensitivity, wisdom,
etc. This explains why the people of snowy Tibet (as indeed all over the world)
have both good and bad qualities.

Since monkeys are not common in temperate zones we don't find them mentioned in
Norse or Eskimo mythology. But there is a reference to them in Greek story.
Passalus and Akmon stole the bow of Hercules, for which offense the brothers
were tied to a pole and carried upside down by the gigantic hero. The duo made
jokes which made Hercules laugh, and they were set free. But Zeus wasn't amused,
and he transformed the two (known as Kekopes) into monkeys.

In the Aztec culture of South America we have the Ahuizotl who is said to be an
android simian. He is known for his ferocious behavior.

And who can forget the Three-Monkeys of Japanese lore with the see-no-evil,
hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil (mi-zaru, kika-zaru, iwa-zaru) motto? Some have
suggested that this is may have been a pun, for the Japanese word in that
motto means a monkey. In any case, these monkeys are world famous today as
statuettes of the simian trio.

Thus, if monkeys are our progenitors, as per Darwin, they have also permeated
human culture in a variety of ways.

Today is New Year,

Puthandu Vaalthukal to Indians and Sinhalese,

Happy Vaisakhi,

Happy Songkran (Thailand),

Happy Thingyan (Myanmar),

Happy Bon Chol Chhnam (Cambodia),

Happy BoumPimai (Laos),

All of mainland Buddhist southeast asia use the Indian calendar except Vietnam which follows the chinese calendar.

In Bali they follow the Saka calendar and celebrate new year - Nyepi, on 21st March this year.

Like the duck and the goose, the swan is a water bird. But it is more beautiful
than either. So, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen, we talk about the ugly
duckling, or we refer to someone as a silly goose, but we never talk about an
ugly cygnet or a silly swan. No duck or goose has been transported to the
heavens, but the swan has been taken up there: there is a constellation named
after it. It is called Cygnus, which is Latin for swan.

The swan has a grace of its own. We don't know who preached monogamy to them,
but swans are known to have only one mate, except when that mate dies. Perhaps
the symbol of white for purity came from this. But only swans in the northern
hemisphere are white in color. In Australia and South America, one can find
black swans as well. Unaware of this, the Latin satirist Juvenal wrote, "Rara
avis in terris nigroque simillima cycno: As rare a bird on earth as a black
swan."

The bird is too beautiful to be ignored by myth-makers. So the Celts thought the
swan represents the soul, that humans are eventually transformed into
swan-souls. This reminds us of a Hindu idea. The word for swan is hamsa in
Sanskrit. Now, if one were to repeat continuously the syllables ham-so, one will
be chanting the beeja-mantra so-ham: That am I, the identification of the
individual self with the Supreme Self.

The swan also stands for eternal time which is why the bird is associated with
the creative principle Brahma. Sometimes Brahma is pictured as riding on a swan,
giving him the epithet of Hamsavahana: one with the swan as the rider, and as
Kalahamsa: the Time-Swan. The Agni Purana lists Hamsa (swan) as one of the
twelve s?yas or modes of attaining self-realization.

Unlike the goose or the duck, the swan does not make loud noises. The so-called
mute-swan does not quack or coo, but it generates low-decibel sounds.

There is an ancient belief in the Western tradition that a swan sings a special
song when it dies. Perhaps Socrates started this belief. Speaking of swans, he
says in Plato's Phaedo that "when they sense that they are about to die, they
sing quite frequently and most beautifully. They rejoice because they are about
to approach the Gods whose servants they are. Men, however, in their fear of
death, relate false tales about swans." The Roman poet Martial wrote in his
Epigrams that "the swan murmurs sweet strains with failing tongue, itself the
minstrel of its own death." And Shakespeare's Othello says, "I will play the
swan, and die in music." But in the Hindu (Karnatic) tradition the raga
Hamsadhvani (Swan-sound) often begins a recital because it was in that raga that
a beautiful invocation to Ganesha (of Vatapi) was written by the great composer
Muttuswami Dikshatar. It is one of the most beautiful ragas of this school of
music.

Hindu mythic vision saw the fluffy clouds in the sky as celestial lakes where
beautiful swan-like apsaras swim. A nineteenth century commentator wrote that
the apsaras "skim as swans over the lotus-pond of heaven, or, laying aside their
feather-dresses, bathe, as beautiful females, in the limpid flood. These
swan-maidens . receive to their arms the souls of the heroes. Sometimes they
descend to earth, and become the wives of mortals; but soon their celestial
nature re-asserts itself, and they expand their luminous wings, and soar away
into the heavenly deeps of tranquil azure."

In Vedantic thought, the flight of the swan is like liberation from the cycle of
birth and death. It is said that just as the feathers of the swan don't get wet
by the waters wherein they swim, the Advaitin can live in this material world,
unblemished by the maya of its materiality. There is also a folk belief to the
effect that swans can separate water from milk in a mixture of the two. So
Ramakrishna is called Paramahamsa (The Great Swan). Another traditional belief
is that swans thrive on pearls.

In Greek mythology, there is the story of Zeus who once assumed the form of a
swan to seduce Leda. It was from that union that Helen of Troy was born who,
like Sita, was abducted; and this lead to the Trojan War.

One reads that when Apollo was born, many swans flew all around the island. They
made not one but seven rounds. The swan was also associated with Orpheus whose
music, like that of Krishna, entranced the flora and fauna around. The swan was
often pictured as playing on a lyre. This brings to mind Sarasvati of the Hindu
tradition with her gorgeous veena: she also has a swan with her.

In the Buddhist tradition, there is the story of a swan which had been shot by
an arrow by Devadutta, the Buddha's cousin. But it was saved by Siddharta. The
question arose: to whom did the bird belong. A wise man settled it by saying
that it belonged to the one who saved the life, and not to the one who tried to
take away the life.

So the lovely swan, which is almost extinct in India today, has a proud place in
the cultures of the world.

BEING Conceals and Reveals to Bring About Evolution of Metaphysical Understanding

VaLLalaar looks at the vast range of religions including the atheistic like the Indian Lokayatas Buddhists and so forth and seeks to provide an explanation of all these metaphysical phenomena in terms of the central Universal Praxis of BEING viz. that of concealing and revealing noted here as karitaaki veLitaaki i.e. becoming the Dark or mystical and the OPEN or conscious.

There is an evolutionary dynamics in all such majestic metaphysical cultures where we can see a development where the higher emerges from the lower only because there is MORE of DISCLOSURE in the higher metaphysical forms and because of which it can deconsttruct the lower and dispalce it.

Thus when BEING hides or conceals Himself, He becomes someone extremely difficult and rare to comprehend and which drives people to DENY the presence of BEING and hence become the Nastikas, the atheists. They are also driven to SUBSTITUTE BEING with historical figures, gurus, and such other tangible objects, monuments, mortal remains and so forth and charge them with sacrality by way of intuiting BEING in such objects that become so emotionally charged because of this.

It is here VaLLalaar sees the origins of RITUALS of various kinds, the so-called religious arts where  the hiddenness of BEING is slowly destroyed and BEING discloses Himself in some small measures so that metaphysical life is sustained.  But here too the finite human mind would seek to FIXATE even the rituals by saying that only some that are prescribed by the Agamas and so forth are AUTHENTIC, others are not and so forth. To destroy this tendency of the human mind BEING discloses Himself as the One absolutely BEYOND all kinds of rituals (karaNaatiitam).

To understand the presence and essence of BEING, what is required is a mind that is Pure and transparent, a metaphysical innocence so that that there is no opacity caused by the presence of DIRT, the Malam deep within. For such people who struggle to PURIFY themselves BEING begins to shine brilliantly in their mind as an immensely strong Radiance that wipes out all doubts and uncertainties.

Al metaphysical doubts as to the presence of BEING how He stands in relation to the world, whether He is the same as the cosmos or different and so forth disappear with the burst of a clarity of understanding that comes with apodictic certainly.

Thus this apodictic certainly with respect to the most fundamental metaphysical questions belongs to the final stages of evolution of the human understanding of the deepest kind and is brought into being there within the experience of a person only by a dialectics of BEING where He hides and reveals and in that stimulates deeper and deeper metaphysical pursuits.

Only in the end He discloses Himself very clearly by way of putting an end to this metaphysical struggle of man that he has waged across millions and millions of births.

14.
aritaaki ariyatinum aritaaki
        anaatiyaay aatiyaay aruLataaki
peritaaki periyatinum periyataakip
        peetamaay apeetamaayp piRaGkaa ninRa
karitaaki veLitaakik kalaikaL aakik
        kalai kadanta poruLaakik karaNaatiitat
teritaana veLinaduvil aruLaam vaNmaic
        cezuG kiraNac cudaraaki tikazun teeveee!

For more than a year now I have been reflecting on various aspects of Hindu
heritage which is part of my cultural roots. That heritage is rich in variety,
diverse in perspectives, and immense in scope. There are countless more items
under this broad theme on which I could reflect. One can talk about historical
personages which have brought glory or gloom to India' long history, great
writers from our literary traditions, saints and sages, festivals, and on and
on. One can continue doing this for the rest of one's life, and still not
exhaust the topics. So any conclusion would be at an arbitrary point.

The Hindu world has always been in a state of flux and transformation. But in
recent decades it has been tossed by tension and turmoil such as it has perhaps
never before experienced. Maybe this is simply an impression one gets because of
the ease of communication in our own times, and the fact that bad news spreads
more easily than good news. When I was in India a couple of months ago, I saw
people cheerful and contented, hard-working and productive, well-dressed and
hopeful. Stores were bustling with customers, youngsters were going to schools
and colleges, and temples were crowded and noisy with homage to the Almighty.

Yet, it can't be denied that caste controversies have swelled, for the good and
for the bad. For the good, because all the dirt of discrimination against fellow
Hindus and dehumanization of our Dalit brothers and sisters that had been
invisible under the fancy rugs of books on philosophy and swami-talks have been
exposed; movements have been initiated to cleanse an otherwise grand system of
anachronistic practices unworthy of an enlightened society. This transformation
to a better world is wrought with birth-pangs.

It finds expression in some unpleasant ways. It alienates millions of Hindus
from the tradition, and draws them to religions that promise greater spiritual
equality. The clamor for reform and equality has divided Hindus into two main
groups: One consists of people who are afraid of or reluctant to change the
status quo, or honestly believe that all the talk of caste-injustice is blown
way beyond legitimate proportion, instigated by external forces which are
inimical to Hinduism. The other group consists of no less loyal Hindus, but with
a less passionate affiliation to traditional doctrines. They make no bones about
recognizing that our ancestors had been guilty, perhaps unwittingly, of actions
and attitudes which, from current perspectives, were downright unconscionable.

It may be of some consolation to be reminded in this context that the acrimony
between religious conservatives and liberals - if one may so simplistically
characterize the two groups within Hinduism - is not unique to the Hindu world.
It is certainly there in Judaism and Catholicism, in Islam and in the Protestant
world also.

For my part, though I sincerely extol ancient sages for their wisdom and poetry,
I am deeply interested in seeing current wrongs corrected for
scripture-independent moral reasons. Moreover, even while recognizing that
outside forces have often been hurtful to India, I am not as eager to throw the
blame for every malaise and malpractice in Hindu society on Christian
missionaries and Islamic invaders.

Then there is the confrontation between Hindu Indologists who take their
tradition seriously and other Indologists (mostly Western) who examine it all
with the objectivity of microbiologists, analyzing Indic culture as if those of
the tradition have no feelings or love for their heritage. The recriminations
between these two groups have taken on ugly and unbecoming modes in the past few
years. As I see it, such mutual name-calling in avoidable, because deep in their
hearts all the people involved, except perhaps for a few, are deeply hurting at
the plight and predicament of the Hindu world today.

The world is perilously polarized on practically every issue. And there seems to
be no hope of harmony in sight. This is not like a freedom struggle or an
all-out war where, sooner or later, there will be the defeat of one and victory
of the other. The confrontations in today's world don't hint at a denouement. If
a quarrel or conflict lasts unabated, it can only grow, and is likely to explode
at some point disastrously.

This is the gloomy context in which I have been looking into my remote roots. In
my moments of reflection I have tried to take my mind away from rude reality to
thoughts that are fascinating and to times that are distant enough not to jolt
me emotionally. I have also been trying to tell myself and others that even if
there have been painful persons and episodes in history, there is also much that
is positive, fascinating, and interesting in the past. That was one of my
inspirations for reflecting on my remote roots.

As I rambled every other day during the past year on a variety of themes, I was
well aware that my reflections were colored by my own prejudices and constrained
by the bounds of my knowledge and understanding. I wish to thank all who
corrected my errors, gave different perspectives, and commented in other ways.

Differences between Merging and Moksha

At pralaya led natural calamities, like the one underway now and which is
consuming the lower half of the antarloka and its effects spilling over here,
the souls who have a long way to go in the normal transmigration route of
resolving karmas are 'exempted' and 'absorbed into the jaws of Lord Rudra'
at their untimely death. Ninety percent of souls during this period merge this
way, without any understanding of the OneLord, the gods, the worlds,
without even awareness of merging. At the instance of death they merge
immediately with the Lord like water into the ocean, with no stay in the
antarloka or svarloka, never knowing a dualistic or monistic experience with
the OneLord, and therefore never to return again in individual consciousness.

This 'immediate merging' is the grace of god called the 'Aghoraaya Way of
Merging'. Karmas are shattered immediately and the soul absorbed into the
Lord right away on death with immediate and permanent loss of separate
identity. Pralaya is a period where there is a mass rapid absorption of souls.

The others who willfully strive for unfoldment with diksha, prayers and
meditation, meaning those who innately know that they have lost their free
will, are slowly led to insights and inner experiences of Twoness, then
Oneness with the Lord and moksha is attained. Though not all souls. Those
who dont fully realise are born again in the sat yuga. They then experience a
merging with the OneLord right here on earth while still retaining a human
body and exclaim 'There is only me', and 'I am Him'. Less than one percent
souls experience merging in this way, which is called the 'Sadashivaaya' Way
of Merging'.

These souls leave the body on invitation, or at will, and stay long periods in
the upper antarloka as 'gods', then trancend into the svarloka and can even
choose to become a great God and assist people on earth. Or not. They can
choose to merge with the OneLord right on death at any time.

It is among these souls that a few, just two or three, are chosen to take birth
again in a new sat yuga and lead life as gods on earth.

The words were heard deafeningly clearly.

"Aghora"

"Aghoraaya"

"Sadashivaaya"

On this day of the Tamil New year I will reflect on this important tree. It is
customary in many Tamil homes to have as an important dish in their New Year
feast a delicacy made of the Margosa flower (Veppamp?ich is bitter in taste,
mixed with sour mango, and sweet sugar. It is symbolic in two ways. First it is
to remind us that the coming year, like previous ones, may be expected to bring
pleasant and unpleasant (sweet as well as sour and bitter) events. Secondly, if
we can put up with the taste of the Margosa flower, we will be able to handle
any unpleasantness the year may bring. In an ode to the first month of the year,
Seshendra Sharma wrote about the branches of the Margosa tree thus:

Their fragrance unparalleled
by that of any flower in creation-
The lavishness of the scent of the new flowers
intoxicated me-
My thoughts got vanquished.
I stood like an innocent boy
before the Neem tree.
I too grew little branches
with twinkling star like flowers on them.
Then the Neem tree took me into its arms-
If experience is a reality
for the deity of illusion
then dream is its temple.

Margosa is known as mah?mba in Sanskrit, whence the popular name Neem in many
Indian languages. The botanical name for this beautiful tree with its broad
leaves and fragrant flowers is derived from Farsi: Known as Azadirachta indica,
it means the Free Tree of India. Indian lore traces its properties to what
happened during the momentous Churning of the Ocean: When Garuda was carrying
amrita to the gods, a few drops fell on the leaves of this ancient tree. This
accounts for the Margosa's extraordinary properties.

Chemists tell us that the tree contains some precious compounds which have
remarkable properties. Indeed, the tree repels insects, even kills them, thus
making it effective in the preparation of pesticides. It is safe to sit under
its shade without being bothered by bugs. Twigs from its branches have been used
for cleaning teeth since ancient times. Neem-oil is known to be soothing and
remedial for skin ailments. Some say that it can prevent hair from graying and
the head from balding. An alkaloid from the tree's bark is used to eliminate
lice from the head. Powdered Neem is an ingredient in some Indian cosmetics.
Some have claimed that extracts from Neem leaves prevent pimples. There are many
other medicinal properties embedded in this extraordinary tree which is
essentially of Indian origin. In the words of one expert, the Neems's "powerful
antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral and antiseptic properties make it
particularly effective in treating anything from dandruff to acne, eczema to
malaria and cold sores to warts!"

Traditionally, all the benign properties of the Neem were discovered by trial
and error, but modern science has identified their particular chemical origins.
One does not always realize how much scientific information of practical value
the ancients discovered without the benefit of the instruments, analytical
techniques, and conceptual framework that guide and assist the scientists of our
own times.

We may recall in this context what Madame Blavatsky wrote in the nineteenth
century in her Isis Unveiled: "No country in the world can boast of more
medicinal plants than Southern India, Cochin, Burma, Siam, and Ceylon. European
physicians--according to time-honored practice--settle the case of professional
rivalship, by treating the native doctors as quacks and empirics; but this does
not prevent the latter from being often successful in cases in which eminent
graduates of British and French schools of Medicine have signally failed. Native
works on Materia Medica do not certainly contain the secret remedies known, and
successfully applied by the native doctors (the Atibba), from time immemorial;
and yet the best febrifuges have been learned by British physicians from the
Hindus, and where patients, deafened and swollen by abuse of quinine, were
slowly dying of fever under the treatment of enlightened physicians, the bark of
the Margosa, and the Chiretta herb have cured them completely, and these now
occupy an honorable place among European drugs."

As often happens, associated with medicinal trees are also practices which some
may regard as primitive superstition. Thus, tribes in India used to tie frogs to
sticks adorned with Margosa leaves in their supplications to the Almighty for
rain showers. When there was rain, one caught frogs and tied them to bamboo
sticks with Margosa leaves and sang to them in hopes of getting more rain. One
also circumambulated the tree for obtaining benefits, and used its leaves to
ward off evil.

The Tamil year begins with the Margosa, and I conclude my series with this
essay.

We have already following Tiruvalluvar have discussed about the
tools of knowledge (number and letters) and of the sources of
knowledge (reasoning and experience).Whether knowledge is value
oriented or not is a subject of debate among scholars. Some scholars
say that knowledge is to be bound by social, political, economic,
moral and aesthetic values human beings have developed in the long
history of life. But some other scholars, particularly the science
researchers, opine that knowledge is knowledge in its purity, and it
should not be bound or limited or soiled by any kind of values; any
limitation to knowledge cannot be called knowledge in real terms.

Tiruvalluvar justifies and holds that only when knowledge carries
values, it is knowledge in real sense of terms. He says that
knowledge is the powerful weapon that prevents man from his
destructions. If it does not do so meaningless and a useless tool to
be thrown out. Arivu arram kaakkum karuvi, is his statement.
Knowledge is a tool with which good or bad can be performed; it is a
torch which may throw light on both right and wrong paths. To
Valluvar knowledge is knowledge in the real sense of term only when
it helps and guides man to avoid the wrong and choose the right
ones..

Sentra vitaththar selavidathu theethori
Nantrinpaal uippathu arivu. (Tirukural transliteration)

Aram pola koormayarenum marampolvar
Makkal panpilla thavar  ( Tirukural transliteration)

Valluvar says, however sharp and great a man's knowledge is, he
shall be considered a useless tree on the side of a road'. He shall
be considered a man of knowledge only when he is guided by humanism,
that is human values.

Western scholars who have discussed exhaustively about the concept
'knowledge' have not said anything about the value oriented character
of knowledge. Is it not a mater of pride for the Tamils?

k.narayanan

By J.G. Arora
jgarora@vsnl.net

Central Chronicle, Bhopal: October 7, 2005

Vedas are ancient India's divine scriptures to guide humans in their day to day life as also in their pursuit of self -realization. And as per Atharva Veda (10.8.32), "Divine scripture neither grows old, nor ends" (Devasya pashya kavyam na mamaar, na jiryati).

Vedas, the proud possession and earliest books of mankind, are the foundation of Sanatan Dharma (timeless religion), commonly known as Hinduism. Vedas contain sublime thoughts in sublime language. First Mantra of Rig Veda is the first known poem in the world.

Four Vedas viz. Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda contain altogether 20416 Mantras. Rig Veda is the oldest Veda and has maximum number of Mantras. Each Vedic Mantra has its Devata; and the Rishi (sage) to whom the Mantra was revealed and its Chhanda (metre). And all Vedas have got their respective Mantra Samhitas, braahmana, aaranyaka and Upanishad books.

Let us have a small glimpse of fascinating vistas of Vedic lore.

Casteless and classless society

Vedas, the foundation of Hinduism, are all-embracing and stipulate a casteless and classless society. Vedas treat all humans with the same affection. Vedas speak of nobility and one-ness of entire humanity (krinvanto vishvam aryam). Mantra number 10-13-1 of Rig Veda addresses entire humanity as divine children (Shrunvantu vishve amrutsya putraha).

Innumerable Mantras of Vedas emphasize one-ness, universal brotherhood, harmony, happiness, affection, unity and commonality of entire humanity. A few illustrations are given here. Vide Mantra number 5-60-5 of Rig Veda, the Divine Poet declares, "All men are brothers; no one is big, no one is small. All are equal". Mantra number 16.15 of Yajur Veda reiterates that all men are brothers; no one is superior or inferior." Mantra number 3-30-1 of Atharva Veda wants all humans to be affectionate and to love one another as the cow loves her newly born calf. Underlining harmony still further, Mantra number 3-30-6 of Atharva Veda commands humankind to dine together, and be as firmly united as the spokes attached to the hub of chariot wheel.

Last Mantra of Rig Veda further emphasizes unity and harmony of entire humanity, "Samani Vha Aakuti, Samana Hrudyani Vha, Samanam Astu Vo Mano, Yatha Vha Su Saha Asti." ("Let your aims be one, let your hearts be one, let your minds be one, and let your unity go from strength to strength").

Tribute to Mother Earth

Though ecology is a modern concept, the best tribute ever paid to environment is found in Vedas. 63 Mantras of Atharva Veda (12.1.1. to 12.1.63) pertain to Prithvi-sukta, the Hymn to Earth, which glorifies Mother Earth. Vedic sages regarded Earth as sacred and inviolable.

Mantra number 12.1.12 of Atharva Veda calls Earth as the mother and humanity as its children (Mata bhumih putro aham prithivyaha). Prithvi Sukta proclaims Earth as the mother of all creatures, and solicits its blessings.

According to Prithvi Sukta, Mother Earth is adorned with heights, slopes, plains, hills, mountains, forests, plants, herbs and treasures; and She takes care of every creature that breathes and stirs. May She give us joy, wealth, prosperity, good fortune and glory!

You are 'Supreme'

While addressing humanity, Atharva Veda (2.11.15) informs every seeker, "You are pure, you are radiant, you are blissful, you are enlightened" (Shukro-asi, bhrajo-asi, swar-asi, jyotir-asi). Carrying this message further, various Upanishads proclaim, aham brahmasmi (I am the Supreme: Brihad Aaranyak Upanishad 1.4.10); tat tvam asi (you are the same: Chhandogya Upanishad: 6.8.7); pragyanam brahmam (Know the Supreme: Aitreya Upanishad: 3.1.3) and ayam atma Brahmam (This Atma is Supreme: Mandukya Upanishad I.2). These four maxims are called four Maha Vakyas (Great Maxims).

Universal peace and harmony

Universal peace and harmony is integral to Vedas. Famous Shanti Mantra (Hymn of Peace) in Yajur Veda (36.17) wants peace and harmony to pervade the entire universe; and is as follows:-

"I pray for peace to pervade all the worlds; I pray for peace in the Sky and Earth; peace in waters; peace in herbs, vegetation and forests; peace among all people and rulers of the world; peace in entire universe; peace for every one everywhere. Peace, real peace. I pray for that very peace!"

And as per Atharva Veda (11.15.6), "Let dwellers of all directions be my friends". Vedas propagate universal harmony and well-being of entire humanity. Vedic sentiment is "Sarve janah sukhino bhavantu." (May every one be happy)!"

Share your wealth

Many Vedic Mantras direct humans to share their wealth with others. Rig Veda (1-15-8) stipulates, "Let us become God's instruments and distribute fortune to the poor and needy." Rig Veda (10.117.6) further declares that not sharing your wealth with others is sinful, and any one who eats alone incurs sin. Similarly, Atharva Veda (3-30-7) commands humans to share their comforts with others. If affluent Hindus utilize even a small fraction of their income to help vulnerable sections, expansionist religions will be unable to prey upon Hindu society.

Gayatri Mantra

Gayatri Mantra is also known as Savitri Mantra, Guru Mantra, and Maha Mantra. It appears in Rig Veda as also in Yajur Veda and Saam Veda.

Any discussion on Vedas includes the prayer of Gayatri Mantra i.e. Aum bhoor bhuvah swaha / tat savitur varenyam / bhargo devasaya dheemahi / dhiyo yo naha prachodayat. It means, "May the Almighty God, remover of pain and sorrow, the bestower of happiness, enlighten our intellect to lead us in the right direction".

Gayatri mantra is a prominent Mantra for self-realization and is said to represent the Supreme Lord. In Bhagvad Gita (10.35), Lord Krishna says that among the verses, He is Gayatri.

Sanskrit aphorism: Gayantam Triyate iti Gayatri means that since it protects its chanter, it is Gayatri Mantra. This Mantra directs the intellect to the right path; and gives inner peace and bliss.

Live for hundred years

Apart from helping humans in inner-discovery, Vedas emphasize supreme success in worldly life. As per Yajur Veda (36.24), "May our eyes see for hundred years; may we live active life for hundred years; may our ears hear for hundred years; may we speak for 100 years; may we lead active and independent life for hundred years; may we enjoy these faculties even beyond hundred years. (Pashyem shradah shatam / Jivem sharadah shatam shrunuyam sharadah shatam / pra bravam sharadah shatam adeenah syam sharadah shatam / bhuyashch sharadah shatat)".

Similar prayers for leading dynamic life for hundred years are also found in many other Vedic Mantras.

Will Vedic heritage survive?

It is shocking that Hinduism, the faith proclaiming universal brotherhood and one-ness of humanity is being attacked by anti-Hindu forces, and is threatened with extinction. Anti-Hindu forces are bent upon demolishing Hinduism, and are spreading misinformation about Hindu scriptures including Vedas.

Vedic language Sanskrit which is known as the best, sweetest and divine language has already been driven out of Indian schools and colleges by Macaulay's education system. With the ouster of Sanskrit, most of educated Hindus are ignorant about Vedas.

Losing our Vedic heritage would mean losing our identity. Apart from propagating them, Sanskrit and Vedas must also be taught as regular subjects in secondary schools and colleges since their survival is a must for survival of Hinduism.

Be Pure is to be FREE of Caste and Such Other Identities

It is quite amazing that in the vast range of Sacred Tamil literature and developed over at least 2500 years, there is NO ONE great genius who has ever sang in favor of caste and such birth-based identities. The Sacred Tamil is in fact truly and genuinely SACRED- there is a genuine SANCTITY and which is spiritually uplifting. As one explores the various metaphysical insights and personal struggles of these notable mystics,  one feels that one is in the company of very pure souls and who by their nobility and purity put us into shame.

We as ordinary individuals and where the soul is ATOMIC and all because infected with the Mummalam particularly the aaNavam that finitizes the mind by blinding the soul are naturally egoistic. And enjoy various kinds of social identities like the breeding caste in to  which one is born, the social group or VarNa and so forth.  These identities create various kinds of useless passions that are more egoistic than anything else. The atomic minds, unable to reach a university of understanding enjoy these very emotion-bound little social identities and with that find some kind of egoistic meanings for existence.

Maanikkar sees himself as one of such individuals and recognizes that in being so he is aatam ili, one without any wisdom and in that lowly like street dog. He feels so ashamed of himself to be such an egoistic individual , enjoying various kinds of social passions that are in fact useless. Such social passions lead to various kinds of social combats and which in turn lead to various kinds of psychological stress and so forth.

Here Maanikkar observes that to be PURE is to be FREE of such social identities but which  one can enjoy only as a blessing of BEING. For to free oneself from such stress-breeding egoistic identities, one has to DESTROY oneís very ego and which is NOT possible unless BEING enters the soul and illuminating it, destroys the asat-self and allows the self shine forth as the sat-self.  BEING destroys all alienating and differentiating thought processes where the birth into a caste  dispositional traits, the body color and so forth can be used to create the asat-self categories and allow the enjoyment of  various kinds of strong but silly emotions. The purification is so total that even speech of such alienating thought processes are not allowed to prevail.

The soul becomes so totally pure and in that also absolutely free of stress-producing racial and caste emotions. Thus BEING becomes on this account the very Amutu, the ambrosia for being-with-BEING in such a way provides a continuous supply of this Amutu that serves the soul as a medicine that frees it from all kinds of stress.

5.
caati kulam piRappenum cuzippaddu tadumaaRum
aatamili naayeenai allal aRuttu aadkoNdu
peetai kuNam piRar uruvam yaan enatu en uraimaayttuk
kootil amutu aanaanai kulaavu tillaiayil kaNdeenee

Meaning:
Out of metaphysical ignorance . like a street dog  I enjoyed various kinds of very emotional social identities arising from breed caste VarNa and so forth. While I suffered various kinds of stresses because of all these , BEING overpowered me and FREED me from all such stresses by PURYFYING my soul so that I became totally egoless. I was freed of all kinds of discriminatory thinking where I could use the ignorance of the soul  dispositional traits the bodily shape and so forth to create identities  of self and other . But BEING illuminated me so thoroughly that not only such discriminatory thinking but also the very articulation  of such matters was rooted out from me. This BEING who becomes because of this  faultless Ambrosia, I saw in the Tillai where all the gods are also present.

Loga

.

As you noted 'caati kulam' means jaati, varna kulam, race, skin
color, intelligence, heritage and all sorts of attachment and pride
one may have to identities.

It also indicates the name the saint uses to describe these people.
They are an aimlessly wandering emotional and shameless 'street dogs'
- the 'unblessed' for whom the self-soul qualities dont shine.

Pathmarajah

BEING is Beyond  Vedantic Philosophies and Sciences

VaLLalaar here is looking at the long Indian philosophical or metaphysical traditions and how even here the caste mentality has crept into spoiling the very function of philosophical thinking.  In India we have the Vedantic philosophies that pretend to be the most authoritative as the insights are REVEALED in the Vedas and the Vedanta traditions are simply a tradition of clarifications of the essence of the Vedas. Such Vedantic philosophers disallow other philosophic possibilities and remain closed with the attitude that while there can be various kinds of mental speculations but they cannot lead to Moksa where only the Vedic tradition can as the Vedas are Apurushya and so forth. Anyone not well versed in the Vedas and follow the prescriptions there can never enjoy Moksa and redeem themselves.

Now opposed to these authoritarian traditions are the hermeneutic scientific that go by the name of Siddhantas like Suriya Siddhanta and so forth.  Such people  also remain opposed to authoritarian claims of the Vedists and hence remain also mentally closed to truths that could be revealed by BEING through some scriptures in general.

There is  caste mentality in both and this DISALLOWS comparing both traditions and LEARNING from both and with that transcend all to reach BEING who is BEYOND such philosophies and sciences.

VaLLalaar observes that people can spend enormous amount of time and energy in pouring over these Vedantic and scientific texts but with closed minds.  When the mind remains closed disallowing other possibilities then it imprisons itself in a certain mode off mental functioning and with that remain PREJUDICED forever. The mind that remains prejudiced is, as Tolkaappiyar has noted,  is a mind that is fettered ( vinaiyin aRivu). Such a mind will NEVER understand BEING let alone enjoy being-with-BEING.  For BEING is ParipuuraNam, an absolute wholeness without any defects and one who shines forth as an immensely radiant gem in the deepest layer of the soul of all i.e. citta cikaamaNi. Any philosophical discourse while clarifying some aspects cannot clarify wholly for all intellectual attempts be it scientific or exegetical are only PARTIAL - cannot be whole. The soul has to transcend and go beyond such attempts to reach BEING and who incidentally is already there in the soul of all.

BEING is NOT in the Vedas or any scriptures scientific treatises and so forth. Such  attempts of the human intellect can only clarify some aspects but not all. One has to be OPEN and be receptive to all possibilities and climbing up in the metaphysical pyramid reach the PEAK and enjoy what is called Civakati, a way of being-in-the-world without ever becoming embodied and hence suffering death. BEING is  in the deepest recess of the human mind, the Cittam, Dancing away in Bliss with Sakti so that the soul keeps on moving and break out bravely from all FIXATIONS.

15(5590)
cattiya veetaatamellaam sittaanntam ellaam
        tanittani meel uNarntu uNarntum tanai uNataRkaritaay
nittya ciRcabai naduvee niTaintu nadam puriyum
        nitta patipuuraNanaic citta cikaamaNiyai
attakaiyoor perum patiyai arumaruntai adiyeen
        aaviyaia en aaviyilee amarnta tayaanitiyaic
cittiyellaam enakkalaitta civakatiyai ulakiir
        cintai ceytu vaazttuminoo nintaiyellaam tavirttee

These are 383(+3) (about 4,000 hymns) in number and are set in 21 (22) paN (melodies - rAgas). They are arranged as the first three thirumuRais grouped according to their melody. These have been sung on 219 (+2) abodes.

It is marvelous to see that his compositions range from simple and sweet to sophisticated and splendid. He wrote songs that dwell over the various special poetic constructs of thamiz like thiruvezukURRirukkai, n^Aladi, Iradi, thirumukkAl, thiruvirAgam, thiruvirukkuk kuRaL, yAzmUri, thiruththALachchadhi, thiruviyamakam. If one wants to feel the splendors of thamiz language constructs the suggestion would be thirunyAna champan^dhar thEvAram; if one wants to feel the splendors of music the suggestion would be thirunyAna champan^dhar thEvAram; if one wants to feel the splendor of devotion the suggestion would be thirunyAna champan^dhar thEvAram !!!

thirunyAna champan^dhar's thEvAram generally follows a pattern. The eighth hymn in the compositions pities the ignorance of the valorous rAvaNa who tried to lift the mount kailAsham and notes the boon rAvaNa received when he worshiped in humbleness. The ninth hymn adores the Lord who stood beyond the reach of vishNu the protector and braHma the creator. The tenth hymn cautions against false propagandas. The eleventh one completes the padhikam with his signatural salutations to the Lord and indicates the benefits one gets by praising the Lord shiva with those hymns.

champan^dhar's thEvArams are highly revered not just because of their sweetness and constructs but mainly due to the depth of its contents. It makes the people wonder how deep knowledge of vEdhas and purANas this young three year old child had which is very obvious from his compositions ! It certainly could not have been possible without the Supreme's blessing.

Some of these hymns were sung creating marvels (making male palms to female, resurrecting girl pUmpAvai and so on) while all of them bring the Marvel mahEshwara to the heart of one who involves in them. Even today some of these padhikams are sung for accomplishing specific needs(2). It would be concise and correct if it is said that these hymns are the simple sweet easy way to spiritual enlightenment.

This is the first padhikam(song) of Thiru Nyaana Sambandhar. This is in the paN of Nattappaadai (Carnatic Raga Naattai). In this song Sambandhar has indicated the five actions of the God in a very nice way.

The Holy Bull signifies the Dharma or Justice. The God comes on the Holy Bull. This indicates creation. The Moon once when he was cursed to lose his "kala"s by Dhaksha, surrendered himself finally to Lord Shiva and pleaded for rescue. The Graceful Lord wore him on His matted hair so that he grows. Sambandhar refers to this incidence of protection.

He smears the ash that is spread in the cremation ground. This deed indicates He alone is immortal. This is the act of destruction. The next one is creating illusions. It is the thief who covers up the fact. God is also a thief. Because he steals our hearts ! The Vedhas also praise Him as, stheenaanaam pathi (head of thieves), thaskaraanaam pathi (head of robbers).

The fifth one is the act of love in which He blesses the persons who involve themselves in His Holy feet. Sambandhar indicates the puraaNa of Siirkaazi where Brahma offered prayers to Lord Shiva, and thus got His blessings. (Hence the town is also called Brahmapuram).

One nice thing to note in this song is it starts with the first letter as the PraNava. (th+oo). Yes He explains the act of that PraNava ruupa in this song ! Salutations to the God of Brahmapuram

Translation:
thOdudaiya cheviyan vidaiyER yOr thUveN madhichUdi,
kAdudaiya chudalaip podipUchi yen uLLam kavarkaLvan,
Edudaiya malarAn munain^At paNin^dhEththa aruLcheydha,
pIdudaiya piramA pura mEviya pemmAn ivananRE.

thOdudaiya cheviyan - He wears a ring in His ear, vidaiyERi - Comes on the Holy Bull, yOr thUveN madhichUdi - wears a Moon (in Head), kAdudaiya chudalaip podipUchi - smears the ash in the cremation ground, yen uLLam kavarkaLvan - He is the thief who steals my heart, Edudaiya malarAn - One with a flower or the One on the flower having the book (Vedas) - Brahma, munain^At paNin^dhEththa aruLcheydha - when prayed earlier blessed him, pIdudaiya piramA pura - Brahmapuram which having a lot of pride, mEviya pemmAn ivananRE - This person is the God who resides there.

Humility and Divine Grace

There seems to be a hidden but important reason why Maanikkar mentions the Ambalam of Tillai as a place where the four Vedas are chanted.  Right from ancient times there has been Vedic chanting among the Tamils and this probably because the Vedas were taken as texts in Archaic Tamil or at least not something imposed on them by some alien Aryans and so forth. In the whole of CaGkam literature where there are many places where the Vedas are mentioned nowhere it is said that it was alien to the Tamils and so forth.

My study of Rig Veda along with the recovery of the original Tamil Base and meanings indicates that the celebration of Fire was related to PURIFICATION of the soul understood as already polluted with Nicinna (Darkness) and antar nikhita and so forth i.e. inner darkness. It is this notion that is mentioned here as Malam also meaning Darkness.

As Sambantar mentions in several of his hymns there was eri oombal, the celebration of Fire only to prevent the onslaughts of Kali and which is actually kari, the Black Stuff again the metaphysical Darkness.

It appears that there came to be a DEVIANT Vedism with its evil VarNashrama Dharma and all because it lost sight of the presence of Malam in the deeper recesses of the souls and which makes them do evil and so forth.

The point is that it is only when the soul recognizes the presence of Malam that it becomes HUMBLE and refuses to exult in various kinds social constructs like race birth and so forth and social rewards that come because of that. Anyone like this like all those who are caste-minded are not only ignorant but also ARROGANT for they are NOT aware of the presence of DIRT, the DARK deep within their soul.

Maanikkar manages this deep metaphysical insight and because of which he calls himself a street dog and which is his metaphor for saying that he is in fact a rotten kind of fellow, nothing good in him. However he also notes in this interesting verse that it is this HUMILITY and self abasement that stands opposed to self-aggrandizement of Brahmanism, that earns him the Divine Grace, the flow of lumens into his soul and which purifies him of all the dirt and with that in fact make it possible to become a person wholly in LOVE with all.

He also notes that it is this CARE and CONCERN for all that further purifies his soul and with that enable him to enjoy the vision of the Dance of Bliss of Siva-Sakti in Tillai, the Paradise.

9.
paaGkinodu pariconRum aRiyaata naayeenai
ooGki uLattu oLi vaLara ualappilaa anbaruLi
vaaGki vinai malam aRuttu vaan karuNai tantaanai
naanku maRai payil tilai amabalayyrr kaNdeenaa

Meaing:
I remain the lowly street dog not deserving any merits that are rightfully mine. But Lo! As I realize my lowliness, there is growth of an inner radiance in my soul which destroying the atomicity and the dirt within made me full of love and care for all.  This BEING who destroyed the finitude and blessed thus, the one who was Love itself I saw in the vast Assembly of Tillai, the Paradise where are recited the four Vedas in earnest.

BEING is Not only Illuminating but Also Nourishing

It has been a part of very ancient metaphysics that there is a flow of illuminating LIGHT that not only purifies the soul but also dispels the metaphysical Darkness or as the Saivites would put it, the hold of Malam where the Malam is just as anati as BEING and the innumerable souls. Here in this verse Maanikkar understands BEING not only the Pure Radiance that illuminates but also the Green Gem that spreads the Green Light and which is a metaphor for life rejuvenation.

This is the metaphysics of COLORS where while the color of Fire spells out the destruction of Malam, the Darkness of Ignorance,  the GREEN signifies rejuvenation, the bringing back the freshness of the green pastures and so forth.  Here the Fire not only burns and illuminates but also brings about senility and which is offset by the GREEN color, the color of the marakatam the green gem stones.  This is also one of the colors Siva assumes as Mritiyunjayan, the one who vanquishes death.

But what is the metaphysics of it all?

Maanikkar notes that BEING becomes not only the five basic elements by differentiating the Maayai the Proto-matter but also becomes the infinite number of differentiated individual things and along with that the FIVE senses in terms of which these things are apprehended. It is here that  there emerges DIFFERENCES not only in understanding but also in biological forms and which acts on the mind makinf them exult in DIFFERENCE.  The PeetanGkal, the differences including what he has mentioned earlier- jaati kulam piRappu and so forth. The lowly man uses birth community religion language nationality and what not to CREATE differences and putting down others as exercises in egoism celebrate DIFFERENCE. Here certainly Manikkar must have in mind the caste and VarNa differences that he deplores and celebrating which in his ignorance led him to say that he was a street dog because of it all.

But what is the way to overcome this egoistic tendency to celebrate difference and exult in self-aggrandizement?

It is the TRUE understanding of BEING for BEING shows Himself as beyond such discriminations where in Himself He is the Great One who does not entertain at all any discriminations.  It is only those who are distant from BEING or who have not understood BEING at all  who would be discriminatory putting others down in order put oneself above others.

In nearing BEING in understanding and existence not only the soul enjoys the purifying flow of inner radiance but also the Green Light that rejuvenates the soul and body. Here Manikkar is NOT making an outlandish claim, a claim that requires evidences from scripture and so forth. It is a TRUTH already there in the understanding of all and anyone can ascertain it for himself by living it out. Living the life of Love and nondiscrimination brings as part of oneís direct experience such benefits.

10.
puutaGkaL aintaakip pulanaakip poruLaakaip
peetaGkaL anaittumaay peetamilaap perumaiyanaik
keetaGkaL keduttaaNda kiLar oLiyai marakatattait
veetaGakal tozuteettum viLaGku tillai kaNdeenee

Meaning:
BEING, the Great one becomes the five basic elements as well as the innumerable individual things and the five senses in terms of which the creatures apprehend them. Here there also emerge differences of all sorts but where BEING stands as the One who is above all differences and discriminations. Thus BEING stands as one the dispels all miseries that arise due to the discriminating tendencies  by allowing the inflow of illuminating light as well the Green Light that rejuvenates the soul and body.  I saw such a BEING in person in the Sacred Tillai where all the scriptures worship him.

5th thirumuRai

cAththiram pala pEcum cazakkarkAL
gOththiramum kulamum koNDu en ceyvIr
pAththiram civam enRu paNithirEl
mAththiraikkuL aruLum mARpERarE.

Meaning:
Oh the morons who talk a lot of processes (shAstras)!
What will you do with lineage (gOththiram) and clan (kulam)?
If you salute saying 'Essence is Lord Shiva',
The Lord of thirumARpERu will bless within a second.

Notes:
All the processes and procedures are intended
to make easy the journey to attain the goal.
They are not the goal in themselves. Without
realizing Lord Shiva and worshipping Him, one
who just adheres to shastras is as stupid as
the one who gets to the bus but misses the
destination.

Irrespective of what the background is, one who
makes sincere effort to reach Lord shiva, will reach the Lord. God would pave the route for that person.

cazakkar - stupid;
pAththiram - destination;
mAththirai - small part of time like second.

shaivam.org

VaLLalaar 134-17

VaLLalaar On Life Free of Death - 17

Life is for Learning and San Maarkkam is the Way for All Dravidian culture is founded upon PEDAGOGY and right from very ancient times where even in Sumerian times we see this thrust and because of which schools and academies became important institutions. The temples were also colleges of sorts and where various kinds of researches were conducted. Astronomy, Agriculture, Poetics, linguistics and so forth were developed within the temples and palaces.

VaLLalaar in this very interesting verse recalls this basic presupposition of the Tamil folks and says that the Can Maarkkam, the Way of Metaphysical Illumination is about to be installed all over  the world by BEING Himself and who would for that purpose destroy all the religions which cultivate only stupidity and ignorance.
The word religion,  by their very mind fixating character are muuda matam, systems that CLOSE the mind in fixating it to certain scriptures persons institutions traditions and so forth. This may be because the human soul seeks the False Security of continuity of cultural identity and so forth and that installs also FEAR of breaking out from all fixations and move ahead always in search of TRUTH and nothing else,  The Way of Enlightenment , the Can Maarkkam  involves  the destruction of the mind fixating religions but which is only  the first step. The mind must be kept MOVING or dancing and moving in the direction of TRUTH and in that should never allow itself to be imprisoned by a religion which by it very structure is very fixating in creating a very strong group identity and amking a person cling to it very stubbornly.

To free oneself from a religion and move in the direction of Can Maarkkam is like waking up from a deep slumber and enjoying many clear visions. Those who are lost to Can Maarkkam are people who are DEAD to the TRUTH and hence not living really at all. They may be  breathing eating  acting and so forth but really NOT LIVING the authentic life.

But the Can Maarkkam is NOT available in religions but only in the LEARNING  what BEING teaches as a Living Reality. BEING (God) is NOT dead - He is immensely alive and keeps on TEACHING all souls from within and without only that because of the various religions we remain forgetful of the living presence of BEING and that He teaches.

VaLLalaar feels that historically the present cultural ethos is for the death of the mind fixating religions and all only in order to make the mind RETURN to BEING by moving away from books gurus messiahs and so forth. To be religious is to be spiritually dead and we have to KILL the tendency within us to follow a religion and find a false security in order to be truly spiritual and be healthy physically and mentally.

17.
muyanRulakil payan adaiyaa muuda matam anaittum
        muduki azittidavum oru moosamum illaatee
iyanRa oru canmaarkkam eGku niLai peRavum
        em iRaivan ezuntaruLal itu taruNam kaNdiir
tuyinRuNarntee ezuntavar pool iRaibavarkaL ellaam
toonRa ezukinRatitu todaGki nikazntidum niir
  payinRaRiya viraintu vammin padiyaata padippaip
        pdittidalaam uNarntidalaam paRRidalaam cukamee

Meaning:
If all the world religions that have been useless and only have developed stupidity and ignorance, are destroyed, there is nothing bad at all.  Now BEING has arisen to destroys all such religions and bring people into Can Maarkkam the Way of True Enlightenment and the world situation now is ripe for such a Play of BEING, my Lord. Those who are lost in religions are like those who are in deep slumber. And when they get into Can Maarkkam it is like becoming awake and enjoying real consciousness. It is also like being dead and now all of a sudden becoming ALIVE to the real form of existence. So O those of you who remain lost to worldly life! Wake up and come an LEARN the metaphysical truths you have not learned at all and which BEING is pleased to teach you from within. If you learn and understand His teachings and as taught by Him, you will begin to enjoy real physical and mental health.

A Reconstruction  of the Solar Cosmology of the Indo-Europeansî (RSCI)
Author: alexander jacob dr_alexander_jacob@yahoo.co.uk

How accurate is Max Muller in describing these ancient religion as Henotheism? Now the Indian Tantrism is certainly the continuation of the Sumerian (and possibly also the Nubian, Kemetian) religion where we have the Solar Cosmology.  The Indian Tantrism is Metatheistic where BEING is One but who SHOWS Himself as MANY and all only to illuminate the souls. Metatheism goes with Icon Thinking where in the depths of all icons there is BEING and as the One.  Thus we have here Pedagogic Hermeneutics where the icons are taken as TEXTS with DUALITY of structure, the Surface Structure (SS) and Deep Structure (DS) and where BEING, the One, is the deepest of the deep structures.

Loga

It is nice that you point out again that we are monotheistic pluralists. 'Ekan anEkan iRaivan' is our essence. Congratulations. You are making a head way in making the world understand the Tamil world view.

Dr. Kannan

Everyone of us has had dreams. When we share our dreams with others it is
received based on trust, faith and belief, although there is no way to proof or
disprove one's experience of dreams. It cannot be empirically verified. But we
all accept the reality of humans' dream experiences simply because all of us
have experienced it. One can never explain about dreams to another who
has never experienced it oneself.

Some have had spiritual visions. Most of humanity have not, therefore this is
usually received with skepticism and disbelief. Only another person who has
had even just a single vision can accept the reality of visions as another area
of human experience. Most of humanity's notional belief in religious visions is
based on faith although they may never have had such an experience
themselves. Like dreams, visions can never be explained to another who has
never experienced it oneself.

All of humanity accept the occurence of dreams in human sleep experiences
but not the occurence of visions, although both share similar 'areas of
mind-space', and although both cannot be emphirically established. Herein
lies an irrationality. This is because faith steps in where one has an absence
of experience but sufficently trusts (has faith) that such experiences are real.

Dreams and visions are quite similar except that dreams are during sleep but
visions are during the waking state with total awareness and being fully
alert. Dreams and visions are spontaneous; it cannot be made to happen or
demonstrated. Visions can happen anytime but it is usually in prayers, in
meditation or in a temple, where the vision is seen with closed eyes. Or open
eyes, but that is rare. In this instance the visionary image is thrust right in
front of one's view so dramatically and captivatingly that the physical
surroundings becomes a backdrop and blurry.

Closed eye visions in meditation is most common and for the adept it takes
no more than thirty seconds to see the faint light of the soul and astral body
currents or the external aura, or just a split second to hear the inner sounds,
requiring just a refocusing of attention. Such a person is reminded all the time
of who one actually is and one's true nature. But this is about as far a
meditator can go all by oneself with effort. Which is something many
aspirants do not realise upon reaching a plateau in their striving. If they do
indeed have more profound visions it is only because of the grace of the gods
which they can only attest for after many years and decades of hindsight.

To go beyond this and have higher visions requires the grace of god. The
door to their world, their dimensions of existence, has 'one knob', but its on
the other side of the door and only they the gods can open the door. It is by
invitation only. Some meditators have seen themselves in vision, sitting in
meditation and facing a large door which has no knob. Occasional the gods
grace us by opening the door and we have a vision of the gods, the inner
worlds, or the beings that reside there.

But it is not correct to say that most of humanity has not had any visions or
spiritual experiences. On the contrary it is as common as dreams except that
most people have agitated minds and therefore are not able to 'identify' or
'recognise' it as a vision. It occurs in the same area as a dream, in the inner
forehead mind-space. It is usually brushed it off as imagination, day
dreaming, co-incidences or lightning flashes even when there are no clouds.
It is worship and meditation that trains us to recognise these experiences.
Visions are the result of chit of the satchitananda - the clear mind is pure
heightened consciousness/awareness, and is able to recognise visions.

Even this is not a good enough explanation; visions occur when the mind is
completely at rest, is in its natural state, sufficiently space-time frozen.
Mind
only exists within space-time. When we cross these ultimate frontiers, we
begin to see what was there all along.

A spiritual experience could be like for instance a welling of inexplicable joy
from within oneself for no reason, and not attached or due to any outside
object or event. It is happiness, contendedness and a feeling of ecstacy, not
related to the past or future, or the mind itself. It is the ananda of the
satchitananda. One bursts in smiles, walk like walking on air, sings or dances,
or shed tears of joy for no reason. This state can last for half an hour or even
two weeks continuously.

Intuitive flashes of wisdom or immediate inherent knowing is another kind of
spiritual experience that many of us have experienced. Its is like a long SMS
message received instantly but takes a while, some seconds or even minutes
for it to unfold in the mind as an idea or knowing. Intuitive flashes is the sat
of the satchitananda.

Our samhita and bakti hymns are the result of visions as well as
accompanying intuitive flashes where the meanings and words unfold in the
mind while the vision is experienced. Thats why these are called ' what is
seen and heard', the rishis being the seers. The agamas were received quite
differently; here the gods or devas in a vision dictate the text to a rishi who
dutifully acts as scribe and simply writes down what is seen and heard, and
sometimes the words too are seen displayed in the space in front of him in a
vision for several minutes, then dissolving after it has been written. This is
not in a meditative state but in a fully awake state, and its simply like a boss
dictating to a secretary. Agamas are thus called 'what came down'. Intuitive
flashes and visions is the satchit of the satchitananda.

If one can dream, one can have a vision. If one can sleep, one can meditate.
Those who have had any spiritual experience can affirm or deny this. To
others it would be like trying to explain about dreams to one who have never
had a dream.

Pathmarajah

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/akandabaratam/message/23265

Dr. Loga, please give me your psychologist' opinion on this.
Pathma

Dear Pathma
You have raised some important questions and I will describe briefly below point by point so that I make my views reasonably clear. I call dreams and visions Transductive Perceptions following the Indian practice where it is called Yogak Kaadci Vinjnjanak Kaadci Njana Pariyaya kaadci and so forth. It has been with us from Sumerian times where they distinguished between Ma-mu ( dreams proper) and similar experiences but called ma-mu nu-me-a ( Ta, mammu naa meyya: dream-like but not really a dream). The whole of Sumerian literature is replete with such notions and we have Dumuzi's Dream, a text probably the earliest in the world on Dream Analysis where the dream interpreter is called Gestin-Anna from which we may have the term Agastiya as a masculine version of the female Gestin Anna.
Below I express my views following yours.

Loga

[Dreams and Visions
Everyone of us has had dreams. When we share our dreams with others it is received based on trust, faith and belief, although there is no way to proof or disprove one's experience of dreams.  It cannot be empirically verified. But we
all accept the reality of humans' dream experiences simply because all of us
have experienced it. One can never explain about dreams to another who
has never experienced it oneself.]

Loga:
Here it is necessary to classify the dreams into various types. Most of the dreams I have had and studied are of prophetic type and such dreams can be verified. Some are verifiable as true within a few days but some take years. There are some which are not verifiable at all like those the describe what happens to the soul after death and so forth.

Some dreams are illuminating  describe what is happening in the unconscious so that you have a better understanding of yourself.

[Some have had spiritual visions. Most of humanity have not, therefore this is
usually received with skepticism and disbelief. Only another person who has
had even just a single vision can accept the reality of visions as another area
of human experience. Most of humanity's notional belief in religious visions is
based on faith although they may never have had such an experience
themselves. Like dreams, visions can never be explained to another who has
never experienced it oneself.

All of humanity accept the occurence of dreams in human sleep experiences
but not the occurence of visions, although both share similar 'areas of
mind-space', and although both cannot be emphirically established. Herein
lies an irrationality. This is because faith steps in where one has an absence
of experience but sufficently trusts (has faith) that such experiences are real.

Dreams and visions are quite similar except that dreams are during sleep but
visions are during the waking state with total awareness and being fully
alert. Dreams and visions are spontaneous; it cannot be made to happen or
demonstrated. Visions can happen anytime but it is usually in prayers, in
meditation or in a temple, where the vision is seen with closed eyes. Or open
eyes, but that is rare. In this instance the visionary image is thrust right in
front of one's view so dramatically and captivatingly that the physical
surroundings becomes a backdrop and blurry.]

Loga
Yes you are right here. I call them the normal dreams and Lucid Dreams or in Tamil kanavu and Kaadci.
I have had such visions since 1988 where all of a sudden and to my great excitement my Third Eye opened up and I started having dream-like visions while still awake. Such visions were about what were happening to me and most of them again were prophetic. Some of the visions about myself that I had in 1990 are becoming true only now. I keep having dreams and visions to this day and my existence is guided by such elements of Transductive Perceptions. I do not believe in Astrology and so forth only because such dreams and visions explain to me what is happening now and what will happen to me in the future and so forth. It looks as though there is a massive computer in my head and which can READ my fate and tell me in dream language what is happening, whatís going to happen and so forth.

Lately as I have reported I had a series of  deep dreams and visions about my health how BEING prevented a premature death and so forth. Most of such deep visions have become true and now I am enjoying not only good health but also youthful vitality and just as foretold by these visions.

[Closed eye visions in meditation is most common and for the adept it takes
no more than thirty seconds to see the faint light of the soul and astral body
currents or the external aura, or just a split second to hear the inner sounds,
requiring just a refocusing of attention. Such a person is reminded all the time
of who one actually is and one's true nature. But this is about as far a
meditator can go all by oneself with effort. Which is something many
aspirants do not realise upon reaching a plateau in their striving. If they do
indeed have more profound visions it is only because of the grace of the gods
which they can only attest for after many years and decades of hindsight.]

Loga:
Such states are not something I have experienced. The visions break in at any moment and during those moments my senses are completely withdrawn so that I am as if asleep. To enjoy the visions there must be a temporary deactivation of the tie of the soul with the senses and this happens to me quite automatically when I simply relax on the sofa or lie down, closing the eyes or not.

[To go beyond this and have higher visions requires the grace of god. The
door to their world, their dimensions of existence, has 'one knob', but its on
the other side of the door and only they the gods can open the door. It is by
invitation only. Some meditators have seen themselves in vision, sitting in
meditation and facing a large door which has no knob. Occasional the gods
grace us by opening the door and we have a vision of the gods, the inner
worlds, or the beings that reside there.]

Loga:
All dreams and visions are there only because of the Play of BEING. Here I do not agree at all with Freud and Jung who say that dreams are expressions of the repressed and suppressed desires.  Dreams belong to the Spiritual Pedagogy of BEING Himself. He TEACHES through dreams and we have to become adept at remembering them understanding them with appropriate rules of interpretation. This field of science is what  I call Hermeneutic Semiotics.

I also notice that the deepest and most profound dreams and visions occur when a person is in the grips of death. It appears to me the most important icons of BEING like Tirumaal Blue Siva Aticedan and so forth are presentational forms of BEING related to rescuing the soul from impeding death.

[But it is not correct to say that most of humanity has not had any visions or
spiritual experiences. On the contrary it is as common as dreams except that
most people have agitated minds and therefore are not able to 'identify' or
'recognise' it as a vision. It occurs in the same area as a dream, in the inner
forehead mind-space. It is usually brushed it off as imagination, day
dreaming, co-incidences or lightning flashes even when there are no clouds.
It is worship and meditation that trains us to recognise these experiences.
Visions are the result of chit of the satchitananda - the clear mind is pure
heightened consciousness/awareness, and is able to recognise visions.]

Loga:
Yes quite true. We have to TRAIN ourselves to be good dreamers. And I as we become adept in this then the lucid dreams or visions  also begin to occur on their own This becomes possible when while awake one can free onselves from the senses.

[Even this is not a good enough explanation; visions occur when the mind is
completely at rest, is in its natural state, sufficiently space-time frozen.
Mind only exists within space-time. When we cross these ultimate frontiers, we
begin to see what was there all along.]

Loga:
Yes there is transcending the atomizing conditions and reaching the most universal especially in deep dreams that I call metaphysical dreams. The substance of metaphysical dreams are universal  something true for all humans beings( as well as all living creatures?). It is in the course of such dreams that we begin to learn about the universals dimensions of BEING, the universal Praxis like the Pancha Krityas and so forth
During such moments the soul is also FREED from the body so that it is as if bodiless. It is also during such moments that Mantrayana bursts in ushering the soul going beyond the Icon Thinking.

[A spiritual experience could be like for instance a welling of inexplicable joy
from within oneself for no reason, and not attached or due to any outside
object or event. It is happiness, contendedness and a feeling of ecstacy, not
related to the past or future, or the mind itself. It is the ananda of the
satchitananda. One bursts in smiles, walk like walking on air, sings or dances,
or shed tears of joy for no reason. This state can last for half an hour or even
two weeks continuously.]

Loga:
Yes I remember very distinctly when as I young man I had an intuition of the Dance of Siva and as I remained captured in that understanding there was a flood of inexplicable and immense joy all over my body. Even now I have  many such spiritual experiences but in the form of very exhilarating metaphysical dreams of the Lucid Variety. Lately I have many dreams of climbing up a diamond Pyramid and along with a number of sakties and on reaching the very top all of us become bodiless mantra bodies. This dream keeps on recurring with some variations like actually traveling in a sturdy car with some sakties on a windy road,  reaching the top and then disappearing.

Each time I have such dreams, all my worries anxieties and so forth disappear and a supreme calm sets in making me really happy. This is what is called Upasaantam- the great peace and tranquility.

[Intuitive flashes of wisdom or immediate inherent knowing is another kind of
spiritual experience that many of us have experienced. Its is like a long SMS
message received instantly but takes a while, some seconds or even minutes
for it to unfold in the mind as an idea or knowing. Intuitive flashes is the sat
of the satchitananda.

Loga
Yes  I keep on experiencing this each time I write a commentary to the verses in Sacred Tamil. Also all my books like ArutkuRaL Azivil UNmai and so forth were inspired with such flashes of insight. They begin simple and then become very involved burting into very concise but elegant sutras.

[Our samhita and bakti hymns are the result of visions as well as
accompanying intuitive flashes where the meanings and words unfold in the
mind while the vision is experienced. Thats why these are called ' what is
seen and heard', the rishis being the seers.  The agamas were received quite
differently; here the gods or devas in a vision dictate the text to a rishi who
dutifully acts as scribe and simply writes down what is seen and heard, and
sometimes the words too are seen displayed in the space in front of him in a
vision for several minutes, then dissolving after it has been written. This is
not in a meditative state but in a fully awake state, and its simply like a boss
dictating to a secretary. Agamas are thus called 'what came down'. Intuitive
flashes and visions is the satchit of the satchitananda.]

Loga
I have not studied the Agamas but I have studied the verses of Sacred Tamil. I believe I write good and meaningful commentaries to them and all these only because my understanding of metaphysical matters have been enriched by studies of metaphysical dreams. Most of the verses of Sacred Tamil presuppose some such metaphysical dreams and anyone who does not experience such dreams cannot, I believe, write commentaries that bring out the truth.

[If one can dream, one can have a vision. If one can sleep, one can meditate.
Those who have had any spiritual experience can affirm or deny this. To
others it would be like trying to explain about dreams to one who have never
had a dream.]

Pathmarajah

Loga:
From being a dreamer to becoming an enjoyer of visions is not something that can happen that easily though it is true that dreaming extensively is the beginning of it all. It looks to me the Third Eye is opened up  by BEING only if  the person is already reasonably well developed spiritually How these things happen is still a massive mystery to me.

Loga

Let me attempt to answer the question of how the mind is carried forward from birth to birth in a slighly different way but still related to tattvas.

The soul, the essence of it being uncreated, is encased in 5 bodies;
anandamaya, vinjnanamaya, manomaya, pranamaya and annamaya. This
encapsulation atomises the soul, which is essentially sivatattva and 'what is
beyong the tattvas'.

On death the soul sloughs off its annamaya and pranamaya kosas and
inhabits the inner antarloka world in its manomaya kosas, waiting for such
time to take a birth again.

The vinjanamaya is the mental body of the soul, acts as the 'hard disk' as well
as the ROM, and contains the impressions of the soul experiences, and
travels with the soul in all its births until it has exhausted all its
impressions.
Once all impressions have been dissolved, the vinjnana also automatically
dissolves and there is no need to take births.

On birth, the physical brain provides the RAM and Virtual Memory Space and
then the ROM and hard disk may function. So the mind in an encapsulated
form as the vinjnanamaya kosa travels with the soul on its sojourns. Yes, the
memory is embedded in the vinjnanamaya kosa of the soul. Rather memory is
the vinjnanamaya but it cannot express itself. It needs the manomaya to
express emotions, and its the pranamaya and ammamaya to express desires
and all.

All the 5 kosas is formed of the 30 tattvas; these 30 tatvas encapsulates the
sivatattva (Tattva No. 36). Tattvas No. 31 to 35 is not part of the soul - it is
the Lord in His 5 Forms.

When the soul dreams, it is relatively relaxed and unencumbered by the
annamaya and pranamaya kosas (the phisical body) - therefore these dreams
take place in the antarloka. When the soul experiences a vision, its
unencumbered by the manomaya and vinjnanamaya (astral and mental body)
too so its visions takes place in the antarloka as well as the sivaloka or
vishnuloka. In visions, we transcend temporarily the 24 tattvas.

As explained in Tirumantiram all the gods too have tattvas (Tattvas No.
32-36), including Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Mahesvara and Sadasiva. It is
during mahapralaya that these gods slough off their last tattvas and merge
with sadasiva or narayana as vaishnavaites call it.

The Equals of Men
Nanditha Krishna

I was recently researching the women of ancient India when I came
across a startling piece of information. Seventeen of the Seers to
whom the hymns of the Rig Veda were revealed were women - Rishikas
and Brahmavadinis. They were Romasa, Lopamudra, Apata, Kadru,
Vishvavara, Ghosha, Juhu, Vagambhrini, Paulomi, Jarita, Shraddha-
Kamayani, Urvashi, Sharnga, Yami, Indrani, Savitri and Devayani. The
Sama Veda mentions another four: Nodha (or Purvarchchika),
Akrishtabhasha, Shikatanivavari (or Utararchchika) and Ganpayana.
This intrigued me so much that I had to learn more about them, but I
drew a blank.  Who were these wonderful women who were on par with
their men and produced the greatest and longest living literature of
the world?

In the Vedic period, female brahmavadinis (students) went through
the same rigorous discipline as their male counterparts, the
brahmacharis. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad describes a ritual to
ensure the birth of a daughter who would become a pandita (scholar).
The Vedas say that an educated girl should be married to an equally
educated man. Girls underwent the upanayana or thread ceremony,
Vedic study and savitri vachana (higher studies). Panini says that
women studied the Vedas equally with men. According to the Shrauta
and Grihya Sutras, the wife repeated the Vedic mantras equally with
their husbands at religious ceremonies. The Purva Mimamsa gave women
equal rights with men to perform religious ceremonies. Vedic society
was generally monogamous, and women had an equal place.

There are several instances of individual women who sought to
educate themselves. Pathyasvasti went North to study and obtain
titles. The well-known lady philosopher, brahmavadini Gargi
Vachaknavi, was an invitee to the world's first conference on
philosophy, convened by King Janaka of Videha, and challenged
Yajnavalkya to a public debate. Her acknowledgement of defeat and
praise of Yajnavalkya induced the king to gift him 1,000 cows and
10,000 gold pieces, which Yajnavalkya rejected and retired to the
forest, followed by his wife Maitreyi, an equally educated and
spirited woman.

There were shaktikis or female spear bearers according to
Patanjali's Mahabhashya, and women soldiers armed with bows and
arrows in the Mauryan army, according to Kautilya's Arthashastra.
The Greek Ambassador Megasthenes mentions Chandragupta Maurya's
armed female bodyguard. Thus education was not the only vocation for
women.

The heroines of the epic period are better known. Sita and Draupadi
were highly educated, powerful and determined women. But the
debasement of the status of women had begun. Sita had to undergo an
Agni pariksha - an ordeal through fire - to prove her purity. In the
Uttara Ramayana, a later interpolation that is illustrative of
changing mores, she was cast off by her husband to assuage palace
gossip. She finally "entered the earth", a euphemism for suicide. In
spite of her five husbands, Draupadi was staked and lost in a game
of dice, disrobed and publicly humiliated. The men of the Ramayana
and Mahabharata had several wives, an indication of the lowering
status of women.

Rules of morality were stringent for women, and even the fact that
she was deceived could not save Ahalya from her husband's curse.
Kannagi, in the Tamil epic Silappadigaram, is married to Kovalan,
who abandons her for a dancing girl Madhavi. On losing all his
money, he is kicked out by Madhavi. His faithful wife takes him back
and they go to Madurai, where he visits the public parks filled with
dancing girls and later pawns Kannagi's anklet. When he is falsely
accused of theft and executed, Kannagi should have heaved a sigh of
relief. Instead, she curses the city to be destroyed by fire. .........Manimekhalai, daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi, ........Refusing to become a courtesan, the profession of her birth,
she became a nun and Buddhist philosopher.
.......

To escape the growing harshness of society, many women joined the
Buddhist and Jaina orders of nuns, which gave them opportunities for
social service and public life. Vishakha, Amrapali and Supriya gave
the Buddha hospitality and financial support. Uppalavanna became a
teacher of younger bhikkunis. There were thirteen theiris among the
Buddha's chief disciples, the most famous being Dhammadinna, a
teacher of religion, Soma of Rajagriha, the beautiful heiresses
Anupama and Sundari, queen Khema, wealthy Sujata, Chapa the
chastened wife, Patachara the bereaved mother, Sukka the preacher,
and Kisagautami, superintendent of the Jetavana convent. Ajja
Chandana was Mahavira's first female disciple, the others being
Mallinatha the Mithila princess, Jayanti and Mrigavati of Kaushambi,
Sthulabhadra's seven sisters and Yakkini Mahattara. The new faiths
gave them a freedom and dignity they missed as wives, mothers,
daughters and concubines.

The most interesting women are the panchakanya, five women
immortalized for their chastity and purity: Ahalya (wife of sage
Gautama), Draupadi, Tara (wife of both Vali and Sugriva), Kunti and
Mandodari. Four of these women were forced to marry, or be
associated with, more than one man by forces beyond their control.

The idea developed that a pure heart was stronger than physical
chastity. But the freedom of choice given to the Vedic women had
gone. Women had to follow the dictates of their family and society,
while men had the freedom to have several wives and concubines.

Creativity came to the rescue for many women, as religion and temple
building were their only refuge. Shaiva and Vaishnava saint-
poetesses of the early bhakti movement in Tamil Nadu include great
women like the Shaivites Avvai, Tilakavati, Mangaiyarkarasi and
Karaikkal Ammaiyar, and the Vaishnava mystic Andal. Rajasimha
Pallava and his wife Rangapataka jointly built the Kailasanatha
temple at Kanchipuram. Sembiyan Mahadevi, widow of Gangaraditya
Chola, renovated and built several temples. Kundavai, sister of
Rajaraja Chola I, built temples at Rajarajapuram. Lokamahadevi, wife
of Vikramaditya II Chalukya of Badami, built the Lokeshwara temple
at Pattadakkal. But these were fortunate women who had education,
wealth and status. The vast majority were wives and chattels.

Islamic rule in North India saw a sharp decline in the status of
women, now relegated to the veil, both as an influence of the new
dispensation as well as for their personal protection. Jauhar
protected Rajput women from captivity. If women came out of the
confines of the home, the new court culture made them either
entertainers or chattels, both highly degrading positions. Thousand
years of the purdah was to have a highly detrimental effect on
women, something from which the northern states have yet to recover.
Religion and creativity, once again, came to the rescue of a few.

Lalla, a Kashmiri Shaivite ascetic, preached absolute dependence on
divine will and devotion to one's duty. The Rajput princess Meera is
the best known, composing beautiful and eternal poetry. All the
states of India had great women saint-poetesses, such as Mahadaisa,
Muktibai, Janabai, Bahinabai, Venabai and Akkabai of Maharashtra who
composed abhangs and kirtans. There were few women rulers: Razia
Sultana, Chand Bibi, Rani Chinnammal, Rani Lakshmibai, and perhaps a
couple more. But they were left out of civil society and
development. We had to wait for the 20th century to achieve that.

Atheism is the emphatic affirmation of the non-existence of God. It has a long
history. From Anaxagoras in ancient Greece to M. N. Roy in modern India there
have been many atheist thinkers over the centuries. Various shades of atheism
have been there in China, Greece, India, and the West.

Often atheists have had to pay a price. They have been burnt at stake in
medieval Europe for their sin. In the Soviet Union and Communist China, it has
been just the opposite: Belief in God was/is the crime. In classical India,
atheists were not looked upon with much respect. To a degree this is true in
modern India and in the U.S.A. also. However, atheists can remain Hindu. No
aracharya or Baba or Hindu organization can boot an atheist Hindu out. In this
matter, the Hindu world is as enlightened as the modern secular West where
atheists can live in freedom and speak out boldly.

When we are born, we are neither theists nor as atheists, but as ignoro-theists,
i.e. individuals who have never even heard of God. Belief in God arises because
from one's upbringing. One reason why many people are theists is that they have
grown up in families affiliated to a theistic religion. Atheism is the erasing
of a belief that was inculcated (like love of parents or respect for elders) in
an individual at a pre-reasoning stage. All our ancestors some 50,000 and more
years ago were ignoro-theists. Nothing to be proud of or be ashamed about. There
are probably pristine ignoro-theist cultures still in the world.

In history, there have been two kinds of influential atheists: To the first
belong philosophical atheists. Some of them have been enlightened humanists.
Charvaka and Brihaspati in ancient India, Lucretius of Rome, Karl Marx, Bertrand
Russell, and Richard Dawkins in the modern world come to mind. On the other
hand, Stalin, Mao Zedon and Phol Pot are among the notorious monsters who were
rabid atheists.

Enlightened atheists are intellectually honest and meticulously rational. They
can be as caring and compassionate as truly religious persons. But now and again
they can become as rabid in their non-belief as some religious fanatics. Atheist
extremists are not only unbending in their denial of God, sometimes they have
the same kind of passion for converting believers into their fold. This in
itself may not be bad, but in this context some of them display unwarranted
arrogance and speak with contempt about theists. Atheists equate belief in God
with affiliation to religions. They regard religion as a competitor to science
in explaining origins and ends. As a result, they think that all religious
people are misguided or ill-informed. This, to me, is like saying that musicians
are misguided because they don't understand that musical notes can be
Fourier-analyzed.

Another serious drawback with atheism is that unwittingly or otherwise, it
deprives people of a metaphysical source for hope in despondency, consolation in
bereavement, and joy in celebrations. This is one reason why it fails to draw
many adherents. Philosophical atheism is intellectually sophisticated, just as
philosophical theism is, but it has little practical value. Atheism is allied to
modern science, just as theism is allied to cultural comfort. Atheists don't
always realize that one can be decent and caring even if one is a theist. Belief
in God also gives inner peace to countless people who feel that this is more
significant, relevant, and important for sane living than being right or bright.

Most traditional religious theists are proprius-theists (believing in their own
God) and allus-atheists (rejecting the gods of other religions). Most
philosophical atheists are insensitive to the deeper emotional and cultural
needs of people and groups.

It is very gratifying to note that in the history of Sacred Tamil that stretches a period of at least 5000 years- if we include the SumeroTamil period - periodically there has been remarkable individuals who wrote some verses of outstanding merits and which also constitute a remarkable breakthrough in metaphysical depths. It would seem that the best of the Tamil mind is always in SEARCH, always in the metaphysical odyssey always on the move with mind always hooked on to the DANCE but in search of TRUTH. Thus during the 18th cent AD, one of the darkest periods of Tamils where instead of being a vibrant independent and adventurous group of people declined  became colonized even by some European powers and all because the imperial Cholas and Pandyas not only  declined but also disappeared, we have the rise of Tayumanavar, a remarkable philosopher who also brings to a close the ancient Siddha tradition by incorporating their metaphysics into the mainstream Saiva Siddhanta metaphysics.

In order to give the scholars  a taste for the immensely profound and varied metaphysical achievements of the Tamils, I now venture to translate into English  and give my own commentary of some selections from Tayumanavar. I begin first with the ten verses of what is called PoruL VaNakkam, homage to PoruL, the MEANING or SUBSTANCE and by which he means BEING.

I follow for this purpose the latest edition of Tayumanavar's verses with MeykaNda virutti urai published by Kazakam, 2001. There is a fear in me, a fear that I also feel towards translating VaLLalaar. My translations may not be adequate not only because the Englishlanguage may not be adequate for rendering the metaphysical  ideas so well expressed in C.Tamil but also because I am not sure whether I have really grasped the real meanings in all their depths. Coming after the great explosion of Saiva Siddhanta Vedanta and Naataanta literature in Tamil, Tayumanavar uses many technical terms that are novel.

Loga

Tayumanavar on BEING-1
Meditations on BEING is the Beginning of  Real Happiness

The basic question that Tayumanavar poses himself is : What object must we meditate upon in order to be really happy? and ends up saying that it is BEING for it is  BEING who is the beginning of sukam, mental and physical wellbeing as well the source of all happiness. As noted by Tolkaappiyar (c.300 BC) the happiness of one  consists in attaining what one desires and there comes a point where man seeks metaphysical happiness more than anything else and it is this that Tayumanavar addresses here. Man's meditations cannot be arrested into mundane objects, religious scriptures and so forth. It breaks through all these and seeks to meditate upon BEING himself to free itself from all such meditations for good. BEING is such that meditations upon Him brings to close the very urge to meditate upon something or other.

But meditation upon BEING is puzzling for it is said here that BEING is an Intelligence ( citturu)  beyond the reach of mind and language. If so it would  appear that meditation on BEING defeats itself as something nonproductive.  However it should be noted that this is a profound metaphysical insight on BEING and which the finite human mind will not be equipped with unless it brings all its powers of thought and language to fathom the depths of BEING. The defeat of the soul in this task itself is illuminating for the finite human mind understands its own finitude and the immense MYSTRY BEING is. The immensely arrogant human ego gets defeated with encounter with BEING as the wholly mysterious, a substance that we cannot understand at all unless He pleases us with some disclosures or revelations. He can  close in and become very near (camiipam)  and at the same distant Himself (tuuram)  so that it is  as if He does not exist at all and atheism and agnosticism and so forth are the only options we have.

However the most important is that BEING is Cuttam -Clean and Ninmalam-- Free of the polluting Darkness . Thus even though BEING is mysterious but he is not unkind in not disclosing Himself for the deserving and where He discloses Himself as the Pure Clean and so forth and because of which the souls meditating upon Him also become Pure and Clean and which breed joys that are eternal and not obtainable in other ways. Meditations on BEING and closing in on Him through understanding and love, purifies the souls , destroys the pollutants and with that lead the souls to enjoy physical and mental health that are in themselves blissful.

Now another important aspect of this desire to meditate upon BEING is that it is BEING and nothing else who is absolutely indestructible, not at all the  fleeting and transient as all else  The soul  rests on absolute grounds in meditating upon BEING for He is always there and who despite His various mystery plays, is always there even as the concealed and so forth. This sense of permanence (niitiyam) that we get on meditating upon BEING is itself something that dispels metaphysical anxiety  that it meets with all else. Nothing is permanent except BEING and the soul in being-with-BEING also enjoys this permanence and peace that comes along with it.

1.
nittiyamaay ninmalamaay nidkaLamaay niraamayamaay niRaivaay niiGkaac
cuttamumaay tuuramumaay camiipamaay turiyaniRai cudaraay ellaam
vaittirunta  taarakamaay aananatamayamaaki manavaakkeddaac
citturuvaay ninRavonRaic cukaaraampap peruveLiyaic cintai ceyvaam

Meaning:
BEING stands showing Himself as the absolutely permanent behind all that are impermanent( nittiyam) , He is also always free of Malam, the primordial defiler of all and who stands as also above everything phenomenal (nidkaLam) ; Since He is integral and complete (niRaivu) He is also closed within, not seeking anything beyond (niraamayam). He is always with the souls never departing even for a moment and as the absolutely pure, seeks to make all souls pure and clean( niiGkaac Cuttam)  In order to pull the souls towards seeking metaphysical illuminations He plays a game of coming close and then moving away to a great distance (camiipam, tuuram) but always the absolutely pure radiance( turiyaniRai cudar). As part of His completeness He stands as the causal ground of all containing all within Himself (taarakam), He is also ever the blissful as He is complete with Sakti as part of Himself. He also stands as the Intelligence who cannot be grasped by the mind and captured by any of the  languages. However He stand as the One who begins a life of good physical and mental health for those who meditate upon Him. So let us meditate upon Him as the vast Open Space that contains all.

Loga

 
The Mystery of BEING that Invites Meditation on Him

 
The Tamil metaphysical thinking has seen the essences of ancient Agamism, Vedism and later the revolutionary developments of Buddhism Jainism and so forth. The Bakti movement was in fact the RECOVERY of the ancient Agamism such as that prevalent in Sumeria but only by incorporating the magnificent contributions of Buddhism Jainism and so forth. Such developments finally results in this 18the cent AD Tayumanavar's claim  that there is a proper object of meditation and that object is BEING, simply called the PoruL here.
 
In using this neutral term PoruL but in the sense of the Primordial SUBSTANCE, Tayumanavar tries to give a linguistic expression to Camayaatittam, the genuine secularism that insists on transcendence of all religions. The best word in English to render the meaning of PoruL is BEING where it means the primordial causal ground of all beings and Being, the Existence of creatures.
 
This is how Tayumanavar begins to describe BEING here - that which is simply a vast Space that contains all and which is also ground for the emergence of the Panjca Butas, the five basic elements out of which the whole of physical cosmos is fabricated.  But what is important here is that such BEING in its essence is beyond the reach of all cognitive powers, all kinds of thinking no matter deep and profound and which discloses itself as what is itself only in Deep Silence, the silence that results because of the impossibility of Speech and all because the soul transcends temporality of time consciousness.
 
Now at this point the soul enjoys also the Supreme Bliss for at long last the soul succeeds in destroying the ego-self and become the Pure Egoless Self, the Sat Self by destroying the ego producing asat-self.
 
But despite all these Tayumanavar notes a Great Mystery always surrounding this BEING and because of which  the genuine meditations should be directed not upon streamlining the thought processes so that there are no disturbances (as some Buddhists recommended) but upon BEING and that too to free the soul from this Mystery within which BEING casts Himself.
 
And this mystery exists despite BEING descending down as the Guru and SHOWING the Njaanam that on being seen engulfs the soul completely as if swallowing it, drowning it in a sea of Pure Light and so forth. Thus BEING who presents Himself as the mysterious and hence the Existential Meaning for the souls that are metaphysically ripe is that which must be meditated upon so that the soul begins to enjoy the Pure Consciousness, a consciousness devoid of any mystery.
 
 
3.
 
peruveLiyaay aimpuutam piRappidamaayp peesaata moonam
varu idamaay manamaatik keddaata peerinba mayamaay njaanak
kuruvaruLaal kaadidaidavum anbaraik koottaRa vizunGik koNdu appaalun
terivaritaayk kalantatu entap poruL antap poruLinai yaam cintai ceyvaam
 
Meaning;
 
BEING, the Primordial Substance stands as the vast Space that contains all and which brings forth the five basic elements of the cosmos and who stands as the One who can be fully comprehended not in any form of speech (langauge) but only in Deep Silence.  He stands also as the One who cannot be reached by any form of mental processes  but who is productive of supreme Bliss for those who succeed in understanding Him thus.  He also instructs on Njaanam by becoming the Guru who SHOWS the TRUTH for the souls to SEE and who engulfs in Pure Light those souls who succeed in this task, But nevertheless even such a BEING that conjoins the soul as thus stands still the Mysterious and so let us meditate upon this BEING to dispel; even this mystery.

There are plenty of books on dreams for references. This post is for the few
who might be interested to know more.

When a person is sitting in meditation and is in samadhi - 'at equal levels
(sama) with 'dhi' or 'thee', or light, - then that person is filled and thrilled in
the Light! In other words experiencing satchitananda.

Bhuvanam kadanthandu, ponnoli minnum
Trancending the physical creation, the shimmering golden light is seen
- Tirumantiram

In this state there is rapid eye movement (REM), eyelids half closed like
Chankara in meditative pose in our images, and the eyeballs rolled up and
back as if looking at the top of the forehead or hairline. This is because the
meditator is trying to focus on the light shining at the top of the head, in the
sahasrara chakra, and which appears so bright that the meditator feels
blinded, and instinctively and subconsciously blinks rapidly, which we call REM.

Dreams occur after the period of deep sleep, usually between 3 and 6 am,
about three hours before sunrise. During dreams too there is REM, and that is
evidence of it and can be measured as brain activity waves. However most of
these dreams are forgotten on waking, or within half hour after that. And that
is how it should be, as these REM dreams are what spiritualists call karmas
exhausted in the astral world (antarloka), and need not be relived in this
world again. These are the dreams we want to forget lest we relive it in our
'real life' waking state here in this world.

There are other dreams that are of a predictive nature, prophetic of the
future or explanatory of the past or even past lives. We find it hard to believe
or make sense of these dreams as we just cant place or relate to them
because they are so distant in the past, or future.

Yet again there are certain REM dreams that makes a very deep impact in our
subconscious that even after twenty years we still cannot forget them, but
remember them vividly as if it was dreamt just this morning! There are what I
call as a vision in a dream, or a dream in a dream. It's like an experience of
one meditating in a dream and having a vision in that dream simultaneously!
These 'visions' makes such an impact deep in the subconscious that we
cannot forget it forever. Some of these are prophetic and we know that from
hindsight of twenty years or more.

It is these prophetic dreams and visions that sometimes makes me wonder
whether it was all destined long ago and now simply unfolding. Like the rays
of the now defunct and burnt out distant galaxies only now reaching us, but
hitherto these galaxies were quite non existent to us!

And that nothing that one can do to change the eventual outcome.
Yogaswami of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, the greatest siddhar since Tirumular in my
opinion and who was a contemporary of Ramana Maharishi said, 'eppolutho
mudintha kaariyam - it was finished long ago.

All that happens in this world, first takes place in the antarloka or sivaloka
(vishnuloka). It happens there, then unfolds here in in the bhuloka. For
instance when an architect designs a home, it is mentally conceived first, then
the plans are drawn, and finally the home is constucted. In orther words the
physical construct (in the bhuloka) is a replication of the mental construct (in
the antarloka). Like the rays of distant stars only now reaching us. But it
happened long ago!

Our participation in this and other forums too is simply an unfolding of what all of us
gathered in the antarloka in our astral and mental bodies during sleep and
decided to discuss. Which we now play it out as agreed. The death of the caste system has been unequivocally agreed, as well as all religions and most of Hinduism too, if you all can 'recollect'. And this is not the first time you are
hearing this from me, and therefore I have no qualms to boldly remind you of this and bring about this unfoldment.

Pathmarajah

This state is also called 'ari thuyil' - 'knowing sleep', in Tamil. This word occurs in Tiruppavai wherein Vishnu is lying in 'ari thuyil' on Sesha.

V. C. Vijayaraghavan

BEING is the Substance of All Substances

In this verse emerges again the Pedagogic Hermeneutics of the Tamil philosophic tradition perhaos also that of Tantrism all over India that has been the foundation of culture provided at least since the days of Tolkaappiyam (c. 300 BC) if not earlier. Here anything that is investigated is taken as a TEXT with a DUALITY of structure -  the Surface Structure (SS) and Deep Structure (DS) and which is now applied to BEING, simply called the PoruL, Substance to be neutral and free from religious or theological concepts.

What Tayumanavar notes is that no matter how the human mind takes as the substance, appropriating that as a TEXT with a DUALITY of structure there is this Primordial Substance as the Deepest of DS's serving as the foundation, that primordial stuff without which the substances reached by the human mind will not be three as such.

Now it turns out this primordial substance, the BEING that which is the ground of the being-ness of all beings, is INTELLIGENT and who INTRUCTS the souls of His own presence simultaneously illuminating their mind so that the Darkness of Ignorance is also dispelled. If the ordinary creatures are intelligent this is so only because at the deepest level of these creatures remains BEING, that which is absolutely Intelligent, that Primordial Intelligence because of which the creatures are intelligent.

Here it is also noted that this is not simply a matter of the mind, a purely intellectual affair. There is Malam which is the cause of not only the blindness and Ignorance but also that which is the source of all illness both of the mind and body. So the metaphysical illuminations that BEING provides is also a process of CLEANING the soul of the DIRT and because of which the there is also the flow of Amutu, the ambrosia of not only longevity but also the bliss.

Now on top of it, Tayumanavar also notes that as these metaphysical processes continue, there comes a point where the soul ceases to discriminate the self from the non-self and hence understands all without any alienation. As something alien now,  there is only Nothingness, as pointed out by the brilliant Meykandar (cattu etir cuuniyam).

There is fullness wholeness, a non-divisive and non-discriminative unity and universality and all as gift of BEING. So Tayumanavar concludes that it is this BEING that he ought to worship and nothing else.

7.
poruLaakak kaNda PoruL evaikum mutaR poruLaakya
        pootamaakit
teruLaakik karutum anbar midi tiirap paruka vanta
        cezunteenaaki
aruLaanoorkku akam puRam enRunaata puuraNa
        aananatamaaki
iruL tiira viLaGku PoruL yaatu antap poruKLinai yam
        iRainci niRpaam

VaLLalaar 134-20

VaLLalaar On Life Free of Death - 20

All Religions are False and Insane

Both the 18th cent Tayumanavar and 19th cent VaLLalaar had to face the onslaughts of Islamic and Christian missionaries who succeeded in converting a substantial number of Hindus into their religions but which precipitated  not peace but more intense religious strive. On the smallest pretext and for reasons that are irrational these religions unleashed  intense emotional outbursts, uncontrolled passion and which transformed the humble people into religious bigots who were quite ready to kill even innocent people because of religious differences.

Thus VaLLalaar addresses this social phenomenon and comes to condemn all religious as FALSE because they breed fanatic zeal that transforms humble human beings into murderers, something that a true religion should never do at all.

The human mind that freely jumps from religion to religion is compared to the tree-jumping monkeys. Not understanding that at the deepest level the One and Same BEING is there no matter what the religion is, they developed madness only because the religions as such are FALSE for they do not FOSTER the unity underlying all religions.

Let us call the mind free of religions the truly spiritual and which stands opposed to the religious. Looking at the behavior of the religionists we can see that there is NO LOVE but only HATRED between them and which induces them to CONVERT others into one's own religion and here this attempt justified on the believe that the religion one professes is the correct one, that which will definitely redeem the soul etc.

It is ths kind of  observable behavior that compels VaLLalaar to declare boldly that ALL RELIGIONS ARE FALSE and hence they ought to be destroyed transcended and so forth.

It is here that VaLLalaar sees the relevance of the Dance metaphor in which BEING is understood as very useful. This metaphor enables one to understand all religions as various kinds of metaphysical dances of the One and Same BEING and hence something that we can see witness understand and then move on to witness another dance and so forth. The mind is NOT allowed to remain fixated to any religion - it is made to move freely and which is not being converted to one religion from another and so forth.

The soul one-with the dancing God, DANCES along with Him and in that diffuse any kind of fixation and hence avoids  the religious madness and insanity.

In this metaphysical fluidity of the soul, it also gets cleansed and made PURE and hence fit to receive the various divine powers, the citties, one of the things that the religions promise but never in fact deliver.

20.
kuRittu uraikkinReen itanaik keeNmin iGkee vammin
        kooNum manak kuraGkaalee naaNukinRa ulakiir
veRitta ummaal oru payanum veeNdukileen enRu
        meyyuraiyaip poyyuraiyaay veeRu ninaiyaatiir
poRitta matam camayam elaam poy poyee avaRRil
        pukutaatiir civam onRee PoruL enak kaNdaRimin
ceRittidu ciRcabai nadattaik terintu tutittidumin
        cittyellaam ittinamee cattiyam ceerntidumee

Meaning:
I am writing about Deathless Existence for a good reason and all of you ought to come near me and listen to me attentively.  O people who are caught up with worldly desires - like monkeys jumping from tree to tree, you with deviant minds jump from religion to religion becoming at the same time fanatical and insane.  I have no use for such madness and do not expect anything in return. But out of your religious prejudices do not distort my words that are true into something false and misleading.  All such religions of books are nothing else but false and so do not enter such religions and force others to enter it. This madness can be overcome only by understanding that BEING is the one and same substance of all religions and that there is the DANCE of Siva with Sakti understanding which you will also appreciate the common foundation of all religions and hence how irrelevant to convert form one religion to another and so forth. Also once your soul is in the appreciation of this magnificent DANCE, you also be blessed with all powers that you desire.

Loga

I want to write this brief essay more to clarify myself than anything else. I come across multiple head gods, goddesses, animals and so forth and  have been wondering what could be the REASON behind it all. I have also encountered such figures in my dreams and which  confirmed that they are NOT pictures of freak humans and animals but rather some kind of productions of the unconscious processes where the metaphysical MEANINGS are pictured so that through the science of Hermeneutic Semiotics one can get at the MEANINGS and enjoy a life of metaphysical excursions that is a part of Tantric way of life whether Hindu or Buddhist and which is part of Icon Thinking so central to the cultures of Sumeria Egypt and many other cultures of the ancient world whether  pyramidal or not.

It appears to me that the six-faced Muruka and Cataciva are the most ancient or at least the icons with MEANINGS that may be linked to the Six Atara Cakras and which was part of the Sumerian Ziggurat Egyptian stepped Pyramid and so forth.

Perhaps all these are different IMAGES for capturing visually a complex set of metaphysical meanings so the mind or the soul can make sense of cosmos as a whole and in that also place itself in a meaningful way. Thus it may belong to the COSMIC Thinking that is so central to these ancient metaphysical systems and which is continued to this day in the  metaphysical traditions of the Sacred Tamil.

The Six_faces of Cataciva
I wrote in one of my books in Tamil sometime ago about the MEANINGS of the SIX faces of Cataciva after consulting and synthesizing the various accounts of it in such ancient books like Tirumantiram and many others. The Meanings are available in the NAMES of the faces and I have noted a sequential organization here.

We have the faces of Vamadevam, Agoram, Satyosatam, Tatprusham and Isanam with Atomukam the down-looking face stated quite often as  the hidden face and where sometimes it is not represented at all.

I understand the MEANINGS of these faces as the most powerful INSINTUAL forces that permeate all the creatures and sustains the motivational dynamics in which they are forced to climb and ascend so that they rise above the lower kind of motivations and end up with the highest and which is that for Moksa.

The Vamadevam is that face of BEING-as-Cataciva that installs SEXUAL DESIRES in all creatures and where in Saivism it is understood that this is the most powerful instinct that provides the MEANING for existence and without which there will be no creature dynamics at all. As is the case with both human and animal behavior the sexual desire comes along with AGRESSION not only among the males but also the females where the males have to defeat or even kill the opponents to enjoy free access to the females of the species. Thus Vamadevam comes along Goram, aggressive brutality and in the context of which emerges the face of Agoram, the face of BEING that installs LOVE and Care, a disposition of co-operation co-existence and so forth that leads to communal existence.

Now comes the face of Satyosatam, that which makes a person desire for truth-experiences and not at all the opposite of it, the false-experiences.  The soul that is free of aggressive brutality seeks also Truth-Experiences, the Mey uNarvu which breeds apodictic certainly and hence a firmness of the mind.

This in turn leads to Tatprusham, the face that installs desires of authentic self-understanding. Man wants to understanding himself and in which search the very MEANING of embodied existence is sought after as the central issue.  When man becomes philosophical he wants to know why he is thrown into embodied existence and so forth.

It is in the context of such a searching self-inquiry that the face of Isaanam emerges and pulls the soul towards Moksa, freeing it forever from being thrown back into embodied existence. Here also emerges the Atomukam, the face looking downwards and which face throws back into embodied existence those souls that are not sufficienly t ripe for Moksa.

The Six Faces of Muruka
Now from the times of AruNakiri Natar even a child knows the six-faces of Muruka through a song that is taught very widely and which seems to be similar to the meanings of the six-faces of Cataciva.

First we have the eeRu mayil eeRi viLaiyaadum mukam of Muruka, the face that mounts the peacock and roams the whole of the cosmos. The peacock stands for beauty and it appears this face is that which installs the desire for BEAUTY, the aesthetics in all and which also permeates the ethics. To be beautiful in general also means to be beautiful in the heart- pure clean and loving.
Then we have the face that speaks Njaanam with Isaan and certainly the face that installs desire for metaphysical illuminations and hence desire of Moksa.

The next face is that which dispels the Vinai of the adiyar, the devotees and hence that that which becomes the various obstacles in life that the creatures encounter. We can see the Vinai is that Pacas, the various attachments to the worldy.  This face is very amncient and we can note its presence in the incantations of the Sumerians where they invoke Asarlugi the Sumerian name for Muruka and who was probably also known as Enmerukar and so forth.

The next face is that which stands with the Vel, the spear that pierces through the whole of the DARKNESS hence the Malam,. This is the face that destroys the death-bringing forces and hence that which allows the souls to defeat premature  death and so forth.

The sixth face is that which sought to seduce the VaLLi  the daughter of the hill tribe and marry  her and which certainly is the same as Vamadevam
Muruka and Cataciva.

It is not clear to me the historical processes of such polycephalic icons, However I can see that these icons come to be there as part of the Natural Pedagogy already at work in nature and which seeks to instruct man about the cosmsc processes and here the presence of various kinds of instinctual forces and how they in fact shape human and animal behaviour as such.

by Stephen Knapp

http://www.stephen-knapp.com

EXCERPTS

'The earlier texts, such as the Rig-veda (10.87.16), also proclaim the need to give up the eating of slaughtered animals. "One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal, and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head."

'"You must not use your God-given body for killing God's creatures, whether they are human, animal or whatever." (Yajur Veda 12.32.90)

"Those who are ignorant of real dharm and, though wicked and haughty, account themselves virtuous, kill animals without any feeling of remorse or fear of punishment. Further, in their next lives, such sinful persons will be eaten by the same creatures they have killed in this world." (Bhagavat Puraan 11.5.14)

The following verses are from the Tirukural:

How can he practice true compassion who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?

Riches cannot be found in the hands of the thriftless, nor can compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat.

He who feasts on a creature's flesh is like he who wields a weapon. Goodness is never one with the minds of these two.

If you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkindness?" It is not-killing and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous.

Life is perpetuated by not eating meat. The jaws of Hell close on those who do.

If the world did not purchase and consume meat, no one would slaughter and offer meat for sale.

When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he will abstain from eating it.

Insightful souls who have abandoned the passion to hurt others will not feed on flesh that life has abandoned.

Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires is to not sacrifice and consume any living creature.

All life will press palms together in prayerful adoration of those who refuse to slaughter or savor meat.

From these verses there should be no doubt that the Vedic shastra recommends that such selfish meat-eating must be given up if one has any concern for other living beings, or one's own future existence, or for attaining any spiritual merit.

The sinful reaction shared by these six participants in animal slaughter is serious. In fact, the Bible compares the killing of cows to murdering a man: "He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man." (Isaiah 66.3) It is also explained in the Shri Caitanya-caritamrita (Adi-lila, Chapter 17, verse 166): "Cow killers are condemned to rot in hellish life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of the cow," which is also referenced in the Manu-samhita. So an intelligent person will try to avoid this fate.

'In Bhagavad-gita, however, we also find similar verses on what is recommended for human consumption. Lord Krshn says, "If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." (Bg.9.26) This means that not only should one be a vegetarian and eat only fruits, water, grains, vegetables, etc., but such items should be made as an offering to God with love. The reason is that, "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." (Bg.3.13) So what is offered are only those things that Krshna accepts. That becomes prasada, or remnants of foods offered to the Lord.

THE PRINCIPLE OF BEING MERCIFUL

'Meat-eating and animal slaughter also disrupts and disregards the doctrine of ahinsa, or non-violence. It is not possible to kill animals for the pleasure of the tongue without violence. The Padma Puraan (1.31.27) simply says that, "Ahinsa is the highest duty." Therefore, one must honestly ask themselves if they intend to truly follow the Vedic tenets or not, at least if they call themselves a Hindu, follower of Vedanta, or a Sanatana-dharmist. If they are, then they must adopt the ways of ahinsa.

'Ahinsa is more directly explained in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (2.30) wherein it is said: "Having no ill feeling for any living being, in all manners possible and for all times, is called ahinsa, and it should be the desired goal of all seekers."

'It is also said in the Buddhist scripture, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, "The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion."

'It is bluntly stated that meat eating is actually the grossest form of spiritual ignorance. To kill other living entities for the pleasure of the tongue is a cruel and selfish activity that requires one to be almost completely blind to the spiritual reality of the living being, that within the body is a soul like you, a part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. It also causes one to remain hard-hearted and less sensitive to the concern for the wellbeing and feelings of others.

THE QUESTION OF WHETHER LORD RAAM ATE MEAT IN THE

RAMAYAAN

"Sometimes the idea comes up that the Ramayan indicates that Lord Raam ate meat, especially while He was in exile in the woods. However, there is no verse in Valmiki's Ramayan that establishes that Lord Raam, Lakshman or Sita ate meat while in or even out of exile. In fact, it seems to show that He very much disliked the notion of eating meat. The evidence for this is as follows: "The verse that comes in question in this regard in the Valmiki Ramayan, Sundarakand, Skand 36, Shloke 41, says: "Na mamsam Raghava bhunkte, na chaiva madhu sevate, Vanyam suvihitam nityam bhaktamsnati panchamam."

"The literal translation of this verse is: "Shri Raam does not take meat or honey. He partakes everyday of wild fruits and boiled (wild) rice fully sanctioned (for an ascetic) in the evening."

"Faulty English translations have put it as something like this: Hanuman to Sita, "When you were away, Shri Raam did not even take deer meat." This incorrectly implies that Raam normally may have ate meat but did not do so while Sita was away from Him.

"Now in this verse, the Sanskrit word bhunkte is a verb that means strong desire for eating. It comes from the Sanskrit bhaksha, which means voracious eating. When you say Na bhunkte, as we see in the line that says "Na mamsam Raghava bhunkte", it gives a complete negative connotation, meaning that Lord Raam abhorred meat-eating. On the other hand, if the words were "Na mamsam Raghavo khadate", it could then mean that Raghava may have engaged in meat eating before, but had stopped it at this point. However, this is not what is said, but is where some English translations present a similar confusion, or are simply unclear about this issue. Nonetheless, by analyzing the correct view of the proper translation, it indicates clearly that the Valmiki Ramayan shows how Lord Raam not only did not eat meat, but greatly disliked it.

END

HUMALAYAN ACADEMY

The book FOOD FOR THE SPIRIT, VEGETARIANISM AND THE WORLD RELIGIONS, observes, "Despite popular knowledge of meat-eating's adverse effects, the nonvegetarian diet became increasingly widespread among the Hindus after the two major invasions by foreign powers, first the Muslims and later the British. With them came the desire to be 'civilized,' to eat as did the Saheeb. Those actually trained in Vedic knowledge, however, never adopted a meat-oriented diet, and the pious Hindu still observes vegetarian principles as a matter of religious duty.

"That vegetarianism has always been widespread in India is clear from the earliest Vedic texts. This was observed by the ancient traveler Megasthenes and also by Fa-Hsien, a Chinese Buddhist monk who, in the fifth century, traveled to India in order to obtain authentic copies of the scriptures.

"These scriptures unambiguously support the meatless way of life. In the MAHABHARAT, for instance, the great warrior Bheeshma explains to Yuddhishtira, eldest of the Paandav princes, that the meat of animals is like the flesh of one's own son.

"These scriptures unambiguously support the meatless way of life. In the MAHABHARAT, for instance, the great warrior Bheeshm explains to Yuddhishtira, eldest of the Paandav princes, that the meat of animals is like the flesh of one's own son. Elsewhere in the Vedic literature, the last of the great Vedic kings, Maharaja Parikshit, is quoted as saying that 'only the animal-killer cannot relish the message of the Absolute Truth [Shrimad Bhagvatam 10.1.4].'"

The very name of cow is Aghnya ["not to be killed"], indicating that they should never be slaughtered. Who, then could slay them? Surely, one who kills a cow or a bull commits a heinous crime.

MAHABHARAT, SHANTIPARV 262.47

The purchaser of flesh performs Hinsa (violence) by his wealth; he who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the killer does Hinsa by actually tying and killing the animal. Thus, there are three forms of killing: he who brings flesh or sends for it, he who cuts off the limbs of an animal, and he who purchases, sells or cooks flesh and eats it—all of these are to be considered meat-eaters. MAHABHARAT, ANU 115.40

TIRUKURAL 324

All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration of those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat. TIRUKURAL 260

What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life, for killing leads to every other sin. TIRUKURAL 312, 321

Goodness is never one with the minds of these two: one who wields a weapon and one who feasts on a creature's flesh. TIRUKURAL 253

From the merger of a microscopic sperm and egg in the darkness of the fallopian
tube arises an entity that gradually acquires self-awareness and an identity all
its own. This embodied consciousness reflects and rejoices, creates and
communicates, and engages in countless activities for a brief time-span. Then,
after a final breath, its non-physical attributes vanish from the tangible
world. No thinking mind can remain unimpressed by this remarkable phenomenon
which, as far as we know, is unlike any other in this grand universe. If
anything is a mystery, human consciousness is.

Each one of us carries within a totality that is more than the sum of our body's
material substrate. Many of the atoms and molecules that make up our anatomy at
this hour were not part of us not so long ago. Millions of microorganisms thrive
and perish in our saliva and alimentary canal. With all that, there is a subtle
self that has been illumining every one of us, something that etches the
identity of a separate existence within a hugely interconnected whole. This self
has been with us since the first utterance of I and me, and it will be part of
us until the dusk and dimness of life when, gradually or suddenly, our
individual memories will falter and fade away for good.

We cannot deny the biochemical basis in the persistence of personhood. Some day,
silicon configurations in plastic casings may acquire feelings and emotions,
mimicking the heaves and exhilarations of the human heart. Computers create
music today; they may be enjoying it tomorrow, and may be reflecting on life an
death the day after. But this is not sufficient proof that there is nothing
beyond matter and energy in space and time.

From the perspective of science, nature appears to be essentially a tangible
manifestation of matter and energy. However, the laws of nature which organize
and sustain it cannot be located here or there or anywhere. They pervade the
span of spread-out space and ceaseless time. One way of considering the Hindu
perspective is that consciousness is implicit in these laws, an intangible
principle that breathes order in the universe, and life into inert matter.

The Copernican revolution displaced our earth from the center of the universe.
Science has been enormously successful in exploring the entire physical span of
the universe from the far-from-visible microcosm to faint and farthermost
specks in the vast expanse. And science may be right in regarding consciousness
as just another among the countless occurrences in the stretch of time since the
first creative bang.

But we will be missing the point if we don't see the role of consciousness in
the unfolding of cosmic history. Science has displaced our habitat from center
stage, but not dethroned human consciousness from the center of the perceived
world. Like invisible air and earth-binding gravity, we take consciousness for
granted because it is with us all the time. Consciousness deserves more than
passing mention in any serious commentary on the universe, for it is
consciousness that has lit up the universe with beauty and color, and infused it
with meaning and understanding. Until the last decades of the twentieth century,
science did not inquire about the consciousness.

Four centuries of modern science have thrown much light on the physical basis of
this uncommon wonder which may have parallels in other pockets in a universe
studded with billions of stars and planetary systems. Some day we may explain
consciousness in terms of neurons, microtubules, or other matter-based
principles. But, as of now, consciousness continues to be a fantastic anomaly in
the mindless morass of mass-energy cluttering the cosmos. But it could well be
an aspect of transcendence in the universe.

BEING must be installed in the Heart

Normally we do not associate SriVaishNavism of the Tamils with asceticism and the functions of BEING that are destructive and which notions are highlighted in Saivism and perhaps with special focus on it. SriVaishNavism basically outlines a philosophy of LIVING and living well and long and most of the icons of KaNNan, Tirumaal and so forth are of the sort where they contribute towards a life of joys and endless bliss.

However in this Patikam, Namazvar falls in line with the dominant tendency in Saivism where however the images invoked still remain basically that of Tirumaal.

Thus it is realized that there are sufferings over and above the various joys in life and the root cause of which are various kinds of attachments, the PaRRu and all because of the metaphysical ignorance induced by the Malam that is already in the soul and as Namazvar himself has noted. (manan akam malam aRa)

Thus to escape and overcome and in that become fit to receive the blessings of the youthful KaNNan and so forth, one must FREE oneself from this Malam and its various differentiated forms, and Njaanam, the metaphysical illumination is the only way to do that. One must stand in Njaanam (njaanattuL ninRu) and allow the radiance to singe to ashes the various attachments so that the soul becomes Pure and Clean- devoid of any attachments to the world.

Thus BEING is said to radiate the soul from within with the intense light that would throw the soul into asceticism, the tuRavic Cudar.  Consistent with this Tirumaal is also seen as Rudra the aRavan, He who deprives (aRu) the souls of their desires and attachment's. Here too emerges the WEAPON of destruction the aazippadai, the disc of Sutarsan, that which beheads people without killing them - that which destroys only the dirt deep within and with that purifies the soul making it DEVELOP into something better.

Now Namazvar also notes that the genuine devotees do not simply worship the icon with all kinds of rituals but rather would install in the heart itself and thus live in accordance with the inner dictates of this BEING deep within.
For such genuine devotees the external worship of icons may not even be necessary.

1.
piRavit tuyar aRa njaanattuL ninRu
tuRavic cudar viLakkam tlaip peyvaar
aRavanai aazippadai antaNanai
maRaviyai inRi manattu vaippaaree

Meaning:
BEING in order to free the souls from the miseries of embodied existence, will install them in the field  of Njaanam and flood the heads with the inner and intense radiance that would burn off all attachments.  Now those who are genuine devotees, will install this BEING, the destroyer and who wields the Disc Weapon but who destroys only because He loves all, deep in their heart (so that even their feelings and thinkings are guided by this BEING)

BEING is the Deepest of the Deep Structures of the World

In this verse Tayumanavar summarises neatly the metaphysical understanding of BEING, why He is so real and why only He should be worshipped and nothing or no one  else.

First he notices that BEING stands as the ultimate causal ground of all scriptures that are indeed rare and profound. There cannot be a species of literature called scriptures unless BEING pervades the whole lot of them and give a peculiar structure which enables us to recognize them as scriptures and not something else.

In this view we already meet the Pedagogic Hermeneutics of the Dravidian folks - that everything that reaches human understanding are TEXTS with DUALITY of structure,  the Surface Structure (SS) and Deep Structure (DS) and that the deepest of all DS's of the scriptures taken as SS's is BEING.

However He also remains always the BEYOND and ABOVE even for the celestial beings the great muni-s Siddhas and people similar to them and who dedicate their whole life to understand BEING. No matter how astute their thinking is and no matter how brilliantly imaginative they are, BEING stands always a SURPLUS and  ELUSIVE, a integral wholeness that can never be fully comprehended by the finite mind. From this it also follows that whatever we know of BEING including His presence is all because of His blessings -  we know Him only because He chooses to disclose Himself to us in some form or other.

But in order to do this He must already be there or manifest in some ways and Tayumamavar summarizes the views that have been developed over time and in terms of some metaphors.

The first is BEING stands like the invisible fragrance that accompanies the visible flowers.  BEING is there but as a DS, something hidden and concealed but nevertheless intuitable as there in some ways.

The next metaphor is that of the oil in the seeds where only when the seeds are pressed the oil will come out. Similar to this is another metaphor, a very ancient one the Fire that bursts forth in a wood only when it is rubbed strongly.  In this metaphor it turns out that BEING is a a DS but which has to be wrested out from the ordinary things of our experience. We have to develop transductive perceptions to SEE the presence of BEING in the depths of all the things that surround us.

The next metaphor is that of the body and soul and which is as ancient as Tolkaappiyam where the vowels and consonants are also seen in terms of the same metaphor.  There is the soul within the body animating it and BEING stands within the cosmic body as the animating principle, that without which the cosmos cannot move at all.
Now it is also said that even though BEING stands one-with the various things as listed, He remains UNAFFECTED by it all for He remains always in the most central and the most distant and pure metaphysical realms SEEING all and doing whatever necessary but standing ABOVE all unaffected by it all.

It this for these reasons Tayumanavar chooses to worship BEING and nothing else as is the case with all great mystics throughout the world.

8.
arumaRaiyin cirapporuLaay viNNavar maamunivar cittar
        aatiyaanoor
terivariya puuraNamaayk kaaranaG kaRpanaik kadanta
        celvamaakik
karutariya malarin maNam eLLin eNNey udal uyirpool
        kalantu ennaaLun
Turiya naduvuur irunta periya PoruL yaatu atanait
        Tozutal ceyvaam

Meaning:
BEING stands as the ultimate Causal Ground of all scriptures. However He also stands as an Integral Wholeness beyond the reach of the great intellect and imaginations of all the celestial beings, the great muni-s Siddhas and so forth.  However He is there in the world as a manifest reality but hidden and concealed like the invisible fragrance of the visible flowers, the oil in the seeds that emerge only on being pressed and like the soul to the body, the great soul to the whole of the cosmos. But despite being present as such He remains  unaffected by it all for He remains in the most distant and pure metaphysical realms in the center of all and managing all. It is this BEING whom I have chosen to worship and nothing else.

Comparing the famous physicist's concepts of God and soul to Hindu beliefs

By Mark Hawthorne, California

Many people, mostly theologians, have accused Einstein of being an atheist; such a scientist, say his detractors, could hardly be religious. Einstein's view of religion did not include a personal God, which in the first half of the twentieth century was tantamount to saying he was atheistic. But no atheist spent so much time, and put so much thought, into celebrating God. And perhaps no physicist ever considered so deeply the link between science and religion. When asked how he accounted for being both a scientist and a man known for religious musings, Einstein replied: "Well, I do not think that it is necessarily the case that science and religion are natural opposites. In fact, I think that there is a very close connection between the two. Further, I think that science without religion is lame and, conversely, that religion without science is blind. Both are important and should work hand-in-hand. It seems to me that whoever doesn't wonder about the truth in religion and in science might as well be dead."
 
Then there are the theological issues raised by Einstein's scientific discoveries. For example, Hindu philosophers have frequently suggested that Einstein's famed equation, E=mc2 (that mass and energy are different manifestations of the same thing), is remarkably parallel to certain concepts in Hindu philosophy. Other aspects of his work, such as the mutability of time, have intriguing parallels in the philosophies of India. At the request of Hinduism Today who gave me the assignment despite my lack of philosophical credentials I ventured into the fascinating world of Albert Einstein's religious beliefs and the theological consequences of his scientific discoveries.
 
Born to Jewish parents in Germany in 1879, Albert Einstein's first education was at a strict Catholic school in Munich, where order and discipline were instilled in the students. The experience left him with a lifelong disdain of regimentation and a distrust of authority figures. Apparently to balance the Catholicism Albert was learning in primary school, his parents hired a distant relative to tutor him in the fundamentals of Judaism. These studies sparked a spiritual interest in young Albert, who began preparing for his bar mitzvah, the religious rite Jewish boys undergo when turning 13. He eagerly read the scriptures of his faith and even gave up eating pork. While other boys were dreaming of becoming soldiers and going to war, Einstein abhorred the thought of being in the military. "When I grow up, I don't want to be one of those poor people, " he told his parents. He would remain a devout pacifist throughout his life. He spent a lot of time deep in thought, and he credited his trait of profoundly wondering about things with helping him in his scientific endeavors. Einstein even believed his childlike curiosity, allowing him to think without boundaries, set the stage for his discovery of the relativity theory as an adult.
 
Einstein maintained a deep interest in his Jewish studies until a family friend lent him several books on natural science. Suddenly, he viewed the world through an empirical lens. He wrote in his autobiography: "Through the reading of popular scientific books, I soon reached the conviction that a lot in the Bible stories could not be true. The result was downright fanatical freethinking, combined with the impression that young people were being lied to by the state: it was a shattering discovery." Einstein turned his back on organized religion and refused to take his bar mitzvah; he was, therefore, not a proper member of the Jewish community something that might have later become an issue had he taken up Israel's 1952 offer to be the country's second president.

The young Einstein soon focused his attention on geometry, finding in Euclid's axiomatic-deductive method a clarity and certainty that he had not found in the Torah and Talmud of his Jewish instructions. From higher mathematics it was only a short and logical step to the world of philosophical thought. With an analytical mind and a passion for deep thinking, he was equal to the task of absorbing Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, a complex work addressing issues of human existence.
 
The influence of Spinoza
Einstein most admired the seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, whose writings he had discovered in his twenties. In Spinoza he found a kindred spirit. Both were solitary, pensive Jews who were eventually alienated by their religious heritage. Einstein was especially impressed by Spinoza's major work, Ethics, in which the philosopher uses Euclidean geometry to prove the validity of ethical ideas. Spinoza argued that "God, or substance, consisting of infinite attributes, of which each expresses eternal and infinite essentiality, necessarily exists." According to Spinoza, infinite substance is indivisible. "God is One, hence, in the nature of things, only one substance is given, " Spinoza wrote in Ethics. Philosophically, his position that whatever exists is a part of a single substance is called, in Western philosophy, "monism." A similar concept exists within many forms of Hindu philosophy.
 
Spinoza believed in a form of pantheism, from the Greek pan and theos, meaning "everything is God." Adherence to monism specifically, his belief in pantheism has parallels with the tenets of several Hindu systems of thought, including Advaita Vedanta. The common scientific view is that there is nothing but the physical universe that we can see and measure with our instruments. What separates Spinoza, and later Einstein, from this is two-fold. One, that "what exists " likely extends far beyond our human ability to perceive and analyze it, and two, that "what exists " is divine, Godly and not inert matter.
 
Some place Spinoza's philosophy under the heading of modified pantheism, in which God is believed to be the reality behind nature. In this way his philosophy differs from Sankara's Advaita Vedanta, in which Brahman alone is reality and all else is illusion. In his Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, William Reese calls Advaita Vedanta "Acosmic Pantheism, " the belief that God is in and beyond the manifest world, which does not enjoy true existence.
 
But Spinoza's view is similar to the view of Saiva Siddhanta and several others systems that the universe is the body and mind of God, while at the same time God transcends the universe. It's a difficult task to compare these Western and Eastern philosophies, not only because they use different terminology, but because the Western philosophies are generally reasoned out, while the Eastern philosophies rely more upon meditative experience and insight. One also has to keep in mind that from the 17th century onward, in Europe and America, Western religion was under full-scale attack from the emerging philosophy and discoveries of science. The relationship between science and religion in the West remains largely hostile. Not so in the East.
 
Spinoza's views on religion therefore provided something of a way around the hostilities, and they validated ideas that were already germinating in Einstein's mind. "I am fascinated by Spinoza's pantheism, " he said, "but admire even more his contribution to modern thought, because he is the first philosopher to deal with the soul and body as one, and not two separate things." Einstein viewed the human being as a single unit, and scoffed at the idea of a soul which transcended death.
 
"I am not an atheist."
 
Einstein's ideas on spirituality enjoyed some influence due to his revolutionary work in physics. Some theologians felt threatened by his scientific theories, and Einstein was frequently asked to contribute articles about religion, perhaps in part to demonstrate he was not an atheist attempting to disprove the existence of God or to demonstrate he was, since both sides interpreted Einstein's ideas to suit their own agenda. These articles, interviews and essays are some of the best evidence we have of Einstein's philosophy.
 
One, titled "Science and Religion, " presented at the 1940 Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in New York, became the center of controversy. "A person who is religiously enlightened, " he wrote, "appears to me to be one who has, to the best of his ability, liberated himself from the fetters of his selfish desires and is preoccupied with thoughts, feelings and aspirations to which he clings because of their superpersonal value." He then went on to define religion as "the age-old endeavor of mankind to become clearly and completely conscious of these values and goals and constantly to strengthen and extend their effect."
 
Einstein concluded his paper with a statement about the conflict between science and religion, which he believed has its root in the concept of a personal God. Theologians attending the conference were in an uproar, misinterpreting Einstein's statement as a denial of God. He was asked straight out if he believed in God, and he replied: "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings." One faction took this to mean Einstein was a believer in God as they understood God. An opposing camp said Einstein's believing in Spinoza's nonpersonal God was the same as believing in no God at all.
In an attempt to define why and in what way he was "religious, " Einstein said, "Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious."
 
One person asked Einstein to define God. He replied in this fashion: "I'm not an atheist, and I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books, but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited mind grasps the mysterious force that moves the constellations."
 
Einstein was blunt in his rejection of the central tenets of Western religion. "I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, " he said, "or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I, nor would I want to, conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature."
 
An unusual aspect of Einstein's beliefs, again following Spinoza, was in "determinism, " the position that every event or occurrence is determined, that is, could not have happened other than it did. For Spinoza, the feeling of being free is simply the state of ignorance concerning the cause. Einstein's belief in determinism was in part behind his lack of acceptance of quantum mechanics, which held one could not deduce the future state of the universe from the present one. He famously said, "God does not play dice with the universe." However, despite his best efforts, he could not disprove quantum mechanics.
 
The "cosmic religion "
Einstein summarized his philosophy in what he termed the "cosmic religion, " which is characterized by a feeling of awe and an experience of the mysterious that he declared to be the source of his religiosity. In this experience, God does not punish or reward. Although his cosmic religion does not include a personal God (i.e., Ishvara), which he believed was devised due to fear of the unexplained, Einstein believed, "The religious geniuses of all ages have been distinguished by this kind of religious feeling, which knows no dogma and no God conceived in man's image; so that there can be no church whose central teachings are based on it." At this point, for Einstein, religion and science meet, for the cosmic religious experience "is the strongest and noblest driving force behind scientific research."
 
In response to a question about whether or not modern science can offer spiritual insights where organized religion has failed, Einstein said, "Speaking of the spirit that informs modern scientific investigations, I am of the opinion that all the finer speculations in the realm of science spring from deep religious feeling, and that without such feeling they would not be fruitful. I also believe that this kind of religiousness, which makes itself felt today in scientific investigations is the only creative religious activity of our time." Einstein said that science cannot teach men the importance of ethics and morality, for the simple reason that science deals with what is, and ethics with what should be.
 
Meeting Tagore
Among the most famous Einstein dialogues took place in 1930, when Rabindranath Tagore visited him in Germany. Einstein reserved the highest admiration for Tagore, as well as Mahatma Gandhi, and they, in turn, regarded him with esteem. They were united in their concern for the poor and the state of the human condition. Tagore and Einstein shared a love of music and the belief that religion is not found in rituals and tradition. But the poet and the physicist disagreed on at least one point. When Einstein said he agreed with Tagore's concept that beauty is inseparable from man, but that he did not agree that the same held true for truth, Tagore asked, "Why not? Truth is realized through man." After a long pause, Einstein replied simply, "I cannot prove that my conception is right, but that is my religion." Tagore finally declared, "If there be some truth which has no sensuous or rational relation to the human mind, it will ever remain as nothing so long as we remain human beings." To this Einstein replied, "Then I am more religious than you are!"
 
Relativity in the light of Vedanta
In Einstein's theory of relativity, E=mc2, he postulates that mass is equivalent to energy. Both space and time, deduced Einstein, are no longer absolutes. Consider his theory in light of the Vedanta system of Hindu philosophy. All matter throughout the universe is the outcome of one primal matter called akasha. Moreover, all force, whether gravitational or electromagnetic, is the outcome of one cosmic energy called prana. Prana acting on akasha is creating or projecting the universe. Einstein had thus proven mathematically what Vedantists had known for years. Some theologians have taken the theory of relativity one step further, speculating that Einstein's mass-energy equivalence also accounts for energy and matter as true functions of each other. A God of pure energy could thus become an avatar a doctrine held by some Hindus, Tibetan Buddhists and Christians.
 
Relativity may also be explored in terms of the system of 36 tattvas, or categories of existence, common to several systems of Hindu philosophy. These begin with shuddha maya, pure spiritual energy, the first evolutes, emanations or creations out of God. The first five tattvas are forms of consciousness, while the next seven are forms of spiritual-magnetic energy, including time (number 7, kala tattva). The final 24 consist of magnetic-gross energy, and include the mental faculties, organs of perception and action and finally the elements ether, air, fire, water and earth. The system of tattvas also regards matter as a form of energy. The major difference is that Einstein did not appear to speak in terms of consciousness as Hindus do, and his religious concepts seemed for the most part to deal with physical reality and not these higher realms of knowing or the subtle worlds spoken of in the Vedas.
 
The search for a unified field theory
In 1933, Einstein renounced his German citizenship and accepted a position in the United States at the new Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He spent the rest of his life as an American citizen in Princeton with his wife, Elsa. They lived in a simple house, and most mornings he walked a mile or so to the Institute to work on his unified field theory. He was attempting to link all known phenomena to explain the nature and behavior of all matter and energy in existence, work that caused some excitement among nonscientists then and now. Paramahansa Yogananada praised the physicist in his 1946 autobiography. "Reducing the cosmical structure to variations on a single law, " Yogananada wrote, "Einstein has reached across the ages to the rishis who proclaimed a sole fabric of creation: a protean maya."
More recently, Eknath Easwaran wrote in his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita that Einstein's quest is a theme found in Hinduism: "One of the most fervent hopes of Einstein was to find an overriding law of nature in which all laws of matter and energy would be unified. This is the driving question in some of the ancient Hindu scriptures, too. Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.3 asks, 'What is That by knowing which all other things may be known?' "
 
Einstein's search for proof of a unified field eluded him his entire life, although his perception of existence seemed as clear to him as it was to the rishis. He wrote, "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."
 
For more information on Albert Einstein, log on to the new Einstein web site, http://www.alberteinstein.info. additional references are "Einstein and Religion " by Max Jammer and "Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion "by William Reese.

BEING does not Punish the Evil Doers.

It may be possible that VaLLalaar is reacting here to the Christian claim that God punishes the evil doers and that unless they accept Jesus Christ as the only savior and repent for the sins they have done they will thrown into eternal hell and left there to be roasted. Such fear striking techniques were used and continue to be used to convert others into Christianity. Such a view makes God , the jealous God who like a typical and tyrannical monarchs would punish severely anyone who defies their decrees.

VaLLalaar is deeply hurt with such falsities where such religious minds do not understand that BEING is LOVE and that it is out of COMPASSION for all that He dances the Dance of Bliss with Sakti in the Tillai, the common ground of originations of all. Such a BEING full of love and compassion will not punish but only alert the souls when they do something evil and after that will help them out to escape from the karmic effects of such actions.

There is a natural PEDAGOGY in which the souls can LEARN that they have done something evil, if it happens to be so and then  with eliciting  the grace of BEING escape from the possible disasterous consequences of such actions.

An action is felt an evil only when with that action the soul elicits more of the Malam instead of Grace and because of which the soul FALLS instead of gravitating closer to BEING. Thus there is a WAY, the sanmaarkkam, the Way of Metaphysical Illuminations and if the souls ensure that they move in this WAY, they not only will not  do anything evil but also remove the Malam elicited from the past evil actions.

Man is not only a sinner but also divine- he can develop the SACRED potentials- the Punitam within him and the Way of Spiritual Enlightenment, not to be confused with the fear-striking Christianity and such religions, is the way to develop this.

There must have been  violent oppositions and criticisms especially by the Christians towards these views of VaLLalaar that effectively calls for the death of the religions and he makes it clear that he is not at all offended by such attacks. He takes them all on the stride and continues to propose his metaphysics  of Love and Compassion so that all people develop the sacred potentials already deep within them.

22.
Ceytaakum tiimai elaam poRuttaruLvan potuvil
        Tirunadanj cey peruGkaruNai tiRattaan aGku avanai
Ceytaal nininaittiduka samarasa samaarkkam
        Mevuka enRu uraikkinReen meetiniyil ennait taan
Vaitaalum vaitidumin vaaztenak koNdiduveen
        manG kooNeen maanam elaam poona vazi vicutteen
poytaan oor ciRiteninum pukaleen sattiyamee
        pukalkinReen niivir elaam punitam uRum poruddee

Meaning:
If you happen to do something evil, perhaps unknowingly do not fear- BEING will not punish you but simple bear with it all.  He is the One who dances the Dance of Bliss with Sakti in that Ground of all origins and all because He is full of Love and Compassion. If you in fact have done something evil, just think of Way of True Enlightenment and decide to move along in that way to redeem yourself from the past misdeeds and to avoid such possibilities in the future. I say this loudly and will continue to say it even if many  scold me, ridicule me in this world. I will not despise them because I am hurt; in fact I take such abuses as praises. I do not tell anything that is untrue even to the slightest extent. What is say is the TRUTH and I take the trouble to do this only because I want all to develop their own sacred dimensions that remains their own potential.