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Contents - this page
2. The One with a Thousand Eyes 3. On the Dimensions of Religion 4. Religion and Poetry 5. Manickavachagar - His Life 6. Lamentations over Vain Religious Disputes - Tayumanavar 7. Appar in Manikkar: The Essential Autonomy of the Soul 8. Religion and Art 9. Love and Metaphysical Insights - Vallalar 10. Religion and Politics 11. BEING is Beyond All Religions - Tayumanavar 12. Steps to Liberation, then Merging 13. Religion and Music 14. The Sources and Human Intelligence and Competence - Appar 15. Religion Vs Modernity 16. BEING and the Different Icons - Appar 17. The Mystery of the Play of BEING - Vallalar 18. The Indeterminacy of BEING and the Humility it Breeds - Appar 19. The Birth of Mantra Worship and Sivalokam - Appar 20. Religion and History 21. Theism and the Moral Sense - Appar 22. Mysticism: Scientific Perspectives 23. Appar Meditating on Death 24. Religion and Philosophy 25. Science and Philosophy 26. Religion and Aesthetics 27. Going Beyond Even the Agamas - Vallalar 28. On Agreement Among the Great Ones - Vallalar 29. Going Beyond Vedantas - Vallalar 30. Mahamritunjaya mantra and Vidhi 31. The Vishnu of Appar 32. The Profound Achievements of Tamils in Metaphysics - Vallalar 33. Individualized Self and BEING - Vallalar 34. The Projective Essence of BEING - Vallalar 35. The Poisonous Heart and Premature Death - Appar 36. The Meaningful Behavior 37. The Distorting Sense Organs - Manikavasagar 38. Spiritual Confusion and Existential Repetition - Vallalar 39. BEING is Brahman and Beyond - Manikavasagar 40. Introduction to Sivajnaana Botam . .
In other words, instead of supernature, science unveils subnature: a world in From all this subnatural splendor arise the atoms of a hundred elements, where Some molecules are mammoth and magical: those of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) Thus, science has uncovered that all that we see and feel in nature, admire and The religious vision of supernature has instigated great art, glorious music, Whether the notion of supernature emerges from subnature, or supernature creates V. V. Raman [This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited March 19, 2007).] IP: Logged |
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The One with a Thousand Eyes
Salutations to Him with a thousand eyes. Explanation: Later this 'eye' can be seen even with the physical eyes open. When the Much later on, we begin to have the experience of seeing many such When pujas are conducted in the home shrines, we see many pairs of eyes This situation happens _all_ the time in _every_ home shrine _without_ The eye can be seen all over the house and even when watching TV, Many pilgrims to temples especially the temples in India like Palani have Even later still the 'eye' is identified with a Being. Thus the 'the One with Its just that many people don't believe in the spiritual realm of All Hindus must strive to get to this stage which is the very beginning of [This message has been edited by Pathmarajah (edited December 22, 2006).] IP: Logged |
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On the Dimensions of Religion
First there is the doctrinal dimension. The doctrines of a religion refer to at Next we have the ethical dimension. All religious prescribe what is good and The third dimension of religion consists of its aesthetic aspects. With every All these arise from what is perhaps the most important dimension of all Religions also have a sacred historical dimension. Episodes relating to the Then there is the social dimension. Religion is a collective institution. People When we talk about religions, it is good to bear in mind that religions are V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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Religion and Poetry
Naïve realism argues that reality is concrete stuff and naught else. But the The poet's painting sometimes renders more visible what the people already In all cultures poets narrated religion-related stories, cladding them Epics played important roles in intertwining religion and culture. Through Virgil wrote an epic history of Rome with fantastic encounters between The grand epics narrate momentous sagas in majestic meters, but they also Let me at least not die without a struggle, inglorious, but do some big thing first, that men to come shall know of it, a subtle value is imprinted in our minds: that we should aspire to do something These hoary narratives which reflect on life and morals, and refer to V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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Manickavachagar
From: Selvaratnam Selvakumar [This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited December 21, 2006).] IP: Logged |
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Tayumanavar- The Secrets of Sitambaram- 32 Lamentations over Vain Religious Disputes - Tayumanavar
In Sumerian literature, the Tamil of the First CaGkam, we find ample evidences to suggest that verbal disputes were institutionalized as part of the culture of the e-dub-ba the school for children. In Sulgi Hymn B we find Sulgi boasting that he encouraged freedom of speech in his ***embly. In the Upanishads and Tolkaappiyam we find intelletual combats, the Tarkka institutionalized as part of important festivals. So it is not surprising that Indian philosophical thinking has been very productive and which is so to this day. If there were a school of thought, a darsana as something solid and important and where we have a group of adherents identifying themsemves with it (and creating a caste of a kind) then there will emerge an alternative darsana quite opposed to that. This is how the philosophical thinking of the Dravidian folks developed and after the burst of Bakti there arose many different schools of thought seeking to spell out the relationship between the soul and BEING at the point of Moksa. Here we have some saying that the soul and BEING absolutely DIFFERENT and others saying that they dissolve all the differences and become the same. These are the Beeta and Abeeta schools of thoughts and which have produced endless disputes and whch continue to this day. The solution was already there (perhaps shown initially by Buddha) that in Deep Silence the TRUTH is known and which cannot be expressed in words. The verbalization brings along with the ALIENATION of the soul and BEING and because of which there will be deitic thinking, the CudduNarvu as Meykandar observed. Once the soul transcends TIME and hence the referential understanding, the the-tic consciousness, the soul enjoys a SAMENESS with BEING and which is called Siddhadvaita. The point is all differences dissolve and the various religious and philosophical disputes will be seem as childish once the soul practixes the reals tapas as Sukar did and enjoy the Deep Silence and with that shining resplendently with the Njaanam.
[b]ootariya cukar poola een een enna Meaning: There was the great Cukar who was very profound that it is very difficult to fathom his depths. Then noticing that there is no one of the caliber of Cukar now, I exclaim; why and why there are no such great philosophers? Then noticing that the little minds pretending to be profound enter into endless disputes about difference or non-difference about BEING and soul. I wish these people would enter the state of Deep Silemce and realize the absolute TRUTH that are beyond words. At this point I also implore the Great Siva who siiting beneath the Bodhi Tree taught the Njaanam through pulling the souls into Deep Silence would just have a desire to see all these vain things in the world. I wonder thus and in many other ways lamenting deeply like a young maiden in deep love lamenting over the absence of her lover. O my Lord! It is Your eternal duty to see such wishes of your devetess like myself and come to their rescue! Loga IP: Logged |
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Tiruvasakam- Tiruccatakam : SuddaRuttal 3-10 Appar in Manikkar: The Essential Autonomy of the Soul It is very interesting to note in this verse of Manikkar the profound influence of the hymns of Appar especially the one that declares human freedom in very absolute terms. The very pregnant phrase “yam aarkkum kudi allom’ of Appar and which means “we are not subject to any one” declares the real and the most authentic essence of the soul where it is NOT bound by the rules of the political powers social and religious norms. The soul that is totally individuated remains ABOVE all political and social obligations and hence frees itself from the dictates of a King priests and hence the political and religious rules of the country where the ordinary people are obliged to follow, suffering imprisonment and so forth once they are transgressed. Perhaps in the whole of world history it was Appar who declared for the first time such a unique and fundamental essence of the human soul - a far cry from the Brahmin dominated VarNasrama Dharma that throws millions into perpetual slavery to the priestly and the royalties and all in the name of Vedic Dharma or simply Hindu Dharma, a mischief that continues to this day. Appar declared and Manikkar recalls here that man in NOT subject to such political and religious leadership and that there is NOTHING to FEAR in declaring one’s own fundamental autonomy. But what is the source of such an immense courage and which became lost with the decline of Sacred Tamil with its displacement with Sk literature that never fails to inculcate the evil VD? As mentioned by Manikkar where in thus verse he recalls the essence of that immortal Patikam, once the soul locates itself as the subject of BEING Himself and who is NOT subject and subservient to any other power, then the soul has also no other powers - kings, priests, gods and what not- as its lord and whom they have to follow serve etc. Manikkar despite being born a kind of Brahmin, eschews the whole of Brahmanism and acknowledges his indebtedness to Appar and how he also, like Appar, became individuated and absolutely FREE and FEARLESS BEING- as- Siva is not an enslaving God but rather one who free the soul from all bondages and enjoy dancing in the joy of being absolutely FREE. Soba is freedom itself and hence He develops also human freedom. 10. Teevar koo aRoyaata teeva teevan Meaning: My Lord Siva is One not known fully even to Indra the King of the gods and who is in fact the God of the gods. He is the Supreme Power who brings forth fertile lands maintains them and then destroys them, Himself remaining indestructible in all these. Because of this He stands as the King of the Brahma VishNu and Rudra the gods of the three primordial processes. He is also the primordial source of all illuminations that are the icons- the muurtties. He stands also as One who holds as an equal part of Himself the Woman who generates all the different generations of all the species. Such a One, the Lord unto all also overpowered and made me (as Appar declared) fully autonomous, subject to no one and also fearing nothing in declaring it. Thus fully freed from all bondages, I joined the servants of the servants of Siva dancing merrily bending and winding even more. Loga IP: Logged |
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Religion and Art
The grand temples beautifying India's landscape from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari are Innumerable sculptures have been chiseled to transform amorphous alloy and rock There was/is stringent prohibition of figures and figurines in the religious In the Christian world, based often one Pope Gregory's idea that the written In the Hindu world there had been mystical art in various regions, and If religions inspired great works of art, some heinous crimes of art-destruction The human mind is like a soil where the most beautiful flowers and the most V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-56 Love and Metaphysical Insights
VaLLalaar notes that this Njaanam, the Pure Consciousness shines in the lofty metaphysical realms of Cin Patam, also the CiRRambalam, the Tillai, the Til Mun of the Sumerians, the Paradise where there is only purity and love unto all. Thus anyone who does not cultivate Love and Comp***ion will not access this lofty realms where once accessed the Njaanam will shine forth on its own. But who are those who, despite their earnest desire, go the wrong way? First are the peculiar kind of yogis who torture their body mercilessly by standing on needles in the midst of blazing fire, fasting and refusing to sleep and hence with the body that becomes so thin that the bones can be seen. Such people also strive to cut off all the five senses so that no information from the world fo not reach their soul. BEING remains concealed to such people because such yogis do not LEARN at all. Their efforts are misdirected as their understanding is led to suffocate and remain closed. Next come those who spend all their time in the serious studies of scriptures claiming that the Njaanam is there and anyone who understands the scriptures will understand it. In India the typical Vedic Brahmins are exemplars of such individuals. They remain forever trapped as they do not go beyond WORDS and hence cannot even get a glimpse of Njaanam which is beyond words. Then comes the Munivar, the Rishies who spend their time in many tapas and many other yogas quite indifferent to the world at large. Such yogis are lost in their quests and remain because of that, BLIND to the happenings around that demand the expression of LOVE and COMP***ION but which they refuse. BEING remains distant and quite beyond the reach of such individuals for the simple reason Njaanam comes only with LOVE and those who do not cultivate love are also denied this Njaanam. This applies even to the celestial beings who are forever in search of Amutu and always in combat with Asuras because of that. 56, kaRpaGkaL palakoodi cellat tiiya Meaning: O Maha Deva! There are many yogis who practice very severe penances where they stand firmly on sharp needles in the midst of burning fire, remain foodless and sleepless without worrying about their body which loses its luster and becomes weak and thin where even the bones show up. They also guard their five senses so that the information form the world is not allowed to enter their mind. To such people You remain very distant and inaccessible, hiding Yourself from them, You do the same with those who pour over the scriptures, to the rishis who with ardent and severe tapas remain forgetful of the world around. You also remain as such even for the celestial beings (who are always in search of Amutu), But for those who develop LOVE unto all, You lift them to the realm of Pure Consciousness and fill them with Your great presence so that they glow in Njaanam. Loga IP: Logged |
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Religion and Politics
Religions regard laws as coming directly from God. That is why a government In ancient India, Hindu kings often had religious men as their counselors: the Derelictions from the Church’s pronouncements were not brooked. The practice led The establishment of the caliphate after Mohammed’s death saw the emergence of Karl Marx famously called religion the opium of the m***es: a sedative to The United States was the first country to incorporate the principle of In recent decades, even in some secular countries the more ardent religious V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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Tayumanavar- The Secrets of Sitambaram- 33 ( final) BEING is Beyond All Religions If there is something very useful and quite lasting in its world importance from Tamil culture, it is the notion of Transcendence of Religions that they speak about so eloquently and for at least for the two thousand years. Over and above the intensive philosophic battles the Tamil philosophers have conducted against the criminal VarNasrama Dharma and which is promoted to this day as Hindu Dharma, as part of Sanatana Dharma and so forth, they have also battled vigorously against religious fanaticism and violence that we see among the various religions to this day. Such battles that have been waged even in India for millenniums slowly but surely opened up their eyes and made them see that BEING (God) is beyond all religions and that the best of the mystics eschewed religious fanaticism and promoted being ABOVE all religions and which goes by the name of Indian secularism at its best. This deep truth comes out in this final verse as another Secret of Sitambaram, a metaphysical truth that is axiomatic, a truth that is already in the bosom of all. It was Tayumanavar more than any other Tamil philosopher who devoted many verses to this theme despite him being a staunch Saiva Siddhantin who was very deeply influenced by Meykandar in addition to all the great Saiva saints of the Bakti movement. It is the Fundamental Ontology- the greatest achievement of the philosophic Tamils that can in fact make one understand that BEING is vaakku manaatiita koosram, a movement that cannot be captured by the mind and words. The Way of life where BEING is seen as the one who created countless number of religions but Himself remaining above all of them, is the AruL Marabu, the Way of Life of Love and Comp***ion. Each religion embodies a certain truth but arrests the mind so that it remains a slave to certain scriptures, rituals and icons. However BEING-as-Siva, the destroyer, destroys such enslavements and freeing the mind makes the soul TRANSCEND all religious but only after benefiting from each. Thus a Saivite understands all religions, has a metaphysical space for setting out every religion but he remains essentially ABOVE all of them with hatred towards none. There is an attitude of ‘letting it be’ in the sense that if a person wants to follow a certain religion then let him do so. When he lives that religion BEING is there in that religion as the Deep Structure and who in due course will perform the Diksa from within and makes him arise ABOVE all religions. Such individuals who are open and accept all religious but without belonging to any is the Adi-taar, those who are devoted to serve BEING in whatever Way that is possible and impelled by BEING within Tayumanavar is thankful to BEING for helping him to bring into words the camayaatiitam, matatiitam and so forth - the transcendence of religions. The Adiyar is not the arrogant Brahmin a Prophet a Messiah and so forth but simply an ordinary person deeply in love with BEING and lives a life of love and comp***ion unto all, sometimes even battling vehemently against the evils in society even in the name of religion, The Tamil culture has seen many individuals who are superficially irreligious but deeply are really so such as Periyar of recent times. (Though his followers, as usual, have become a degenerate lot)
Meanning: Praise is to BEING who despite being above all has descended upon the historical world and remains one with it creating temporality ecological grounds of various sorts and various kinds of processes! Praise to the KINDNESS that is shown by BEING here! There is the tradition of Love and Comp***ion and which transcends all religions. Praise is to BEING who has created the world religions from Saivism to many others to help human beings to gain metaphysical illuminations but who stands ABOVE all religions promoting the transcendence of all of them. I am also full of gratitude to BEING for blessing me with the task of talking about this transcendence of religions and its importance. I praise BEING who taught the Njaanam as the TadciNaamurtti sitting beneath the Bodhi tree pulling all into Deep Silence to enjoy the Njaanam. Praise also to the devotees who have destroyed their finitude and have arisen with a universality of understanding so that there are no more prejudices! Loga IP: Logged |
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Steps to Liberation, then Merging
... then penetrate deeper and deeper, touch into the Self, become a knower of the Self, Satchidananda, and then deeper still into nirvikalpa samadhi, Self Realization, preparing for the next steps on the cl***ical yoga path --moksha, freedom from rebirth, and vishvagrasa, merging with Siva. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami IP: Logged |
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Religion and Music
The composer-saint Thyagaraja, like his counterpart Johann Sebastian Bach in the In a Buddhist treatise on the Perfection of Great Wisdom we read: "the In the Judaic tradition, music is given high place. Its role in spiritual The Christian tradition has some of the most beautiful music in humanity's And yet, whereas in the Eastern religions music is regarded as always great and Music is certainly one of the most pleasing of art forms. Singing, however V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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TirumuRai 6:91 The Hymns of Humble Appar 1-1 The Sources and Human Intelligence and Competence
Appar interprets his own intelligence against a metaphysical understanding as founded by this Fundamental Ontology and in that also records a continuity with the Sumerian philosophers. Here Appar contrasts his present ability to compose metaphysically illuminating verses in chaste Tamil with his earlier state of incompetence for such skills. He also laments his inability to understand and appreciate the various divine arts and sciences that have been honed to perfection by continuous reflections on them But now he can as the voluminous verses he has composed would indicate. How has this transform come about? He notes here, just as the ancient Sumerians that it is because of BEING who with a LOVE like that of mother and father and in shape of Cezunjcudar, brilliant and benevolent light, has ERUPTED into the depths of his soul and destroying the BLINDNESS and hence metaphysical ignorance there has transformed him into a competent soul capable of all that he lacked initially. Not only that. Appar also recognizes that BEING stays one-with and along-with him always showing continuously deeper and deeper truths so that he evolves and develops as an individual enjoying competencies that are novel. This kind of progress is again like climbing up a hill and reaching BEING in the shrine at the top and in the form of Illuminating Light. Against the metaphysics of total BLINDNESS as that which is intrinsic to the souls, it turns out that whatever intelligence and competence a person enjoys is a BLESSING of BEING an nothing else. A person cannot be intelligent and competent on his own efforts. Thus with this realization of his total dependence for whatever competence he enjoys to BEING, he becomes extremely HUMBLE towards BEING 1. panniya centamiz aRiyeen kaviyeen maaddee Meaning: I am because of my inherent ignorance, not familiar with the beautiful cl***ical Tamil. I also lack the necessary competence to compose hymns and poems in that idiom. I am also ignorant of the sciences of numbers and the various musical and artistic traditions full of fine rhythms. I am also ignorant of BEING and His various functions and guNas, but nevertheless BEING overpowered me and on His own accord informed me of His essences showing also the Way of Moksa nurturing me all along like my own father and mother with love and care. This all happened only because I happened to go to ERumbiyuur and worshipped BEING as the crest jewel in the temple at the hill top there. Loga [This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited January 14, 2007).] IP: Logged |
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Religion Vs Modernity
In so far as human values in our relationship between man and man, I Therefore religion and modernism complement, supplement and compete with each other at I would like to see India attain political, economic and social modernity in Pathma IP: Logged |
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The Hymns of Humble Appar 1-2 TirumuRai 6:91 The Hymns of Humble Appar 1-2 BEING and the Different Icons
There can be countless number of icons deities but at the deepest of the deep Structures of all these is the BEING-as-Pure-Radiance. So when they see a certain deity, say VishNu, at the deepest level they also see the non-figural Pure Radiance. When they see all deities along these lines, with a DUALIITY of structure then they perceive a SAMENESS despite a surface level difference. This accounts for their tolerance of different deities. Now Appar adds a profound insight as to why such a metaphysical understanding is not that commonly available and which causes noisy sectarian violence. BEING implants Himself as the Pure Radiance in the shadows of all souls i.e within the part that is taken up by the Mummalam, fetters or Paacaas that introduce a BLINDNESS. But this Inner Radiance already available in the soul of all, is blocked off by the ARROGANCE or EGOISM caused by these paacaas. Thus they become the Asuras like Salantaran, those who readily make loud noise, become clamorous and seek to defeat any contrary view by drowning them with their abuse verbal dominance and so forth. Thus BEING ***umes the form of Paacupata, the one who destroys the Paacaas so that such individuals learn to withdraw into themselves and begin to witness BEING-as-Pure Light already available deep within their soul. Once this is accomplished then all the icons like Indira VishNu Brahma Rudra and so forth are seen simply as various presentational forms of BEING and who destroys the differences created by such icons by presenting Himself as the most neutral Pure Light, an experience of BEING that is common to all great mystics throughout the world and from very ancient times. 2. Meaning: BEING has implanted Himself as a Pure Radiance in the depths of the soul like in the shadows of a crystal. He is also Pasupati, the Lord of all souls bonded by the fetters, the Paacaas. He also has generated the figure of one who seeks to destroy the fetters so that souls can become free of them. There is the Asura Salantaran the clamorous and who was defeated by Him and made to be silent. He is the Lord of scriptures, the celestial beings, the One who measured out the entire manifest world i.e VishNu, the Brahma and so forth. He ***umes all these iconic forms to destroy the ignorance and because of which He is the rare but very powerful medicine. I understood all such deep truths of BEING only because I ascended the hill of ERumbiyuur where Siva stays as the Jewel and Great Radiance. Loga IP: Logged |
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-63 The Mystery of the Play of BEING
When the individuals are full of Ego, they remain egocentric where they understand that whatever that happens to them is their own making, a result of their own actions and so forth. So when they fail, they ascribe the failure to themselves and suffer chronic depressions and so forth . But in the course of such experiences they gradually begin to understand that there is an AGENT within their own human agency and that it is only seemingly that soul is the agent but actually it is BEING who is the real AGENT. BEING plays a skillful game whereby by concealing Himself but remaining the real agent, He leads the souls to imagine that they are in fact the real agents and so forth. As BEING discloses Himself gradually so that the souls begin to understand the PLAY of BEING everywhere including in his own existence, an utter bewilderment takes over and he ends up respecting BEING more than ever. Now VaLLalaar notes here that long before individuals become spiritually matured they enjoy a misplaced courage and confidence that they can explore this vast universes and fathom all the workings in it. They believe they can count the enormous range of individuals, their shapes dynamics and so forth. They also believe that they can explore the various galactic systems that are organized into a helical form with one galaxy giving birth to another and so forth. They also affirm they can see how the different souls acquire different biological forms and so forth. However when it comes to seeking the various games BEING plays, they are completely lost to fathom them to their utter dissatisfaction. BEING turns out wholly mysterious, just too deep to spell out clearly who He is what kind of games He plays, when He would play what game and so forth. This si the dawn of spiritual wisdom - they bow down before the MYSTERY of BEING and begin to worship Him in all humility awaiting for His grace and nothing else. 63. Meaning O Maha Deva! Loga IP: Logged |
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TirumuRai 6:91 The Hymns of Humble Appar 1-5 The Indeterminacy of BEING and the Humility it Breeds
So the human penchant for determinacy in whatever way in relation to BEING is defeated and in that defeat the human intellect itself vanquished. The human mind is let just to wait for the GRACE of BEING and in that truly humble in relation to BEING, something Appar is well known for. He overcomes the human penchant for determinate knowledge and becoming truly humble and awaits for the GRACE of BEING to fall upon him for further metaphysical illuminations having understood very well that whatever he enjoys is in fact a GIFT of BEING and nothing else. Thus he becomes like the Muni-s, the truly illuminated individuals who simply praise BEING and leaves it to BEING to dispense them with wisdom as He pleases and sees fit. Now in this connection what is the function of music and dance that are instituted by BEING as the most becoming religious rituals? The aesthetical arts like singing and dancing subdue the analytical mind and lead it to experience the world in terms of FEELINGS. When man forgets himself by his complete absorption in the melodies of the songs and rhythms of the dance, not only his mind but his soul as well is transported into a metaphysical realm where being in it itself is already is a way of acquiring the germs of metaphysical insights that can later be brought into words and so forth. Thus THINKING becomes a secondary activity - something that ought to follow the primordial and primary dancing and singing which alone transports the soul into new and deeper metaphysical ecologies. When such DIRECT singing and dancing is forsaken and the mind is made to preoccupy itself with THINIING alone, we do not have such ecological transportations but only vain and endless disputes sometimes even violent. Now such violence in religious matter is to be met with violence and for promoting which BEING becomes the dancer of the War Dance where He rains the sharp -pointed Trisuulam in the heart of all. There is the birth anger indignation and hence all kinds of conflicts and combats but eventually raising the question of RIGHTEOUSNESS. BEING is absolutely PURE ( Nimalan) and therefore the combats he installs also lead people towards becoming PURE and CLEAN and in that truly HUMBLE.
paaridaGkaLudan paadap payinRu naddam Meaning BEING installs Himself becoming the DANCER, singing and dancing among all. He also becomes the very powerful war dancer shooting His very sharp Trisuul (to defeat all arrogant individuals). Now He is absolutely Pure and Clean and in order to make even Brahma and VishNu pure and clean as such, he defeats them by showing Himself as the immeasurable FLAME that has no beginning or end. Brahma who flies into sky (on his vehicle of white swan) and VishNu who digs deeps (as the Boar) fail in their attempts to the fathom the real essence of BEING. Those illuminated individuals, understanding all these, simply remain praising the glories of BEING, awaiting for His Grace for any further metaphysical illuminations. Today I was fortunate enough to climb up the hill of the beautiful ERumbiyuur and witness for myself the gem-like BEING over there as the everlasting flame of such merits. Loga IP: Logged |
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TirumuRai 6:91 The Hymns of Humble Appar 1-6 The Birth of Mantra Worship and Sivalokam
Now the most sophisticated among these is Sri VaishNavism and which expounds VaikuNdam as the Paradise but viewed as the most excellent life full of happiness and where the souls becoming Krishnas and Gopies enjoy a life of pure love and romance. Ultimately this is a form of life within ***uality but certainly pure and clean - it depicts an ideal kind of earthly life where along with ***uality LOVE rules the human relationship driving away all miseries of life. The Indira worship in the past was mainly in terms of Indra Viza, a month long festival and even now the VishNu worship promotes a form of religious life where festivals after festivals are celebrated. Such ‘vaibavam’(celebration) is extended even to the Acaryas so much so that a serious VaishNava bakta will spend all his time celebrating such vaibavams. Now Appar notes even this kind of life is a blessing like showers of the dark clouds in the sky - a spontaneous aruL on the part of BEING. And most importantly, the ***uality that such festivals presuppose is a GIFT of BEING who roams around the world on His Majestic White Bull , the symbol of virility that was also celebrated as such in Sumeria and many other ancient cultures. But despite all these BEING-as-Siva does not remain confined to icon worship. His essence is the Mantra Om, the One Great Letter and hence promotes the dissolution of Icon Worship and the installation of the abstract and figureless mantra forms and hence non-iconic forms of worship where the souls ascend the mantra world in stages and reach the peak where resides the Primordial Logos Om. This truth leads Appar to say that Brahma VishNu Indra and such other deities belonging to the world of Icon Worship, in fact turn to Siva worship and in terms of Mantras. Now it should be noted the Sivalokam or Tillai (the Sumerian Til Mun) and which contains within itself the TiruCiRRampaalam, the vast expanse of Pure Consciousness is the Deep Structure of VaikuNdam , something that lurks within that world of divine happiness but beyond it. For it belongs to a form of life the souls enjoy after Moksa i,e. after freeing themselves from being thrown into repeated embodiment. The life of Sivalokam, the vast world of mantras alone, is the life of the souls after freeing permanently from being embodied and attain being there in the world purely as mantra bodies without any Malam that would throw them into embodiment. This Sivalokam, the world of Mantras is also a world of Pure Light and BEING shows as such to those gifted individuals who manage to have a glimpse of Moksa. Appar implies this and notes that this is another source of human humility for it installs the understanding that even the world of divine pleasures, a life of Krisha leelas is after all a gift of BEING-as-Siva,
kaar mukilai pozivanaip pozintu munniir Meaning: BEING while showers His blessings like the dark rainy clouds also dries them up even when they swell into an ocean. He roams around all the cities on His majestic White Bull (to bless the souls with KuNdalini Sakti) taking every city as His own. He also shows Himself as the Primordial Logos with which he rules all completely because of which icon-worship promoting deities like Brahma ViushNu and Indira turn to worship Him, but in terms of Mantras. This BEING who is resplendent Pure Light resides as the diamond in the temple on top of the hill of ERumbiyuur and today I am fortunate enough to witness Him as such in this temple. Loga IP: Logged |
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Religion and History
The sacred books of every major religion contain parts that sound very If the spiritual framework of Hinduism rests on Vedic hymns, Upanishadic Some scholars have gone so far as to calculate the years and dates when some of The Jatakas of Buddhism and the stories ***ociated with the Jaina Thirtankaras Thus, there is more to religions than doctrinal ***ertion and spiritual Normally there are discernable dividing lines between fact and fantasy. But this Some people in all traditions do recognize the difference between parable and One would imagine that to people in the twenty-first century, certain claims of According to a V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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TirumuRai 6:91 The Hymns of Humble Appar 1-8 Theism and the Moral Sense
In the mantra texts like Udug Hul, Er Semma and so forth, we come across the technical term pabgal (> Ta, paavaGkaL), the evil actions and which were identified as the real causes of mental and physical ailments showing that the Karma doctrine was already well understood and was linked with the actions a person does. An important advance is made during the period of Third Academy where the right is said to be actions ruled by LOVE (anbu) and issues forth only when the souls are in the inner ecological realms ordained by the deities like Muruka KaNNan and so forth. Now Appar continues this kind of understanding of ETHICS and where the Ethical Way of Life was called Tiru NeRi, a way of life where it is shaped by BEING through becoming the inner guide leading to the intuitive understanding that the actions leading towards Moksa are good (puNNiyam) and those actions which throw the souls towards the Darkness of aaNavam as evil (paavam) and so forth. Such an understanding of ETHICS requires a theistic metaphysics and which was disallowed by the Buddhists and Jains where instead of BEING they had the words of Bodhisatvas and Tirtankaras. Thus despite the Jains writing many ethical treatises like Naladiyar and so forth, the metaphysical understanding was lacking as they did not acknowledge BEING. But it also appears that the Jains at the time of Appar where he in fact lived as one for several years, were a degenerate lot given over to violence and metaphysical ignorance that disgusted Appar and which made him return to Saivism. With this he also recovers the ancient LOVE based ethics and which goes along with theism such as that of Saivism of Appar here. One remains not born as a human being at all as long as one lives the life of the ethically ignorant where the RIGHT is not seen as that which is consistent with what is SHOWN by BEING. To be born is to live the most authentic existence where there is acknowledgement of the presence of BEING and that the RIGHT is that which He shows from within. aRanteriyaa uuttai vaay aRivil cintai Meaning: When I was one of them I realized that the Jains were ignorant of the sources of moral principles and kept on saying great many evils with their foul mouth. They were also thoughtless aggressive and simply the beginners in metaphysics. In ***ociation with them I lost my mind and spend my life without ever thinking the Dancing Feet of Siva, so stupid was I. The birth that leads to such a way of life is not at all a birth. The right birth and the most authentic existence is that in which one keeps on reciting the name of Siva and with that becoming a servant of BEING-Siva ruled by LOVE and nothing else. I understood all these when I went ERumbiyuur, climbed up the hill and saw the jewel and the Brilliant Light there. Loga IP: Logged |
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Mysticism: Scientific Perspectives
Another interpretation of mystical experience is from psychiatrists who describe The third scientific approach to mysticism is to probe into different regions of The neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran has demonstrated that divine visions are Others have suggested that physical factors in the environment, such as Like the relentless quest of dedicated detectives to corner a criminal, the V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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Appar Meditating on Death Perhaps the most colorful figure in the religious history of India is Appar who declared for the first time in the world the absolute independence and autonomy of man by his very powerful slogan ”naam aarkkum kudi alloom”, 'we are not subject to anyone' and was supposed to have been said in defiance of the Pallava Emperor of his times. He is certainly the first to use the technology of Ahimsa Satyagraha and so forth against the Jains of his time who unleashed many terrors to bring him back to Jainism that he abandoned and with which began the decline of Jainism in the South. He lived to the ripe old age and composed very profound metaphysical hymns on various themes. In this Patikam 93 in the Sixth TirumuRai, we have Appar meditating on how to die peacefully showing that it must have been composed during his old age where he was simply waiting for the death that would free him forever to enjoy Moksa and be with BEING without ever returning to the historical world as an embodied creature. Loga
Appar Meditating on Death 1 Living Well Till the Ripe Old Age As the Saiva metaphysicians as well as the Siddhas keep on harping one can live well till ripe old age but without suffering senility with its attendant lose of bodily and mental powers. They affirm that one can live long and as a youthful individual and then just suddenly with the Grace of Siva leave the physical body and ‘enjoy’ death, so to speak. Such a ‘death’ is not ordinary death where it is caused by the attacks of Malam, the poison. There is a way of keeping off this Killer Power, the mythical Yama and live long with youthful virility provided one keeps on eliciting the various forms of KuNdalini Sakti as are indicated in some of the central icons of Siva listed in this verse. The KuNdalini Sakti comes in various forms. The basic form is the WOMAN, who stands as the equal half of Siva. This archetype shows that born a man and a woman, both must live in some kind loving relationship and with that supply the Amutu, the joys of ***ual happiness of various kinds. This, as the images of Siva embracing Sakti would show need not always mean the PariyaGka Yoga, the Yoga of the bed. Living together with LOVE and CARE already causes the flow of Amutu and with that pave the way for mental and physical health. Now this same Sakti ***umes the form of Celestial Waters symbolized as the Ganga on the tuft of Siva but which is actually the inner springs of pure waters that would flow each time a person is sick and CURE him by cleaning him of the diseases causing dirt and so forth. This is usually disclosed in metaphysical dreams where one has a bath in a river, a pool and so forth. This is also the ritual of baptism by waters, having a dip in the sacred rivers and so forth. For the deserving the Celestial Ganges flows within helping such individual recover fast good health and so forth. Now the Crescent Moon, a very ancient symbol of KuNdalini one of the forms the Sumerian In-anna ***umes as the daughter of Suen the Moon God is that form of KuNdalini which when it flows in the body brings about rejuvenation so that the body remains youthful and strong for long. The processes that cause senility are offset or arrested and the biological processes of cell rejuvenation and so forth are kept active as ever. By being promoted. The snake, also a very ancient symbol and which is also a form In-Anna ***umes, is ***ual libido and which if kept well in the body the youthful vitality and virility remains. It is also disclosed in metaphysical dreams that the Sumerian Usungal the Large Dragon and the precursor of the Atisedan of VishNu is in fact that energy which maintain the youthful virilty which keeps the body free from the attacks of senility. Appar notes that anyone who keeps on learning and with that keeps on developing self by becoming more and more clean and pure, are bound to be blessed by such icons of Siva and which will ensure that he lives long and actively before the soul is separated from the body by BEING himself as was the case with most of the Nayanmars.
MeaninG; The WOMAN, Uma out of deep love established herself as one half of Siva. Seeing this Ganga, with a thousand faces descended and established herself on the tuft of Siva flowing there in great speed bouncing and jumping. Now seeing this Siva wore the Crescent Moon on His tuft and Snake on His neck. Those devotees who indulge in self-purification can gain the kuNdalini energies of these icons of Siva so that they can end their embodied existence without suffering from senility where having lost all the energies one has to use walking sticks even to walk. Now if they only utter like a mantra the name of the temple Puunturutti, they can attain the blessings of these archetypes and enjoy the energy flow from them and discard the body without any sufferings due to senility and so forth. Loga IP: Logged |
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Religion and Philosophy
One generally thinks of religion in terms of God and prayer, rites and rituals, Religious philosophers have influenced and shaped the corresponding religion. Often philosophers in the religious context have attempted to argue for the The works of such philosophers serve as models for integrating religion with After the rise of modern science, there have continued to be many philosophers We see from all these instances the enormous contributions that religions have V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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Science and Philosophy
Philosophers like René Descartes, David Hume and Immanuel Kant set the stage for While empirical scientists were accumulating more and more knowledge about the Scientific philosophy reached a climax in the 1920s through an agenda Other perspectives emerged, and later philosophers challenged the claims of V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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Religion and aesthetics
Thus, beauty relates to human experience. Whether a painting or a flower is In principle, religions enable us to choose, cultivate, and experience whatever The Hindu symbol for aum has a unique curved majesty. Its sonic serenity is said The Tai-chi symbol of I Ching (a circle divided into two halves by a curve, The Judaic Star of David has a wonderful geometric symmetry. Though regarded as The Christian Cross which symbolizes how the sin and ugliness human actions are In the view of many Muslim scholars, it is pure white, the symbol of purity, Aside from all these symbols, who can fail to see beauty in the Cosmic Joy Ultimately, one derives the highest aesthetic experience from religions through V. V. Raman IP: Logged |
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-65. Going Beyond Even the Agamas
This genuine egalitarian social philosophy is the essence of Hindu Agamas and which are studied very seriously among the Tamils. There are hundreds of Agamas and Upagamas and where none is said to be absolutely authoritative. They are simply mystical texts possibly with metaphysical disclosures from BEING Himself and which nevertheless, must be transcended to be fully with BEING. BEING, the Civam or the Absolutley Transcendent Object (param PoruL) exceeds even the Agamas and stands well ABOVE all unaffected by the various historical events He in fact configures using the basic Siva Tatvas, Natam and Bindu. But VaLLalaar seems to have experienced directly is the absolute transcendence by a metaphysical odyssey that can be understood only in terms of the basic of Agamic or Tantric Psychology where the fundamental root objects in terms of which all are generated in terms of various kinds of patterns are the Siva Tatvas, Natam and Bindu. The whole range events both physical and mental are seen as the Dance of Siva Sakti where more scientifically is actually the Dance of Natam and Bindu that also split into Para and Apara varieties. BEING with Natam is Siva and BEING with Vindu (Bindu) is Sakti, with Paraciva or simply Sivam being ABOVE such differentiations. Here Sakti, a different form of Vindu creates the various DESIRES that provide the fundamental motivations for existence. They make the soul seek this and that and with that become enchained with different kinds of paacaas, the fetters. The Bindu by its aesthetics TRAPS the soul into various kinds of bondages. Now the Natam on the other hand as FIRE, SUN and so forth and which are different expressions of what Tirumular calls Vanni Ezuttu, the Fire Mantras, BURNS the souls causing there to be genuine Diksas and with that FREE the souls from such Pacaas. While Bindu binds, Natam liberates and frees. VaLLalaar seem to have gone to the limits of these different majestic and bewilderment play of Natam and Bindu and enjoyed profound metaphysical insights into how the soul is plunged into existence bound with various kinds of desires and slowly also FREED from them by various kinds of natural Diksas there. But at the end of it he remains bewildered for he still remains ignorant of CIVAM, the BEING beyond all standing there as the ONE i.e even beyond the presentation as Siva-Sakti that is extolled by the Saivagamas. BEING is wholly a MYSTERY and which understanding also breeds a supreme calmness, product of a resignation at the face of the MYSTERY that cannot be dissolved at all.
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-66 On Agreement Among the Great Ones
Now VaLLalaar notes here as do many great Tamil mystics that BEING is a Power that TRANSCENDS all religions where while Tayumanavar uses camayatiitam, here VaLLalaar uses mataatiitam but which mean the same. To be religious is to be mad combative quarrelsome and even murderous as we can see even to-day. History tells us that even in the past it was so. But religions are not to be despised because of this but rather to be lived and then grow up out of them through deep and profound metaphysical illuminations. While almost all the great Tamil philosophers and mystics including the Siddhas have been very critical of all religions to the point where they can be said to be atheists, but they were NOT atheists though for the naive they may appear to be so. This fate descended upon even VaLLalaar whose verses were said to be Marudpaa, Satanic verses of a kind only necause the VarNasrama Dharma and so forth were severely criticized. But despite this VaLLalaar has become one the greatest philosophers of the Tamil mind, outlining in thousands of beautiful verses and in chaste Tamil the Perennial Philosoiphy like that of so many great souls throughout the world. The great one who have lived through whatever religion they were born into but managed to transcend its snares- the various dogmas theologies ritual practices and so forth begin to shine with Njaanam and which makes them TRANSCEND all religions and in that become Pure and Clean. They understand the sources of religious madness and refuse to fall prey to such devilish forces within. They understand BEING as One who promotes mataatiitam, the transcendence of all religions and remain deeply moved by that sanity. Such people become prejudice free and agree among themselves implicitly - the common insights they share, the Njaanam, acts as the binding factor and makes them rejoice at each others company. This possibility that all the great Tamil mystics never fail to sing, is perhaps the greatest contribution of Sacred Tamil to world civilization as such. 66. maNakkum teenuNda vaNdeepoola Meaning: O Maha Deva! Loga IP: Logged |
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-67 Going Beyond Vedantas
Now it is also not well known that since the burst of the Bakti movement in the Tamil country not only the V.D was wiped out (but restored during the decline of Tamil culture) but also all schools of Vedanta including most certainly that of Advaita Vedanta of Sankara, held onto tenaciously and propagated actively mostly by Brahmins as the greatest achievement of the Hindu mind. Such lies hold the ground among the Indologists only because they continue to be ignore the great achievements of Tamils in metaphysics. The greatest achievement of course is the Fundamental Ontology of Triadism - that Pati Pacu and Paacam are anati and which goes completely against the Vedantic “only Brahaman is True, All else delusory fictitious" kind of ontology. Here the most important is the recognition of Malam, the primordial Paacaas and because of which there is death not only of embodied creatures but also the cosmos as a whole, a metaphysical understanding that continues to be part of Tamil metaphysics since the days of Suruppak (c. 3000 BC) at least. Now in the 14th cent we have the brilliant AruNakiiri Natar who introduced a new kind musical Tamil that charms the Tamils to this day and who also introduced the pregnant phrase, the Maka Vakkiya 'cumma irukkum cukam’ and which is recalled by VaLLalaar here. The soul polluted with the Malam suffers the the-tic consciousness the CudduNarvu, thinking in terms of reference such as 'this', ‘that’ and so forth. The Vedantic Maha Vakkiya “Tat Twam Asi” (That Thou Art”) as it can be seen, does not go beyond this kind of referential thinking and hence the-tic consciousness. Now the Saivites discovered that such a CudduNarvu exists only because the soul remains polluted by this Malam that makes it atomic. Once this Malam is removed then such a referential way of thinking disappears and at that point the soul remains without seeking to calculate, cl***ify BEING and so forth. Without any seeking and trying hard, the soul simply AWAITS for BEING to disclose Himself and enjoy such disclosures. Thus is the state of Cumma Iruttal, staying without seeking at all, a state that is beyond the reach of the Vedanta as all the Vedantic systems do not acknowledge the presence of Malam, the killer energy that also atomizes the mind making it finite and so forth. The joy of not seeking to fathom and measure out BEING results in BEING Himself disclosing Himself. 67 potuvenRum potuvil nadam puriyaa ninRa
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I thought this was one of the better translations and explanations. - webmaster
TRYAMBAKKAM : it refers to the Three eyes of Lord Shiva. 'Trya' YAJAMAHE: means, " praising to God ". SUGANDHIM: refers to His fragrance as being the best and always PUSTIVARDHANAM: He is the Father of all. Pooshan is also the inner URVAAROKAMEVA: 'URVA' means big and powerful . 'AAROOKAM' means BANDANAAM: means bound down. Thus read with URVAROOKAMEVA, it means 'I MRITYORMOOKSHEYA: means to deliver us from death for the sake of MAAMRITAAT means 'please give me some Amrit. Read with the previous
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TirumuRai 6-93 Appar Meditating on Death 6 The Vishnu of Appar The reference to Tiurumaal, the One of the huge snake, Aticedan of the wavy sea (alanj cuzikkum man naakan tannaan) is quite unmistakable here. But at the same time there is also mention of Siva as the one who generated the Vedas and other scriptures, the six-fold Vedic disciplines and so forth, a notion quite ancient and common to all Saivites. Thus Appar integrates within his understanding of Siva, the Vedic as well as the VaishNavite traditions as part of the Saiva traditions Of course this is a very ancient view quite common during the CaGkam timnes where the sectarian movements of the post-Bakti period did not exist. The whole of Tamils worshipped all the deities without dividing them into Saivite Sakta and VaishNavite and so forth. The Vedic tradition was also not seen as alien - it was taken as part of the Tamil tradition probably because even the Vedas were seen as Archaic Tamil of a kind. The whole of CaGkam literature gives the impression that the Vedic tradition was not at all alien to the Tamils and, as mentioned here , the whole range of the Vedas and the various Vedic disciplines were the creations of Siva Himself. This view experienced a set back only when the Europeans isolated Sanskrit and made it Aryan and opposed to the Dravidian. That Vedism is an Archaic Tamil tradition is something well established in the early Bakti literature. So is also the view that One and the same BEING shows Himself as Siva VishNu and so forth. While some may overlook this understanding of the great ones, and create sectarian divisions and with that introduce unnecessary feuds and so forth, the best of the Tamil philosophers particularly the Siddhas maintained this ancient universalism. But what is the main point that Appar is driving at here in saying that it is Siva who also shows Himself as the Tirumaal of Aticedan that provides the bed for the Sleep of Joy (aananta sayanam) for Tirunaal? Appar uses many metaphors that are very ancient here. The soul is compared to boat caught in the stormy seas and which is embodied existence.. The embodied soul suffers all kinds of miseries yearning for some happiness so that life becomes tolerable. There can be BLISS and the most powerful source of bliss is the ***ual libido and which is at the root of LOVE between a male and female, a source of joy for all living creatures, The snake that Siva wears on His neck also provides this ***ual libido so that there continues to be a kind of ***ual attraction between the males and females and with that life reasonably enjoyable. However this ***ual libido is possible only if the BODY is kept is excellent shape and the various biological functions carried out effectively and efficiently. Senility can set in and dry up all such processes making life miserable without any joys and hence soul just waiting for death as a kind of relieve. Thus in the eyes of Appar emerges another very ancient view with a twist - the genuine metaphysical life can help one to maintain a youthful frame, one can live as the young sixteen years old always. Here it is noted that this a blessing of Tirunmaal of Aticedan and which is also an iconic presentation of Siva, the BEING.
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-68. The Profound Achievements of Tamils in Metaphysics Perhaps the best of Indian culture is the enormous range of philosophies it has produced. Now among these it will not be an exaggeration to say that the philosophies of the Tamils particularly the Saivites are the greatest and are of lasting importance. The reasons are quite simple - it is the only culture that has worked out a metaphysics that is true and because of which they call for the transcendence of all religions. Religions create a madness, matam that is so obvious throughout world history. The genuine metaphysics calls for living the religions and then MOVING OUT of them and enjoy a purity and inner joys of this sanity. This is the substance of this verse which brings together many of the deepest metaphysical insights of the Tamils by way of praising the Maha Deva, BEING who is the supreme among all the gods. There is mention of the Dance of Bliss that Siva enjoys performing with Sakti and which is really weaving various kinds of patterns with the fundamental Siva Tatvas, Natam and Bindu. At one level the various patterns generated bring forth the various scriptures - the Vedas and Agamas where BEING remains there as their ground as well as the force that sustains interest in them. Then He also terminates such interests making the souls RISE ABOVE such scriptures and with that FREE themselves from all religions. BEING remains always a surplus and an excess so that unless a soul transcends all scriptures, it cannot gain the most authentic understanding of BEING. There is a metaphysical odyssey prompted by BEING Himself who comes down and stays one with all the souls providing them from within various kinds of metaphysical insights so that different philosophies ideologies and religions are formulated lived through and then discarded. There is madness in living through these systems but sanity emerges when they are discarded and the soul becomes Pure and Clean of any of these systems. And here again we come across the relevance of transductive perceptions, the visions of the Third Eye, so important in Saivism. There is also rising above temporality and with that enjoy Deep Silence and so forth and which is common to all human beings. The soul that in its metaphysical odyssey creates an enormous number of religions and so forth, finally gets tired of them and seeks to become pure and clean and at which point it also dislodges from deep within the Malam that which necessitates the phenomenal and painful bodily evolution where there is repeated births and deaths. In formulating such views that bring together Cosmology Depth Psychology and so forth together painting a metaphysical system that is not only immensely rational but also enormously true. Saivims remains very appealing to all great souls. It is the TRUTH that is most appealing for no matter how combative and destructive a person is, he certainly cannot destroy TRUTH. The greatness of the philosophical achievements of the Tamils is that they have brought into chaste Tamil the TRUTH that is already in the bosom of all and hence a system that is immediately appealing.
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-69. Individualized Self and BEING
Most of them are a battle against the evil and criminal VarNasrama Dharma and this call for individuation is also in line with it. The life of VarNas, so popular in Sk literature, is a life where a person is thrown into a hierarchical social organization and placed somewhere either high as in the case Brahmins or low as in the case of the untouchables and so forth. There is a social fabric where the individuality of the soul is lost completely and made simply a member of a caste, a community outside which he cannot function. The person becomes a m***-man, simply cog wheel in a society that moves along these lines in the name of Dharma, a social philosophy that is disintegrating for good despite valiant attempts of some to sustain it. The call for Tanittu Iru, be your own, with no social identity whatsoever is a call to free oneself from such imposed VarNas that are social in origins but sanctioned as divine in origin by the upper castes and where almost the whole of Sk literature has been manipulated to present such an evil system something dharmic and so forth. In this verse VaLLalaar sings out what happens to the soul once it succeeds in individuating and loses all such socio-political identities. There is loneliness in the terms of the various network of social relationships that sustained social life. With total individuation, these vaporize into a nothingness whereby the soul is all alone, but certainly NOT lonely. At the end phase of this kind of metaphysical life of self-isolation, BEING thrusts forward providing new kinds of substitute social relationships so that the anxiety producing loneliness does not surface at all. First of all BEING becomes the soul of the soul so that there is a feeling that there is always someone with you. As the situation requires, this another soul within the soul can become the Mother the Father, a devoted and faithful friend, One who is loved deeply and so forth Having lost respect for all earthly guru-s who are not without their faults and limitations, the disenchanted soul succeeds in having BEING Himself as the Guru and who unfailingly guides the soul on the WAY and in a manner that cannot be wrong at all. Now another source of comfort that is provided by the mundane kings and which makes a person a citizen of a country subject to its laws and so forth is the SECURITY against the evil powers that the state provides. Now at this phase of metaphysical life even this comes from BEING Himself. He SEES all with His Third Eye and WILLS that the soul be protected against impending dangers and because of which the soul is saved. Those capable of transductive perceptions also SEE for themselves such functions of BEING as did VaLLalaar here and because of which such souls do not have an earthly individual as his King but only BEING as sang millenniums ago by Appar.
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva-70 The Projective Essence of BEING
BEING stands ALOOF as the One but at the same time always with the souls as the inner guide making them move in the right direction. It is here that BEING emerges also as the One who presents various PROJECTS for the souls from deep within and because of which they become the ones that SEARCH for TRUTH, and quite restless till it is attained. Thus life becomes full of stress for the souls are thrown into searching and moving quite endlessly and which makes them become exhausted. Living with such a predisposition becomes extremely tiring and which may bring about death wishes. When the soul is made to search and search with no respite and where what was thought as final and secure is made to be again false and hence something to be discarded then one can see how the souls can become weary of living and searching and so forth. It is not surprising that against this many metaphysical systems have been formulated where DEATH is made the final meaning and where the cessation of thinking itself has been projected as the ideal as in some sects of Buddhism. However BEING is not simply a heartless tyrant always bent on His task of taking the souls towards Moksa no matter how hazardous the job is. BEING is kind and loving and provides also various kinds PLEASURES for the souls to enjoy themselves and in that take some kind of rest. The various kinds joys made available provide the impetus to continue the struggles and the pains there. Of course the greatest of the joys is that of the ***ual and for which reason BEING presents himself as the androgynous reality. The souls are made to be born males and females with an inner seeking each others company and where there are joys only when they live together as couples in deep love. There is the flow of HONEY in such a form of life and which makes them enjoy living and search more ardently for the TRUTH without becoming exhausted too easily on the way; Here there is also another kind of projection that sets the goal and hence a direction for the metaphysical strife. BEING stands one with the soul and projects the fully saturated state as its own possibility, a state where there are no more any desires. This is the famous PaRRu aRRaan PaRRU, a state of seeking nothing desiring nothing only because the soul is already fully saturated. Now once this state is projected from within as the soul’s intrinsic possibility, the souls settle for it noting that it is really the final state and so forth. 70. Taanaakit taan allaatu onRumillaat Meaning: O Maha Deva! Loga [This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited February 27, 2007).] IP: Logged |
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TirumuRai 6-93 Appar Meditating on Death 8. The Poisonous Heart and Premature Death
Appar addresses this empirical fact and suggests a solution where we find the ardent tapas of great Yogis have a meaning. The word ‘vadamuukka maamunivar’ does not lend itself for easy translation for the meaning is quite obscure. However the context suggest that it describes the various bodily tortures like fasting drying up to the point of becoming almost dead and so forth. It appears that those who are indeed poisonous in their heart spitting out venomous words at others should indulge in such ardent tapas that also involve body tortures by way of torturing the soul. But what really happens when one indulges in such practices of self-torture? Siva as the One who wields the AXE emerges in the soul and who would chop off the elements there that make the soul poisonous. Such a BEING also shows Himself as the rider of the Pure White BULL to show that His gruesome activity of chopping off some elements in the soul is designed only to PURIFY it not gently but violently. Now Appar also notes that such gruesome acts of self-destruction are beyond VishNu who concentrates on conserving and preserving and in that also indulges in blessing the souls with good and deep sleep that helps them to recover good health. Such painful activities are also beyond Brahma, who sitting on a white Lotus concentrates on the creative and productive activities in the world. Self purification and which enables overcoming the fetters that hasten death, is an immensely violent and destructive process and the various tapas of yogis are designed to make present in the soul Siva the wielder of the Axe so that He can chop off these evil things.
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One of the things that surprises about Indological studies is that there is so much discussion on Brahmanism but very little on Agamism or Tantrism. As the normal Hindu life is temple-centered, it is clear that the average Hindu is an Agamist. The excessive focus on Brahmanism to the point where it is equated with Hiinduism is a great error and I hope such articles as the one below will help to bring about a proper understanding of Hinduism. This is one of the essays on Tirumular I wrote sometime ago and more in this series available at: http://ulagank.tripod.com/studagapsy/agapsytop.html Loga Agamism, as opposed to Brahmanism, fostered the growth of human sciences as hermeneutic sciences by way of opposing authoritarianism in philosophy and religion. Part of the bakthi revolt of the 5th to 7th century India appears to be the return to the natural, to existence after a millennium of false metaphysics of various kinds which petrified the mind by taking it away from existence and hence a proper understanding of existence and hence conducting oneself well in this life itself. And aided by the naturalism of Tolkaappiyar where the psychological intricacies of the mind was explored in great detail by using the natural language as the chief means of accessing it, during the Bakthi period, behavior was analyzed in situ but now the deeper reaches. Thirumular's Tirumantiram embodies numerous excursions in this direction and a detailed study indicates that there were several schools of thought supplementing and complimenting each other. Having started my academic life from Discourse Analysis as the way to access the mind and understand the dynamics of interactional behavior, it was quite natural for me to resuscitate this ancient tradition and develop a new psychology - Agamic Psychology- using the Access Tests to help out the reaching of the inner mind. This series on Agamic Psychology is designed to recapitulate the psychological thoughts of Thirumular helped out also by my own studies of the human mind by using Access Tests, Dream Analysis and so forth. The relevant articles are available in the Agamic Psychology Campus. One of the most important aspects of this tradition is that behavior is analyzed not in laboratories but as it occurs in the world, and analysis of it in situ and as such it turns out to be and analysis of existence itself. Behavior is seen as PURPOSIVE and it is also discovered that when it becomes MEANINGFUL then it attains the necessary stability and concentration. So the primary goal appears to be to UNDERSTAND the genesis of MEANINGFUL behavior, how it obtains or does not in the world. It is in the course of such questions that Thirumular hits upon the idea that there is aruL, the GIFT of BEING and because of which a person enjoys a MEANING for existence and thus attains a stability in behavior. A certain PURPOSIVENESS begins to control behavior and as the person develops meanings after meanings emerge and all because of this aruL and thereby making the person psychologically motivated and stable. It is recognized that having a MEANING for existence is a result of the VIOLATION of the DARKNESS of the soul where nights and days are already there as given. As aruL violates the darkness and spreads out light in the soul, there comes to be MEANINGS for existence and hence behavior purposive, motivated and stable. At the absence of this MEANING, behavior becomes disorganized for lack of a SENSE for existence a DIRECTION for orgainsing oneself. One line of psychological thinking of Thirumular develops this theme and thereby allows an understanding of it as it obtains in the world. More information on the historical aspects below in the notes. 1792 Meaning: Commentary: It is this understanding that is being elaborated further by Thirumular here. The aruL stands as the DAY that violates the Primordial Darkness in the metaphysical realms that DISALLOWS any entity to have have an existence as such. It is as the result of this primordial violation that the anmas ***ume a biological body and a psychic essence and thus become entities that LIVE, that have EXISTENCE as such. And also this aruL becomes within existence the Dharma, the aRam, the ethical principles that guide existence so that the anmas do not deviate from the WAY and various kinds spiritual disciplines of self control so that the anmas can maintain themselves steadily in the WAY. While the world as a whole may be cyclic and in that not teleological, the human existence is certainly teleological, itis DIRECTED towards a DESTINY and aruL appears as the MEANING of existence, that towards which one OUGHT to move. Thus existence has already within it an OUGHTNESS and it ought to attain the Absolute illumination, the Civanjanam and enjoy the immense Bliss in attaining it. There is meaning for existence, and that meaning, the FOR-WHICH of existence is the attainment of Civanjanam and thereby attaining Mukti. Loga IP: Logged |
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Tiruvasakam- Tiruccatakam Grateful Requital 5-1 The Distorting Sense Organs One of the messages coming from ancient India and certainly something that originated with Yoga is the need to withdraw the soul from its active commerce with the senses in order to appreciate the presence of metaphysical realities over and above the physical. We hear of such practices as remaining SILENT where in some temples in Sumeria there were special chambers for the practice of silence. Such people were called en-kum-ene and there were as part Kesi Temple special rooms for such practices, as described by En Hudu Anna (c. 2300 BC) This practice has a permanent place in the history of all Indic religions where great efforts were made to detach the soul from the body and with that gain visions of the metaphysical world. The soul has to free itself from the senses, a notion that was given great prominence even in TirukukuRaL. Here Manikkar again projecting himself into the average person who is not only lost to the senses but also to sensory distortions, laments that he is, as such, unable to listen to the CALL that always exists in the soul of all to enter the celestial world and live among the gods. As Manikkar notes there is always an invitation in the soul of to enter the heavenly world. Siva unlike the Brahmins and upper castes does not not deny access into the heavenly world to any one. He compares such a person to an elephant that exists with its extended nose itself as its hand with the highly sensitive sense of touch and smell. Such a person is not only lost to the world of the senses but also to sensory distortions so that even authentic sensory perceptions become impossible. Such a person cannot see TRUTHS that are sensory and hence cannot appreciate the DEPTHS that are there along with physical world. Only when the physical is seen as the physical can the soul see the metaphysical in the depths of the physical Such a person cannot see the Karu =the originating ground of various thoughts deep within the soul itself. Lost to the senses and caught up by the lack of proper discriminations, he cannot turn inwards and introspect to see the creative productions deep within. For even sensory seeing is not simply a brute affair even when wholly determined by sensory processes. The information that hits the senses have to be categorized to be understood and the concepts for such an activity come from the soul fed there by BEING Himself. A person lost to the sensory world of various kinds of distortions remains BLIND to the presence of BEING deep within and refuses to acknowledge the inner calls and with that lead an active metaphysical life. This total blindness makes him live only a physical life - living and eating only to nourish the body but not at all the soul. 1. Meaning Loga [This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited March 03, 2007).] IP: Logged |
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VaLLalaar’s Garland for Mahadeva- 71 Spiritual Confusion and Existential Repetition
This Vedantic Vivarttam Vaatam and so forth, that denies the substantially of the souls and that it is infected by Mummalam and because of which they are thrown into embodiment and existence in the physical world, is what is attacked here as a kind of Mayakkam, spiritual confusion by VaLLalaar here. The whole of Vedanta that denies the evolutionary movement of the soul as prompted by the Dance of Siva is said to be a Mayakkam, a confusion. It is a fact of human existence that those who LEARN and gain deep and profound metaphysical insights destroy the metaphysical IGNORANCE and with that move in slow measures towards Moksa and which is existing among the gods in the celestial world and presumably in a mantra body. But to attain this the soul must become Pure and Clean, Ni-malam and in that the same as BEING-as-Siva who is also Nimalan. There is a SAMENESS of self and BEING in this final stae absolute PURITY and which is the Siddhantic meaning of Advaita, a ONENESS because of the absence of difference. (Webmaster's note: this is the Meykandar Siddhanta philosophy) The soul as something deeply polluted by infection of Malam, can never be BEING-as-Brahman who is absolutely and always Pure and Clean, Nimalan. This BEING out of LOVE unto all creatures ***umes various iconic forms like the rider of the BULL and so forth to agitate the souls and make them LEARN and move in the direction of Enlightenment, providing also various kinds of joys on the way so that the souls do not fall off out of weariness and exhaustion. There are those who understand the LOVE of BEING and how He dances the Dance of Bliss in the Tillai, the ground of all origins and with that violate the DARKNESS in the soul and install Radiance so that the souls begin to GLOW more and more luminously as the darkness of ignorance is destroyed. While those who are not confused and understand truths, move along these lines and hence gravitate more and more towards the celestial world, there are others who are spiritually confused (like the Vedanties and others) and hence do not develop at all and are thrown into existential repetition - repeated and endless embodiment that brings along sufferings and painful deaths.
Meaning: O Maha deva! Loga IP: Logged |
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Tiruvasakam- Tiruccatakam Grateful Requital 5-2 BEING is Brahman and Beyond
Manikkar observes that BEING presents Himself as this Brahman, the oLi PoruL, which by the way and as well documented by William James in his “Varieties of Religious Experience’ is common to ALL mystics no matter to what religion they formally belong to. Now Manikkar adds additional insights to this and which is possible only within Agamism where there are deities male female and forth. We have the male gods like Siva Vishnu Vinayaka Muruka and so forth and female goddesses like Uma Durga Sarasvati Laxmi and so forth. We have also the androgynous forms like Amma-Appar and so forth. Now Manikkar observes that as one goes along these figural presentations of BEING, interpret and enjoy the various metaphysical insights unfolded, slowly but surely the soul is lifted up to seeing BEING as Pure Radiance the Brahman that stands as the Deep Structure of all these figural icons. In the DEPTHS of all these icons lurks Brahman, the Pure Light and which is made available at a point for those who are spiritually matured. This has the immediate effect of FREEING them from all cultic orientations. Such a person is no more a Saivite a Sakta a VaishNavite and so forth. Since this is common to all, we can also say that such a vision also makes the soul free itself from all religions and become truly secular. Now interestingly enough this is not all that Manikkar notes within this kind of supreme spiritual experience. As one enjoys such a vision of BEING and transcends all cults and religions, one is also ***ailed by a MYSTERY. For within this experience also emerges that certainly there is more to BEING than this vision of Brahman. BEING is more a Surplus and Excess and hence beyond even Brahman, a metaphysical understanding not available in Brahmanism. Perhaps the soul has to satisfy itself with this huge MYSTERY and just simply accommodate itself to it without any pretences to the contrary with a certitude that does not exist. However how is that BEING disclosed Himself most authentically to this non-pretentious Manikkar and NOT to mighty Brahmins like Sankara who did not go beyond the understanding of BEING as Brahman, the OLip PoruL? The fact is Manikkar despite being born a Brahmin of a kind and who spend most of his life as the chief minister to the PaNdiya King of his times, calls himself a ToNdan , one committed to serve humanity and notes that only because he was a ToNdan that BEING disclosed Himself as He in fact is (uLLavaa?). This invites an in depth analysis as the whole of the Vedantic tradition does not talk at all of ToNdu and it was given only to the Bakti movement, perhaps influenced by the early Buddhists and Jains to formulate true religiosity as ending up becoming an Adyar devoted to ToNdu service to humanity. Now a person lives normally For-Himself as well For-Others the selfish and altruistic. Now when the selfish is wiped out and only the altruistic survives conditioning existence the person becomes a ToNdan, a person for whom service to society as a whole becomes the very meaning of Existence. Now in this supreme Altruism the soul becomes the SAME as BEING for BEING as wholly LOVE (anbee Sivam) is also supremely altruistic and only because of which He is moved to dance the Dance of Bliss with Uma, effect the Pancakritiyas to make the souls learn become metaphysically illuminated and thus PURE and CLEAN and enjoy Moksa with that. Thus the soul that becomes a ToNdan is the SAME as BEING in essence and this is the Advaita, a non-difference between BEING and the soul that Siddhanta talks about and which is called Suddhavaita. The soul and BEING are substantially different and both are anati but at the point when the soul is almost ready for Moksa, in essence it becomes the SAME as BEING in the sense of Ottup Pootal that Tirumular talks about. This is same as the sameness that holds between husband and wife deeply in love with each other and who have lived as such for a long time so that one understands instinctively the other. When the soul becomes thus the Same as BEING then of course there is no more Tirobavam, the need to conceal Himself from such a soul- BEING discloses Himself as He is to such souls - that He is Brahman and Beyond. Meaning; Loga [This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited March 10, 2007).] IP: Logged |
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Introduction to Sivajnaana Botam PHILOSOPHY AS METAPHYSICS AND METAPHYSICS AS HERMENEUTIC SCIENCE http://ulagan.tripod.com/boint-e.htm
On the contrary it is a courageous venturing into the most fundamental in all men, an exercise in expounding what makes human existence what it is in fact. It expounds TRUTHS that all thinking men could agree upon provided they dare to tear themselves away from the cultural, cultic, religious and philosophic prejudices that condition even their philosophic quests. For anyone INCAPABLE of raising themselves to this level of universality, of reasoning without FEAR solely in the pursuit of TRUTH, this text will remain a closed book, forever incomprehensible as Meykandar himself asserts in the preface. The universality of aim is combined in this text with a rationality of approach. What we have in this text is Metaphysics transformed into the most universal, the most comprehensive Hermeneutic Science, i.e a science proper suited to inquire in a thoroughly rational manner the hidden and the mysterious surrounding even the ordinary human behaviour. The introduction of this magnificent philosophic classic which is simultaneously the most rigorous text in Hermeneutic Science is timely in the present world context where Hermeneutics is emerging again as a methodology most suited to the study of human behaviour. The vast, monolithic and towering citadels of the positive sciences are crumbling down slowly but surely under the attack of some brilliant hermeneutic philosophers - Dilthey, Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer, Ricouer, Derrida - just to name a few. Despite many counter attacks to arrest this rebellion, new concepts of science along with their own methodologies are bursting through the limited and restrictive horizons of the positive sciences and making impressive inroads into the realms of the respectable in academic life. Many practical researchers in the social sciences, unlike the philosophers, are trying to formulate in less airy veins, the rational structure of these sciences to varying degrees of success. Deetz (1973), Gauld & Shotter (1977), Parker (1985) and many others have attempted to work out the guiding rational principles of what have begun to be called Hermeneutic Sciences or Interpretive Social Sciences. More recently Silverman (1993) and many others see this debate as between qualitative and quantitative methodologies, argue in favour of qualitative, interpretive studies of data and work out guidelines to ensure rationality. In the vein of Ricouer and many other hermeneutic philosophers, Deetz for example, argues that hermeneutic sciences are concerned with understanding a phenomena, where to understand is to literally stand-under and to do so is to explicate a particular behaviour’s implicative structure of possibilities (Deetz, 1973, p. 155, italics mine). Something similar can be found in the philosophic rumblings of many other hermeneuts as well. While those wedded to the positive sciences, adhere to the received models of scientific research, which have been astonishingly successful in the realms of the physical, continue with their conjectures and refutations (Popper,1963 ), there are now a variety of hermeneuts on the scene who have worked out methodologies distinct from the conjectural and constructinistic models where hypothesis testing reigns supreme. We have the ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1967), Conversation Analysis (Scheggloff & Sacks, 1973 etc), Discourse Analysis (Coulthard & Montgomery, 1981; Hoey 1983 etc), Hermeneutic Analysis of Discourse (K. Loganathan Mutharayan, 1993) and so forth. It is here that Dravidian philosophic tradition from which emerged Civajnaana BOtam can meet the above new developments in the West. It appears that right from ancient times the Dravidian folks were essentially hermeneuts and all their great achievements - Tolkappiyam, Tirukkural, Tirumantiram and many others that have withstood the test of time - were essentially treatizes with hermeneutics as their own methodology, the principles of which were already clearly formulated in Marapiyal, an independent text but which has come down to us as an appendix to Tolkappiyam, dated around the 3rd century B.C. But recent researches in Sumero-Tamil indicates that the hermeneutic orientation of the Dravidian folks were very ancient and also something that took firm roots in their mind very early indeed. Just to cite an example, we have the following lines from 'Enmerkar and the Lord of Arratta', a Sumerian text belonging to the third millennium B.C. (Cohen, 1973). 503. en-kul-aba ki-a-ke im-e su bi-in-ra inim dub-gin bi-in-gub 504. u-bi-ta inim im-ma gub-bu nu-ub-ta-gal-la 505. i-ne-se utu u-de-a ur he-en-na-nam-ma-am Anyone familiar with classical Tamil will recognize the Tamil character of these Sumerian lines. Such words as `innanam’, `aam’, `utu’ `utiyam’ and so forth are still in use. But what is pertinent is the poet’s assertion in 505 which should in fact be translated as: Now, with inner sun bringing forth illuminations, verily this was so. The poet seeks to understand the origins of the birth of a new competence, a new kind of behaviour - the ability of man to write down speech, an ability that never existed before. There is an emergence of a new talent, a new technical competency. How has this competency come to prevail as a fact in the world? He raises this questions and answers it himself: because the inner sun has arisen within, destroying the ignorance with which human understanding was surrounded; and because of the clarity thus attained, new ways of SEEING that has become possible, a new human competency has become a historical reality - a reality that never was but now is. Loga IP: Logged |
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