INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY OF SAIVA SIDDHANTA

BY

SAIVA THIRU.G. SUBRAMANIA PILLAI .M.A.,B.L.,

"The Saiva Siddhanta System is the most elaborate, influential, and undoubtedly the most intrinsically valuable of all the religions of India. It is peculiarly the South Indian and Tamil religion." Thus observes that great Western scholar, whose epitaph bears the terse but significant line, 'Student of Tamil', Dr. G.U.Pope. In fact, the roots of Saivism are deeply imbedded in the ancient classical lore of the Tamils, the Sangam Literature. I shall cite one instance which will bear out this statement. In a beautiful triplet, which forms the invocatory verse of Aiyinkurunuru, a sangam work, the very cream of Siddhanta philosophy is given in a condensed form:-

"நீல மேனி வாலிழை பாகத்

தொருவ னிருதாள் நிழற்கீழ்

மூவகை யுலகு முகிழ்த்தன முறையே."

[The universe demonstrable as of three kinds, (he, she and it) has sprung under the shade of the two feet of the One, Whose Form is shared in halves by His jewel-bedecked Consort (sakti) of the azure hue.]

This is sufficient to establish the high antiquity of Saiva Siddhanta, the religion and philosophy of the Tamil people. Dr. Pope again says : "Saivism is the old pre-historic religion of South India, essentially existing from pre-Aryan times, and holds sway over the hearts of the Tamil people." Verily this system is the choicest product of the Dravidian intellect and the South Indian Hindus of the Saiva persuasion proudly cherish this as their richest heritage, a rare legacy handled down by seers and sages who experienced Bliss in this very earth. Tholkappiam, the oldest extant grammatical treatise in Tamil, speaks in familiar terms of Arivar and Tapathar. (Sages and Saints).

Edited April 18, 200817 yr by ArumugaNavalar

"மறுவில் செய்தி மூவகைக் காலமும்

நெறியி னாற்றிய அறிவன் தேயமும்

நாலிரு வழக்கிற் றாபதப் பக்கமும்."

(Sutra-20; Purathinaiyial. Tholkappiam)

Arivar were those who had conquered all lust, passion and confusing mental delusions springing out of ignorance or fascination; and they were said to have acquired the gift of knowing the past, present and future. Naccinakiniar, the commentator, says that the words of these Arivar or Seers of wisdom were known as the Agamas which chalked out the course to be followed by ascetics or Tapathar to attain salvation. The Tapathar were those who had spruned the pleasures of the world and had betaken themselves to a life of renunciation. They were wedded to the strict observance of the eight austerities, viz., taking holy ablutions or sacred baths; lying on bare ground; wearing only deer-skin; tending sacred fire; avoiding town-life, i.e., living far from the madding crowd; growing matted hair; eating only the yield of the jungle, i.e., bare fruits and dry leaves, and worshipping God. We get a glimpse of these Tapathar in the following stanza of Purananuru also:-

"ஒவத் தன்ன விடனுடை வரைப்பிற்

பாவை யன்ன குறுந்தொடி மகளிர்

இழைநிலை நெகிழ்த்த மள்ளற் கண்டிகுங்

கழைக்க ணெடுவரை யருவி யாடிக்

கான யானை தந்த விறகிற்

கடுந் தெறற் செந்தீ வேட்டுப்

புறந்தாழ் புரிசடை புலர்ந்து வோனே."

"He was once indulging in luxury and langour, in the midst of a bevy of damsels in mansion halls; but now, has turned an ascetic renunciate with matted hair, tending sacred fire with faggots brought by elephants in the inner recesses of forests."

And, Pope's is not the one solitary voice that speaks on this point. No less a person than that cultured Christian missionary, Rev. C.Gowdie, observes thus: "This system (Siddhanta) possesses the merits of great antiquity; in the religious world it is heir to all that is most ancient in Southern India. It is a religion of the Tamil people by the side of which every other form is of comparatively foreign origin. As a system of religious thought, as an expression of faith and life, the Saiva Siddhanta is by far the best that South India possesses; indeed it would not be rash to include the whole of India and to maintain that, judged by its intrinsic merits, the Siddhanta represents the high water - mark of Indian thought and Indian feeling."

The tenets of Saiva Siddhanta were fully and finally codified by Saint Meikandar in his glorious work, Sivagnana Botham. It was one pious Christian Missionary, Rev. Hosington by name, who first translated Sivagnana Botham into English. It is worth while noting down his interesting observation also, regarding the antiquity of Saivism. "The Agamam which contains the doctrinal treatise given in this work, may safely be ascribed to what I would term the Philosophical Period of Hinduism, the period between the Vedic and Puranic Eras. These doctrines can be traced in the earlier works of the Puranic period, in the Ramayana, the Bagavadgita and the Manava Darma Sastra. They are so alluded to and involved in those works, as to evince that they were already systematised and established. We have the evidence of some Tamil works that the Agama doctrines were revived in the South of India before Brahminism, by which I mean Mythological Hinduism, obtained any prominent place there. From some statements in the Ramayana, it would appear that they were adopted in the South before Rama's time. This would fix their date at more than a thousand years before the Christian Era, certainly as that of the Ramayana."

The Tamils, as a race, have always evinced a broad outlook on life and have set a high premium for all humane virtues. They were basking in the sunshine of culture and civilisation when more than half the globe was completely enveloped in darkness and weltering in savagery. Here is a poem by Kaniyan Pungundranar, long before Caesar had crossed the Rubicon, which will testify to you the clarity of expression, the catholicity of views and a comprehensive range of vision about the very fundamentals of life, enjoyed by this ancient race in that remote past:

"யாது மூரே யாவருங் கேளிர்

தீதும் நன்றும் பிறர்தர வாரா

நோதலுந் தணிதலு மவற்றே ரன்ன

சாதலும் புதுவ தன்றே வாழ்தல்

இனிதென மகிழ்ந்தன்று மிலமே மின்னொடு

வானந் தண்டுளி தலைஇ யானாது

கல்பொரு திரங்கு மல்லற் பேர்யாற்று

நீர்வழிப் படூஉம் புணைபோ லாருயிர்

முறைவழிப் படூஉ மென்பது திறவோர்

காட்சியிற் றெளிந்தன மாகலின் மாட்சியிற்

பெரியோரை வியத்தலு மிலமே

சிறியோரை யிகழ்த லதனிந்னு மிலமே"

(Purananuru-192)

"All places are ours, all our kith and kin;

Good and evil come, not caused by others;

Pain and relief are brought likewise, not by others;

Dying is not new; nor living gave us joy;

Misery we hated out. As in the flood,

Caused by clouds that poured in torrents

On a mountain top with lightning flash.

A raft goes in the direction of the stream,

So the swarm of lives move onward

In the way of destiny. This we have discerned

From the teachings of sages strong in wisdom

So we admire not the great; nor scoff at the churl."

Their inordinate thirst for knowledge made the Tamils not to acquiesce in anything with blind faith. Their morals and philosophy were founded on the stable rocks of Reason and Experience. Mere half-truths and non-truths were smashed to the ground. All religious beliefs were subjected to a sifting and analytical research and everything was examined in the light of logic and practicality. Mere may-bes and might-have-beens were mercilessly brushed asided and only are shimmering with scintillations of the Siddhantic doctrines. Many valuable works on Science, Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Geology, Astronomy, Alchemy, Medicine, Witchcraft, Astrology, Metallurgy, etc., written in Tamil by the ancients were lost by the wrath of the sea which had submerged the continent of Lemuria, populated by the highly-civilised race of the Tamils. The following stanza testifies to this irreparable loss:-

"எரண முருவம் யோக மிசை கணக் கிரதஞ்சாலந்

தாரண மறமே சந்தந் தம்பநீர் நிலமுலோகம்

மாரணம் பொருளென்றின்ன மானநூல் யாவும் வாரி

வாரணங் கொண்டதந்தோ வழிவழிப் பெயருமாள."

Saiva Siddhanta, as a system of philosophy, first assumes a palpable form in Tirumantiram, composed by Saint Tirumular. His date cannnot be placed later than the sixth century A.D. Sundaramuti Nayanar, one of the Saiva Samayacharyas, who is generally assigned to the eighth century A.D., refers to Tirumular in his 'Breviary of Devotees', where he has said:-

"நம்பிரான் திருமூலன் அடியார்க்கும் அடியேன்."

"I am slave of the devotees of our Lord Tirumular."

Tirumular deprecates the differences existing between the Vedic and Agamic doctrines and says that they are both equally the revelations of the Almighty:-

"வேதமோ டாகமம் மெய்யா மிறைவனூல்

ஒதுஞ் சிறப்பும் பொதுவுமென் றுள்ளன

நாத னுரையிவை நாடி லிரண்டந்தம்

பேதம தென்பர் பெரியோர்க் கபேதமே."

"The Veda with the Agama is the truth; they are the word of the Lord: these revelations of the Lord are to be studied as the general and the special doctrines; on enquiry they are taken to be different as giving rise to two different sets of conclusions: but to the great ones they are non different." It is in Tirumantiram we first come across the word Siddhantam

Edited January 18, 200817 yr by ArumugaNavalar

In one place, Tirumular says:-

"சித்தாந்தத் தேசீவன் முத்திசித் தித்தலாற்

சித்தாந்தத் தேநிற்போர் முத்திசித் தித்தவர்

சித்தாந்த வேதாந்தஞ் செம்பொரு ளாதலாற்

சித்தாந்த வேதாந்தங் காட்டுஞ் சிவனையே"

"Since the soul attains salvation in Siddhanta, the devotees of Siddhanta become Jivan-Muktas; as Siddhanta is the quintessence of all the Vedas, it is the right path that will discover Siva."

We may note here that Tirumular treats Siddhanta as the only true Vedanta, the end of the Vedas.

Speaking about Saiva Siddhanta, Sir S.Radhakrishnan has rightly observed: "While it prevailed in South India even before the Christian era, it received a great access of strength from its opposition to Buddhism and Jainism, which it, along with Vaishnavism, overcame about the fifth or the sixth century after Christ." During that period wave after wave of Buddhistic and Jain missionaries swept over South India and disseminated their teachings. Saivism was at great peril. Its very existence was at stake. But this momentous period gave birth to the four great Samayacharyas, Saint Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manickavacakar, who, by their divine - inspired hymns and miraculous deeds, stemmed the tide of the on-rushing Jains and Buddhists and saved Saivism. Frequent debates and incessant disputations were carried on with these alien schools of philosophy and all their hollow arguments were beaten to the ground. These four saints wrote and sang soul-inspiring and beautiful devotional songs in Tamil. Those songs are songs of Siva, sung in praise of Him. They are the eternal springs of ineffable joy. They are the outpourings of matured souls, gushing forth from the deepest recesses of devotion. Their meaning and melody melt and move our hearts to meet the Mighty Feet of Siva. The unthinkable and unknowable Siva is seen reflected in the dainty mirror of their devotional hymns, called Tevaram and Tiruvacakam. These rapturous and spontaneous hymns of self-realisation are sparkling with the shadow of Siva.

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St. Appar himself gives out this idea in an important Tevaram stanza of his:-

"பூம்படிமக்கலம் பொற்படி மக்கல மென்றிவற்றால்

ஆம்படிமக்கல மாகிலு மாரூ ரினிதமர்ந்தார்

தாம்படிமக்கலம் வேண்டுவரேற் றமிழ் மாலைகளால்

நாம்படி மக்கலஞ் செய்து தொழுது மடநெஞ்சமே"

"O heart! no good of mirrors, golden and floral:

Our Lord of Arur wants a mirror of laurel

A glass wrought with Tamil poetic wreath;

So Him we pray and hymns in Tamil breathe."

The Tevaram hymns are indeed the shining mirrors where gleams the Grace of Siva. The hymns of the first three saints are known as Tevaram and are collected into seven Tirumurais. The eight Tirumurai is Tiruvacakam by Manickavacakar. These four saints, the real Apostles of Saivism, were the regenerators of the Saiva Creed. They took pilgrimage to every holy shrine and Siva temple, throughout the length and breadth of the country, form Cape to Himalayas and preached and propagated the Faith of Siva. They were the champions of the Bakti cult. They believed not in abstract philosophies, but in real spiritual experience. They discovered real religion and true salvation only in close communion with Siva, the Almighty. They showed the true way which led the soul to realise spiritual salvation even in this very life.

Their teachings and mode of life arrested the attention of the masses and touched their hearts. Even kings bowed to them. Many conversions took place. For instance, Saint Appar converted the Pallava King, Mahendravarman I, from the Jain faith to the Saiva fold. One of his descendants, Rajasimha I, (690-715 A.D.), proudly speaks of himself as the follower of the path of Saiva Siddhanta in one of his inscriptions. (South Indian Inscriptions, Volume I, No.24). In fact, this is the first known inscription in which the compound, 'Saiva Siddhanta - Marge' appears. These Jivan Muktas, the Tevaram hymnalists, with their message of Truth, Love, Service and Sacrifice, infused new life and vigour to the Saiva religion. Jainism and Buddhism vanished like vapour.

These first four were followed by a band of devotees who contributed to the remaining four Tirumurais, and these were later recognised as the Twelve Tirumurais or the Twelve Anthologies of Devotional Hymns, which form the real sheet-anchor of the Siddhantic doctrine. The Twelfth Tirumurai is Periyapuranam, composed by the sage Sekkilar, wherein is recounted the life-history of a glorious galaxy of sixty-three Nayanmars of Tamil origin, who attained Veedu or Moksha by their devotion to Siva and His devotees. So Periyapuranam is the Biggest Biography of a Band of Baktas or devotees. It is on the wake of Periyapuranam that the effulgent light of Sivagnana Botham bursts to our view. All illusions are set at nought and the eternal verities of life are settled for ever.

Sivagnana Botham was composed by Saint Meikandar, the Truth - Seer or Satyadarshi, who flourished at the beginning of the thirteenth century. He expounded the truths, gathered and realised by him, for the benefit of the world, in the form of pithy aphorisms or Sutras, twelve in number. The demands both of the logical and moral consciousness are convincingly satisfied in Saiva Siddhanta, as conceived by Saint Meikandar. "Although the four great leaders of Saivism who flourished before the 8th century have given distinct expression to the essential principles of the system in their sublime devotional lyrics, an exposition of the same in a scientific manner is found only in Saint Tirumular;s Tirumantiram, Gnanamirtham, Tiruvuntiar, Tirukalirrupadiar and a few other books prior to the age of Sri Meikandar, the inspired Vellala boy-saint of Tiruvennainallur who inaugurated the Renaissance of Siddhanta Philosophy in the 13th century."

Sivagnana Botham, which consists of twelve Sutras only, presents in a nutshell the whole system of Siddhanta religion and philosophy. Arulnandi Sivachariyar, the first among the forty-nine disciples of Saint Meikandar, composed Sivagnana Siddhiar which serves as an elaborate and valuable commentary on Sivagnana Botham.

Saint Tayumanavar has very aptly given his meed of praise of Arulnandi Sivachariyar in the following couplet.

"பாதிவிருத்தத்தா லிப்பார் விருத்தமாக வுண்மை

சாதித்தார் பொன்னடியைத் தான்பணிவ தெந்நாளோ"

"O for the day! when I can worship the golden feet of him who declared the truth, in half a stanza, by which I lost my illusions1" Six commentators, namely, Sivagra-Yogigal, Gnanaprakasar, Tattuvaprakasar, Madurai Sivaprakasar, Sivagnana Swamigal and Subramania Desikar, have produced elaborate commentaries on Sivagnana Siddhiar. This alone is sufficient proof of its greatness, and importance.

Siddhanta Sastras in Tamil, considered as most important, are fourteen in number; for there are other works also, like the Pandara Sastras, which are of later growth. Of the rest among the above fourteen, I content myself by referring only to Sivaprakasam by Umapathy Sivachariyar. Sivaprakasam figures as an important supplement to Sivagnana Botham.

We have actually taken here a bird's eye view of the origin, development and consummation of Siddhanta Philosophy, starting with the Scriptures and Sangam works and ending with Sivagnana Botham, which clustered around itself a host of other works, supplementing and complementing the same. The following verse shows in what light and order the Tamils of South India viewed those Siddhantic works:-

"வேதம்பசு; அதன்பால் மெய்யாகமம்; நால்வர்

ஒதுந்தமிழ் அதனின் உள்ளுறுநெய்; - போதமிகு

நெய்யின் உறுசுவையாம் நீள்வெண்ணெய் மெய்கண்டான்

செய்த தமிழ் நூலின் திறம்."

"The Veda is the cow; the Agamam is its milk; the Tamil(Tevaram and Tiruvacakam) of the four saints, is the ghee churned from it; the excellence of the well-instructive Tamil, (Sivagnana Botham) of Meikandar of Tiruvennainallur, is like the sweetness of such ghee." I would like to add to this that Sivagnana Siddhiar is the relish of that sweetness.

The Siddhanta is the special philosophy of the Saiva Religion. Siddhanta means the True End or the Accomplished End. The system of Siddhanta is hailed to be the crown of all philosophy for it has attained logical perfection to a degree not attained by any other system. One important feature of Siddhanta is that it gives more value for Reason, than for anything else. Religious ecstasy is not allowed to surpass the dry light of Reason. Subjecting his concepts to metaphysical criticism, the Siddhantin recognises the importance of satisfying the demands of Reason. It must be said to the credit of this school of philosophy, that in elucidating the principles of its theory, it does not evade to tackle any real difficulty nor resort to language which makes confusion more confounded. It does not try to puzzle man and baffle argument. It voluntarily invites free discussion and only exhibits anxiety to thrash out the truth. There is no logical quibbling in its arguments. It shines in its own sublime simplicity and celestial clarity. It has not said anything which is relegated to the realms of the mysterious. It teaches only practical philosophy, appealing to our rational understanding and experience. I can only say it is pragmatic to the hilt.

The Siddhanta does not adopt the policy of scouting Reason and holding fast to Sruti alone. The Siddhantins are always conscious of the fact that the yelling of a hundred scriptures cannot establish what is opposed to Reason. Scriptures are elucidated in a rational manner. We fail to meet with any apology or begging the question. Of course there is an appeal to our moral consciousness but it is not a call for blind faith. The reference to one elementary principle of criticism the Siddhantins have adopted, as stated in Sivaprakasam, will at once bring into full relief their breadth of vision and progressive thought.

"தொன்மையவாம் எனும் எவையும் நன்றகா இன்று

தோன்றியநூல் எனும் எவையும் தீதாகா துணிந்த

நன்மையினார் நல்ங்கொள்மணி பொதியுமதன் களங்கம்

நவையாகா தென உண்மை நயர்திடுவர் நடுவார்

தன்மையினார் பழமைஅழ காராய்ந்து தரிப்பர்

தவறுநலம் பொருளின்கட் சார்வாராய்ந் தறிதல்

இன்மையினார் பலர்புகழில் எத்துவர் எதிலருற்

றிகழ்ந்தனரேல் இகழ்ந்திடுவர் தமக்கென வொன்றிலரே."

"Whatever is old cannot be deemed to be good ( on account of its antiquity alone), and whatever book comes forth to-day cannot be judged ill because of its newness. Men pledged to seek good in everything will not mind the dust that covers a beautiful gem but only appreciate its true worth. People of middle calibre will investigate and welcome the beauty and antiquity of a work. Men who have no capacity to judge of the faults, excellences and substantial worth of a production, will praise it, if many admire it, and will in the same breath condemn it on hearing others speak ill of it, because they have no opinion for themselves."

Meikandadeva has expounded the truths realised by him in the form of syllogisms, beautifully marshalled out in the order of Proposition, Reason, Instance, Assumption or Application and Deduction. There is no flaw or speck to be found, for, the process of ratiocination is crystal clear. Its simplicity in expounding the theistic position arrests our attention and can easily be comprehended by the generality of the people. The convincing arguments of Sivagnana Botham easily prepare the ground for renunication and instil the firmness of mind necessary for the attainment of the ultimate goal, viz, spiritual bliss.

Saiva Siddhanta is famous for its Adwaitic interpretation of God and the Universe. The very nature and gist of the Siddhantic doctrine of Adwaita is briefly summarised in a simple stanza found in the introductory portion of Sivaprakasam:-

"புறச்சமயத்தவர்க் கிருளாய் அகச்சமயத் தொளியாய்ப்

புகல் அளவைக் களவாகிப் பொற்பணிபோல் அபேதப்

பிறப்பிலதாய் இருள்வெளிபோற் பேதமும் சொற்பொருள்போல்

பேதாபேதமும் இன்றிப் பெருநூல்சொன்ன

அறத்திறனால் விளைவதாய் உடலுயிர்கண் அருக்கன்

அறிவொளிபோல் பிறிவரும் அத்துவிதமாகும்

சிறப்பினதாய் வேதாந்தத் தெளிவாம் சைவ

சித்தாந்தத்திறன் இங்குத் தெரிக்கலுற்றாம்"

"We intend to expound herein the truths of the Saiva Siddhanta System, the distilled essence of the Vedanta, which is dark to the heathen and bright to the adherents of inner creeds, and satisfying the reputed standards of logic and which is remarkable for advocating such inseperable Adwaitic (non-dual) union of God and the world as will not warrant their substantial identity like gold and jewels made of it, or their opposition like light and darkness or any midway relation like that of word and sense. Such union will be comparable in their unity to the blending of body and soul and in their diversity to the light of the eye and the light of the sun and in their concomitance to the knowing power of the soul and the seeing power of the eye and will be realisable as the fruit of a course of righteous practice ordained by great books of wisdom." This, in brief, is the metaphysical purport and the distinguishing mark of this philosophy.

While the Siddhantin seeks to establish his convictions on unassailable ground, urges several arguments in refutation of the false theories sponsored by other schools. The Siddhantins distinguish four schools of faiths.

Pura-puraccamayam (The most external),

Puraccammayam (The external),

Ahapuraccamayam (Those which are half in and half out) and

Ahaccamayam (The innermost).

Those which do not recognise the Vedas or the Sivagamas are the most external or outermost schools. They are the Lokayata, Buddhism and Jainism. The external or the outer schools, viz, Tarka, Mimasa, Ekatmavada, Sankhya, Yoga and Pancharatra, accept only the Vedas. The schools which are half in and half out are the Pasupata, Mahavrata, Kapala, Vama, Bhairava and Aiykyavada. These accept the Vedas and Agamas but only in a restricted sense. The Ahaccamayam or the innermost schools are the Pasanavada Saiva, Bhedavada Saiva, Sivasamavada Saiva, Sivasankrantavada Saiva, Isvaraavikaravada Saiva and Sivadvaita Saiva. These differ only in their conceptions of Mukti. A Tamil work called Sankarpa Nirakaranam by Umapathi Sivachariyar treats about these various schools and gives a clear exposition of the flaws ingrained in their various doctrines.

THE METAPHYSICS OF SAIVA SIDDHANTA

The Siddhantin starts his quest from the seen to the unseen. Siddhanta believes in the three eternal categories or entities, Irai, Uyir, and Kattu or God, Soul and Bondage.(Pati, Pasu and Pasam). They are called the Tripadartas. The phenomenal world demonstrable as he, she and it, is found to consist of Mind and Matter, or sentient and non-sentient bodies. Matter, the product of causation, is subject to change and in undergoing evolution and involution. Every object is found to have its birth, growth and decay. Matter or Maya is evolved out of its primordial substance or Suddha Maya. The Siddhantin uses the word 'Maya' not in the sense of 'illusion'. No illusions are not admissable in Siddhanta. The Tamil word 'Maya' is a compound of 'Mai' and 'Ayi', meaning destruction and evolution. As we have said, Maya undergoes Srishti, Stithi and Samharam. Samharam is not destruction in its real sense but means only reduction to its primordial nature or state. Pati, Pasu and Pasa are eternal. They have no beginning or end.

Pasa connotes three principles, Mala, Maya and Karma. Sometimes Mayeyam and Tirothana are added and spoken of as five Mala is Anavamala, the principle of egoism, which obscures the light, intelligence or purity of the soul. Like the verdigris or rust in copper, Anavamala is attached to the soul from time without beginning. In its Kevala state the soul is completely enveloped in the darkness of Anava mala. The universe is formed from chaos to invest the soul with Tanu, Karana, Bhuvana and Bhoga. The soul assumes these four according to its Karma. Karma is an ever-flowing stream, the result of which is bondage to the cycle of rebirth. But it is not a self-sufficient principle, for though not originated by the Lord, it has yet to be directed by Him. The apparent inequalities of dispensation, however, are due to the varying potencies of different Karmas, not to the Lord's direction. Release for the soul cannot take place until Karma fructifies, and is fully experienced through enjoyment or suffering. The Lord wills to release all, but His will is effective only in the case of those who have attained Malaparipaka, that is, whose Karma has ripened; just as the sun, whose action is impartial and uniform, can yet make only those lotus buds bloom as are ready.

The soul is caught in the chain of births and deaths to eat the fruits of its Karma. But the soul with all its limitations, cannot do all these things of its own accord. The power or force that drives the soul to undergo all the evolutionary changes and eats the fruits of Karma is the Arul Sakti of God, which in this aspect is called Tirothana. God is Omnipresent and Omniscient. His Omnipresence is achieved by the diffusion of his Sakti or energy which emanates from Him like rays from the sun. Though He pervades in everything, He is unaffected by Anavamala.

The creative activity of the Lord is mere sport for Him. It is called Tiruvilaiyadal in Tamil. By sport is meant not child's play. It is sport in this sense that He toils not and suffers not for this. He accomplishes what is impossible for others with ease and lightness. By His mere Sankalpa, volition or will-power He creates the worlds. This creation has a purpose underlying it. Of course, the Lord has no affections or aversions. But out of His abundant Grace He performs this function to release the souls from bondage. If they were left to rot and rust in eternal chaotic darkness, their Karma will not fructify and they cannot shake off their Mala. Light and happiness will be tabooed for them. So He evolves cosmos out of chaos and allows the souls to assume bodies according to their Karma and eat the fruits thereof. He must not be charged with partiality or cruelty; for in all His acts, He is guided by the accumulated merit and demerit of the souls. And it must also be remembered that He is not responsible for this Karma which is beginningless, as Time itself, coming down in an unbroken current. Karma cannot act by itself and so is activated by God; but it produces its set results of good and bad which in their turn, are dependent on the actions of the soul. The freedom and individual responsibility of the soul, also, are thus secured without affecting in any way the Omnipotence of the Almighty. The world is not a factory of soul-making for souls are eternal. The world is only a furnace in which the souls, by a succession of births and deaths are cleansed and purified as a base metal is turned into gold by fire. When Karma fructifies, knowledge is generated and God manifests Moksa or Supreme Bliss.

Matter or Maya has no intelligence. The souls have intelligence. Pr.William James, in his book, "The Principles of Psychology", has very well brought out the difference between intelligent and non-intelligent beings. The magnet, for instance, attracts iron-filings. But if an obstruction, like a piece of card is placed in between, the iron filings, because they have no intelligence to get over the obstacle, fail to reach the magnet. Not so with living beings. "Romeo wants Juliet as the filings want the magnet, and if no obstacles intervene, he moves towards her by a straight a line as they. But Romeo and Juliet, if a wall be built between them, do not remain idiotically pressing their faces against its opposite sides, like the magnet and the filings with the card. Romeo soon finds a circuitous way, by scaling the wall or otherwise, of touching Juliet's lips directly. With the filings the path is fixed; whether it reaches the end depends on accidents. With the lover it is the end which is fixed, the path may be modified indefinitely. The pursuance of future ends and choice of means for their attainment are thus the mark of criterion of the presence of mentality in a phenomenon."

The Siddhanta has excelled all other systems of philosophy in its wonderful progress in the scientific diagnosis of Nature. While the other systems pursued the analysis of the Maya or matter down to the substratum of Mulaprakriti only, the Siddhantin plunged deeper and detected that even behind it there could be found a dozen more tatvas or reals of a far more refined type than Mulaprakriti. Thus there are thirty-six tatvas or the constituent principles of our being, through which the Maya Sakti stimulates evolution, as recognised in Siddhanta. They are of three classes, namely, 24 acutta tatvas, 7 cuttacutta tatvas and 5 cutta tatvas. These three classes are also known as Anma tatvas, Vidya tatvas and Siva Tatvas respectively.

The acutta tatvas are

5 mahaputam

5 tanmattirai

5 kanmentiriyam

5 gnanentiriyam and the

4 antakaranas.

These 24 are impure categories.

The 7 cuttacutta tatvas or categories which are pure as well as impure, are,

Kalam,

Niyati,

Kalai,

Vittai,

Arakam,

Purutan and

Mayai.

The last class of cutta tatvas or pure categories are 5 in number, viz,

Cuttavittai,

Iswaram,

Catakyam,

Sakti and

Sivam.

These tatvas are placed in an ascending order in the form of a ladder. The lowest tatva is the Pritivi and the Highest is Siva. The soul should ascend these stairs of tatvas and reach the top-most tatva, viz., Sivam and when that also is subsumed, the soul attains Moksa. Sometimes, these 36 tatvas are further analysed into 96 tatvas. God Siva is above all these tatvas and so He is called Tattuvatitan. What Siddhanta has to say about these tatvas is crystallised in a delightful form in one of Saint Appar's Tevaram hymns:-

"தத்துவந் தலை கண்டறி வாரிலைத்

தத்து வந்தலை கண்டவர் கண்டிலர்

தத்து வந்தலை நின்றவர்க் கல்லது

தத்து வனலன் தண்புக லூரனே."

"To rise above the tatvas is rarely sought;

Their heading o'er you is to see nought;

Those alone who on tatvas' summit stand

Will espy the Pugalur Lord in Truth expand."

Maya is capable of motion but cannot move itself. It has been evolved into forms, such as he, she and it. In the same way as a pot requires a potter, the universe also requires a grand force to set it in motion. This grand force is the first cause and the grand Artificer, the Supreme Siva. Maya is the material cause (Upadana Karana); God is the efficient cause (Nimitta Karana)m and His Chit Sakti or Force is the instrumental cause (Tunai Karana). The Siddhantin does not concede that God is the material cause of the universe. The attempt to make out that God, in conjuction with Maya or Sakti, functions as the material cause, finds no favour with the Siddhantin; for, he contends, to be a material cause in any sense, whether as co-operating with Maya as each strand of a rope co-operates with the other, or as qualified by Maya is to be subject to transformation; and the scriptures which proclaim God's immutability are more direct and more authoritative than any promissory statement about, universal knowledge, resulting from the knowledge of the One. Siva is the Lord of the Universe and knowledge of the owner implies knowledge of His possessions. He who understands the king may be said to understand his ministers as well. The efficient cause as directing the material cause, but this is only a mode of speech with little value; for in this sense, even the potter is the material cause of the pot. From the atom to the great fire-ball, the sun, from the minutest molecule to the mountainous volcano, everything is moved by the Force of God. This is well stated in Tiruvacakam.

"வானாகி மண்ணாகி வளியாகி ஒளியாகி

ஊனாகி உயிராகி உண்மையுமாய் இன்மையுமாய்க்

கோனாகி யானெனதென் றவரவரைக் கூத்தாட்டு

வானாகி நின்றாயை என் சொல்லி வாழ்த்துவனே."

"Thou art the Heaven; Thou art the Earth;

Thou art the wind; Thou art the Light;

The Body Thou; the Soul art Thou;

Existence, Non-existence Thou;

Thou art the king; These puppets all Thou

dost make move, dwelling within,

That each one says; 'Myself and Mine.'

What shall I say? How render praise?"

Hara or Siva, the Samharakarta or Destroyer is also the author of Srsti. Hence He is the One Supreme Being. All changes are wrought by Him but He remains unchanged. During Samharam, even His agent-gods of Srsti, and Stithi, perish. So the Supreme Destroyer has also got to be the Creator to re-create them. These facts are graphically described in a sacred verse of Saint Appar:

"பெருங்கடல் மூடிப்பிரளயங்கொண்டு பிரமனும் போய்

இருங்கடல் மூடி யிறக்கும் இறந்தான் களேபரமும்

கருங்கடல் வண்ணன் களேபரமுங் கொண்டு கங்காளராய்

வருங்கடல்மீள நின்று எம்மிறை நல்வீணை வாசிக்குமே."

"When the waters of the big sea envelope the universe in one great deluge, Brahma himself slides in and dies; (Vishnu too dies); Our Lord Siva, rising above the raging deep wearing the dead bones of Brahma and the sea-coloured god (Vishnu), plays upon His faultless Veena to see the return of the lost world."

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

Destruction does not mean total annihilation but only reduction of the Maya to its pristine condition or subtle state to give rest to the tired souls.

God is all (i.e., Prapancha) but all is not God. He is therefore all and not all. He is immanent in everything and yet above everything. The Siddhantin expresses this vividly in the telling phrase "எல்லாமாய் அல்லவுமாய்". His state is inconceivable and difficult for human thought. He is all Gnanam. It is his great Chaitanyam that fills the whole universe. He dwells in and around us. He is Siva, the Almighty and the All Merciful. He is in Adwaita form of relation with the world. Adwaita does not mean Ekam or Monism. The negative prefix 'A' is not used in the Abhava sense or இன்மைப்பொருள் like Abramana. It does not negative the positive existence of one or other of the two. Nor it is used in the sense of opposition or மறுதலைப்பொருள், like Anidhi. Siddhanta says that it is used in அண்மைப்பொருள், in the sense of non-dualism (two-less), such as the word Anekam does not negate the existence of one. The relation between God and the soul cannot be Aikkyam, as in the combination of the river and the sea, because it implies substantial identity, which does not exist between them. Again it cannot be Tadatmiyam, as quality and its possessor, Guna and Guni, because the soul is a separate entity, possessing its own qualities. Nor can it be one of Saiyogam, as the combination of one finger and another finger; for it cannot be applied to a union of a pervading thing and a pervaded thing. The union is one of Adwaita, as the combination of the light of the sun with the power of the eye to see things. God stands in relation to the soul, as the soul to they body. As the eyes cannot see but for the light of the soul, the soul cannot know but for the light of God. God and soul are one in the sense that they cannot be disjoined; they exist and function together, not as if they were two distinct beings. Their unity, however, is not that of the one causing or being transformed into the other.

God Siva engages in the five-fold activity, viz, creation, protection, destruction, obscuration and benediction, solely with the object of helping the souls by bestowing His grace when the time is ripe. Obscuration is concealment or Tirobhava and benediction is grace or Anugraha.

ATMA DHARSAN OR ANMA PRAKASAM

"Know Thyself" is the cry that rings uppermost in every religion. But, unfortunately, it has become a cry in the wilderness. He who cannot understand himself, cannot understand others. We, one and all, say, 'I', 'I'. Nobody stops to think of this 'I', and much less to know. This 'I' is the Ego, Self, Jiva, Pasu, Anma or Uyir. A thorough understanding of the soul would have led man to the very gates of Heaven. Many doubt the very existence of the soul. That accounts foremost for so much rancour and discord in this world. If a man but realises that he is not of such stuff as dreams are made on, and that he is an eternal living entity, for whom unalloyed bliss is in store, and it is only necessary that he should make an honest attempt to reach it, a world of sins would have been avoided.

Varied and vast are the views expressed regarding the soul. Some say that there is no such thing as soul at all. They are not venturing this assertion in a haphazard manner. They have come to this conclusion after a close examination of the human body, analysing every minute part of it. After this close search they say that nothing else is present there. The Siddhantin takes them by their word and says that this statement of its absence is abundant proof of its existence. Because, after thus rejecting every part of the body as not being the soul, it becomes evident that there is left something unperceived which had all along been contrasting itself and trying in vain to discern some semblance in others of itself. What is left unperceived is pure intelligence in the form of the five sacred letters. "Ureka ! that is the soul!" declares the Siddhantin.

Edited May 20, 200817 yr by ArumugaNavalar