The Icon-Thinking of Punitavati 1-10
There is a form of metaphysical
thinking that I have called icon-thinking which seem to have survived despite
many oppositions as integral part of Hinduism or more specifically Agamic Hinduism
and which also explains why to this day the itikasas and puranas also play a
meaningful role in the religious life of Hindus and why Temple worship remains
still as vital as ever despite virulent attacks on it by many forces within and
without. There is a craving for MEANING that arises in existential crises and
no religion dogma or cult can survive unless it serves somehow this craving for
the Meaning of Existence. No matter how much political might is used, no matter
how skillfully the propaganda machinery is set ¯ô and no matter how much threat
is used in sustaining and spreading a religion, it all will vaporize as nothing
as long as it does NOTserve to contribute to Existential Meaning that human
beings forever seek.
We see idol worship surviving and as
active as ever among the Dravidian folks despite a thousand years of Buddhism
that dispersed the archetypal images into chaotic flux or meaningless
dream-like entities, and despite several centuries of Islam where idol worship
was decried temples destroyed and all in the name of Formless God, Allah and
whose words were interpreted to mean the idol-worshippers as kafirs and so
forth. This also applies to a branch within Saivism -the anusaivas -who were
iconoclasts and the recent Aryan Samajists with their racialism and Aryanism
and who appear to despise idol-worship as non-Aryan etc.
Such oppositions seem to emerge from
Mullahs, Messiahs and Brahmanahs who were not interested in uplifting of
mankind into higher reaches of spirituality but rather only in what Nietzsche
called the Will to Power and hence with the ultimate motive of subjugating to
one’s own will and thereby enslave the mind of the commoners to one’s own. The
motive is political and NOT spiritual. The activities of the Brahmanahs who promote
only Brahmanahs(and Sanskrit language that cones along with it) is a good
illustration of this Will to Power and remain perpetually at the top ladder of
social hierarchy and by virtue of birth alone.
As opposed to this is the religious
dimension that promotes Bakti, a fervent devotion to BEING and in which LOVE
reigns supreme. There is NO WILL TO POWER others but only that of becoming an
Adyar, a humble tool for the workings of divine grace.
Punitavati (5- 6th cent AD) who gave
a definite and new shape to the ancient Bakti, as old as Sumerian times itself
as the enormously beautiful Sirbiyam of En Hudu Anna would show, sang the
ARputa Tiruvantati, the Truvantati that’s a real wonder, in which she brought
back not only the individual and personal existential anguish but also the
ICON-THINKING to which it is related. Where there is existential anguish of
unbearable pains, the anma seeks solace in being-with-BEING and LEARNING the
deep metaphysical truths that ILLUMINATE the mind and thereby provide the medicine
that would cure the soul of the existential anguish
In this series I hope to select some
important verses from this text that contains 100 verses and bring out the
various kinds of icon thinking it encapsulates.
In this first verse, the existential
anguish gets stated very forcibly setting the tone for the whole of the text.
«üÒ¾ò ¾¢ÕÅ󾡾¢ : áø ARputat Tiruvantaati : The Text
The Icon Thinking of Punativati-
1
The Love of BEING
and Being Free of Problems
By way of an autobiographical
sketch, in this first verse Punitavati discloses that it is excruciating pains
in life that has driven her to surrender herself completely to the worship of
Lord Siva. Siva ahs played a GAME in her life , disrupted her family life and
because of which she resolved not to seek the company of any mortal man but
only Siva whom she has been worshipping even during her childhood. However the
pull of flesh was strong enough to make get married and lead a typical family
life. Only divine interference and disruption awakened within her the deeper
desire for Moksa, the PiRappu ARuttal, severing from being into endless
existential repetition. The ‘idar’ that she talks about here is the pain of
assuming an existence as the embodied and which brings along with the sexual
desires.
À¢ÈóÐ ¦Á¡Æ¢À¢ýÈ À¢ý¦ÉÄ¡í ¸¡¾ø
º¢Èóп¢ý §ºÅʧ §º÷ó§¾ý - ¿¢È󾢸Øõ
¨ÁﻡýÈ ¸ñ¼òÐ Å¡§É¡÷ ¦ÀÕÁ¡§É
±ï»¡ýÚ ¾£÷ôÀ ¾¢¼÷
(«-¨Ã ¾¢Õ Å¢. ¸)
¿¢Èõ -- ´Ç¢; Åñ½õ. ¨Á »¡ýÈ -- ¸Õ¨Á ¾í¸¢Â
(»¡Äø - ¦¾¡í̾ø)
(¯¨Ã - ¯Ä¸ý)
«ó¾Ãò¾¢ø ¦ÅüÚ ¬ýÁ¡Å¡¸ ¾¢Ã¢ó¾ ¿¡ý, ¸ÕÅ¡¸¢
¯¼ÖüÚ þôâĸ¢ø µ÷ ¯Â¢Ã¡¸ô À¢ÈóÐ, ÌÆó¨¾ ÀÕÅò¾¢§Ä§Â þÂøÀ¡¸ ¦Á¡Æ¢ò¾¢Èý «¨ÁÂô ¦ÀüÚ
¦º¡øÄ¡¼ø Åó¾¨Áó¾ À¢ý¦ÉÄ¡õ, ±õ¨Á «È¢Â¡§¾, ®¨ÈÅ¡, »¡Éò¾¢ø º¢ÈóÐ ¯ý¨É§Â Á¢¸
Å¢ÕõÀ¢ ¿¢ý ¦ºùŢ ¾¢ÕÅʸ§Ç ¸¾¢ ±ýÚ Å¡úó§¾ý. ÀÄÅ¢¾ Åñ½ì §¸¡Äí¸Ç¢ø ¦ÅÇ¢ôÀÎõ ±õ
¦ÀÕÁ¡§É, ¸Õ¨Á Åñ½õ ͼո¢ýÈ ¿£Ä¸ñ¼§É! ±øÄ¡ §¾Å÷¸ÙìÌõ þÕʸÙìÌõ À¢È Å¡§É¡÷¸ÙìÌõ
«ôÀ¡Ä¡¸¢ «Å÷¸ðÌõ ¾¨ÄÅÉ¡ö ¾¢¸ú¸¢ýÈ ¦ÀÕÁ¡§É! ¯¼§Ä¡Î ÜÊ þôÀ¢ÈôÀ¢ø «¸ôÀðÎ ÀÄ þ¼÷¸¨Çô
Àð¼Å¡Ú þÕìÌõ ±ÉìÌ ±ýÚ Å£Î§ÀÚ «ÕÇ¢ þó¾ þ¼÷¸¨Ç ¾£÷ôÀ¡ö , ¦º¡ø¸!
ÌÈ¢ôÒ: »¡Äø: ͼ÷¾ø; »¡ø>
»¡ý: ͼ÷¾ø
1.
piRantu mozipayinra pinnelaaG
kaatal
ciRantu nin ceevadiyee ceernteen - niRantikazum
mainjaanaRa kaNdattu vaanoor perumaanee
enjnjaanRu tiirppa tidar.
Meaning:
Though an anma roaming in the
metaphysical space, I assumed a bodily form by coming to have a birth and
biological nature. And since the days I mastered the language and became
capable of effective communication, I have been deeply in Love with you O Lord
not knowing the reasons for it all and have sought your Radiant Feet as my
resort. O Lord who appears in so many colors and guises and especially as the
Blue-throated Niila KaNdan and who is the Lord of all the celestial beings,
tell me now when will you relieve me of the troubles that I have to endure by
continuing with this biological endowments by engracing me with the
Absolute Releasement ?
Notes: In this first verse itself, Punitavati already
outlines the theme, that of being relieved from the biologically constituted
worldly existence. Having become disenchanted with the normal existence continuing
in the bodily form itself and hence the biological nature itself becomes
immensely painful. This also shows that Punitavati already had an understanding
of the HOME COMING, reaching the bottom most metaphysical grounds, on
reaching which there is no rebirth and hence the destruction of all the
impulses towards a biological existence, rebirth into the world that can be
continuous.
þ¼÷¸¨Ç¡ §ÃÛõ ±Á츢Ãí¸¡ §ÃÛõ
À¼Õ¦¿È¢ À½¢Â¡ §ÃÛï -ͼÕÕÅ¢ø
±ýÀÈ¡ì §¸¡Äò ¦¾Ã¢Â¡Îõ ±õÁ¡É¡÷ì(Ì)
«ýÀÈ¡ ¦¾ý¦¿ï ºÁÅ÷ìÌ
(«-¨Ã: ¾¢Õ Å¢.¸)
À¼Õõ ¦¿È¢ À½¢Â¡§ÃÛõ --ÀüÈ¢î ¦ºøÖõ ¦¿È¢ þ·¦¾Éô À½¢ò¾ÕÇ¡Å¢ð¼¡Öõ. ±ýÒ
«È¡ - ±ýÒ Á¡¨Ä ¿£í¸¡¾ ±õÁ¡É¡÷ìÌ; «Å÷ìÌ -- '±Ã¢Â¡Îõ ±õÁ¡É¡÷째' ±ýÀ¨¾
ÅÄ¢ÔÚò¾ §ÅñÊ þÕÓ¨È ÌÈ¢ôÀ¢ð¼Å¡È¡õ.
(¯¨Ã: ¯Ä¸ý)
¯¼ÖüÚ þôÀ¢ÃÀïº Å¡ú쨸¢ø ÀðÎ «¾É¡ø
ÀÄ þ¼÷¸¨Ç ¿¡ý «ÛÀÅ¢ì¸ §¿÷ó¾¡Öõ, þ¨ÈÅý ţΧÀÚ ¿ø¸¢ «ó¾ þ¼÷¸¨Çì ¸¨Ç¡¾¢Õì¸ðÎõ.
§ÁÖõ «ùÅ¡Ú Å£Î§ÀÚ «¨¼Âò ¾Õõ ¦ºó¦¿È¢¾¡ý ¡¦¾ýÚ ±ÉìÌ ¦¾ûÇ¢¾¢ý Å¢Ç츢ô À½¢Â¡§ÃÛõ
¬¸ðÎõ. Íò¾î §º¡¾¢ÅÊÅ¢ø ±ýÒÁ¡¨Ä ¾Ã¢òÐ ¾¡§É «¨Éò¨¾Ôõ ºí¸Ã¢ì¸ ÅøÄÅý ±Éì
¸¡ðÊ즸¡ñ§¼ ±Ã¢Â¡Îõ ±õ ¦ÀÕÁ¡ÛìÌ, þùÅ¡Ú «Åý Å¢¨Ç¡ÊÉ¡Öõ «Ð×õ ±ý ¿ý¨Á째
±É ¿¢¨ÉòÐ «Åý §Áø ±ýÚõ Á¡È¡ «ýÒ¼§É§Â ¿¡ý Å¡ú§Åý ¸ñ¼¡ö!
2.
idarkaLaiyaa reenum emakkiraGkaa
reenum
padaruneRi paNiyaa reenunj - cudaruruvil
enpaRaak koolat teriyaadum emmanaark(ku)
anbaRaa then nenjen camavarkku
Meaning
Let HIM be indifferent to my
existential anguish by not relieving me from this bodily existence. Let Him
conceal from me an understanding of the WAY that would lead me unto HIM by not
instructing me on it in some ways. Whatever it is I remain firm in my LOVE for
Him who always discloses Himself as the Brilliant Radiance and who wearing the
garland of bones sports the all destructive Fire.
Comments:
Punitavati had a fascination for the
DESTRUCTIVE aspects of BEING as Siva that she has sung eloquently in her Muutta
Tiruppatikam. Having become totally disenchanted with her biological presence
in the world ,as an embodied anma subject to the tribulations of worldly
desires that such a bodily existence always brings along with it, she yearns
for liberation that would relieve her from being born again again into the
world. She has become aware that it is possible to be but without any
inclination towards biological birth and hence the sexual desires that come
along with it. As a wife who was deserted by her husband and as one who could
not think of another round domestic life with another man, she just abandons
herself to Siva in deep and unshaken LOVE, something that was there in her
heart right from early childhood but somehow forgotten.
The destruction of her family life
and hence the drying up of the sexual libido, is actually the Play of
BEING, of Siva the Destroyer to enable her to RECOVER her true Love and which
is for Siva.
Now that she has recovered it ,
she will never abandon it, no matter what. There is HOPE and she continuously
reminds herself that BEING can take many forms one of them being an archetype
as One who wearing the garland of bones sports FIRE in His hands, signaling
that only He can singe to ashes the various passions rustling in her heart and
without burning off which she cannot be freed from this endless
existential repetition.
The icons or archetypes or imago-dei
or simply the Muurttams, to use the Tamil term and which means the emergence of
( Ta.muu) the BEING in some definite form, appears to be MAGICAL in some ways.
They, not only emerge from the depths into consciousness but also possess the
soul just as the lower shamanistic trances. The only difference appears to be
that in this higher kind of possession the person is AWARE of being possessed
and becomes also quite willing to be thus possessed. The Muurttam becomes the self
itself but without obliterating the self-consciousness, and in this it is
unlike the tranc-states.
And this makes the self possessed
totally subservient to the Murttam that possesses
BEINGSIVA and so forth. This brings
along also a transmutation, a metamophoses of the person so that he/she is no
more the ordinary person hungering after worldly pleasures but rather the
spiritual. The pattern of life and motivational dynamics underlying it changes
so that a NEW RESOLVE on how to live comes to prevail. There is a Vairakkyam, a
firm resolution to LOVE BEING and nothing or no one else . There is no Virakti,
a meaninglessness that leads to suicidal tendencies but rather a new mental
firmness and certitude arising from the living presence of BEING as the possessor
of one’s soul itself. There is unmediated immediacy that makes philosophical
inquiries quite unnecessary. When BEING is enjoyed as the living presence in
one own's self, philosophical disputations as the reality falsity of BEING and
the Murttams in which He shows Himself become quire irrelevant.
As we shall see in the
following verses, such a possession and casting existence itself as being
totally subservient to BEING-as-SIVA and so forth is actually a precondtion to
disclose the truths of BEING directly to the possessed making the scriptures
themselves quite unnecessary.
3.
«Å÷째 ±ØÀ¢ÈôÒõ ¬Ç¡§Å¡õ ±ýÚõ
«Å÷째 ¿¡õ «ýÀ¡Å¾øÄ¡ø - ÀÅ÷º¨¼§Áø
À¡¸¡ô §À¡ú ÝÎõ «Å÷ì¸øÄ¡ø Áü¦È¡ÕÅÕìÌ
¬¸¡ô§À¡õ ±ï»¡ýÚõ ¬û
(«-¨Ã ¾¢Õ Å¢.¸)
ÀÅ÷º¨¼ -- ¦¿Õí̾¨ÄÔ¨¼Â º¨¼. À¡¸¡ô §À¡ú --
À¡¾¢ÂøÄ¡¾ À¢Ç¨Å; «¾¡ÅÐ þÇõÀ¢¨Èî ºó¾¢Ã¨É
(¯¨Ã-¯Ä¸ý)
¾ÅÈ¡¸ µ÷ Á¡É¢¼ÛìÌ ¬Ç¡¸¢ «øÄôÀðÎ
«¾É¢ýÚ ¿£í¸¢ÂÀ¢ý þÉ¢, ±õ ¦ÀÕÁ¡Û째 þÉ¢ ÅÃìÜÊ ±øÄ¡ À¢ÈôÀ¢Öõ ¬Ç¡§Å¡õ. «Ð×õ
±ôÀʦÂýÈ¡ø, ±¾¨ÉÔõ ±¾¢÷À¡÷òÐ «øÄ¡Ð à «ýÀ¢ý «Å÷째 ¬Ç¡§Å¡õ ¸ñ¼¡ö. Á¢¸×Ú¾¢Â¡É
±ýÚõ Á¡È¡ò ¾¢Èò¾¢ý þó¾ «ýÀ¢ý ¸¡Ã½Á¡¸, «¼÷ó¾ º¨¼§Áø «Æ¸¢Â þÇõÀ¢¨È ÝÊÂÅ¡Ú ¾¡§É
±øÄ¡ þýÀí¸Ç¢ý ãÄõ ±ýÚ ¯½÷ò¾¢ÂÅ¡Ú þÕìÌõ «Å÷ìÌ «øÄ¡ø, þÉ¢ ¿¢îºÂÁ¡¸ §ÅÚ ±Å÷ìÌõ
±ï»¡ýÚõ ¬Ç¡¡¸Á¡ð§¼¡õ, þÐ ¯Ú¾¢
3.
avarkkee ezupiRappum aaLaavoom
enRum
avarkkee naam anbaavathallaal - pavarsadaimeel
paakapooz cuudum avarkkallaal maRRoruvarukku
aakaappoom enjnjaanRum aaL
Meaning:
Having become thoroughly
disenchanted with life with a man, I am determined to be in service only to BEING
(Siva) in future in this birth as well in all the births to come. And I shall
be bonded to Him not because of some expectations but out of Pure Deep and
Abiding LOVE unto Him. So let it be known that other than for this BEING who
discloses Himself as Siva who wears the crescent moon on His thick hair, thus
symbolizing that He is source of all happiness, I shall never be subservient to
anybody else
Notes:
Clearly this is Punitavati
telling herself about a new resolution she has made whereby after a heroic
struggle with earthly desires of an ordinary woman, she comes to a
decision that in future she shall be subservient only to Siva and nobody else.
This actually is clearing herself of some doubts and tearing herself away from
the pulls of the flesh because of which she was tormented as her marriage broke
down or made to break down.
With the sexual libido desiccated ,
this resolution of herself that she will be subservient only to Siva and that
too out of Pure Love that expects nothing in return as rewards as is the case
with other human relationships, shows also the transformation of the Kundalini,
the sexual libido into seeking union with BEING and hence Bakti. She finds
fulfillment with her LOVE for BEING and whom is seen also as the source of happiness
in being seen as the wearer of Crescent Moon on the thick tuft.
Meaningful icon-thinking, an interpretive understanding of the metaphysical insights encrypted into a Muurttam begins only with the PLAY of BEING after letting an Imago-Dei overpower the soul of a person who is sufficiently ripe for such a possession. Then begins a PLAY that is essentially PEDAGOGIC, that of instructing directly the possessed soul by a variety of strategies or tantras.
Here we see that for Punitavati, the Muurttam, that of the Blue-throated Siva, is no more just a representational reality and installed as sculptures wrought in different media, installed in a temple and made an object reverential worship. She is well past this state of Sariyai and Kriyai and even Yoga and have ascended to a stage of Njanam where she is possessed by the LIVING Muurttams and that too to INSTRUCT her about the ESSENCE of BEING and by BEING Himself.
No more Vedas Agamas and such other scriptures of words, no more gurus rishis and such other human beings who pass as authorities in religious matters. She is directly experiencing a Muurttam form of BEING in a personal way and where there is an intimacy of LOVE that emboldens her to relate to BEING in a very personal way, as the closest friend, confidante etc.
But strangely enough there is an INDIFFERENCE on the part of BEING as to her plights and pains and which makes her ponder at the MEANING of the DIVINE INDIFFERENCE. It is at this point the meaning of the FORM of SIVA where while His whole body is resplendent, bright and red but the THROAT in contrast remains dark (and about which there are many puranic stories). Perhaps, she thinks, BEING can by design ABSENT Himself and through that show that as part of His PLAY, He can CONCEAL Himself and that Blue Throat signifies this aspect of divine Play!
More below.
4.
¬Ç¡§É¡õ «øÄø «È¢Â ӨȢð¼¡ø
§¸Ç¡¾ ¦¾ý¦¸¡§Ä¡ §¸Ç¡¨Á- ¿£Ç¡¸ï
¦ºõ¨Á ¡ɡ¸¢ò ¾¢ÕÁ¢¼Ú Áü¦È¡ýÈ¡õ
±õ¨Á¡𠦸¡ñ¼ þ¨È
(«-¨Ã: ¾¢Õ.Å¢.¸)
§¸Ç¡¨Á - §¸Ç¡¨ÁìÌì ¸¡Ã½õ. ¿£û ¬¸õ ¦ºõ¨Á¡ý ¬¸¢
- ¦¿Ê ¾¢Õ§ÁÉ¢ ¦ºó¿¢ÈÓ¨¼Â¡É¡¸¢. ¾¢ÕÁ¢¼Ú ÁüÚ ´ýÚ ¬õ -- ¾¢ÕÁ¢¼Ú (¸ñ¼õ)
Áü¦È¡Ú (¸Õ) ¿¢ÈÁ¡Â¢ÕôÀ¾¡Ìõ.; ´ýÚ ¦ºó¿¢ÈÁ¡¸×õ Áü¦È¡ýÚ ¸Õ¿¢ÈÁ¡¸×õ þÕôÀÐ ¸¡Ã½õ
±ýÈÅ¡Ú. ¸Õ¨Á ÌüÈÓ¨¼Â¾¡¾Ä¢ý ±ý¸
(¯¨Ã: ¯Ä¸ý)
þùÅ¡Ú þÉ¢ Áü¦È¡Õ §¾Å¨É§Â¡
Á¡É¢¼¨É§Â¡ ¾¨ÄÅÉ¡¸ ²üÚ즸¡ûÇ¡Ð, ±ý ¦¿ï¨ºì ¸Å÷ó¾ º¢Å¦ÀÕÁ¡Û째 ¬Ç¡§É¡õ, «¾¨É «ÅÛõ
«È¢Å¡ý ±ýÚ ¸¡¾Ä¢ý ±ÉÐ «øÄø¸¨Ç «Åý «È¢Â ÀħÅÚ Å¨¸Â¢ø ӨȢð¼¡ø, ±ý§É «Åý µ÷ º¢È¢Ðõ
§¸Ç¡§¾ þÕ츢ýÈ¡§É! ²ý þùÅ¡Ú §¸Ç¡Ð þÕ츢ýÈ¡ý, ±ýÉ ¸¡Ã½Á¡¸ þÕì¸ÓÊÔõ ±É ¡ý
º¢ó¾¢ì¸ «Å¨Éô ÀüȢ µ÷ ¦¾Ç¢× À¢È츢ýÈÐ. ¾ÉÐ ¯¼õ¦ÀÄ¡õ ¦¾Ç¢Å¢ý ¦ºõ¨Á
¿¢Èò¾¾¡¸ þÕì¸, «Åý Á¢¼§È¡ «¾üÌ Á¡ÚÀÎõ Åñ½õ ¸Õ¨Á ¿¢Èò¾¾¡¸ þÕ츢ýÈÐ.
¡¨¾Ôõ ¸ñΦ¸¡ûÇ¡Ðõ §¸ð¸¡Ðõ þÕôÀ¨¾ò ¾Õõ «ó¾ ¸Õ¨Á¾¡ý þÅý §¸Ç¡¨ÁìÌì ¸¡Ã½õ §À¡Öõ!
4.
aaLaanoom allal aRiya
muRaiyiddaal
keeLaata tenkoloo keeLaamai - niiLaakanj
cemmai yaanaakit tirumidaRu maRRonRaam
emmaiyaad koNda iRai
Meaning:
Having resolved that I shall
be subservient only to Siva and no other and believing that He knows
this, I complained to him about my tribulations out of my immense LOVE for
Him. But alas ! He doesn't seem to listen and appears to be indifferent
to my plights. What can be reason? I inquired. Then it dawned that Siva whose
vast body is red and brilliant, has a throat that is, in contrast, DARK.
Perhaps He can , when He chooses to, be indifferent or turn a deaf ear to the
pleadings of those who love Him because of this!
Notes:
In her struggles to come to terms
with the fact she has abandoned all love for the worldly things including being
one with a man as her husband, and that she has only Siva to go to as the
confidante, she pours out her heart in the believe that He would listen to her
and do the necessary. But unfortunately this is NOT so. Despite her continuous
complaints and pleadings nothing changes but in that INDIFFERENCE, indirectly
disclosing to her a TRUTH about Himself.
The iconic representation of Siva
with brilliant body but with DARK throat ( Niila KaNdan) comes to her mind and
now she begins to UNDERSTAND the metaphysical knowledge encrypted into that
image. BEING as SIVA is actively present but with the capacity to be
INDIFFERENT as well and it is this meaning of the icon that comes as a
flash in to her mind. This is one aspect of Tirotakam, drawing a curtain around
Himself so that He is absent to the anma and which is perceived as Siva
is NOT listening or BEING is not there and so forth.
Even in ordinary life we see amidst
parents and children, gurus and sisyas and even among friends. One complaints
but the other chooses to ignore knowing perhaps there is no substance in the
complaints and that in time they will subside on their own. Perhaps in the
course such complaints and pleadings it dawns to them that their actions are
misplaced and that there is NO reason to complaint at all.
But any way we see here that in the
existential struggles of Punitavati with her LOVE for Siva, there is already
UNKNOWN to her BEING disclosing to her in various ways and because of which the
ICONS that she has been worshipping become ALIVE with NEW meanings, that she
can INTERPRET them and begin to appreciate the CONCEALED or encrypted meanings
in such iconic representations.
The Icon-Thinking of Punitavati
Saivism nurtures within itself an understanding of evolution that I have called Disclosive Evolution and which really means the HIGHER comes to be phenomenally present only because they are already present in the DEPTHS and which are made to surface to the fore by BEING. This is the meaning of the key technical TooRRuvittal in Saivism. As the Satkarya Vaatam of Samkhyas goes, what is NOT-THERE cannot be present as a phenomenal reality ( Meykandar: illatu toonRaatu) and it is this bringing into presence what remains in the depths is what TooRRuvittal means
We must also note that this understanding does NOT burst into the mind of Punitavati because she read the Vedas or Agamas and did the SravaNam Mananam Nittiyasanam and so forth on the Mahavakyas. What she did was to allow herself to be possessed by a Muurttam of BEING and let BEING Play in her mind and by which she is led to enjoy certain deep metaphysical illuminations and that ANYONE can do if the GRACE of BEING allows. Such illuminations come with apodictic certainty for BEING is there as Guru and hence the most authoritative. BEING Himself being the basis of such disclosures, they do not require proving as such and hence the accumulation of evidences and so forth. BEING is TRUTH ITSELF and hence what He Himself imparts cannot but be truth.
More below
5.
þ¨ÈÅ§É ±ù×¢Õó §¾¡üÚÅ¢ôÀ¡ý
§¾¡üÈ¢
þ¨ÈÅ§É ®ñÎ þÈì¸ï ¦ºöÅ¡ý - þ¨ÈŧÉ
±ó¾¡ö ±É þÃíÌõ ±í¸û §Áø ¦ÅóÐÂÃõ
Åó¾¡ø «Ð Á¡üÚÅ¡ý
(«-¨Ã ¾¢Õ.Å¢.¸)
Èì¸õ - ºõÁ¡Ãõ ; «Æ¢ò¾ø
¯¨Ã( ¯Ä¸ý)
Àø§ÅÚ À¢Èô¦ÀÎòÐ Á£ñÎõ À¢ÈÅ¡ µ÷
¦ÀÕ¿¢¨ÄìÌ ¦ºøÖõ ±øÄ¡ ¯Â¢÷¸ÙìÌõ þùÅ¡È¡É ¯Ä¸¢Âø §¾¡üÈò¨¾ ¿øÌÀÅý þ¨ÈÅ§É Â¡Ìõ.
«ùÅ¡Ú Å¡Øõ§À¡Ð «ò¾Ì Å¡ú쨸¢ĢÕóРŢÎÀÎÁ¡Ú Áýò¨¾ ¿ø¸¢ ºí¸Ã¢ôÀÅÛõ þ¨ÈŧÉ. þôÀÊî
¦ºö¾¡Öõ ±øÄ¡õ ¿ý¨Á째 ±ýÚ þ¨ÈÅ§É ¸Õ¨½Â¢ý «õ¨Á¦ÂÉ ¦¿ÕíÌÅ¡üÌ, þÂøÀ¡É ¾ý þÃì¸ò¾¢ý
¸¡Ã½Á¡¸ ¾¡ì¸¢ò ¾¸¢ìÌõ ¦ÅóÐÂÃí¸¨Ç ±øÄ¡õ þýÀ ͸í¸Ç¡¸ Á¡üÚÅ¡ý ¸ñË÷!
5.
iRaivanee evvuyirun tooRRuvippaan
tooRRi
iRaivanee iiNdu iRakkanj ceyvaan - iRaivanee
entaay ena iraGkum eGkaL meel ventuyaram
vantaal atu maaRRuvippaan
Meaning
It is BEING ( Godhead) who
grants bodily existence to all creatures that move towards liberation
from that bound state. It is also the same BEING who destroys the existence
thus granted by bringing about death that deprives the anmas such an existence.
And for those who approach BEING as the most loving MOTHER, on account of
intrinsic tendency to take pity on all, He would transform the immensely
painful experiences into something joyous!
Commentary:
Here begins the initial articulation
of the notion of Disclosive Evolution that is implicit in the Existential
Analysis of Saivism. Creation is NOT bringing into being-there the human beings
out of nothing as if by a fiat. Existence as well as death pertains to
all creatures including the lower and the notion of creation has to
accommodate even this and the evolutionary developments that holds between the
various life forms. Within lower inheres the higher and evolutionary mechanisms
at work just make manifest this buried aspect of creature possibilities. Thus
the notion of TooRRutal, bringing into being-there is not the same as the
notion of creation in the Semitic faiths that goes by the name of creationism.
But nevertheless it shares with
creationism the notion that without BEING (God) there cannot the existential presence of the anmas and
this differî from the Adaptive Evolution of the naturalists. GOD brings into
being-there of the anmas which are initially without any bodily existence. It
is this that is implied by the word TooRRam here.
But here and I think unlike in
the Semitic faiths, DEATH is also attributed to BEING and hence BEING as the
Causal Ground of both existence and its deprivation i.e.. death.
But this is NOT all to His
destructiveness or disconstructive capacities. In the same vein He can
transmute the extremely painful aspects of living provided one approaches BEING
as loving Mother i.e. with total dependence and uncalculating love.
God must be loved dearly in order to
overcome the unbearable existential pains. Perhaps in this Punitavati is
articulating something she has learnt in her life itself.
The
Icon-Thinking of Punitavati
BEING is in my Heart no Matter what Others Say
If by Agama is meant the texts that disclose the concealed metaphysical knowledge then this ARputat Tiruvantati of Punitavati, certainly qualifies to be one. It is Apta Vasanam even though the Apta here is a woman. She LEARNS something NEW and all because she is TAUGHT directly by BEING-as-Siva Himself who overpowers her soul and thereby transmuting her whole personality. She is LIFTED UP and her visage broadened so that what was inaccessible earlier are now very much accessible . She SEES new meanings only because she is LED TO SEE by BEING Himself.
Not only that, it would appear. There is the question of subjective certitude with respect to the TRUTH of such archetypal presentations of BEING and their meanings. And she is LED to FEEL that the icon of NilakaNdan is not only the closest to her heart but also the most meaningful and hence to led to declare that she is indifferent to the other forms of BEING such as Indra and so forth. She is also led to see a REASON for it: The Blue Throat represents now the fact that it is Siva who drank the POISON of world destruction but kept it in His throat and hence under control, something that is NOT possible by the other deities.
Siva is the only one who can regulate destruction and that too by regulating aaNavam, the basis of Satanic and devilish forces of the puranas.
More below
6.
Å¡Éò¾¡ý ±ýÀ¡Õõ ±ý¸ ÁüÚ ¯õÀ÷ §¸¡ý
¾¡Éò¾¡ý ±ýÀ¡Õó ¾¡¦Áý¸ --»¡Éò¾¡ø
Óý ¿ïºò¾¡ø þÕñ¼ ¦Á¡ö¦Â¡Ç¢§º÷ ¸ñ¼ò¾¡ý
±ý ¦¿ïºò¾¡ý ±ýÀý ¡ý
(«-¨Ã: ¾¢Õ Å¢.¸)
¯õÀ÷ - §¾Å÷. ¯õÀ÷§¸¡ý ±ýÀ¾üÌî º¢Å¦ÀÕÁ¡ý
±ýÚ ¦À¡Õû¦¸¡ñÎ, ¯õÀ÷§¸¡ý Å¡Éò¾¡ý (Å¢ñ½¸ò¾¡ý) ±ýÚõ, ¾¡Éò¾¡ý (Å¢ñÏìÌ §ÅÈ¡¸¢Â
Áñ½¸ò¾¡ý) ±ýÚõ ¦À¡Õû ¦¸¡ñ¼É÷ ¬ÚÓ¸ò ¾õÀ¢Ã¡É¡÷. Óý ¿ïºò¾¡ø - Óý§É ¯ñ¼ Å¢¼ò¾¡ø.
»¡É¢¸û ¦¿ïº§Á ¬ñ¼ÅÉ¢¼õ ±ýÈÀÊ.
(¯¨Ã : ¯Ä¸ý)
þ¨ÈÅý ¡¦ÃýÚõ ±ôÀÊôÀð¼Åý ±ýÚõ
Å¢º¡Ã¢òÐò ¾¢Ã¢Ôõ Áì¸û «Å¨É Å¡Ûĸò¾ý ±ýÚ ÜÈ¢Ûõ ÜÈ¢î ¦ºøÄðÎõ. ÁüÚ Å¡Ûĸò §¾Å¡¾¢
§¾Å÷¸Ç¢ý ¾¨ÄÅÉ¡¸¢Â þó¾¢Ãý ±ýÚõ ¯Ä¸òÐò ¾¡É¦ÁøÄ¡õ , ¦ºøŦÁøÄ¡õ ¦¸¡ñÊÕôÀÅý
±ýÚ ÜÈ¢Ûõ ÜÈ¢î ¦ºøÄðÎõ. ±É째¡ þ¨ÈÅý °ðÊ ¯¾Å¢Â »¡Éò¾¡ø, Àñ§¼ ¯Ä¸ ¿ý¨Á¨Âì ¸Õ¾¢
¬Ä¸¡Äõ Å¢ºò¨¾ ¯ñÎ þÕñ¼ ¸ñ¼ò§¾¡Îõ ¬É¡ø «§¾ ¦À¡ØРţÃÁ¡¸¢Â ¦Á¡öõÒ Å¢ÇíÌõÀÊ ´Ç¢
¯¨¼ÂÅÛÁ¡¸ ¿£Ä¸ñ¼ º¢Å¦ÀÕÁ¡§É ±ý ¦¿ïº¢ø Ìʦ¸¡ñÊÕ츢ýÈ þ¨È ÅÊÅõ ±ý§Àý ¡ý, ¸¡ñ¸.
¯õÀ÷§¸¡ý : Å¡Ûĸò §¾Å÷¸Ç¢ý ¾¨ÄÅý, þó¾¢Ãý;
¾¡Éõ : ¦ºøÅõ; ¦Á¡ö: ¦Á¡öõÒ, Å£Ãõ
6.
vaanattaan enpaarum enak maRRu
umparkoon
taanattaan enaarun taamenka -- njaanattaal
mun nanjcattaal iruNda moyyoLiceer kaNdattaan
en nenjsattaan enpan yaan
Meaning:
Those who seek after the essence of
BEING, let them proclaim that He is a celestial being. Let them also declare
that He is Indra, the Lord of heavenly devas and full of all the riches. But to
me and as disclosed by BEING Himself, He is the blue-throated Siva because, in
the ancient days itself, He drank the most potent poison and in that also
disclosing that He is most brave. Be it known that He has captured my heart
with this archetypal form in which he also discloses Himself.
Comments:
Slowly now Punitavati begins to
articulate her understanding of BEING in which she seeks to weigh the different
ways in which people understand and worship Him. She accommodates herself to
the fact that BEING discloses Himself in different archetypal forms, each
according to the different needs of the people. BEING in Himself does not have
a presentational the most supreme and unique to Him. It cannot also be said He
is devoid of forms for all the archetypal presentations are forms that emerge
from within him. So Punitavati is made to search for not the unique and the
most essential form of BEING but rather that which she finds the most
meaningful and hence the form she loves most.
And it turns out that it is Siva as
NilakaNdan, the Blue-throated that appeals to her most and that too as
consequence of the divine illuminations she is blessed with. The mythical theme
of Siva swallowing the most deadly poison and keeping it in His throat has an
immense personal meaning for her. For the poison stands for the DEATH as
well as death bringing kinds of experiences and all because of aaNavam, the
dark stuff that is the real cause of DEATH and death-like miseries and
tortures in life. Punitavati who had her family life not only
disrupted but also made incapable of it, the thought of committing suicide must
have occurred and but somehow rescued from that fate by the divine interference
of BEING as Siva.
Metaphysical insights of a profound
kind and a genuinely metaphysical life that makes it possible and all because
the sexual libido is dried up and transmuted into Njaana Sakti, the Gnostic
Power , become immensely blissful and hence life worth living. This
transmutation is seen by Punitavati as something effected by BEING by assuming
the archetypal form of NilaaNdan, the one who drinks the POISON and keeps
it safely in the throat.
.
The
Icon-Thinking of Punitavati
I am the True Devotee
One
of the features of the human mind is shunning the truth about oneself and
camouflaging in so many pleasing masks and attires. The evil within is hidden and an image of Purity and
excellence is projected for the public. There is a desire only to see the GOOD
and refuse to see the EVIL already there , that there is LIGHT as well as
DARKNESS in the soul, that the soul is sat-asat, capable of moving unto the Sat
and at the same time FALL towards the Asat. The duality underlies all the
struggles of man both in the private world as well as the public domain. Man is
at war with himself and because of which he is also at war in the political
life.
It
becomes a mark of great spiritual maturity to recognize and accept that there
is evil in oneself, a maturity that we see so abundantly in Tevaram Divviya
Prabantam Corpus.
One
thing that Punitavati realizes is that while in social life, both domestic and
public, there can be PRIVACY, there cannot be such a thing in spiritual life.
For BEING as the Third-Eyed leaves not anything beyond His reckon, His visage, he SEES ALL and hence as a
matter of fact we cannot conceal or hide, distort or camouflage anything from
the gaze of BEING. Only in our ignorance we think so and continue to do evil
and cover it up from others as well as BEING.
The
moment the truth that we cannot hide anything from BEING, that he SEES all,
both the good and evil, explodes in the mind and then a Self-Conversion takes
place whereby there is now a commitment not to do any evil at all. Life becomes
authentic with NO DESIRE to do anything evil and hence a life of true tapas.
More
bleow.
7
¡§É ¾ÅÓ¨¼§Âý ±ý ¦¿ï§º ¿ý¦Éïºõ
¡§É À¢ÈôÀÚôÀ¡ý ±ñ½¢§Éý -¡§É «ì
¨¸õÁ¡ ×â§À¡÷ò¾ ¸ñϾġý ¦Åñ½£üÈ
«õÁ¡ÛìÌ ¬Ç¡Â¢§Éý.
(«-¨Ã ¾¢Õ.Å¢.¸)
¨¸õÁ¡ ¯Ã¢ - ¡¨Éò §¾¡ø, ¸ñϾġý
- ¦¿üȢ¢ü ¸ñϨ¼Â¡ý. ¦Åñ¨Á ¿£üÈ «õÁ¡ÛìÌ -- ¦ÅûǢ ¾¢Õ¿£ü¨È «½¢ó¾
º¢Å¦ÀÕÁ¡ÛìÌ
(¯¨Ã, ¯Ä¸ý)
«ýÀ÷¸§Ç §¸Ùí¸û ! ¾É즸ýÚ ±ùÅÊ×õ þøÄ¡
«ôÀÃõ¦À¡Õû Áì¸ðÌ ¯¾×Å¡ý §ÅñÊ ÀÄÅÊí¸¨Ç ±Î츢ýÈ¡ý. «¾¢ø ¡¨Éò§¾¡ø §À¡÷ò¾¢Ôõ ¯Ä¸¢ø
¿¼ìÌõ «¨Éò¨¾Ôõ ¯ûÇÅ¡ì ¸ñ¼È¢Ôõ ¾¢Èò¾¢ý ¦¿üÈ¢¸ñ§½¡Î ѾøŢƢ ¿¡ð¼ò¾¢ÉÉ¡¸ ¾ý¨Éì
¸¡ðÊÂÕÇ¢Ôõ, ¿øħ¾ ¯Ä¸¢ø ¿¼ìÌõ Åñ½õ ¾¡ý ºí¸¡Ãò ¾¡ñ¼Á¡Ê즸¡ñ§¼ þÕ츢ý§Èý
±ýÀ¨¾ ¯½÷òÐõ ¾¢Õ¿£Ú ¯¼¦ÄíÌõ ⺢ÂÅÛÁ¡¸ ¸¡ðÊÂÕÙõ «õÁ¡ÛìÌ Â¡§É ¿¢¨ÉóÐ ¿¢¨ÉóÐ
¦¾Ç¢óÐ ¬Ç¡Â¢§Éý. «¾É¡ø ¡§É ¦Áö¾Åõ ¯¨¼ÂÅû ±ýÚõ, «Å¨É þùÅ¡Úì ¸ñÎ ¦¾¡Øõ ±ý¦ÉﺧÁ
¿ý¦Éïºõ ±ýÚõ «¾É¡ø þýÚ þøÄ¡Å¢ð¼¡Öõ ±ýÈ¡ÅÐ µ÷ ¿¡û ±ÉÐ À¢ÈôÀ¢¨É «ÚòРţΧÀÚ
¿øÌÅý ±ýÚõ ¿¢¨É츢ý§Èý ¸¡ñ!
7.
yaanee tavamudaiyeen en nenjcee
nannenjsam
yaanee piRappaRuppaan eNnineen - yaanee ak
aimmaa vuripoortta kaNNutalaan veNNiiRRa
ammaanukku aaLaayineen.
Listen! It is I on my own accord
began to worship the BEING in the archetypal forms where he wears the black
skin of the elephant , has a Third Eye on His forehead to disclose
that He sees all piercing the dark screens we impose on our selves
and who smears the whole body with the ash, all to instruct that He dances the
dance of destruction to allow the divine to flourish. And having installed Him
thus I feel that the tapas I am doing is the right one and that because
of it my heart is really good. I live now with the hope that if not today
but tomorrow He will bless me with Absolute Liberation that would put an
end to my phenomenal circulation.
Comments:
Bakti is personal and individual and
this is the shape genuine religious life assumes when a person develops
metaphysically in the right direction. Having come to this stage Punitavati
seems to reflect back on what has happened to her and notes that she on her OWN
ACCORD has become a devotee of Siva and that there was NO COMPULSION at all. She
has undergone what can be called SELF-CONVERSION, not conversion to another
religion more as an escape from the present but rather something by
conviction and a transformation of self that happens with self
conscious awareness.
She installs the Siva archetypes
within her heart and feels that this is the true tapas and that her heart
has become GOOD because of this. The active presence of BEING in these
archetypal presentations also makes her HOPEFUL of attaining the Absolute
Liberation, a constant theme in her outpourings.
But what makes her feel hopeful of
this?
Each archetype is an encrypted image
of deep metaphysical illuminations and as one installs such figures and
CONTEMPLATES on them, slowly the TRUTHS hidden in the images burst into the
mind shedding LIGHT into the hidden and subterranean corners. And here the
archetypes of Siva as the wearer of
the black skin of the elephant ( kaimmaa uri poortta) and as the
One with the Third Eye are significant. For He wearing the black skin
simply means that He can penetrate into our innermost self and SEES even the
ugly things about ourselves that we want HIDE by casting a black skin over it,
a black curtain over it. But Siva has the THIRD EYE, the eye that
penetrates into ALL so that no screen can hide anything from Him. We can hide
certain things from people like ourselves , have a private life outside the
gaze of others. But there can be NO PRIVATE LIFE with BEING for He SEES all. At
the realization of this we also realize our folly of trying to hide something
from HIM. This also makes us TRANSPARENT to BEING at first but later in general
to all. When the heart becomes PURE there exists nothing to hide.
It is attainment of this kind
of inner purity and transparency that makes her hopeful of genuine
redemption.
.
The Submission to Siva as the Most Meaningful
In social existence, there is the Will to Power (Nietzsche) over others as much as the Will to Submit Oneself. There is a very interesting analysis of this dimension of Human Existence by Hegel with his study of the Master-Slave relationships. This dimension of social existence or at least the hierarchical dimensions of it, which is geneticized and made a matter of birth and hence made something beyond the human efforts to change , is the essence of VarNasrama Dharma, the virus that has infected Hinduism and also killed even the Bakti revolt that sought to free Hinduism of this evil. We have to recover the revolt of the Nayanmars and Alwars and re-establish that very one is a mumuksu, one capable of aspiring towards Moksa and that there is Njanasamattuvam, EQUALITY for enjoying Civanjanam, the Absolute Illumination that redeems all and which as noted by Meykandar is already there in the bosom of all. While there differences in the intellectual styles and aptitudes, there is NO DENYING of the fact there is this EQUALITY.
In this following verse Punitavati articulates as if a new discovery that as a matter of fact she is ALREADY a subject to BEING only and that she is destined to live only by His dictates and NOT by any others. No mullahs brahmanahs messiahs rishis and so forth for her. It is her RIGHT to live only in accordance with the dictates of BEING and nobody else. She is led to understand that BEING Himself is with her making it unnecessary to listen other mortal individuals, no matter how pretentious they may be.
But how is that she has been raised to this level of FREEDOM and she is relieved from the enslaving propensities of such “religious” authorities?
With this question in her mind she SEES a meaning in the Ganges that Siva wears on His tuft and which is seen both as the river of cool Waters as well as that of Fire, and understanding in the symbolism of the Ganges both destructive and regenerative forces that has worked on her and illuminated her.
More below.
8.
¬Â¢§Éý ¬ûÅ¡ÛìÌ «ý§È ¦ÀÈü¸Ã¢Âý
¬Â¢§Éý «·¦¾ý§È ¬Á¡Ú -- àÂ
ÒÉü¸í¨¸ ²üÈ¡§É¡÷ ¦À¡ýŨç §À¡øÅ¡ý
«Éü¸í¨¸ ²üÈ¡ý «Õû
(«-¨Ã ¾¢Õ Å¢.¸)
¬ûÅ¡ÛìÌ ¬Â¢§Éý - º¢Å¦ÀÕÁ¡ÛìÌ ¬Ç¡§Éý.
«ý§È -- ¬Ç¡É «ý§È. ¦ÀÈüÌ «Ã¢Âý ¬Â¢§Éý -- ¦ÀÈüÌ ´ýÚÁ¢øÄ¡¾Åý ¬Â¢§Éý; ('«ýÚó
¾¢Õ×ÕÅõ....' ±ýÛõ À¡ð¨¼ô À¡÷ì¸); ¦ÀÚ¾üÌ «Ã¢Â §ÀÚ¨¼Â¡ý ¬§Éý ±ý§À¡ÕÓÇ÷. µ÷
¦À¡ýŨç §À¡øÅ¡ý -- ´Õ Á¸¡ §ÁÕ¸¢Ã¢¨Â ´ò¾Åý. «Éø ¸õ ¨¸ ²üÈ¡ý -- ¦¿Õô¨ÀÔõ
¸À¡Äò¨¾Ôõ ¨¸Â¢ø ²üÈÅý
¯¨Ã (¯Ä¸ý)
±ýÚ ¿¡ý µ÷ º¢üÚ¢áöô À¢Èô¦ÀÎòÐ þó¾
À¢ÃÀïº µð¼ò¾¢ø Á¡ðʧɧɡ «ý§È «¾¨É¦ÂøÄ¡õ ¬ð¦ºöÐ ¿¼¡òÐõ «ÅÛìÌ ¬Ç¡Â¢§Éý.
«È¢Â¡¨Á¡ø ±ò¾¨É§Â¡ À¢ÈôÒì¸Ç¢ø ¸¢¼óÐ þýÚ «Å§É ±ÉìÌ «Õû ¦ºö , «ÅÛìÌ ¿¡ý «ý§È
¬ðÀðÊÕìÌõ ¯ñ¨Á¨Â «È¢Â ÅÃ, «¾É¢ý ¦ÀÈü¸Ã¢Âý ¬Â¢§Éý. «Åý ±ôÀÊ ±ÉìÌ þùÅ¡Ú «Õû
Òâó¾¡ý ±Éì §¸ðÀ£Ã¡¸¢ø «È¢¸: Á£ñÎõ Á¢ñÎõ À¢ÈóÐÆÄò ¾Õõ «Ñ츢Ãò¨¾ ¸¡ðÎõ ÒÉü
¸í¨¸¨Â ¾¢Õî º¨¼Â¢ø ²üÈ «Åý ¯ñ¨Á¨Âò ¾Å¢Ã §Å¦Ã¡ýÚõ ¸¡½ò ¾Ã¡ ¾¢ñ¨Áô ¦À¡ý§ÁÕ
§À¡ýÈ ¯¼¨Äì ¦¸¡ñ¼ «Åý «Æ¢òÐ «Æ¢òÐ «Øì̸¨Ç ±øÄ¡õ §À¡ìÌõ «Éü ¸í¨¸¨ÂÔõ ²üÈÅý ¸¡ñ!
8.
aayineen aaLvaanukku anree
peRaRkariyan
aayineen aqtenüee aamaaRu -- tuuya
punaR kaGkai eeRRaanoor ponvaraiyee poolvaan
anaRkaGkai eeRraan aruL
Meaning:
I attained the impossible to
attain when I was led to realize that I was already subservient only to Siva
since those remote days I was put into the phenomenal circulation. This
understanding of my essence is something I have attained by His blessings and
hence certainly NOT by my own efforts. Now if you ask me how it became possible
as the Grace of Siva, know that Siva whose body is like Golden Meru (that
allows only truths) carries both the Ganga of cool waters that regenerates all
and the Ganga of fiery flames that destroys all.
Comments:
The most fundamental processes are
those of destruction and regeneration. There is NOTHING in the world without
these two fundamental processes and the metaphysical thinking of the Saivites
never becomes forgetful of this. The anukkrakam , the blessings with novel
possibilities and nikkrakam , the destruction of the existent in order to make
room for the NEW are there and only because of that there is in the mind of the
creatures the destruction of ignorance and the gaining of Consciousness.
Punitavati , as are all
creatures, is ALREADY INDEBTED to Siva and SERVE only Him in all
obedience. But in the thick of ignorance and interior DARKNESS this awareness
remains buried deep down making the anma cling to this man that woman, this
guru , that deity and so forth and thus into seeking a kind of saturation and
fullness in such clinging. Any attachment other than to BEING is bound to
fail for all such attachments are between finite minds. Even the most
glorious guru is after all a human being and hence subject to many faults
and imperfections.
But the disclosure that one is bound
to be subservient only to Siva or BEING and NOBODY ELSE is the disclosure
of immense value for it puts an end to all these uncertainties. Punitavati ,
for that matter anyone, secures the Final Ground of Attachment in having Siva
Himself as the One whom one ought to love cherish and serve.
This
disclosure appears to Punitavati the rarest of the rare kind of blessings from
Siva and she marvels at it, noting
that He is the source of TRUTH and who both destroys and regenerates all to
bring about a spiritual evolution among all the creatures.
.
The Icon-Thinking of Punitavati
AruL Truth
Experience and Love Unto All
Saivism and VaishNavism share with
Jainism and Buddhism the notion of compassion as the most important ingredient
of religious or metaphysical life and would appear to differ in this respect
from Brahmanism that cares only for VarNasrama Dharma and ever busy with
justifying it and in that oblivious to the commonalities among creatures and
the humanistic dimensions it encourages.
Saivites locate the LOVE in the world
in the presence of aruL and in the following verse Punitavati gives a
metaphysical meaning to it and which might have worked on Tirumular and made
him declare that anbee Sivam, Love is God.
In terms of the concept of Arul, we
can see TWO different kinds of individuals - those with aruTkaN and those
without it. The former, moved by care and concern for all, DO NOT SEE any
differences especially the hierarchical because they see the EQUALITY as well
as UNITY of all that lurks at the depths. The latter, with a certain spiritual
blindness, are BLIND to the commonality but eminently conscious of only the
differences. Out of perhaps an inner lack in terms of true achievements which
will make them feel worthy of themselves, they look to their caste and such other
peripheral matters and seek to enjoy a vicarious kind satisfaction of
greatness. What we find in such individuals is the pressure of the Will to
Power by way of feeling great and thereby overcoming their inner insecurity and
all because of lack of real achievements.
Punitavati claims that she has
been spared of this metaphysical
blindness because of the aruL of BEING which she also sees as that which can
confer Mukti on her.
But the most important insight that
she articulates here is the LINK between truth seeking, being in truth and
gaining this aruTkaN, the loving disposition that makes her LOVE all without
caring for the differences that may in fact obtain. The truth-experiences, the
MeyyuNarvu is also seen as that which humanizes the human beings.
9
«Õ§Ç ¯Ä¦¸Ä¡õ ¬ûÅ¢ôÀÐ ®ºý
«Õ§Ç À¢ÈôÒ «ÚôÀ¾¡É¡ø - «ÕÇ¡§Ä
¦Áöô¦À¡Õ¨Ç §¿¡ìÌõ Å¢¾¢Ô¨¼§Âý ±ï»¡ýÚõ
±ô¦À¡ÕÙõ ¬Å ¦¾ÉìÌ
(«-¨Ã ¾¢Õ Å¢.¸)
(®ºý «Õ§Ç -- ®ºý «ÕÇ¡ø)
±ô¦À¡ÕÙõ ±ÉìÌ ¬ÅÐ ±ýÈÀÊ. ±øÄ¡Åü¨ÈÔó ¾¢ÕÅÕð ¸ñ¦¸¡ñÎ §¿¡ì̧š÷ìÌ ±øÄ¡õ ¬ÅɧÅ¡Ìõ.
«Å÷¸ðÌ ¬¸¡¾Ð ´ýÚÁ¢ø¨Ä.
¯¨Ã (¯Ä¸ý)
¯Â÷󾦾ýÚõ ¾¡ú󾦾ýÚõ ¿øĦ¾ýÚõ
¾£Â¦¾ýÚõ º¢ò¦¾ýÚõ «º¢ò¦¾ýÚõ Å¢ñ¦½ýÚõ Áñ¦½ýÚõ þýÛõ ÀÄÅ¡Úõ §À¾ôÀÎò¾ÅÕõ þô§ÀÕĨ¸¦ÂøÄ¡õ
«¨ºòÐ þÂíÌÁ¡ ¬ûÅ¢ôÀÐ ®ºÉÐ «Õ§Ç¡õ. ±øÄ¡ ¬ýÁ¡ì¸ÙìÌõ þùÅ¡Ú Á£ñÎõ À¢ÈóÐÆÄò ¾óÐ
«ï»¡Éõ §À¡ìÌõ «ó¾ «Õ§Ç, º¢Å»¡Éõ Ò½÷ò¾¢ «ï»¡Éõ §À¡ì¸¢ Á£ñÎõ À¢ÈÅ¡¾¢ÕìÌÁ¡
±ý À¢ÈôÀ¢¨É «ÚôÀÐÁ¡Ìõ. «Ð ±ôÀʧ¡¦ÅÉ¢ø «ó¾ «ÕÇ¡§Ä¾¡ý ¦À¡öô¦À¡Õ¨Ç Å¢ðÎ Óò¾¢ìÌ
Å¢ò¾¡¸¢Â ¦Áöô¦À¡Õ¨Ç §¿¡ì¸¢ «¾¨É§Âô ÀüȢ즸¡ûÙõ Å¡ú쨸 Å¢¾¢Ô¨¼ÂÅÙõ ¬¸¢§Éý. þôÀÊôÀð¼
¦Áöô¦À¡Õ¨Ç §¿¡ìÌõ Å¢¾¢Ô¨¼ÂÅÇ¡¸ ÅÇ÷óÐŢ𼠱ÉìÌ, §Åñ¼¡¦ÅÉ ±ô¦À¡Õ¨ÇÔõ ¾ûÇ¢¨ÅìÌõ
ÁÉõ µ÷ º¢È¢Ðõ þø¨Ä ±ýÀ¨¾ì ¸¡ñ¸ -- ±øÄ¡ ¦À¡ÕÙõ þ¨ÈÅÉÐ «Õ§Ç¦ÂÉ ±ÉìÌ ¬Å§¾Â¡õ.
9.
aruLee ulakelaam aaLvippatu iican
aruLee piRappu aRuppataanaal - aruLaalee
meypporuLai nookkumk vitiyudaiyeen enjnjaanRum
epporuLum aava tenakku
Meaning:
It is the Grace of BEING that
rules this vast universe that comes as the heaven and earth, the high and
low and sentient and insentient and so forth and makes them move. It is this
Grace that allows existential repetition that facilitates the destruction of
IGNORANCE that finally brings about LIBERATION, the freeing from the
cycle of endless rebirths by making it possible the attainment of Absolute
Understanding. And this is facilitated by this Grace that implants within
me the desire only for TRUTH and living solely by TRUTH and hence avoiding all
untruths. But because I am moved by this desire to seek out only the truths, it
becomes impossible for me put aside anything as lowly for all are equally
expressions of the same Grace.
Comments:
This is certainly one of the most
important verses in the long history of Saivism or Hinduism in general. After
millenniums of evolutionary changes and after assimilating the best of the
various religions that held sway in the land, LOVE evolved as the important
ingredient of religious life and Saiva Siddhanta having been forged in
this crucible emerged as a metaphysics of LOVE or more precisely of Grace, the
phenomenal expression of which is universal LOVE for all and for which reason
BEING is also noted as LOVE ( anbee Sivam).
AruL means simply giving without any
expectations , a pure giving even the human beings experience when they are
moved by genuine LOVE. This sentiment MOVES ONE to give and without expecting
anything in return and in which case it will become instrumental and hence
simply a barter. This perhaps is the same as Nishkaama Karma of Bagavath
Gita but with a different kind of metaphysical understanding.
The LOVE of BEING permeates the
whole world -- the high and low , the sentient and insentient and so forth. In
fact there is NOTHING that is NOT an expression of the LOVE of BEING. Now how
did they come to this view especially against the background of the
discriminatory caste systems that prevails so stubbornly?
Saivism accommodates in its
metaphysical thinking DEATH , not only that of the creatures but
everything including the vast cosmos. The aaNavam is there like the Black Hole
ever ready to swallow and eliminate the worldly presence of everything,
including this vast cosmos as a whole. Every creature carries within itself a
Black Hole, the Yama, the symbolized aaNavam, the God of death that is forever ready to bounce upon one
and swallow the life energies and thus cause death. Thus living as such that we
take for so granted is actually not only a struggle against this Black Hole but
also a victory over it. And it is this Grace of BEING that vanquishes thus
death bringing Black Hole and blesses one with continuous living and when dead
, then another lease of birth so that there follows EXISTENTIAL REPETITION in
an endless manner.
But along with this there is also
another expression of this same Grace-- that of facilitating LIBERATION from
this hold of the Black Hole so that one is forever outside its reach. And
interestingly enough and as the most original contribution of this remarkable
woman is the understanding that SEEKING TRUTH and avoiding untruths, accumulating truths after truths is the
WAY for attaining this final liberation and that this also a GIFT of this aruL,
of Grace. Thus the Grace is not only LOVE but also UNDERSTANDING that
shines in TRUTH.
TRUTH is NOT simply a matter of
Logic, it is also a matter of survival and attaining liberation.
Punitavati notes an existential
implication of this understanding that she has gained, of course, through
immense struggle -- it becomes IMPOSSIBLE for her to hate and demean
anyone or anything in the world. She has to ACCEPT all as they are for all them
are equally the expression of the same Grace that had facilitated her own
development and presence as such!
.
Bakti is very ancient in Dravidian culture when we view it from the Sumerian (and Harappan) times. The enormously personal and moving Exaltations of Inanna by En Hudu Anna (c. 2200 BC) and her temple hymns such as the Kes temple Hymn are evidences for that. One important ingredient of this is LOVE unto BEING in some archetypal form is praising Him lavishly but with true and becoming epithets so that the God is pleased and does good for the person who thus loves and praises.
In the following verse we see BEING being LOVED very dearly and because of that existence becoming something full of joys. No more life as a misery, of one wholly painful and miserable such as was the case with Buddhist and Jains of the times.
The heart becomes PURE and GOOD (nan nenjsam) only because the soul is made TRANSPARENT to BEING, as Punitavati has declared above. This is the root of all that is humane - that which kills all the propensities for evil. It is not a value among values but rather placing oneself in an inner ecology whereby every impulse to do evil is NOT allowed to emerge.
To keep BEING as the only one who is loved belongs to the highest stage of spiritual life, the initial stages being the domestic life where love blooms even in the hardest soul but perhaps tinged with sexual desires. A man or woman who cannot show love in domestic life cannot in fact rise up to the level where in place of earthly spouse we have BEING in some archetypal form.
The Gods are not only to be UNDERSTOOD in terms various kinds of INTERPRETIVE moves of the mind (prompted by the Play of BEING itself as we have seen above and will see also later) but also to be LOVED DEARLY and which is the essence of Bakti. Historically seen, this kind of LOVE based Bakti (which may be a recovery of its ancient roots) belongs to the evolution of Dravidian spirituality out of the hermeneutic analysis of Existence and in which the Love based Domestic Life was seen as the basis even for sociopolitical aspect of it.
It is the analysis of domestic life into KaLaviyal (premarital love life) and KaRpiyal (post marital love life) that was continuous developed finally emerged as the Bakti where the spouses were supplanted by an archetypal form of BEING, Siva or Tirumaal. What we have here is then Divine Domestic Life and because of which there is also immense happiness and joy. BEING-as Siva as the deeply loved one also infuses the heart with joys just as the thoughts of the loved one in ordinary would.
10
±É츢ɢ ±õÁ¡¨É ®º¨É ¡ý ±ýÚõ
ÁÉ츢ɢ ¨ÅôÀ¡¸ ¨Åò§¾ý - ±Éì¸Å¨Éì
¦¸¡ñ§¼ý À¢Ã¡É¡¸ì ¦¸¡ûÅЧÁ þýÒü§Èý
¯ñ§¼ ±Éì¸Ã¢Â ¦¾¡ýÚ
(«-¨Ã ¾¢Õ. Å¢.¸)
ÁÉÐìÌ, þɢ ¨ÅôÀ¡¸ (§ºÁ ¿¢¾¢Â¡¸) ,
¯ñ§¼ - ¯ñ§¼¡
¯¨Ã (¯Ä¸ý)
À¢ÈóÐ ¦Á¡Æ¢À¢ýÈ §À¡¦¾øÄ¡õ ¸¡¾ø
º¢ÈóÐ ¿¢ýȾ¢ý ¸¡Ã½Á¡¸ ±ÉìÌ ¿¢¨ÉìÌó ¦¾¡Úõ ¿¢¨ÉìÌó ¦¾¡Úõ þÉ¢¨Á¨Â§Âò ¾ó¾
±õÁ¡¨É, ±øÄ¡ ¦¾öÅí¸Ç¢Öõ ¯Â÷ó¾ «ó¾ ®º¨É§Â ¡ý ±ýÚõ ÁÈÅ¡Ð À¢ÈÆ¡Ð ±ý þÉ¢ÂÅÉ¡ö,
«ýÀ¢ý ¨ÅôÀ¡¸ ¨Åò§¾ý. «Å¨É§Â ±ý À¢Ã¡É¡¸, ±ý ¾¨ÄÅÉ¡¸ì ¦¸¡ñ§¼ý. «ùÅ¡Ú ±ùÅ¢¾
³ÂÓõ §ÅÚ ±ó¾ ±ñ½ÓÁ¢ýÈ¢ ¦¸¡ûÇ, «ó§¾¡ ! §ÀÕŨ¸ «¨¼ó§¾ý. þùÅ¡Ú ®º¨É§Â ±ý À¢Ã¡É¡¸ þÉ¢Â
¨ÅôÀ¡¸ì ¦¸¡ûÙõ §ÀÚ ¸¢ðÊ ±ÉìÌ ¸¢¨¼ôÀ¾üÌ «Ã¢Â¾¡¸ §Å¦È¡ýÚ þÕì¸ÓÊÔ§Á¡? ÓÊ¡Ð
±ýÈÅ¡Ú.
10.
enakkiniya emmaanai iicanai yaan
enRum
manakkiniya vaippaaka vaitteen - enakkavanaik
koNdeen piraanaakak koLvatumee inbuRReen
uNdee enakkariya thonRu
Meaning:
Because I loved BE*ING-as-Siva so dearly from the day I began to
speak, joy swells my heart each time I think of Him. And because of that I kept
Him , the Highest of all the deities, the Ican as my beloved who brings joy and
happiness always. And furthermore I also had Him as my Lord and behold! The
moment I had Him thus, as dearest unto me, I felt that I had attained the
rarest of the rare. There cannot be anything more wondrous than this !
Comments:
Here we see the transmutation of
man-woman love into Divine Love where Bakti emerges as the relationship that
holds between the human self and the Deity of choice , here Siva. There are
other cases where it is KrishNa as in the case of Sri AndaL. And in the case
of Abirami Paddar, BEING emerges
as the most enchanting Woman, the Abirami to captivate the masculine soul and
keep it in divine thought but within feelings of Bakti , Divine Love.
What we have is the rebuttal
of the arid intellectual approach to metaphysics and the understanding of BEING
that was dominant among the Buddhists and Jains of the time and which is
continued to this day by the Advaitins.
BEING endears Himself not to those who analyze with razor-sharp
intellect the various notions into fine details and
subtleties but to those who LOVE Him dearly and in that cultivates the
FEELINGS of LOVE and sympathy to all. Deep thrusts that provide immensely
satisfying INSIGHTS or metaphysical illuminations are NOT to be had through
arid and dry and very egoistic logical chopping but through the cultivation of
FEELINGS so that LOVE for the Divine comes to prevail there. BEING chooses to reside
in such hearts and once HE is there then there will no end to joys and delights
of the soul. For each time He is thought of, there will blossoms metaphysical
illuminations so deep and profound that there will exaltations after
exaltations making the whole life wonderfully joyous.
This is what Punitavati is experiencing and looking at the
immense happiness she is enjoying now and the sense of fulfillment that she
experiences in having her whole mind for Siva that she loves so dearly,
she is affirmative that she could not have had a life more wondrous than
this!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________