Tirumular on the Genesis of Human Personalities

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-1

Meditations and Hermeneutic Reflections

I just received the very interesting book of Antonio T. Nicolas “ Meditations through Rig Veda” wherein he uses the term ‘meditations’ in the sense of hermeneutic reflections where the focus is on UNDERSTANDING the text by allowing it to speak from within itself as to what it is and form our understanding. This sounds very much like Heidegger who, following his guru Husserl insisted on “returning to the things themselves” and let them speak from within themselves. This notion resounds in the words Prof Nicolas “Meditation is the activity by which our expectations of what we ought to find in the Rig Veda stop being our expectations and become the expectations of Rig Vedic man” (p.6). Thus we see that meditations or Hermeneutic reflections on a text require that we slowly allow our own expectations, or prejudices, to disappear and in their place we have the expectations within the text meditated upon.

This is very interesting for I believe this is also the Method of Philosophy of the Tamils at least from the days of Tolkaappiyam (if not earlier going back to the Sumerian times itself) but with a difference, an important one at that. While the iidu traditions of Tamil VaishNavas where they to capture the heart of Namazvar by an interpretive study of his Tiruvaymozi and so forth (Acarya Hridayam, or MaaRanin Manam), the Saivites take the WHOLE UNIVERSE as a TEXT and meditate upon it, let it speak from within itself to understand EXISTENCE and fashion life itself on the basis of such a true understanding of the world. So we find philosophy as a species of Hermeneutic Science, not simply literary hermeneuticsor scriptural exegetics, but a systematic meditation upon the world as a whole and as an objective reality to access the truths there, the fundamental truths, the Axiomatic Truths or PiramaaNas (in one sense of this complex word) and fashion life in accordance with these axiomatic truths. Thus in this we also find religion brought into the fold of Hermeneutic Science, the only form of science in which the metaphysical dimensions of human existence can be understood as what it is really free of man’s ideological distortions in the name of theories etc.

The truths, the Axiomatic Truths are there in the world and are FREELY ACCESSIBLE to whoever approaches it in the above spirit - free oneself from all prejudices and let the world speak from within itself and form the UNDERSTANDING. This view so well entrenched is also the foundation for the rebuke of the VarNasrama Dharma: when any man can get to understand the MEANING of Existence which is there as an objective reality written into the very fabric of the universe, how can special privileges on the basis of birth alone, be justified? All men are EQUAL in the sense they are FREE to understand the fundamental meaning of existence and fashion his own life in accordance with it and which is the essence of genuine religion.

While the Vedas Agamas and other world scriptures being historical in a sense, belong to a historically conditioned cultural ethos of a kind in which all the scriptural utterances are couched, this limitations does NOT apply to the World as Whole. The appropriation of the World as a Whole and as a TEXT that has to be read and understood, includes all these scriptures just as one of the historical events that need to be understood and understanding made clear as to why there are such linguistic productions. Thus such meditations belong to the MOST INCLUSIVE philosophy, something that can help to understand everything, as there cannot a reality more inclusive than the World as a Whole. Thus such a meditation does NOT reject the Vedas Agamas and other Scriptures but TRANSCENDS them by recasting them into elements of World History that needs to be understood. The Hermeneutic reflections at this level is Universal and not local and there cannot be anything more universal than this. Thus what Tirumular and other gifted Saiva Philosophers articulate within the framework of such meditations have a universal appeal of their own for the insights gained by reflecting upon the World as Whole and which is COMMON to all can be accessed an enjoyed by anyone - it is NOT a privileged knowledge belonging only to a particular religion, a cult or trsdtion etc.

I hope to bring out these Axiomatic Truths of such giants of Saiva Thinking as Tirumular in this series focusing upon what he says in this vein in his verses on Cataaciva LiGkam which to me contain some of the most remarkable insights into objective reality, insights that have been wrested out from nature itself and which are immensely meaningful for the whole of mankind. Because of the deep penetrations into the depths, and which can easily be lost sight off, I have begun this series along with the series on the Meaning of SivaliGkam to profit in this exercise while my meditations on Tirumular’s meditations are still fresh and burning bright in my mind.

Thus I propose to develop this series with Tirumular’s Theory of Evolution where he sees the whole of evolutionary dynamics of the world has the MEANING of leading all creatures towards Moksa and then follow this with the Developmental Psychology as configured by the Six Atara Cakras and where also emerges Homo Hierarchicus and as conditioned by the different deities themselves and which are hierarchical in themselves. Then I shall take up the views of Tirumular on cosmo-psychology that understands the cognitive processes in terms of the cosmic where there are processes for illuminating the mind as a whole and of all creatures. Then I shall deal with Cosmo-sociology where the relatively stable personalities are related to the Five Faces of Cataaciva, hierarchical within themselves with the Moksa installing iicaanam as the highest.

All these accounts will then be recast in terms of Mantrayana and therewith also as Dance of Siva-Sakti!

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-2

Evolution and Moksa as its Meaning.

There are many views of Evolution both in the East and West and where such views as that Darwin Bergson and so forth come to my mind. In the Indic tradition over and above the Disclosive Evolution of Saivism we have also something like an evolutionary understanding of the universe in the concept of ten avatars of VaishNavism and which according Civanjana VaLLal can be incorporated into Saiva view without any problems.

Tirumular sees the whole of the universe as a SivaliGkam, a tubular pillar , the LiGkam a form of Natam and with circular bands, the forms of Bindu that also stands as the basis. However the conventional identification of the base of SivaliGkam as Bindu may be a simplification that may distort the truth. For the SivaliGkam is a massive tubular FIRE with no terminal points both ways, Brahma fails to see its top and VishNu fails to see the bottom of it. It is, as Arutpirakaasa VaLLalaar sings : aatiyum antamum illaa Arutperuncooti : a great flame of Grace with no points of origin and a terminus.

BEING as such is just wholly incomprehensible and that whatever we understand of Him is only because He graces us with that kind of understanding.

And of the most important insights disclosed to Tirumular in such a vein is that the Human Body is made in the shape of this SivaliGkam:

1726

maanudar aakkai vadivu SivaliGkam

maanudar aakkai vadivu Citambaram

maanudar aakkai vadivu Sataasivam

maanudar aakkai vadivu tirukkuuttee

Meaning:

The structural form of the human body follows the structural form of SivaliGkam. That which generates such a body, the mantra complexes arise from Citambaram, the realm of consciousness and hence the body in its structural form also reveals Citambaram. And now since BEING ordains even this Citambaram as the five-faced polycephalic Sataasivam whose essence is available in the psychodynamics of the anmas that in fact configure the body, it is also a form of Sataasivam. And since even the functions of this Muurtti is in the nature of Divine Play, the human body in its structural form is also the Locale of this Dance

This is a profound understanding of the structure of the human (and animal) bodies where not only the SivaliGkam is located but also the Citambaram, the Tillai ManRu (the Til-mun of the Sumerians?), the Cataaciva form of BEING and the Dance of Siva-Sakti. Thus the human body is not just physical, an assembly of bones, nerves, blood vessels and fleshy tissues- it is also spiritual entity harboring within itself the ancient Paradise of Tillai ManRu and hence also BEING as Cataaciva Siva Nadarajah and so forth

But the most important observation of Tirumular is that the SivaliGkam also presents various MEANINGS and meaning-related elements as part of fabric of the universe:

1714

pookamum muttiyum puttiyunj cittiyum

aakamum aaRaaRu tattivattu appaalaam

eekamum nalki yirukkunj sataacivam

aakama vattuvaa vaaRunj civamee

Meaning:

It is Siva the BEING who becoming five-faced polycephalic Sathasiva who establishes as there in the world the various kinds of enjoyments (pookam) and the absolute releasement from that (mutti); the various kinds processes that allow the creatures to act (putti) and enjoy as achievements or outcomes of their actions (siddhi); the state of embodiment with the assumption of a physical body and the state of being FREE of it and along with it the 36 tatvas that go into its genesis and be one-with BEING. In addition to all these and through the Agamas it is BEING who discloses the six-fold mantra ways of liberating oneself from all the bonds (that tie down the soul and serve causes of mental diseases)

Notice that Moksa or Mutti is included in one of the MEANINGS inherently available as already there. Over above the various kinds of enjoyments( pookam), understanding ( putti), attainments ( citties), there is mutti as part of the MEANING elements there in the world. This is also said to be the ekam, the ONENESS or the SAMENESS as BEING that one cam attain if only one liberates oneself from the Tatvas, the world as whole and as the phenomenal reality.

But in the following verse, Tirmular ties up this Moksa with the evolution, as the very MEANING of the evolutionary dynamics of the world as whole:

1749.

tanmeeni taRciva liGkamaay ninRidum

tanmeeni taanunj cataaci maay niRkum

tanmeeni taRcivan taRcivaa nanatamaan

tanmeeni taanaakun taRparan taanee!

Meaning:

Those who pursue their metaphysical journey not in Idakalai or Pingkalai but rather the Cuzi Munai Nadi where both Natam and Bindu are jointly active in the form of Sun and Moon, will come to have a body the SivaliGkam itself. And because of this the soul will become Cataaciva Himself with the five faces. And on account of the blessings of this Cataaciva, ParaCiva will disclose Himself blessing the soul with Bliss Supreme, the Civanantam itself. As this persists ParaCiva will descend and take over both the body and soul making the Civanjani BEING itself.

The evolutionary dynamics of the world as a whole, be it cyclic, an endless chain of presencing and withdrawing, the anmas enjoy or made to enjoy a metaphysical journey where the ego of the self is slowly displaced and thus made egoless and hence PURE, where then BEING Himself overpowers the self so that self becomes indistinguishable from BEING. This is the state Sudhadvaita of Saiva Siddhanta, the eekam, the SAMENESS of verse 1714 and which is different from the Advaita of Vedanta.

The self is there as that which enjoys the Supreme Bliss of Civanantam but only when its ego and hence its alienation is completely wiped out. Siva Himself becomes the self just like an iron ball becomes the fire itself as it gets heated up so much so that at one point it becomes indistinguishable from the fire itself though it remains an individual substance. The self does not lose its substantiality but only its egotism that keeps it alienated from BEING.

But how is this facilitated?

There is a magical or alchemical process at work and where the TaRparan, the Absolute BEING, becomes the very body of the humble anmas - tan meeni taan aakum TaRparan taanee!

In the course of the evolutionary development, the physicality of the physical body is displaced and made BEING itself but in the form of SivaliGkam! Like an uncanny magician, BEING descends upon the anmas, alchemically transforming the body into that of SivaliGkam and the soul itself into Cataaciva and as a preliminary toward the complete descent and overpowering by Para Civa Himself!

Let us ponder and meditate deeply at this profound disclosure as the essence of the evolutionary processes before we attempt to understand further in greater details.

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-3

The Mumuksu and Authentic Life

If I am not mistaken, the popular philosophers in the West have not accommodated themselves to the end meaning of existence as a whole as that for Moksa or Mukti. This may be available in the writings of some mystics but perhaps have been kept away from the mainstream philosophy. And if I remember well even Heidegger did not go beyond death in defining what is Authentic Life, which according to him is a life that accommodates itself to the inevitability of death. While he managed a brilliant analysis of Temporality but could not conceive of a way of being in the world without temporality of time consciousness. MeykaNdar observes that BEING is devoid of time consciousness (kaalaattil taakkaatu ninRu)., also a notion very widely available in Tirumular, and that this way of understanding is what is Civanjanam, a kind of understanding everything without being alien to any. The important thing for our purposes here is that this Civanjanam remains also a possibility for all of us to enjoy and which will put an end to our phenomenal circulation and hence afford the Final Liberation, the Moksa.

Thus we have a kind of personality, the Mumuksu, the person desiring nothing else except Moksa and the Nayanmars and Azwars who sang the Divine Tamil are exemplars of this. Punitavati correctly describes this as piRappu aRuttal (severing the endless cycle of existential repetition), miiNdum PiRavaamai (not being born again). Certainly this is a kind of death, the DEATH towards the whole process of becoming repeatedly embodied and hence something different from the ordinary death where only a particular bodily embodiment is destroyed but not the very condition that throws self into repeated bodily existence.

A typical but a powerful statement of such a personality, the Mumuksu, is the following of Punitavati (c. 5^th cent AD)

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.

BEING continuosly GIVES, BLESSES the anmas and that it is because of this that the metaphysical ignorance is destroyed and the soul is enabled to enjoy Moksa. And in this we should also note the special significance of the phrase ‘ meyporuLai nookkum viti udaiyeen”, i.e. cast into a way of life where TRUTH (meypporuL) becomes that which one seeks and nothing else.

The impulse to seek after TRUTH, be in TRUTH and gain truth-experiences one after another is the WAY of life of a mumuksu. And this means firmness in allowing the WORLD to speak from within itself as to the meaning it already has as for the selves.

1732.

aakinRa sattiyin uLLee kalainilai

aakinRa sattiyin uLLee katir eza

aakinRa sattiyin uLLee amarntapin

aakinRa sattiyam atticai pattee

Meaning:

When the Power (Satti) within Cataaciva, the shape BEING assumes to bring into presence the whole of the universe, all the pedagogic processes of Nivritti, Piratiddal, Vittai, Saanti and Saantiyaatiitai become available as its differentiations. Now within this arises the Civasuuriyan, the Sun of the Deepest Metaphysical Illuminations, the Civanjaanan and the rays of light that carries this along with it, spread all over and in all the ten directions so that it becomes available for all.

The World is NOT just a massive physical reality that the astrophysicists capture and seek to understand in terms of various kinds of theories, general relativity Quantum mechanics and what not. It is a dynamic TEXT that can teach us if only we allow ourselves to be taught by it by restraining all our theoretic attempts.

Within the Pure Energy that takes shape as the universe, there is Kalai Nilai, various forms of the metaphysical Sun and Moon and which can also be understood as the sciences ( the sun) and arts (the moon). Now within this emerges the Katir, flashes of Civanjanam, rays of light carrying which the Sakti spreads the whole universe thus making it available to all.

Thus BEING as Cataaciva, not only creates the physical world of billions of stars and galaxies but also the CULTURAL WORLD and within which remains the TRUE religion as already given. In the verse below Tirumular claims that not only the Vedas and its component sciences but also the temple centered Agamism with its rituals are reflections of this. He also notes that in general, the TRUE RELIGION, the Camayam, remains as already given there

1733

attisaik kuLLee amarntana aaRaGkam

attisaik kuLLee amarntana naalveetam

attisaik kuLLee amarnta sariyaoodu

attisaik kuLLee amarnta samayamee

Meaning:

In the Cosmic Space of ten directions created by Sakti, the ENERGY of BEING violating the Dark Power that disallows the presence of anything, stands the Vedic Way with its four Vedas of Rig Yajur Sama and Atharva and its six component arts of Cidsai, kaRpam, Viyaakaranam, Santoobicitam, Cotidam and so forth. In the same Space also arise the Temple-centered Aakaamiyam with its Sariyai Kriyai Yogam and Njaanam. Thus within such a Space arise all metaphysical systems (all religions) and as the blessings of BEING as Cataaciva

Thus it would appear the when a person becomes a Mumuksu, one desirous of Moksa, he begins to lead the Authentic Life and to lead this given kind of life, he has to UNDERSTAND what remains as already given and as part of the natural world, within the pedagogic processes of nature itself.

One has to practice Natural Metaphysics and not any of the constructive metaphysics, which will lead to various kinds ideologies rather than accommodating to the TRUTHS, the MeypporuL, the false metaphysical castles, the Muppuram that Siva never fails to destroy with the Fire of His Third Eye.

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-4

From Ritual Action to Philosophy (Metaphysical Discourse)

We have seen the first significant personality to emerge is the Mumuksu (also known as Bakta), a person who is desirous of Moksa, seeking to attain which becomes the essential meaning of life and with that existence itself reconstituted as AUTHENTIC. The person attains stability as the meaning for overall existence is already installed in his mind. This understanding provides the weapon to destroy the uncertainties and mental depressions and thereby help out lead a life courage, calmness and joy.

However this is the beginning, the initial understanding of Moksa may be just intuitive, vague unclear cloudy or even unconscious and so forth. Thus begins a pattern of life where this vagueness etc is sought to be destroyed and the notion of Moksa is made to stand out bright and clear and appropriated with apodictic certainty, a certainty free of doubts of whatever kind. Thus the whole of life becomes Hermeneutic Scientific, a purposive and directed activity where the UNDERSTANDING of Moksa becomes the chief issue and the intellectual life itself well organized as towards LEARNING more and more about Moksa.

In the Saivite Thinking, available in Tirumular’s Tirumantiram itself, this Hermeneutic movement of understanding has been analyzed in two different but interrelated ways. One is the dynamics of ritual actions where from Sariyai one moves to Kriyai and then to Yoga and finally Njanam, Philosophy as Metaphysical Discourse. The other model is that of the Six Atara Cakras and the mind moving and ascending Cakra after Cakra, the higher incorporating the lower and finally ending with the Sahasra Talam, the realms of the Lotus of Thousand Petals and most inclusive of all.

We shall consider now the first model where an understanding of Moksa is sought in terms of ritual actions that would lead finally to metaphysical discourses.

The Psychology of Rituals of Tirumular

The Concrete Ritual Action, the Cariyai, is the first and the most primitive Metaphysical Action directed towards gaining a better and deeper understating of Moksa. This in turn leads to Kriyai where an Icon (Muurtti) is chosen and the person recites mantras and so forth with love and devotion so that one can enjoy visions of the actual icon and enjoy Icon Thinking. Here while the Cariyai involves bodily physical actions, the Kriyai involves mental actions where the whole of the cognitive processes are reorganized as for gaining the visions of the Icon one worships perhaps as an idol, an image cast in stone or bronze as an aid. This then lead to Yoga or Meditations where one allows oneself to be alchemically transmuted into the image or icon one has been worshipping. One seeks to become the image of Siva, Muruka, Vishnu, Ambal and so forth and LEARN what such icons mean existentially i.e. living out the image itself. To understand the icon of Siva Nadarajah, one has to become that image itself by an alchemical transmutation of self itself through a process of Yoga, of UNION with an icon, an archetypal presentation of BEING. Now only at this point we have Njanam, the life of metaphysical discourses where there will communications and disconstructions of the different metaphysical insights gained by becoming the different icons. The understanding of metaphysics, say prompted by Siva Nadarajah will not be the same as that prompted by MahaVishNu. To reach a true understanding of BEING who is beyond all these icons and which are themselves conditioned presentations of BEING and on His own accord, the disconstructions of the different metaphysical insights become necessary to reach the final Ground of no metaphysical discourse and of Deep Silence and in which is enjoyed Civanjanam, the Absolute Understanding and which is also the enjoyment of Moksa.

While Tirumular deals very extensively about these issues in the Firth Tantra, I just give one verse that neatly summarizes the essence;

1455.

pattan kiriyai cariyai payilivuRRuc

cutta aruLal turicu aRRu yookattil

uytta neRi uRRu uNarkinRa njaanattaal

cittam kuru aruLal civam aakumee

Meaning:

The Baktas, the mumuksus who practice the Cariya and Kriyai kinds ritual actions, will be cleansed of the mists and dirt in the mind by the inflow of Pure AruL (in the form of purifying and illumination light, the Lumen Naturale) This would lead them to a meditative way of life in which different metaphysical understanding that are spiritually uplifting (uytta neRi) will be gained and which will promote the way of metaphysical discourses (njaanam) As a result of such metaphysical investigations and discourses, BEING-as-Guru will disconstruct and eliminate the non-abiding, the asattu and bless the soul with Civanjanam( in the Language of Deep Silence) and transmute the self itself into the form of Siva Himself.

Note here that though such individuals are collectively called baktas or mumuksus, some subdivisions are possible: Cariyaavati, he who sees only rituals as meaningful, Kriyavati, he who sees only icon worship (with mantra recitals) as the most meaningful, the Yogis who lead a meditative way of life and finally the Njananies who are given over to metaphysical discourses and discussions.

In all these Tirumular emphasizes LOVE unto BEING and to all as important elements so that the authentic life does not degenerate into a life of arid Thinking, the cultivation of the discursive mind to the negligence of FEELING. Both the Natam of analytical intellect and Bindu of abounding Love must be cultivated as integral to Authentic Life of the baktas or Mumuksus.

The following two verses emphasize this point:

1488.

kiriyai yookaGkaL kiLar njaanapuucai

ariya Civan uru amarum, aruupam

teriyum paruvattu neerntidum puucai

uriyana neeyattu uyar puucaiyaamee

Meaning:

Among the prayers and worship (puucai) those which are done with LOVE unto all, will count as the higher and genuine kind (uyar puucai) Such Cariya Kiriya Yogam and the exciting Njanam types of worship, will bring about the establishment of the rare icon forms of BEING within the self and because of which the formless and invisible become elements of conscious understanding. Such disclosures of will take place in accordance with the appropriate stages of development of the individuals (paruvattu neerntidum)

Thus when the ritual actions are accompanied with love unto all, there will be important spiritual insights but all in stages and not immediately. The self has to acquire the appropriate development, a ripeness or maturity before becoming fit to be blessed with edifying metaphysical insights.

The very important place of LOVE, the functioning of the right hemispherical mind along with the left, is clearly spelt out in the following verse.

1456.

anbin urukuvan naaLum paNi cey ceyvan

cempon ceymeenik kamalt tiruvadi

munbu ninRu aaGkee mozivatu enakku aruL

enbinut cooti ilaGkukin Raanee

Meaning:

The true Mumuksu will melt with LOVE unto all. He will also do various kinds services to the people all day long. And standing in front of the icon of BEING of golden body with Lotus feet, he would seek only His Grace and nothing else. For such individuals BEING would arise as the Pure Light even within the bones.

In the next posting we shall look into the LOGIC underlying the movement of understanding from such rituals to philosophy or metaphysical discourses.

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-5

The Logic of Rituals.

We have seen authentic life begins with capturing and installing Moksa as the meaning of existence as a whole and which may be initially unconscious, cloudy, dusty, unclear and so forth. However with this begins a life of rituals and for the Saivites (and also Hindus as a whole) the temple going and worshipping the deities there. Even philosophically naive individuals who may not be able justify with reasons their way of life already have an implicit grasp of Moksa and its connection with ritual praxis. While such individuals may not be able give reasons and so forth, but the more matured who have gone that way and have attained greater clarity can provide such explanations and which shows that the movement of understanding from ritual actions to metaphysical thinking and finally enjoying Civanjanam in Deep Silence (moonam) has a LOGIC of its own and hence just as rational as any other though the expression of rationality may be different from that in the positive sciences. Agathiyar, the famous Tamil Siddha of perhaps 14^th cent AD has given the Logic of such a movement and we have to build upon it further clarities on the rationality implicit.

Against this when we explore the ways the different world religions go about their business one thing becomes clear. The notion of Sadhana is central to Agamic Hinduism and along with it the various rituals centered on idols and with the intention to gain direct visions of them. The Christians and Muslims are more worried about the Historical matters of various kinds. They do not install idols in their places of worship. They remain largely iconoclasts with thinking centering on Historical and Physical while the Agamic Hindus, in contrast, appear to be more Metaphysical. (Correct me if I am wrong in making such sweeping statements)  And because of this the TEMPLE becomes also very central. There are hundreds of books devoted to this and some of them are really outstanding. The most fascinating are those of the Siddhas who have developed this science of rituals as a scientific field of inquiry that I have termed Hermeneutic Semiotics. It is a science concerned with ENLARGING and DEEPENING the understanding of man and through that DEVELOP his personality. So for them rituals have a special significance here: they are the kind of human activities that OPEN UP the Metaphysical eyes and through that MAKE THEM SEE for themselves, the metaphysical world, the world where reside the deities. This world of the deities is the Heaven (what else can it be?)  and each time someone enters a Temple and gets fully absorbed into the world modeled by it, he gains a vision into the heavenly world of the gods and comes back refreshed, regenerated. The activities are classified into Sariyai Kiriyai Yogam and Njanam depending upon how CLOSE they take the person to BEING and hence to Moksa.

The famous Siddha Agattiyar in his " Paripaasaith Thiraddu-500" has inquired into the LOGIC of it and in this article I will explain it  and add here and there my own ideas. Here he uses the technical vocabulary of Indian Logic in a totally new way that appears to be quite bold and perhaps true to their original meaning. (The relevant verses are given below corrected for printing errors)

57.

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peecavee piramaaNam aRintoon cittan
    piramavuppaik kaNdvanee kuNacireettan
vaacitanai   oodaamal  maRitton cittan
    maayaitanai viddavanee mavunamuttan
puucaitanai aRintavanee kiriyai peRRoon
    puuvulakattoodu  iruntoon cariyai maarkkan
uucarattin  niir piritton tiidcai peRRoon
    ookookoo   njanamaelaam ulakutaanee


Only those who understand the axiomatic truths( piramaaNam) are the genuine Siddhas; and among these only those who have managed to SEE the Inner Radiance the  most excellent. The Siddha is also one who has installed the breathing processes as a permanent feature of his living. The genuine Muktas are those who have got rid off all illusions and delusions and having transcended TIME gets absorbed in the Deep Silence.  Those individuals still tied to earthly existence are the practitioners of Sariyai while those who understand the real import of Pujaas is the practitioner of Kiriyai. Those who have attained real diksas are those who have succeeded in separating the heavenly waters (the Ganges) from the earthly.  And you should know all these are in the world, in the  Metaphysical Depths covered up by the physical world.

58

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    ÀÃÁº¢ò¾÷ Á¨ÈÅ¡¸ô À¡Î á§Ä

ulakukutaR cariyaiyoo aruttaaRpatti
    uRRu  ninRa  kiriyai aitiikamaakum
pelamaana  yookam vaatam iraNdum
    peecuvaar upamaanap piramaaNattaal
nalamaana njaanamatee yataarttamaakum
    naangkum inta pirma kaRpattaalee yallaal
palapala yoosnai ceytu mayangkaveeNdaam
    paramacittar  maRaivaakap paadu nuulee

The movement of understanding of Sariyai, the rituals of those   still tied to the earthly existence is Aruttap Patti-- seeing the associated or the implicated; that of Kiriyai Aithiikam i.e. that in which the traditionally handed down is seen as valid. The  Logic of Yoga and Alchemy is that of Analogy or Imitation while that of Njanam is Yathaarttam, seeing TRUTH as it is in itself. The many treatiseî of the Siddhas speak of these matters only in a hidden way and hence don't waste your time thinking variously about their meanings. All these four means for genuine understanding are ultimately the products of PiramakaRpam, the Inner Radiance.

59.

áľ¢É¢ø ¦Àâ§Â¡÷ ¦º¡ø «Õò¾¡üÀò¾¢
    §¿¡ì¸Á¢øÄ¡Ð þÕó¾ì¸¡ø ºÃ¢¨Â¡Ìõ
Á¡ø¦ºöÔõ ÁÃó¾É¢§Ä §Àö ¯ñ¦¼ýÚ
    ÁÉòÐ ¯¾¢ò¾¡ø ³¾£¸Á¡Ìõ
§Áø ¯Å¨Á Á¨Ã ÀÍô§À¡ø ±ýÈø, §Â¡¸õ
    Å¢º¡Ã¨É¡ø  À¢Ã¢Ôõ úš¾§Å¨Ä
¸¡Ä¸Õ ¦ÅÉì ¸¡ñ¼ø À¢Ãò¾¢Âðºõ
    ¸¾¢¸Õ ¦ÁöﻡÉõ ±Éì ¸¡½Ä¡§Á

nuulatanil periyoorkaL col aruttaapatti
    nookkamillaatu   iruntakkaal cariyaiyaakum
maalceyyum  marantanilee  peey uNdenRu
    manattu utittaal aitiikamaakum
meel uvamai    marai pacupool enRal, yookam
    visaaranaiyaal   piriyum rasavaataveelai
kaalakaru venek kaaNdal  pirattiyadcam
    katitaru meynjnaanam enak  kaaNalaamee

Among the scriptures, if the utterances of the wise when  noted with respect to their genuine intentions then it is Aruttapatti  and if such an orientation is not available then the study is simply a Sariyai.  Within this when there is some disturbance or  annoyance,  getting clear of it through seeking the interpretations traditionally handed down  is Aitiikam. When the meaning is sought through similitude in different scriptures then Analogy is used as the measure just like saying : the unseen  wild deer "marai"  is said to be something known i.e. the cow. Yoga comes when  understanding through philosophical thinking separates itself from the earthly ties and fuses itself  into metaphysical.  The alchemical thinking begins when it is realized all the mental productivity is related Temporality. The Prattiyatcam, the SEEING that breeds apodictic certainty issues  forth when the mysterious BEING that generates all is seen in its essence i.e. TRUTH

60

¬Ì§Á Ò¨¸Â¾¨Éì ¸ñÎ ¦ÅöÂ
    «ì¸¢É¢ ¯ñÎ ±ýÀЧŠ«ÛÁ¡Éó¾¡ý
§À¡Ìõ þó¾ô À¢ÃÁ¡½òÐ «ÛÀÅò¨¾ô
    Ò¸Ö¸¢§Èý ÒÄò¾¢Â§É Òò¾¢Â¡ì §¸û
§º¡¸Á¢øÄ¡ «ì¸¢É¢§Â ¿¸¡Ã åÀó
    àħÁ «ÛÁ¡ÉÁ¡Ìõ À¢ñ¼
§¾¸§Á Ò¨¸Â¡É¡ø Ò¨¸¨Â ®ýÈ
    ¾£ì¸¡ð¼õ «í¦¸ý§È ¦¾Ã¢óÐ ¦¸¡û§Ç

aakumee pukaiyatanaik kandu veyya
    akkini uNdu enpatuvee anumaanataan
pookum inta piramaanattu anubavattaip
    pukalukiReen pulattiyanee puttiyaak keeL
cookamillaa akkiniyee nakaara ruupam
    tuulamee anumaanamaakum piNda
teekamee pukaiyaanaal  pukaiyai
tiikkaaddam angkenRu terintu koLLee

Furthermore the inductive reasoning available is something like concluding the reality of fire as the real cause of smoke that is seen.   Now Pulattiya listen carefully! I will expand a bit on this .  Inducting is going from the visible  to the invisible but which is there as the cause of the visible. In this manner if you take the body as the smoke certainly there must be the FIRE as that hidden in wood as the REAL CAUSE of the bodily structure.  This metaphysical fire stands there always as the mantra-type Nakaaram.

====================

He goes on to explicate further. But the above verses are enough to make some conclusions. He deals with TWO kinds of rituals-- a) the various kinds of acts of worship and b) that of scriptural studies. He sees the same kind of Logic in both.

Let us see what he says about the practical rituals.

The Sariyai are the ritual praxis of the concrete type and are the rituals of those who cannot tear themselves away totally from worldly physical concerns and get ABSORBED into the realms of the Metaphysical even though they see a metaphysical MEANING for their actions. However the rituals they practice gives them an INTUITION of the metaphysical and perhaps also Moksa. The acts themselves through some kind of IMPLICATION, an associated linkage initiates ENTRY into metaphysical world where the Moksa as the meaning of existence as a whole inheres. What they attain is Salookam-- being somehow at least for a few moments in the heavenly world of the gods with an existential grasp of the possibility of Moksa.

However when they are better able to extricate themselves from the earthly and manage to get absorbed in the heavenly world and attach themselves to a Deity there, then begins Kiriyai, the recitation of mantras and so forth directed at a Deity or deities. The metaphysical world becomes something close by-- samiipiyam, something more intimate; something they understand better and with seeing oneself as capable of enjoying Moksa.

Then begins Yoga and the Alchemical where attempts are made to fuse with the Deity and for that reason dissociate themselves from the worldly concerns, at least during those moments of prayer.  It is total ABSORPTION into Deity-form so that the deity within emerges to the fore and takes hold of the individual's Being -in- the - World, begins to LIVE as the one who is that deity itself. This is something like Upamaanam, an Analogy, a similitude, trying to be something like the Deity one worships through imitatio and with that effect self-purification self-transformation etc. It is fusion into the image of the Deity worshipped that is Yoga, the self- transformations or metamorphoses that results make it also alchemical. For this reason it is also called Saruuppiyam-- becoming the same as the Deity in Form

The Njaanam is said to be Yataarttam, a term not available in Indian Logic. However it is the Sayucciyam, the highest state that one can attain only through seeing TRUTH absolved of the mythical and metaphorical clothing. BEING is seen as it is itself and which is possible only through intense Metaphysical Thinking, the kind of thinking that seeks to understand BEING. Philosophical discourse becomes the main activity with prayer worship, the study of scriptures and so forth transcended; they are rituals internalized as the mental. The chief concern is gaining Civanjanam, which remains the Deep Structure of all genuine metaphysical thinking but as the Deep Structure of all, also that which requires FREEING oneself even from Metaphysics.

The MEANING of metaphysical discourses and disputes is to FREE self even from metaphysics and hence even THINKING and hence absorbing oneself in Deep Silence, the Cutta Moonam.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-6

The Individual and Developmental Psychology

So far we have seen that there is already as part of cosmos an evolutionary dynamics where the creatures are taken unknown to themselves in an evolutionary ladder that culminates in they enjoying Moksa. The individuals who understand this become Mumuksu or the Baktas and when they live as for attaining and enjoying this Moksa, then they begin to live the most AUTHENTIC life as it is constituted by the abiding MEANING existence has for anyone. This leads to the notion of Evolutionary Psychology that we have seen begins with Ritual Praxis and ends with Metaphysical Thinking that centers on deconstructions and all towards transcending even Metaphysical Thinking as such and enter the realms of Deep Silence and at which point the Civanjanam, the Absolute Understanding also becomes the understanding of the self.

But this Evolutionary Psychology is very global - it applies to all creatures equally and while it describes the overall unity of all, does not explain the DIFFEENCES that exists among them. Among the creatures there are differences in the scale of evolution itself - the human beings as a whole by virtue of the sixth sense they enjoy and with which the linguistic competence comes along, are higher than others including the monkeys that are closely related to them. Also among the human beings there are HIERARCHAL differences in which some are certainly higher in personal development compared to others and as shown by their dispositions. The better-developed individuals are more LOVING and CARING than the less developed and so forth.

To account for these aspects of human personality, great scholars like Tirumular and many Siddhas throughout India have worked out a distinct Developmental Psychology and in the next few postings we shall be concerned with this kind of Psychology.

To begin with we should recall the following verses of Tirumular:

4. Cataaciva LiGkam º¾¡º¢Å þÄ¢í¸õ

39

1746.

Á¡ý ¿ó¾¢ ±ò¾¨É ¸¡Äõ «¨Æ츢Ûõ

¾¡ý ¿ó¾¢ «ïº¢ý ¾É¢îͼáö ¿¢üÌõ

¸¡ø ¿ó¾¢ ¯ó¾¢ ¸¼óÐ ¸ÁÄò¾¢ý

§Áø ¿ó¾¢ ´ýÀ¾¢ý §ÁÅ¢ ¿¢ýÈ¡§É !

¯¨Ã:

¦ÀÕõ ¿ó¾¢Â¡¸¢Â º¾¡º¢Å¨Ã ±ò¾¨É ¸¡Äõ ¦ÅÇ¢ôÀðÎ ¸¡ðº¢ ¾ÕÁ¡Ú «¨Æ츢Ûõ ¦¾¡Ø¾¢Ûõ, «Åý ¾¡ý ¾¡É¡¸ ¿¢üÀ¦¾¡Î ±ýÚ ³õÓ¸í¸§Ç¡Îõ ¡мÛõ ¸ÄôÒüÚõ ¿¢ü¸¡Ð ¾É¢îͼḧŠ¿¢üÀý. þÉ¢ «Å¨É ¾Ã¢º¢ì¸ §ÅñΦÁÉ¢ø, Å¡º¢§Â¡¸õ ¦ºöÐ ÀìÌÅò¾¢ø ¯ó¾¢ ¯ó¾¢ ¸£Æ¡É ¬¾¡Ãò ¾Äí¸¨Çì ¸¼óÐ ¯îº¢Â¢ý ¬Â¢ÃÅ¢¾ú ¾¡Á¨Ã¢ý ¾Äò¨¾ «¨¼ó¾¡ø, «íÌ ´ýÀÐ §ÁÄ¡É ¦¾öÅ ÅÊÅí¸Ç¡¸¢Â À¢ÃÁ¡¾¢¸Ç¡¸ §ÁÅ¢ ¿¢üÀ¨¾ì ¸¡½Ä¡õ.

39

1746

maan Nanti ettanai kaalam azaikkinum

taan Nanti anjcin taniccudaraay niRkum

kaal anati unti kadantu kamalattin

meel Nanti onpatin meevi ninRaanee!

Meaning:

Cataaciva the Great Bull, no matter how long you call and pray to disclose Himself, He wouldn’t and standing austere and aloof He will be there with the five faces as a Radiant Reality on His own. Now however if you want to witness Him directly, practicing breath control you have to ascend the various metaphysical realms and reach the peak where lie the Lotus of Thousand Petals. There He would present Himself as the Deep Structure of the nine root archetypes of Brahma and so forth.

40

1747.

´ýȢ šÚõ ¯¼Ä¢Û¼ý ¸¢¼óÐ

±ýÚõ ±õ ®ºý ¿¼ìÌõ þÂøÀÐ

¦¾ý¾¨ÄìÌ ²Èò ¾¢ÕóÐ º¢ÅÉÊ

¿¢ýÚ ¦¾¡Ø§¾ý ±ý ¦¿ïº¾¢ý ¯û§Ç!

¯¨Ã:

þùÅ¡Ú ´ýÀÐ ¦¾öÅ ÅÊÅí¸Ç¢ø ®ºý ¯Â¢§Ã¡Î §ÅÈüÚ ´ýÈ¢ÂÅ¡Úõ ¯¼Ä¢ý ¯¼ý ¡ñÎõ À¢Ã¢Â¡Ð ¸¢¼óÐ «¨Éò¨¾Ôõ ¿¼¡òÐõ þÂøÀÐ Å¡Ìõ. þùÅ¡Ú «Åý þÂí¸ «¾É¡ø ¿¡¾ Å¢óÐì¸û ºó¾¢Ã ÝâÂÉ¡¸ ±ØóÐ ¾¨Ä¢ý ¦¾ýÒÃÁ¡¸¢Â À̾¢ìÌ Óиó¾ñÊý ÅƢ¡¸ ²È¢î ¦ºøÄ, ¾¢Õó¾¢Â ¦¾ûÇȢŢý º¢ÅÉʨ §¿Ã¢ø ±ý ¦¿ïºò¾¢§Ä§Âì ¸ñÎ ¦¾¡ØÐ ¿¢ý§Èý ¸¡ñ!

40

1747

onRiya vaaRum udalinudan kidantu

enRum em iican nadakkum iyalpatu

tentalaikku eeRat tiruntu civanadi

ninRu tozuteen en nenjcatin uLLee

Meaning:

It is the essence of Cataaciva to assume the nine forms of the root archetypes and with that staying one with the soul and body, manage everything. As He functions in these forms, the Natam and Bindu in the form of Sun and Moon ascend through the spinal cord towards the southern parts of the brain. When this happens I also begin to witness the Feet of Civa in clear light within my heart itself whereby I remain worshipping thus.

Cataaciva with His five faces is austere, aloof and distant and because of which he causes the anmas to move towards Him. His austerity itself becomes the factor that motivates the anmas to struggle hard like climbing up a steep hill and ascend to a metaphysical location where He can be witnessed. Thus comes to be there the developmental aspects of the anmas where they ascend from Mulatara Cakra to the Aknja and then to the Brahmarantiram above it where resides the Lotus of Thousand Petals. It is here that Cataaciva becomes witnessable but not as He Himself is but only in terms of His major presentational forms of nine root archetypes: Brahma, VishNu, Makeswara, Rudra, Cataaciva, Bindu, Natam, Sakti and Sivam. The True Cataaciva or ParaCiva remains the Deep Structure of these root archetypal forms.

ParaCiva is always with the soul and body but only in these presentational forms or avatars. There is no place and time when BEING is NOT with the souls and body functioning actively so that there is metaphysical illuminations because of which the Light of Clarity, the Lumen Naturale ascends the body through the spinal cord and reaches the southern part of the brain and where is located the aaNavam, the Dark Stuff that not only blinds the soul but also causes its death in various ways. When the CiRsakti, the Lumen Naturale reaches this part of the brain, the presence of aaNavam is also eliminated from the body and soul and because of which the Dancing Presence of BEING Himself becomes witnessable within, from the ways the soul gets illuminated and purified.

Thus there is already the PULL of the metaphysically DISTANT Cataaciva, especially the face of Icaanam that installs inner pressures towards Moksa and which works on the anmas to ASCEND and LIFT themselves up so that the anma undergoes alchemical transformations or metamorphoses not physically now but spiritually.

In this psychic metamorphoses DIFFERENCES come to prevail with some having gone further than others and in that also have developed spiritually more. Thus there comes to prevail hierarchical differences among individuals despite the fact all are EQUAL in being mumuksus, people desirous of Moksa and nothing else.

We shall see some details next.

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-7

The Cakras as Existential Abodes in the Metaphysical Journey

The Individual and Developmental Psychology is an expression of the overall Evolutionary Psychology into which all creatures remain already thrown in even though at times they may resist going along with it. However when they acknowledge it by killing their arrogance and submit themselves to be taken along by BEING unto Himself by an inward pull that is magnetic in essence (as said by MeykaNdar), the anmas move in an ascendant metaphysical journey and in that process acquiring different personalities. We have fist of all the naive baktas and who are in the existential world of Mulatara Cakra. Then perhaps we have the Brahmanahs, people given over to be the disciples of Brahma, the deity of the Swastina and where Brahma is also known as Veetan, the deity of the scriptures. Such individuals are the scholarly given over to study of scriptures and related arts, including the fine arts as the KalaivaaNi is also here as the spouse of Brahma.

Next, when they move into MaNipuurakam where Tirumaal enjoys his ARituyil or Yoganidra, we have Siddhas type of individuals with their Third Eye also opened up. They enjoy transductive perception and SEE with their mental eyes the icons and so forth and hence indulge in Icon Thinking. Progress in this way of life opens up Anakatam, the existential realms of Sannyasam and where begins the genuine TuRavu, singing to ashes all the worldly bondages. The Saffron robes they wear are symbolic of the Fire of Rudra burning within and purifying them of all worldly bondages.

A person emerges as a genuine Civanjani when he enters the next Vicutti Cakra and enjoys the blessings of Makeswara and Maheswari. It is here that Civanjanam that provides Moksa begins to glow becoming more and more resplendent as the higher Aknja Cakra is accessed. It is at this point where the ruling deity is Cataaciva Himself, a person can become a genuine Guru, one capable of imparting Civanjanam to others.

Before we look into this kinesis and how different personalities are forged by various metaphysical elements, let us see what Pookar (4th.cent AD?) a famous Siddha has to say about these Cakras.

¸¡½¡¾ Á¡÷ì¸õ ±øÄ¡õ ¸¡Ïõ §¿Ã¡öì

¸Ê¾¡É Ó¨Éã츢ø ¸Êó¾¡ø §ºÕõ

°½¡§¾ °½¢½¡ø À¢¼Ã¢ì Ìû§Ç

¯üÚôÀ¡÷ ¯Ú¾¢¦Â¡Î ¯Ã¢¨Áì ¸¡Ïõ

§¸¡½¡¾ Ìñ¼Ä¢ §Â¡¸ò¨¾ §¿¡ì¸¢ì

Ü÷óÐÀ¡÷ À¾¢¦É¡ýÚõ ´ýÚõ ¸¡Ïõ

¿¡½¡§¾ ¿Î¨ÁÂõ §¿¡ì¸¢ ¨¸¸¡ø

¿üº¢ÅÁ¡õ ¯Õò¾¢Ãý ¾¡ý §¸¡Ê À¡Û (80)

80.

When you mediate keeping your gaze upon the tip of your nose and then ascending, you will be able see directly the metaphysical routes that have not been seen by you before. Without discarding the fleshy body as useless look deep into it especially the spinal region where you will witness the metaphysical depths that actually belong to you. Practicing the ever-straight KuNdalini Yoga, gaze intensively into the Depths with the energy provided by it and you will see the twelve divisions of Bindu over there. And if your persist without withdrawing from such attempts and see the center of it all, not only your limbs will become that of Siva Himself but you will also witness the Rudra as a Radiant Reality with a brightness of millions of suns together.

§¸Ù¿£ ãÄò¾¢üÌ ÁðÎõ Ÿ¡Ãò¨¾ì

¸£ú§À¡üÈ¢î º¢¸¡Ãò¨¾ô §À¡¸¡Áø §Ãº¢

¿£Ù¿£ §Ãº¢òÐô ââòÐô À¡÷

¿¢÷ÁÄÁ¡í Ìñ¼Ä¢Â¢ø ¿ó¾¢ ¸¡Ïõ

Å¡Ù¿£ ¿ó¾¢ ÅóРźɢô À¡ÃôÀ¡

Á¸ò¾¡É º¢ò¾¢ ¦ÂðÎõ »¡Éó¾¡Ûõ

¿¡Ù¿£ Å¡º¢¨ÅòÐ Áó¾¢Ã Á¸¡Ãò¨¾

¿ÄÁ¡¸ì ¸ñÊ𧼠¿¡ðÊ ¼¡§Â (82)

82.

With using the mantra vakaaram for regressing into Muulam, the Original Ground of all, breathe in deeply without letting go the mantra cikaaram. If you persist inhaling exhaling thus you will be able to see BEING-as-the Bull inside the Pure KuNdalini Power. Now if you continue in that vision Nanti, BEING-as-the Bull, will decent upon you and in fact converse with you and instruct you. With this not only you can enjoy Civanjanam but also the eightfold Siddhies or Powers. And to unite with them keep the mantra makaaram with your breath and bind your vision with that.

¿¡ðʧ ãÄò¨¾ò ¾¡ñÊôÀ¢ý

¿ÄÁ¡É ¸ïºÉÐ À¾¢Â¢ø ÜÊ

µðʧ «¸¡Ãò¨¾ ¯Úò¾¢ §¿¡ì¸¢

´Ç¢Â¡É º¢¸¡Ãò¾¡ø ¯û§Ç §Ãº¢

À¡ðʧ Àñ¼¡É À¢ÈÅ¢ ¿£íÌõ

ÀñÀ¡É ¿¡ýÓ¸¨Éì ¸ñ¼¾¡§Ä

Á¡ðʧ ¸ïºÉÐ À¾¢¨Âò ¾¡ñÊ

Á¡Ä¢ÕìÌõ À¾¢ä§¼ ÁÕÅ¢ ¿¢ø§Ä ( 83)

83.

Practicing KuNdalini Yoga without wavering you must transcend the Muulam, the Original Ground and accessing the realms of Brahma, be one with Him. Here disengaging from the mantra akaaram, and with keeping the mantra cikaaram of Pure Radiance, breathe more deeply within. If you succeed in this you will be able to free yourself from existential repetition and all because you have seen directly Brahma, the God of all creations. Now next go past this realm of Brahma and accessing that of VishNu, stay put there.

ÁÕÅ¢§Â «¸¡Ãò¨¾ ¯ðââòÐ

Á¡¾Å¡õ º¢¸¡Ãò¨¾ ¯û§Ç §Ãº¢

ÀÕÅ¢§Â Àﺿ¨Ã ±øÄ¡õ §À¡ì¸¢ô

À¡ÄÛÁ¡öô À¾¢É¡Ú ÅÂÐ ¬Å¡ö

¯ÕÅ¢§Â Á¡ø¸¼óÐ Õò¾¢Ãý À¾¢Â¢ø

¯½÷Å¡É Å¡º¢¨Â¿£ ¯Úò¾¢ò ¾¡ìÌ

¾ÕÅ¢§Â º¢¸¡Ãò¨¾ ¯û§Ç §Ãº¢

º¼ó¾¡Ûõ º¢Åô§À¡Êî º¢ò¾¢ ¡§Á (84)

84.

Here in the realms of VishNu, inhaling the mantra akaaram, practice ardently the breathing in of the mantra cikaaram that provides the immense inner Radiance. Once you succeed in this all the five marks of old age will disappear and you will recover your youthful vitality whereby you will be again a sixteen year old youth. Now going beyond even this realm of VishNu let you consciousness be in the realms of Rudra inhaling again the cikaaram of immense brilliance. Then you will see that your body becomes resplendent gold.

In these very rare verses Pokar outlines the practice of KuNdalini Yoga whereby the natural alchemical processes can be made to work on the body and with that conquer old age and premature death. It appears that youthful vitality is recoverable provided we take the appropriate metaphysical journeys, and which involve accessing the worlds of Brahma and then VishNu and then that Siva.

Pookar in fact describes the metaphysical journey of the anma from Mulataram Swatisdanam MaNipuurakam to Anakatam in that access assimilate and transcend the realms of Brahma (Swatisdanam), then access assimilate and transcend the realms of VishNu (MaNipuurakam) and then access and remain in Anakatam, the realms of Rudra and where all the obstacles towards regaining youthful vitality are burnt off and the anma made pure. But this is not the end of the journey - there are even higher states to be attained and enjoyed and which are described below.

º¢ò¾¢Â¡õ ¯Õò¾¢Ãó¾ý À¾¢¨Âò ¾¡ñÊò

¦¾Ç¢Å¡É Á§¸ºÉÐ À¾¢Â¢ø ÒìÌ «íÌ

«ò¾¢Â¡õ Ÿ¡Ãò¨¾ «¨ºÂ¡Áø ââòÐ

«¾üÌû§Ç º¢¸¡Ãò¨¾ ¯û§Ç §Ãº¢

Àò¾¢Â¡õ ÅÂÐÀ¢û¨Ç ¡šö ¿£¾¡ý

À¸÷ ¯ûÇõ ¨¸¦¿øÄ¢ì ¸É¢§À¡ Ä¡Ìõ

Ðò¾¢Â¡õ º¢Å§Â¡¸õ ¨ÅòÐô À¡Õ

ÐÊÂ¡É ÌÇ¢¨¸ ±øÄ¡õ ÍÃì¸Ä¡§Á (85)

85.

Having accessed and lived in the realms of Rudra, now you must transcend it and enter the clear and resplendent realms of Mahesan and there you must breathe retaining the mantra vakaaram and inhale within the mantra cikaaram. Not only will you recover your youthful vitality but also gain the clearest understanding of self whereby your anma will be under your control as the fruit nelli in your palms. And when you practice Civayoga here, you will be able to cause the inward flow of all living regenerating medicines or alchemical stuff.

ÍÚì¸¡É Á§¸ÍÃý ¾ý À¾¢¨Âò ¾¡ñÊî

Ýúó¾ º¾¡º¢Åò¨¾ ¸¡¨Ä °ýÈ¢

ÁÚ측¾ º¢¸¡Ãò¨¾ ¨ÅòÐ §¿¡ìÌ

Á¸ò¾¡É º¢ò¦¾¡Î ¸ÁÉ Á¡Ìõ

¦ºÚ측¾ Á§É¡ýÁ½¢ Á¡¾¡Å¢ý À¡¾õ

¾¢ÈÁ¡É Å¡º¢¨Åò¾ Àʧ À¡÷ì¸

¦ÅÚ측¾ ¦Áï»¡É ¿¢Ã¡¸¡ Ãó¾¡ý

¦ÁöÂ¡É Å¡º¨É¾Ûõ ¿£ ¡§Á (86)

86.

Now transcending the brief realms of Makeswara, gain darsanas of the enveloping Cataaciva establishing yourself firmly in the yoga of breath control and with the mantra cikaaram that does not negate the world. If you look deeply then you will be able to enjoy all the great Siddhies or psychic powers including that of traveling free in space (as species of out of body experiences) Now if you, without relaxing in the Yoga of breath control, concentrate on the Divine Feet of ManonmaNi, the Half of Cataaciva and who installs LOVE supreme, you will be able to enjoy Civanjanam that removes alienation from your heart and whereby you will to have the true fragrance of self

¿£Â¡É ÌÕÀ¾ò¾¢ø ¿¢ýÈ¡ ¡ɡø

¿£Î º¢Å§Â¡¸¦ÁÛõ Å¡º¢ °ðÎõ

¾¡Â¡É âýÓõ º¸Ä ¾Ã¢ºÉÁ¡õ

º¾Á¡É Ÿ¡Ãº¢¸¡Ãò¾¢ý Á¡÷ì¸õ

Å¡Â¡É ÅŠòШÅò ¾¡ý ¨ÅòÐõ ¬í§¸

Á¾¢§Â¡§¼ À¡÷ Áɾ¢ø Á¸ò¾¡õ º¢ò¾¢

¾£Â¡É ¿£ì¸ Å¢¼ÁüÚ ¿¢ýÚ

º¢Èó¾¢Îõ âýó¾¡ý º¢òÐÅ¡§Á (87)

87.

If you stand firm with this supreme self-understanding well established and hence as the genuine Guru, the everlasting Civayoga will begin to regulate your breathing. The Mother, the Full Integral Whole will provide all the darsanas. This is the way of mantras vakaaram and cikaaram that will ensure that you will live up to a hundred years. Now you gaze further with this true object well entrenched in your thoughts, you will attain great Siddhies in your mind. All evil stuff will be removed and removing all the poisonous stuff within as well, the Integral Whole will become a reality within you.

The Overall Meaning:

The above verses of Pookar explain the essences of KuNdalini Yoga, which is the metaphysical journey of the anma in which it moves along the Cuzi Munai Nadi, the psychotropisms constituted both by Natam and Bindu where they act jointly and without ever separating out. This is also called the Way of the Spinal Cord. When one practices the Cataaciva Niddai where the eyes remain focused upon the tip of the nose, and through the transductive perceptions the hidden metaphysical realms or the world of the mantras are accessed, NEW metaphysical possibilities also become intuitable with increasing clarity. In such a journey BEING also appears in Radiant Reality and with a brilliance of millions of suns together. When one keeps well this brilliance that is the mantra syllable cikaaram, practice the Yoga of breath control, inhaling exhaling and retaining this cikaaram, and thereby attain more and more of metaphysical illuminations, the BEING-as-BULL (Nanti) would appear within the KuNdalini Sakti, and transforming the anma into Cakalar and so forth, would instruct the anma on Civanjanam.

Now when an anma allows itself to be thus illuminated, there will be shifts in the existential realms from the lower to higher and all because of the Grace of BEING. In the first existential realms, the Muulatara Cakra, we have Vinayaka with Siddhies and Buddies on gaining which the anma enters the Realm of Brahma, the Swatisdanam and because of which a deep desire for scriptural and related understanding develops. The success here opens up the realms of VishNu, the MaNipuurakam and where the transductive perception or Yoga Nidra, seeing though dreams and related experiences, become possible. There is bathing in the Ocean of Milk that provides the necessary Psychic Energy for such cognitively demanding experiences. Then comes Anakatam, the realms of Rudra and Rudri and where through an intense burning, the anmas are purified of all filth and dirt and made absolutely pure. This psychic purity also makes it possible the regaining of youthful vitality. The body, on account of the prevalence of the golden mantra-syllable cikaaram, also shines forth as golden.

When the anma progresses further inhaling the radiance providing mantra-syllable cikaaram, it accesses the metaphysical realms of Vicutti where resides Makeswara with Maheswari. Here with the youthful vitality regained, the anma will execute extraordinary feats and with that also satiating deep desires and getting rid of them with that. While in Anakatam, the Malam was removed, here the Transcendental Concealment, the Tirotakam is begun to be destroyed and with that the understanding made more transparent and pure with very little that is concealed or hidden. The anma also becomes an Integral Whole in virtue of the extraordinary actions it effects. This is also the location where the alchemical stuff that transforms the body into something diamond-like, begin to flow into the body.

Now transcending even this and accessing the Aknja Cakra, one will witness Cataaciva with His consort ManonmaNi who will remove the remaining concealments so that the whole of consciousness becomes Civanjanam or Cutta Caitanyam and nothing else. There begins to be Absolute Understanding and because of which nothing remains mystical or bewildering. At this point the anma also begins to enjoy Moksa.

Since at this point all the poisonous stuff is removed as impurities, as Tirumular has noted, the body becomes alchemically transformed from being like copper into being like gold.

Such accounts as this are available quite extensively in the many books of Civanjanies and Siddhas. Please consult them to get more details.

Personalities and the Faces of Cataaciva-8

Learning, Moksa and Personal Development

One of the most endearing part of at least Tamil Saivism and perhaps Saivism as a whole is that it incorporates PEDAGOGY and hence LEARNING as the most important part of religious life. Let us recall that while metaphysical life begins with rituals, it ends up in metaphysical discourses with de-construction as the central methodology and all in the interest to freeing oneself from falsities and shine forth only in truth. Let us also recall that there is already a evolutionary dynamics in the objective world and as instituted by the Five faces of Cataaciva and in which the face Icaanam installs the desire for Moksa and hence the very MEANING of existence and that only when it is existentially appropriated hat we have the Developmental Psychology in which a person enjoys different personalities - the naive Bakta, Brahmanah, Siddha, Civanjani and so forth and ending up as the Mouni, the Deeply Silent and hence also the Mukta, the absolutely liberated.

Here we must note that Saiva Siddhanta perhaps as a critique of the various kinds idealistic thinking both the Buddhist and Vedantic is very clear on the basic issues of philosophy viz. that of Ontology and Existentialism. The question of ontology, what is really there? has become that of Fundament Ontology: what are in fact anati? i.e. that objects which are not configured to be present but which go into the configuration of all. It is here that it is declared that Pati Pacu Paacam are anati i.e. BEING the anmas and finitizing fetters are anati and which contrasts with the Advaitic notion that only Brahman is real, “eekam sat” and hence all else a kind of mental constructions and so forth, not absolutely real. Meykandar maintains that the meaning of ‘eekam’ is that “onRee pati”, BEING is ONE and not many and that the anmas, in declaring thus are in fact independent sentient entities but infected with malam and hence finite in understanding.

This question is different from: What is MEANING of existence as a whole? And which cannot be answered without first settling the ontological. The Meaning of Existence is Moksa on attaining which the anma enjoys advaita with BEING, a qualitative sameness with BEING, a non-alien way of Being-in-the-World, of existing. Thus being in an advaitic union with BEING becomes the GOAL of existence, that towards which one must move in the spiritual exercises. This union with BEING that is Moksa does not in any affect the Fundamental Ontology . that Pati Pacu and Paacaans are anati

Thus a movement of self comes to prevail and in which the divine essence flows into the being of the creatures transmuting them alchemically into various kinds of higher species as have noted above and in the limit transmuting them into the Mouni.

When we go into the depths of this developmental movement of the mind in which the different personalities are forged and in which the later are also higher, we can see that it is not simply a magical process with Zen-like flashes erupting and lifting up the soul into the higher evolutionary realms.

Let me summarize here what I have said in considerable detail in my Azivil UNmai (Tamil) where I understand this upward movement in terms of the notion of gaining visions deeper and more inclusive and enjoying darsanas into the hidden realms by breaking through the various fetters or vision-blockers, the Mummalam, aaNavam, Kanmam and Maayai.

At the beginning we have the normal vision where the self sees only with the sense organs of the eyes nose ears and so forth, the PoRiliyak Kaadci where only those objects accessible to the senses and their instrumental extensions are seen and the rest either rejected as fantasies or simply as non-existent. Even the most sophisticated positivistic scientific thinking does not break through this shell and suffers from certain blindness, an inability to see beyond the sensory world. When we take LEARNING as an activity that destroys ignorance we can see that the ignorance destroyed here do not go beyond the physical- it does not go beyond the physical and access the metaphysical even hidden in the physical. . Now when such a person intuits somehow the possibility of Moksa as the very meaning of existence as a whole, he moves in the direction of Swatisdanam from Mulatara Cakra and now equipped with the Hermeneutic Eyes, the Nuuliyap Paarvai, becomes the Brahmanah, the artists and so forth where they can also see the World of Word Meanings, the realms of semantic and semiotic objects which are there in the world but as the Deep Structure of the visible things. When such visions further deepen and become the transductive perception, the Nutaliyap Paarvai, the Visions of the Third Eye, even scriptural studies become superfluous. The icons underlying the semantic and semiotic become directly visible and which issues forth in Icon Thinking. The archetypes are no more elements of stone and metal sculptures, simply figures in the puraNic tales but rather just as real if not more real than the trees hills and rivers. The burst of the innate capacity for Transductive Perceptions transmutes the whole personality so that he becomes the humble Bakta or Siddha a Mystic learning not from gurus scriptures and so forth but rather as taught by BEING Himself through the various icon presentations. This is he kind of stuff that we see in the Tevaram Divvya Prabantam corpus where hymns are products of such direct encounters and Icon Thinking that ensues.

Because in such learning there is freeing of the ignorance of the soul regarding its own unconscious, we can see that there is freeing of the anmas from Karma itself.

Now we have only the aaNava Malam as the stuff that blocks off the vision and breeds ignorance. Now when the anma enters Anakatam emerging from the MaNipuurakam of Yoganidra, this is what happens. BEING as the Burning Fire, the Rudra emerges here and destroys the aaNavam and thereby makes the soul PURE and hence fit to enter the Vicukti Cakra and so forth. The visions that come to be are the Civanjanak Kaadci, visions that combine Love with Universality. It is at this point that a person acquires a personality in which he sees no difference among people even if there are and is imbued with LOVE unto all.

Without anymore the presence of aaNavam and hence without any kind of atomicity in thinking he moves in a universal plane of existence, functioning with true objectivity and justice. The only thing preventing his enjoying the Sameness with BEING or the Sudhadvaita relationship BEING, an inseparable union with BEING so that the feeling of alienness does not arise at all is the Transcendental Concealment, a Play of BEING where He conceals Himself from the anma even of such a ripe type.

Now at the limiting point when even this concealment, the MaRaippu, is no more, Moksa bursts upon the anma and its need to be born again and again sundered once for all. It dies the final death; never to be born again as the need for births is no more there as part of its constitution.

But the cosmic processes will continue as usual for there are other anmas countless in number to be taken also on this evolutionary ladder and towards Moksa.

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