Did I ever find fault in the composition of great men?

“I shall tell thee now Oh my Mother The path to attain Bliss.

Thou shalt worship Nandi , Thirumoolar ,

Kalangi , Bhogar of Nada, Sakthi Chidambaram,

Pray Satta Muni, Kongana the great, pray merrily Karuvoorar, Anandar These have found path to Bliss

If thou pray in unison all these Oh! my Mother Even the atheist will find the result

Revealed thus I what I saw”

St. Azhugannar 6

The above lyric was written by St. Azhugannar as means to advancement in Spirituality. He tells the clear path to Bliss. If the spiritualist want to get Bliss, they shall pray unto the lotus feet of the Gnanis who have attained Bliss like Nandeesar, Thirumoolar, Kalangi nathar, Bhogar, Satta Munivar, Kongana Maharishi, Karuvoor Devar and Sundaranandar and take

Blessings. All the sins of past births are removed and become cleansed personalities, undertake extraordinary spiritual practice and attain the Bliss of deathless great life.

Thus advises St. Azhugunni Chittar, the spiritual means to attain Bliss.

“Thou shalt wear holy ash worshipping Moola, his son Bogar And his son Karuvoorar!

It is not intelligible to the living beings

In towns and villages and to Saints and Sidhas;

Do not think it as a meaningless verse; it is never like that, Crores may be the fee they offer

Disclose not thou this hidden secret to the world”

St. Sattamuni Nathar 10

When the saivaites wear sacred ash in their forehead, they chant Om Namashivaya, Vigneswara, Vinayaga and Muruga. When the Vaishnavaites wear tridental mark in their forehead they chant Om Namo Narayana, Krishna, and Rama .This is their custom. In this verse St. Sattai muni advises to wear holy ash keeping in mind Saint Thirumoolar his son Saint Kalingar nathar, his son Saint Bogar, and his son Saint Karuvoorar and chanting their names.

All the above four Saints are very great Gnanis.St. Sattai muni is also a very great Gnani and he would not have advised as above without a valid reason behind it .

The Gnanis are those who have realized the Omniscient and the Omnipresent Almighty in their own” self “and worshipped them.

Gnanis are those who have merged with omniscient and God, without any difference between them and God. Such Gnanis and God are one only. Wearing sacred ash in the forehead, keeping in mind the God Almighty and the Gnanis are same .

Saint Sattai muni advised to chant the names of the Gnanis because without the Blessings of them one may not be able to reach the omniscient and the Lord Almighty. It is

impossible to realize or reach the Almighty without the guidance of the universal preceptors, the Gnanis. Hence St. Sattai muni impresses that instead of first chanting the holy names of God one shall chant the names of the Gnanis first and get the Blessings of the universal preceptor.

Without knowing this some may argue meaninglessly as to one should not wear sacred ash chanting the names of siddhas and Gnanis instead of God .

Moreover they may claim that these verses are erroneous and find fault with the composition of the Gnanis without understanding the real meaning. Such people are subjected to the wrath of the Gnanis. Finding fault with the composition of the Gnanis is a sin. This is what have been impressed upon by Saint Ramalingar.

Thou shalt invoke the Blessings of The guardian Karuvoorar, Boganathar, The merciful Agasthi, Sattanathar. The elderly Konganavar, Brahmasithan The most inspiring Machamuni, Nandi devar The cohesive Korakkar, Patanjali,

The sharp Idaikkadar and Chandikesar The father of ancient logic of expression Vasamuni and Kamalamuni”

St. Romarishi

In the above verse Saint Roma introduces the great Saints and Gnanis like Saint Karuvoorar , Saint Boganathar, Saint Agastheesar, Saint Sattai Nathar , Saint Macha munivar, Saint Nandeesar, Saint Gorakkar, Saint Patanjali muni, Saint Idaikkadar, Saint Chandikesar, Saint Duruvasa muni and Saint Kamala muni for their spiritual advancement.

Saint Roma Rishi is also a very great Gnani. Those who want to get salvation from this birth should read and follow his compositions, except that without understanding the hidden meaning of the composition one should not find fault with them as one is not able to decipher the hidden meaning.

Hence finding fault in the composition of the great men is a sin. Erratic criticism, finding fault and mocking at the composition of Siddhas and Gnanis not only adds to the bundle of sins but also will be subjected to wrath of them that will lead them to the hell.

If one cannot understand the real meaning he should keep quiet. Just because one is not able to understand the verses of the Gnanis he shall not find fault with them.

Gnanis and siddhas composed their verses according to the social structure of their time moreover they are written in the dialect of the society easily intelligible to them. Hence one shall not find fault with them merely looking at their structure as lacking in the poetic nuances.

Moreover the verses of Siddhas are highly symbolical*. Literally they may mean something ordinary but it will have hidden meaning which is extraordinary. Their compositions are structured in a form and style as to be intelligible only to the men in the path of gnosis and spirituality. Their real hidden content can be understood only by men in the lineage of preceptors.

Abnegation of Desires Leading to Liberation Through Yoga I sowed the seed of brinjal And the shoot of balsam-pear arose; I dug up the dust;

And the pumpkin blossomed; The gardener-gang prayed and ran; Full well ripened the fruit of plantain.

Thirumanthiram 2869

Control Senses

In Brahmin’s home are Milk Cows Five

With none to herd them, they stray uncontrolled, If a cowherd there is, and controlled they are, The Five Cows will milk in abundance give.

Thirumanthiram 2883

may give ordinary meaning and thoughts but they are written with very deep hidden meaning and secrets.

Ordinary book worms cannot understand the hidden meaning of such compositions. Except with the assistance and guidance of the preceptors in the lineage of gnosis one cannot understand them fruitfully.

* Sacred books are written in more than in one level. Most of the time they hint at deeper meanings than one apparent on the surface. They often employ symbolism, Metaphor, simile and parable to express realities that are too subtle are multifaceted to explain outright. Often one meaning is suggested by a single image or passage; this multi layered style of composition is extremely prevalent in Hindu writings and has given rise to a long standing tradition of lively and penetrating textual interpretation. So the second thing we are looking for is veiled meaning and this calls for the art of interpretation.

In general ,there are two sorts of interpretation. The first is to determine undercurrents of meaning which the author consciously intended.The second is to identify and evaluate elements which are indicative of the author‘s broader literary, cultural and historical milieu or indicate psychological or social realities of which the author might not have been consciously aware or which representarchetypes or ideas which can be traced cross- culturally

—Windows into the infinite; A Guide to the Hindu Scriptures

Barbara Powell

29. Did I ever enslave a bird trembling in a cage?

M a n y o f t h e w i n g e d a r e f r e e b i r d s f l y i n g h i g h independently. Birds like parrots are at times reared as pets. Some may enslave a free bird like parrot in a cage and train them to speak. Such parrots may learn and invite the guests visiting the trainer’s house and greet them vocally.

It will be so sweet when the parrot speaks and also looks very beautiful. On listening to its voice, the guests and the hosts become very very happy. But the enslaved parrot will always be trembling for life due to fear of death.

The master does not understand the feeling of the parrot. But St. Ramalingar asks us whether such harm was meted out to birds trembling by him.

The birds which are free to fly to be enslaved is a sin. St. Ramalingar says that whenever he saw withering plants, he also withered. When Swamiji is not able to tolerate the suffering of a single sensed plant, how would he accept a bird trembling in a cage?