AUM

A TRIBUTE

By

SWAMI PREMATMANANDA,
Vice President and Head of the Ramakrishna
Mission (Ceylon Branch)

The name of the venerable Yoga Swami has come to mean the wisdom of the ages. He is a Maha Purusha as defined in the Purusha Suktam, sung by the vedic Rishis. He is greater than his teachings, for He dwelt in the infinity of Truth, and in him was no falsehood. Oru Pollappumillai is the essence of his Upadesh.

I have known Swami for over half a century and held him in deep veneration as the Light of Truth. He lived in the simplest and humblest manner, a man among men, but with a halo of purity. He did not see evil anywhere and nowhere and so his counsel, gentle or very harsh, critical or forthright, made an abiding impression on me.

Table of Contents | Flash Directory to Our Whole Site

St. Yoga Swami and The Testament of Truth follows the two previous publications of The Testament of Love--A study in Tiruvacagam and The Testament of Wisdom--A study in Muruga worship, by the Author who with her pious husband--Thiru and Ma as they came to be known in Swami's circle of devotees--had the privilege of "sitting near devotedly" at the Guru's feet, in order to imbibe his nectar of Grace. Swami's songs of wisdom and truth entitled Natchintanai have been presented with great lucidity and humility by the Author in varying facets, and yet her different approaches meet in the arc of Oneness, that all is in each and each is in all.

"Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti"
"Truth is One Sages call it by various names"

This Book is released as a Centenary Memorial release in "profound gratitude and all consuming love to be relayed to Swami's ever widening circle of friends embracing the whole world," in the words of the dedicated writer. It is our pious hope that The Testament of Truth will be read with love and understanding by all those who have come under the spell of Swami's influence, and that His message of goodwill and harmony will be carried to further shores of East and West. It is also our earnest wish that the idea of dedicated service conveyed by Swami in his life and utterances and termed Sivathondu by him, and transmitted by the Author in her own inimitable way, shall pave the path to the goal of Truth and establish Universal Peace among all the nations of the world.

A real study of Yoga Swami is first hand experience of God.

Ramakrishna Mission,
(Ceylon Branch)
Ramakrishna Road,
Colombo 6. (Ceylon)

Vaikasi Visakam,
26.5.1972

THE MIRACULOUS PRESENCE

By

T. P. MEENAKSHISUNDARAN, M.A., M.L., M.O.L., D. Litt.,
Sometime Vice-Chancellor, Madurai University.

St. YogaSwami of Lanka is a great saint of universal love--a true Siddha, in whom Love that is verily God blossomed forth in all its perfection. The feeling of oneness with the universe allows no running away from the society. Renunciation is not renouncing the world but the renunciation of the dichotomy born of the feeling of the I and the mine. Really the I is not in the centre but extends to the circumference when every living being becomes the sacred temple of that Love - God whose reflection is but the very I.

YogaSwami heard the desperate but unconscious call from those around him demanding his spiritual touch for healing the sufferings which are but the signs of the growth yet to be realised--

a growth from the farthest stage of the mysterious evolution, back to the source through stages of involution. His heart rushed to their help. He was a yogi, a master of the spirtual science of Tantra, a great Jnani and withal a true example of a karma yogi, working for prohibition and other kinds of social, and therefore as he realised, of spiritual elevation of the poor and the down-trodden and through them for the whole humanity.

The strength of a chain is measured by its weakest link. How can the world be safe for peace and love as long as the sub-human men and women remain as they are? Now are the so-called "well to do and the educated" any better for they are but perversions developing more the outward form and the external behaviour allowing the heart and soul to atrophy and die as far as they are concerned. The conquest of the objective Nature has not brought us a corresponding conquest of the inward Nature--the revolting spirit of man. That is the crisis in the world of today. To the latter also, Swami was an eye-opener. His divine presence worked a subtle and a deep conversion, not only among the easterners but also among the westerners who came into contact with him. Out of his over-flowing kindness, he sent his embassy of Love which included the author of this book and her husband to distant England to carry and deliver the message of Saiva Siddhanta. The Testament of Truth is indeed a step in the right direction to carry out the Guru's mission of universal love and oneness to the further shores of the world.

The tired and weak, the hungry and the worried--spiritually, intellectually, mentally and physically--came to him as though to a mother. His piercing and glowing look of love plumbed the depth of their hearts and lo! there came peace and joy. It may look all madness. But to the worldly, the other world is all madness, and to the other worldly too, the world is all madness--so sings the great Alwar Saint Kulasekhara. YogaSwami used to sing the songs of the Tamil Saints and also his own songs from Natchintanai and he made us also sing in his presence. The words which we previously thought we had understood completely were in those moments with him, infused in a new dimension of immeasurable depth, which we could not clearly express, though experiencing the truth of the songs in his mysterious presence.

He arranged pada yatras or walking on foot by Sivathondars from village to village on Sundays, which stirred the dumb millions to a spiritual awakening of love. He started a Journal to spread the message of Sivathondu. He spurred us all to study the great spiritual heritage of the Tamilians truly and calmly, never disturbed by dogmatic assertions of commentators. He gave his gospel of Natchintanai in Tamil in simple poetry of divine intoxication to be sung by all, young and old, educated and un-educated. His physical garb is no more but his eternal presence hovers about us all. May his miraculous presence help us to live and work as he desired!

In her Book, Mrs. Ratna Navaratnam has with a fine sensibility dwelt on Swami's magical-play or leela of the One--as the one and many, as the immanent and the transcendental, as the world and the beyond, as the Absolute and the relative, as the joy and the sorrow, all somehow harmonised in that Whole of the Supreme--Muluthum Unmai. He knew as we did not, that there was nothing wrong anywhere, Oru Pollappumillai, that everything was good and that the secret of it all was to be quiet, Summa Iru--by drowning ourselves in It, or surrendering everything unto It, allowing It to work at Its best without our obstructions and grumblings which would mean nothing.

It is my sincere wish that this Book will carry the message of this great Teacher to all English speaking friends throughout the world.

June 5th, 1972.

PREFACE

By

V. SIVA SUPRAMANIAM,
President, All Ceylon Hindu Congress,
Judge of the Court of Appeal,
Member, Constitutional Court of Sri Lanka

For over half a century a spiritual beacon burnt brightly at the unpretentious Ashram at Columbuturai, in Jaffna, and the effulgent beams of light emanating from it illumined not merely this small island of ours but reached countries far beyond. Many a weary traveller found the Path he was seeking for by the aid of those resplendent rays. Though the physical form of that beacon can no longer be seen, the spiritual aura that enveloped it continues to be as radiant as ever and serves as a guide to many.

St. Yoga Swami who shed that spiritual light showed the Path towards Self Realisation to his devotees principally through his sublime songs--called Natchintanai--which are veritable treasures of thought and of language. These songs contain the distilled essence of the Vedanta and Saiva Siddhanta systems of Hindu philosophy. The Sage saw no conflict between the two systems. The exquisite language, the haunting melodies and the lucidity with which the steps towards Self realisation are unfolded fill the devotee with ecstatic rapture.

In this work "St. YogaSwami and the Testament of Truth" Mrs. Ratna Navaratnam presents to the English speaking world some of the treasures contained in Natchintanai. There is none better qualified than Mrs. Navaratnam to have undertaken this task. Apart from her scholarship in both Tamil and English language and literature, and her deep knowledge of the Hindu shastras and Philosophy, she is one who has enjoyed in ample measure the Swami's Grace for over forty years and, as such, is specially qualified to interpret the Message of the Master.

In her translations of the selections from the Natchintanai, Mrs. Navaratnam has suceeded in capturing the spirit as well as the harmonious melody of the original without straying far from the text. This is a most creditable achievement. The classification of the subject matter under separate headings and the admirable commentaries under each head, along with the translations of the songs, enable the reader to unravel with ease the intricacies of Saiva metaphysics and at the same time to get a glimpse of the greatness of Natchintanai--an undoubted masterpiece of devotional literature.

As in her valuable work on Tiruvacagam--The Hindu Testament of Love--, Mrs. Navaratnam has adopted an unique line of treatment of her subject and her analysis is both penetrating and refreshing. Her parallel quotations from various sources, both of the East and of the West reveal a wide range of scholarship and research and enhance considerably the value of the work.

We cannot be sufficiently grateful to Mrs. Navaratnam for this very welcome addition to the religious literature of the world.

Vaikasi Purnami--1972
4, Horton Terrace,
Colombo 7.

FOREWORD

By

Dr. T. M. P. MAHADEVAN
Director
Centre of Advanced Study in Philosophy,
University of Madras, Madras 5.

Human birth, longing for liberation, and association with a great man--these three things, says Sri Sankara, are rare indeed, and come to one as a result of the grace of God. It was my good fortune to have known Saint Siva Yogaswami of Columbuturai who was, and still continues to be, a source of tremendous spiritual influence on many a spiritual aspirant of the Hindu faith, although his physical frame has disappeared.

As in the case of many other saints, the early life of this illustrious saint, popularly known as the Sage of Columbuturai, is shrouded in mystery. We do not know much about his early life excepting that he was born in a Saivite family on May 29, 1872 in the village of Mavidapuram off the Northern Coast of Yalpanam, that he was not interested in his studies at school, and that while he was working as a storekeeper he used to spend his leisure time in reading and enjoying the Saiva literature to which he was drawn, and that he became a disciple of Chellappa Swami of Nallur. Sri Siva Yogaswami acknowledges very frequently his gratitude to his guru, Chellappa Swami, "the crescent jewel of grace," who showed him the way of bliss and made him attain, through his grace, wisdom and joy. From the year 1934 when he started the religious journal, Sivathondan, till March 24, 1964 when he attained videha-mukti, he was spreading religious fervour and spirtual awakening among all those who had the good luck to come under his benign influence.

The Testament of Truth written by Mrs. Ratna Navaratnam, a devotee of the Sage of Columbuturai, contains not only an outline of the life of Sri Siva Yogaswami and the important landmarks in his career, but also an account of his teachings based on Natchintanai.

The central teaching of the Swami is contained in an aphoristic declaration, "muluthum unmai," which means: "All that is, is Truth absolute." Sri Siva Yogaswami insisted on the importance of the practice of dharma and the need for grace of the guru to guide us in our life spiritual. A realised soul that he was, he was able to convey profound truths through simple, but effective language. Consider, for instance, the way in which he testifies to the marvel which the grace of his spiritual preceptor has worked on him as recorded in Natchintanai:

(Tamil Script)

The Swami was never tired of saying that renunciation and service go together. To him, service to the people is service to Siva, siva-thondu. His was a life of service to the ideal which was dear to his heart.

Mrs. Navaratnam has done a valuable service to the cause of spirituality in general, and to Saivism in particular, by writing this book which can be characterised as a meditation on the life and teachings of St. Siva Yogaswami who, in his own inimitable way, restated in Natchintanai the wisdom contained in the Vedas and Agamas. It will be obvious to everyone who reads Natchintanai that every word of the Swami is based on his authentic spiritual experience.

I heartily commend Mrs. Navaratnam's book The Testament of Truth to all those who are interested in the spiritual heritage of Hinduism of which St. Siva Yogaswami was a living exemplar in our times.

University Buildings,
Madras--5.

Adi Pirappu, 1972.

SIVAMAYAM

"Hiranmayena pâtrena satyasyâpihitam mukham
Tat tvam pûsan apâvrnu satyadharmâya drstaye."

"The face of Truth is hidden by thy golden orb, O Sun.
That do thou remove, in order that I whose law of
Being is Truth may behold its glory."

--Isa Upanishad. 15.

Saha nâv avatu, saha nau bhunaktu,
saha vîryam karavâvahai,
te jasvinâv adhitam astu, mâ vidvisâvahai,
Aum, Santih, Santih, Santih.

May the Supreme Truth protect us both--Guru and Sishya
May we together experience the bliss of Truth:
May we create a channel of divine energy;
May we be endowed with the lustre of wisdom.
May there be no discordance between us.
Aum, Peace, Peace, Peace.

Taittiriya Upanishad. II.I Invocation.

(Tamil Script)

"They are God to me who on Him meditate
Day and night drawing nigh unto Him, nigher
As the light within their eye; The essence of thought,
The Absolute Truth gleaming in the etheric space."

--Tayumanavar--268.

We take up the symphony of Natchintanai-- The Testament of Truth--((Tamil Script)--Tirumantram 123) articulated by the profound Yogiswara, our NatGuru, Siva YogaSwami who saw Truth in its many facets, as well as experienced It, in consonance with his Guru's Mahavaakiam--"Muluthum Unmai--All that is, is Truth Absolute,"

(Tamil Script)

"Open the eyes that give insight into the Testament of Truth".

Natchintanai. 269

Swami has testified the vision of Truth--the Supreme Param Porul--communicated by the Vedas and Agamas, and opens new vistas for the mind of man. Truth is the same in whatever pathways the mind might approach It.

(Tamil Script)

--Natchintanai. 121.

The act of 'sitting near the SatGuru devotedly,' which is the true meaning of the term 'Upanishad,' has been our sanctified source to unravel ever so dimly even, the Anmopanishad that is Natchintanai, the Word of Swami.

"He who transcends the seen came down on earth
As a Guru to abide in the hearts of the virtuous,
And illumined them by His gracious Love.
The peerless Siva is the matchless NatGuru."

--Tirumantram. 1576.

Thus do we begin our contemplation on the Testament of Truth, and invoke the fulfilment of our NatGuru's testimony:

(Tamil Script)

"The songs of Swami Yoganathan
Shall reveal the beauteous Path.
They'll fill thee with ambrosial bliss
Till you breathe, and crown thee
With the truth of Aham Brahmasmi."

--Natchintanai. 172.

Thy Grace we implore in the Anma-Yagjna that we undertake in all humility and dedication:

Oh Flawless One!

Thou didst illumine me
As day by day I came to Thee,
And tasted thy manna of Grace
Whence the fickle mind was stilled
By the gaze of thy luminous Eye.

Oh Treasure of Love!

Thou art the Wealth of devotees true
The luminous Light of yogic seers.
Thou supernal Bliss that abideth
Ne'er separating from my inner soul,
Lo, That art Thou and Thine am I.

Oh Resplendent GuruGem!

Who taught me the truth of the Vedas,
The perennial secret of Upanishad core,
The embodied essence of the Saiva Agamas,
In that simple song of Sivam art All.
Obeisance unto Thy fragrant Feet.

OUR SUBMISSION

The Testament of Truth is an attempt to convey the incommunicable elixir, undying and inexhaustible (Amrtattva) that poured forth from Siva YogaSwami of Lanka. His timeless nature is that of the Now without duration, of which we who can only think in terms of past and future have not and cannot have experience; and from him all things proceed and in him all are unified at last. In the words of Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy, "His kiss who is both Love and Death awakens us to know the Self and his love bite is being there."

No attempt has been made however to analyse the sources of Swami's Marga. It is enough for us to take it as it comes to us and hear the lovely music in the truths he sang, to try to live the life of inspired service--Sivathondu--and practical devotion which he taught. For these things the world will always be in debt to Siva YogaSwami.

In this book of the Testament of Truth has been recorded Swami's Life and Songs and message to the world under twenty headings. An account of the most important landmarks in His spiritual career, as well as significant events that touched the writer's orbit of experience have been outlined as a framework to his Natchintanai Songs. Swami has expressed his deepest insights in Songs, the accents of which range from the lyrical to the mystic and high philosophic. Those in the present Volume which include a hundred Songs and a portion of his Prose discourses and Letters have been carefully selected to show every facet of his teachings.

Some of these Songs have been translated by us in verse form and some in poetic prose, and the Mahavaakiam--the centrifugal force of Swami's message--has been transcribed and translated so as to retain the original flavour, while uniformity of expression has been made secondary to clarity of thought. Thus it will be seen that a certain elaboration was inevitable in order to make comprehensible to the English reader, the background-perspective of our highly developed tenets of the Saiva Religion; yet this with due knowledge of the indigenous tradition and veneration for the peculiar 'Guru Paramparai' initiated by the eminent Kadai Swami, the Preceptor of Sage Chellappa Swami, the exalted Guru of Maha Siva YogaSwami.

Our aim therefore in the Natchintanai translations has not been to achieve a literal rendering, but rather, to convey in clear and simple English the sense and spirit of the original. Original terms with spiritual connotations have been retained, so that the readers might benefit from the association with which usage has already enriched the English language. The recurrent benedictions like Santam Upasantam, Aum Tat Sat, Siva Siva Sivayave, Namasivaya, have been retained to suggest the mode of information. A certain running commentary became necessary in order to make comprehensible in English language, the mystic imagery and the subtleties of the Saiva Metaphysics, enshrined in Swami's Songs.

We have humbly striven for over forty years to imbibe the gnosis of Swami by meditation on his Vâc, sitting near devotedly and imploring his ambrosial grace for a true understanding of his expression of divine truth. We have concentrated on those select and delectable poems which Swami made us sing frequently in his Ashram, in order to convey to the reader the splendour of him whose Natchintanai reflect the glory of the Saiva tradition in which he lived and moved. Natchintanai opens out a way, so old and yet so new, for the attainment of Siva. A full understanding of this, no translation can impart faithfully. It requires a life-time of continual application.

The sectional headings indicate the dominant themes and the angles of approach to the NatGuru's Reflections of Grace. All That Is, is Truth Absolute--Muluthum Unmai--has been the determining axis of our meditative study.

The Testament of Truth deals pre-eminently with the Lyric of the Living Presence of the Yogi of Lankapuri. By his Anma Yagjna, he establishes the integrity of his being. His encounter with the Guru marks the end of a phase of bewilderment of the divided self, and the stepping into the phase of the knowledge of the Self--Anma Jnanam, leading to the recovery of the wholesome self. Perennial is the Guru Amrtattvam transmitted to him by Sage Chellappah Swami.

Oru Pollappumillai--Intrinsic evil there is not.
Eppavo Mudintha Kariyam--Accomplished is His Will.
Naam Ariyom--We know not.
Muluthum Unmai--All that is, is Truth Absolute.

The Testament of Truth reflects St. Yoga Swami's over-whelming experience of the Real in direct knowledge and his attainment of the Luminous Feet of Siva. His realisation of Siva Jnanam in the blessed land of Lanka, where the Divine Mother's Lila illuminated the Theradi at Nallur and the Way to Columbuturai, is revealed with wondrous sight and insight in the Anmopanishad that is Natchintanai.

In time and eternity shall resound with infinite value and meaning, the Guru Vaakiam of Siva Yoga Swami.

Thanai Ari--Know Thyself
Sarvam Sivamayam--Sivam art all.
Summa Iru--Be still.
Ellaam Sivan Seyal--Siva's Will be done.

They signify the essence of the Oral Transmission and the core of his teachings. "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

"As smoke and sparks arise from a lighted fire
kindled with damp fuel, even so, Maitreyi,
have been breathed forth from the Eternal
all knowledge and all wisdom . . . . They are the
Breath of the Eternal."

--Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

In whatever way we may try to apprehend Swami, the Peerless Siva YogaSwami, we can never do so in the perfection of his real Being, rendering each of our ventures to achieve success in a way incomprehensive. Nevertheless our knowledge of him circumscribed by our individual approach is not at the same time completely false, for each one sees in him only what he can see with his own particular conditioning at a particular moment. To each according to his measure of love and understanding and need will be revealed the profound meaning of Swami's utterances. No two persons can say that they have understood alike.

This reminds us of a passage in the Upanishads:

Gods, men and asuras--all three descendants of Prajapati lived with him for a time as students.

Then the Gods said: "Teach us, Sir." In reply Prajapati
uttered one syllable: 'Da.' Then he said: "Have you understood?." They answered, "Yes, we have understood. You said to us 'Damayata'--"Be Self controlled." "Yes," agreed Prajapati, "You have understood."

Then the men said: "Teach us, Sir." Prajapati uttered
the same syllable: 'Da.' Then he said: "Have you under-
stood?." They answered, "Yes, we have understood. You
said to us 'Datta'--"Be charitable." "Yes," agreed Prajapati,
"You have understood."

Then the asuras said: "Teach us, Sir." Prajapati
uttered the same syllable: 'Da.' Then he said, "Have you under-
stood?." They said, "Yes, we have understood. You told us "Dayadwam"--"Be compassionate." "Yes," agreed Prajapat, "You have understood."

The Anmopanishad on Anmanathan's Natchintanai--The Testament of Truth--is an act of Anma Yagjna to the Guru for his countless mercies and infinite forbearance at our imperfections.

Verily He is Truth--The Testament of Truth is Swami.

FOR EVER AND EVER

The unseen Feet which Kannan failed to perceive afford us protection. Aum.
The revealing Feet that link heaven and earth in Oneness art our protection. Aum.
The peerless Feet that can fathom the minds of all afford us protection. Aum.
The goodly Feet that inspire the vac of the devout art our protection. Aum.
The beauteous Feet unaffected by good and evil afford us protection. Aum.
The animating Feet that perform the cosmic dance art our protection. Aum.
The blessed Feet that art the essence of all afford us protection. Aum.

--Natchintanai. 264.

Guide Radiant Feet of God, guide thou us on!

Ratna Navaratnam

Table of Contents