“Pilgrim, Pilgrimage and Road
Was but Myself toward Myself; and your
Arrival, but Myself at my own Door.”
Mantiqu't-Tair (tr, Fitzgerald).
“Come ye from Perunturai to Columbuturai?”--Swami.
In 1962 Swami unravelled his plan of a pilgrimage to the West and Malayasia by some of his close devotees. He did not specifically give any injunction to the five Sivathondar whom he chose to go to the West, on the discourses to be delivered to the Western friends, other than to greet them in friendship without acceptance of gifts.
He bade us live in the light of Saivism, and make personal contacts fruitful, so that those whom we meet on our pilgrimage may feel the impact of Sivam, more by the spell of silence (mounam) and the spoken word, rather than by learned lectures. Passing the Suez Canal in the early hours of a June mourning in 1963 and sighting the Mediterranean sea, the hub of ancient civilisation, in the S.S. CHUSAN, the Sivathondar sat in meditation outside our cabin as was our wont. A strong inner urge impelled Thiru to sing this particular Natchintanai, and meditate on it. From thenceforth, this song became the key board on which we played the symphony of our Guru to His friends abroad.
This song Serve Him, Serve Him brings out the fundamental idea to Saivism, that in “the storm of the world's flow” called the Samsara or the Confluence, the soul of man is fatally involved:
It is so because whatever we are destined to experience in this world is the inevitable consequence of the “uninterruped but unseen operation of mediate causes (Karma), “Yet, it also follows inevitably that the Lord is the only seer, hearer, thinker and knower in us, and that “whoever sees, it is by His ray that he sees.”
--Sivajana Botham Sutra XI.
The freedom that is aspired is the freedom from one's self, from “this I and its affections.” Swami makes it clearer in this poem, that he only can be free who is no longer anyone. The liberation from good and evil is only possible for the man who knows who he is, and who surrenders nowever, all at His Feet.
Serve Him by selfless service and attain Wisdom,
Serve Him by selfless service and enjoy serene Peace.
Serve Him by selfless service and aim at Magnanimity.
Serve Him by selfless service and revel in sweet Harmony.
Thy bondsman shall live in the hearts of all.
Thy bondsman shall live in humility with all.
Thy bondsman shall live as a friend of all.
Let deeds and not words be my watchword.
All living forms shall I behold as my form;
The beneficence of all shall betoken my benignity,
The strength of all shall add to my own strength.
Then shall noble friends esteem my words
Whate'er doth betake us, let it pass by;
Whate'er is concieved let it remain so;
Incomprehensibly bright are the Feet of Splendour,
Rejoice in the gracious Feet of the Guru divine.
The noble seers dare not define it as one or two;
Compassion will they show to those in distress sore;
And non-violence will be their lofty creed;
Distinction of good and bad affects them not, Hari-Aum.
Ever present in all beings, Oh Immaculate One!
Entrancing beauty in all art Thou too!
Permeating in every pebble, rock and imposing trees
And flourishing e'en in grass and weed as well.
Sole refuge naught but thee, sweet solace of my soul.
Forsake me not alone but dwell with me for ever.
Art Thou not my father, mother and Guru!
Oh Supreme Reality! Essence of all things true,
All that I am, to Thee I consecrate,
Sustain me with clarity of wisdom meet.
Apple of my Eye Fraught with thought and word!
Oh luminous star illuminating the azure heights.
Essence of harmony, Thou divine songstar,
No other Lord will I revere but Thee;
In worship shall my lowly self sing thy glory.
Deign to head my garland of praise to Thee.
--Natchintanai. 120.
Out in the West, amidst alien cultures and the dominance of the intellect, when we faced the challenges of “Now I am whom I am,” the consciousness of a limited earthly life and of a world of science, and the disenchantment by a kiss, the resonance of the Guru's song of serene surrender and sincere consecration, “Sole refuge naught but Thee, sweet solace of my soul,” and the verifying assurance of Thou art That, would transform our confusion and depression into buoyant hope and faith.
In the mornings and evenings, we would sing this moving prayer of the heart, which had the power to compose our drooping spirits with the tonic of Santam. The refrain, “Serve Him by selfless service” steeped our consciousness with a quietus, transfused us with the vitality and clarity of the higher Self, and endowed us with new insights into the work of Sivathondu. “Whoever would be at peace with himself must have died to himself.” Thus the shield of dedicated service--Sivathondu-- became our invincible insignia, in the pilgrimage to the West.
“Thou showeth the way to selfless service,
By thy beauteous acts of Grace.”
--Natchintanai. 129.
It is the impious mind that in conceit thinks of “I am” and “I do,” and it is the fruit of ignorance. In accordance with the thought contained in the second and third verses of this Natchintanai song, “sat and asat” are not only 'being' and 'non-being,' but also 'good and evil.'
There is great emphasis on the notion of correct performance of worship and action. Whatever is done amiss is done by this ignorant self and is strictly not an act; while whatever is correctly and rightly done, is the act of God. “That my service is perfect freedom,” is implied in the lines that refer to the combined powers of strength and benefience of all as blended to one's own strength and action. Thus through Sivathondu done properly, one finds the Self, and having done all that there is to be done, without any residue of potentiality, one becomes a realised seer in this life, and “in whom naught whatsoever is wanting and who wanteth nothing.”
In varied ways too sacred for recounting, did we set about to establish the potency of the Guru's word in alien lands, enriched by Hebraic and Hellenic cultures. It was a wondrous experience to live every moment in consonance with His will. There was no fragmentation of the self, torn and dissected with fear and frustration. In every song of Natchintanai is this insistent appeal to follow the trail of Grace and do Sivathondu; Swami insists on service as it alone can effect the purity of body, mind and soul, whence the divine Grace begins to operate freely, till one gains release and realisation of Siva:
Swami's psalm on 'Serve Him,' exhorting constancy in service and submission tho the Lord's Grace, accords in essence with a hymn from St. Tayumanavar, where he beholds this sweep of space as the expanse of Grace:
“The wide, wide world, this sweep of space,
Are to Thy saints expanse of grace'
By Thy one word the mystic state
Of Yogic calm is theirs, the great
To whom Thou grantest Lord Thine aid,
Helper on whom their hope is stayed,
Who love Thee best Who lovest me,
Friend of my lowly self to be.
O Hill of Heaven whose form of Bliss,
Beginningless, unending, is.
O Lord that livest in Thy Light!
O Life that shineth ever bright!
Yet with all worlds and bodies willest e'er to be,
And with all beings, blended joyously,
As full as fragrance in the half-blown flower dwells.”
--132.
“Salutations to Siva Guru Yoga Swami--The Thondan of Siva!”
The history of Sivathondan conveys the quintessence of the Sanatana Dharma. It can also be said that Sivathondan sums up the history of all religions. It mediates religious truths within the framework of human existence. The Sivathondan is the manifestation in human form of Lord Siva as revealed in the Saiva Agamas, and the discipline enjoined therein is termed Sivathondu-- service to God. He who follows this path is known as a Sivathondan. Human problems and situations, and a man's work and pursuits on earth reflect the light divine, the immanence of God.
The true Sivathondan sees Siva in everyone, and everyone in Siva. The Sivathondu performed by the teacher or the Guru who is the perfect Sivathondan on earth represents truth's embodiment in life, and hence has the power to refashion man into a servitor of Siva. The psalms of Natchintanai--the holy utterances of the great Sage of Columbuturai in Ceylon--define the whole beauty of man in relation to the Lord on one side and to the whole wold on the other. Sivathondu is the effective pointer to the realisation of the dignity of the human spirit which is the dwelling place of the Supreme Siva.
The genesis of Sivathondan.
“Sivathondan comes,
In meek Humility to enrich the isle of Lanka.
Sivathondan serves
The needs of the mighty and the low.
Sivathondan grows
Without any display of pomp and show.
Sivathondan apprehends
The same consideration to others as unto himself.
Sivathondan guards
The followers of Siva who rides the bull
Sivathondan wills
To work, freed from the dimensions of time.
Sivathondan proclaims
That ye are immortal; ponder on it alone.
Sivathondan enshrines
The contemplative basis of life.”
--Natchintanai. 136.
The Sivathondan rejoices in the vision of manesfestation. He beholds the macrocosm and the microcosm animating with divine grace.
Where love's minstrelsy prevails--This is our land.
Where Siva favours to dwell--This is our land.
Where griefs are dispelled --This is our land.
Where rains the pure showers of grace--This is our land.
Where abundant crops do grow--This is our land.
Where deluding senses flee--This is our land.
Here with zest my Guru won me in melting love,
And revealed to me this benign land ours.”
--Natchintanai. 22.
Yalpanam is the northern part of Ceylon, the isle of Lanka with an ancient history, the isle favoured in the Indian Ocean as its pearl, the isle where flourishes today the four great religions of the world --Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. This Yalpanam is a land of barren plenty. Its fertile soil is surface deep with hard limestone rocks underneath, and meagre too is its rainfall from the northern monsoons. It is surrounded by the shallow waters of the lagoon which encircle the Jaffna peninsula.
The slender natural resources of this country are tapped to the maximum by the people who live here, and they wrest from mother nature their strengthening sustenence. The shallow lagoon waters provide fishing facilities to a small section of the people, while the rugged palmrah palms and fruitful coconut trees, a variety of green vegetables, onions and chillies and fruit trees like mangoes, jak, plantains, and scattered paddy fields and tobacco meadows, give occupation to a section of the Tamil people who live in the north of Ceylon.
The narrow lanes and highways, with cadjaned houses and neat compounds with deep wells, schools and temples in close proximity forming the cynosure of each hamlet and town, reflect the hardy environment as well as indomitable will and faith of the people who live here. Their simplicity in food and attire and outlook is striking indeed. Here we find an industrious class of people who believe in hard work and independent means of living, and their practical nature is not bothered about reshaping patterns of nature or patterns of living. Content for the most part with their lot, they are imbued with a quiet yet deep spirituality that amazes most visitors.
Saint Tirumular in that classical work dating to the first century A.D. known as Tirumantram, which deals with the grammar of Truth, has described Lankai as Sivabhumi. The Saiva Saints between the fifth and twelfth centuries A.D. including the renowned St. Tirunavukarasu, St. Tirujnanasambandar, and Sundaramurthi Nayanar have sung of the sacred temples of Siva in Ceylon like Tiruketheeswaram in the Mannar district, and Koneswaram in Trincomalee district. Centres of spirituality do not come into existence by mere accidents of time and place. They are par excellence centres of worship, because of the flame of religiosity set alight in them by a succession of seekers after truth.
There are many such hallowed places in India and Ceylon, which have been sanctified by the footprints of such enlightened seers and saints. The sub-contenent of India and Ceylon has been vitalised from age to age by the torch bearers of the Hindu faith and Yalpanam is one such hallowed spot.
There are several pathways leading to the realisation of Truth, and the Hindus who strive to realise Siva follow the Saiva Agamas--the revealed scriptures of the Saivites. They extol the significance of the Guru, the realised Teacher, as one of the fundamental modes of worship for the attainment of bliss. We do not see, even though we have eyes to see; we do not hear, having ears to hear.
It passeth our understanding that the Jnana Guru, the teacher endowed with the highest spiritual wisdom and extolled in the Saiva scriptures as the most effective source of man's liberation, should have manifested the glory of Siva amidst us in this blessed land of Yalpanam. SivaYogaSwami, by the shining example of his life, worked out the Yoga and Jnana pathways, leading to the blessed state of Oneness with Siva. He was the matchless Sivathondan, the SatGuru who had been the source of inspiration and solace to hundreds of devotees from the East and West, and the genesis of Sivathondan can be traced to His benign grace.
Sivathondan has many facets. It connotes the word of Siva; It is also the grace of Siva revealed as the divine mother or the SatGuru, and is symbolised in Tiruvadi or the Holy Feet; Thus Sivathondu denotes the immanent aspect of Siva; It signifies the harmony of Oneness in wisdom, volition and service--Jnanam, Ichacha and Kriya.
In the religious Journal called the Sivathondan initiated by the MahaYogi of Yapanam in January 1935 is found the quintessence of the teachings of SWAMI--the dynamic voice of timeless truth. In the special psalms of Natchintanai sung by him and published in every issue of the Sivathondan magazine edited by Sri K. K. Natarajan, the quest for Tiruvadi, which signifies the abiding grace of Siva finds immortal expression. Herein is revealed the path of self-realisation, leading to the experience of Oneness with Siva (Siva-anubhuti).
The word of Siva-- 'Aum Sivayanama,' is fraught with significance. It is embodied in the web of Sivathondan mainly through the medium of the Natchintanai songs and psalms. These are the “Reflections of Grace” of the Nat-Guru, and awaken in the Seekers of Truth the urge for spiritual illumination, by dispelling their craving for fleeting enjoyments of life. They turn the toiling humanity from the fearful pangs of ignorance to the path of service radiating the bliss of Sivam (auspiciousness). The inspiring message of true spirituality, love and tolerance, and that all are equal in the sight of Siva which the Sivathondan proclaims today, is an ancient message:
“Om Isavasyam idam Sarvam Yadkincha Jagathanj jagat
Dhina Dhyakthena Punjitha makrutha Kasyath Vidhanam.”
--Isa Upanishad.
“In beauteous disguise the primal One assumed a form,
In majestic splendour came in grace,
Took each one's nature unto Himself,
Being the infinite Lord of grace, our king,
Became a Sage as moon-light bright.”
--Tiruvacagam.
The Sivathondan is the twentieth century testimony of the imspired ideal of service to Lord Siva. In the service of man, men learn to serve Siva, for He and they are in inseparable union. The service to Siva leads to the discipline of self-analysis, the purification of the mind through intense concentration for the realisation of the self, and the cultivation of the equable mind whereby ignorance and egoism can be destroyed.
Sivathondan sees the necessity for the conquest of the self by the Self, before human desires may safely be given freedom to weave their fabrics in the world of experience. Whenever and wherever the complete realisation of Siva takes place, mukti or liberation is obtained.
The Sivathondar are bidden to pursue this goal of intuitive consciousness (anubhuti), and to give increasing expression in social action, which is what is known as Sivathondu. It is the free acting of the total self. To action alone has the Sivathondan a right, and never at all to its fruits. Sivathondu is therefore a sattvika activity indicating the highest stage of selflessness. In this way of life enunciated by Swami, man's hold on what is eternal and immanent in all beings stands revealed, and the realm of the spirit is not cut off from the realm of life.
The fundamental basis of Sivathondu or righteous action is the change which takes place in the nature of a man, as a result of the particular peace which is acquired by the human self, by the direct experience of Sivam or Paraparam, the Absolute Reality. Sivathondu requires the Sivathondan to practise “mounam,” a withdrawl at all levels from all types of activity in order to permit contemplation of the One, who is both transcendent and immanent. “This withdrawl into individual solitariness shall help man for an acitve return to the patterns of living.”
It is there that the Satguru, the teacher of Truth helps man to keep his mind fixed on the supreme Oneness of Siva, amidst the pressure of his daily toils, so that he might do his work with purity, equanimity and love. Service to Siva enables a man to be aware of life's relationships. The true object of all human action is to serve Siva; and the individual good expands into the universal welfare of society, so as to hold together the human race in its path of karmic activity or evolution. Thus Sivathondu is the modern expression by the Siva Yogi at comprehension and cooperation.
Sivathondan communicates not so much doctrine as a consciousness. Self-knowledge is inseparable form self-existence. Perception of life in the perspective of the whole is what is understood to be the way of life followed by the bondsman of Siva. Man recognises the dignity and freedom of the human spirit, and proclaims that the truth of the spirit excels reason, though it does not exclude it. The tensions between the microcosm and macrocosm are thereby resolved.
The Lord knows, sees, shares man's insignificant as well as important activities. Every movement is His movement, from the first primeval stirring whence Sakti, His immanent aspect rose to create the organic and material universe, the objective and subjective worlds, to the perpetual movements pervading in this world. It is His will that prevails. It is His will that swings the pendulum between the tears and smiles of man. It is His movement that causes the cycle of samsara, for man to work out the effect of his deeds and attain equanimity.
Sivathondan creates, sustains and destroys. He purifies and stirs the currents of love in the depths of man's being. Lord Siva reveals His Visvarupa Dharshan in the stage of life, to one who surrenders complete his own finitude. In order to be able to surrender oneself completely, man must possess himself completely. He must first learn to know himself, and then will he begin to feel his divinity in humanity. In this united relationship with He and It, and I and Thou, man surrenders himself completely in love, which is the basis of all existence. It is in the total self-giving of man that he can reach the Feet of God.
Sivathondu is the penetration of man through the world, by means of simple, homely and common acts; it does not depend on the protective armour of doctrines, priestcraft, prayers, rituals and the like to which the religions of man have been enslaved down the centuries. It is the open sesame to all followers of all religions. In the four maha-vaakiam of the Guru are embodied the flame of truth and the light of love :
Oru Pollappumillai--Intrinsic evil there is not.
Eppavo mudintha kariyam--Accomplished is His Will.
Naamariyom--We do not know.
Muluvathum Unmai--All that is, is Truth Absolute.
All is Truth to a realised soul. Man cannot penetrate behind the veil of finiteness. None knows That. A seer lives and moves and has his being suported by the arms of love. There is no illwill. In harmlessness lies his happiness. In doing the will of Siva, he attains peace. The essence of spirituality is the sense of Oneness with God. The man of devotion has a sense of unity with himself and the Supreme Lord, and therefore with the world of men and matter.
'Natchintanai' which is the immortal garland of the Guru's revelations, has been the promethean anvil on which the unconquerable ego of man has been struck for the good of all mankind. All great truths, as they are repeated in the course of centuries, are coloured by the reflections of the age in which they appear, and bear the imprint of the Seer who restates them. Swami's reflection of Grace embodied in Natchintai share the ancient heritage of the Hindu Vedas and Agamas in the setting of modernism, with its special appeal to the modern man.
Swami was not merely an exponent of the Saiva Neri. He lived It. He was initiated by His Guru in the path of Sanmarga, which is the realisation of the Oneness of the Anma with Siva. He sang the songs of Natchintanai on the keyboard of this great Path, so that the world at large may attain the eternal bliss of God-Realisation. We shall quote the testimony of our Gurunathan:
The Sivathondar
“God is the life of our life.
Therefore we are His possession.
We are His perpetual bondsmen, pledged to undying servitude.
All our vibrations originate in His vibrations.
We move to His rhythm always.
We can never for a moment forget Him.
We lack nothing
We live in eternity.
We dwell in everything and art everywhere.
We are all-knowing.
Let us ponder on these exalted sentiments always and get
beyond the base qualities inherent in us, and attain the
grandeur of Divinity.
“All deeds of mine are thine, and but for Thee
I'm nought, and so am I nought else but Thee'
Thus in the harmony of Thy will is reconciled
The pathway of Vedanta and Siddhanta.”
These words of St. Tayumanavar bear ample testimony to the excellence of the tolerance advanced by the Vedanta and Siddhanta pathways, and testify our own spiritual insight.”
--Natchintanai. 367.
These affirmations of Swami inspire in us the faith and courage to face life victoriously, and to abide in the hope that all we have willed or hoped of good shall exist, not its semblance but itself; and that this world is neither a blot nor blank, but means intensely and means well.
In the above utterance of Swami occurs the reference by him to a significant Psalm of St. Tayumanavar from All-Embracing Bliss. We give below the full poem so as to make the context more meaningful:
“All deeds of mine are thine, and but for Thee
I'm nought, and so am I nought else but Thee;
Thus in the harmony of Thy Will is reconciled
The pathway of Vedanta and Siddhanta.
Thy Grace doth know full well, how much I pined
And withered long to realise this state.
Remaining in that mood, the friendly foe
Of ignorance doth come, possess my heart,
And then my mind is seized with fear of sin,
Illusion, Karma and the round of births,
Returning one by one in close succession.
Deign me the sword of faith to cut my bonds,
Grant me the dauntlessness of wisdom true.
Vouchsafe me thy protection and thy Grace.
Oh Perfect Bliss that leaving nought, fills all!”
All Embracing Bliss: V. St. Tayumanavar
List! Sivathondan knocks at the heart-door. Will ye not heed his call? Swami's song reverberates:
“The goodly Sivathondan strides in all four directions,
And spreads the message of the lotus Feet of the Lord,
Forget Him not in your hearts and hearths--
He who reiterates that we are all One in Siva.
Armed with inner purity and the heart repeating
The Five letters in tuneful notes, He speaks out
That no other worship is needful in the search after God;
That there need be no setback for the devotees of Siva.
Who doth hail the Guru without a second, this great Peer
The Sivathondan brings you repast of stories old and new.
Those followers of Siva who shall meet and delight
In his friendship, will also do good to the land.
In their country shall the rains descend,
Their searching hearts shall be sweetened,
In wisdom shall they wipe out all wrongs,
And realise that Sivam abides in the soul.
Thus shall Sivathondan light the way with love;
His sound expositions of truth shall reveal
That Vedanta and Siddhanta are not separate paths,
But are the essential facets of the luminious One.
Not to bind oneself the Sivathondan guides,
To work for work's sake eschewing selfish ends,
And experience the bliss of selfless performance.
Lo, the holy Feet Sivathondan adorns my head.
--Natchintanai. 74-81.
Such is the message of the true Sivathondan. His Sivathondu is performed by the whole of himself in the midst of the world. The significant thing is that it is fed at every point with the world's concerns and man's needs. It is reflected in man's love and service in all parts of the world. The Sivathondan is endowed with the strength of silence in word, silence in thought, and silence in deed. The Sanatana Religion with its emphasis on the Sanmarga Neri--the Way of Truth needs to be restated and commended in the light of the Sivathondan's ideal of service, in love and humility.
The Guru is the centre and circumference of the Sivathondan, the servant and master in one. In the words of Swami:
“God is our bond slave. He will carry out everything as we
want.
It is not fair to call Him ever and anon. He is a true and
faithful servant. Wherever we go, He is sure to follow us
there.
All those who believe thus should feed Him well, and clothe
Him, and generally look after His welfare.”
--Sivathondan. XV/1/1951.
Sing for ever the joyful song, with the cuckoo joining in the chorus:
“Sing Cuckoo, that we lack nothing,
And that we are the goodly Thondar, sing Cuckoo.”
--Natchintanai. 171.
“Blessed are they who consider all their acts
As service unto Siva.”
--Natchintanai. 123.
Swami affirms that renunciation cannot be of value if it is not mingled with service. What good is it to renonunce, if it does not lead to serve the needy. It is the touch of service that men remember and benefit by. To soothe, to serve, lift and liberate has been the goal of the renonunced seers. This applied aspect of renunciation is of paramount interest to humanity, and is an accepted ideal of life. In Swami's creed, Service is the very life of renunciation, and renunciation is the very soul of service.
Service is not only the fruit of renunciation. It is also the seed of renunciation. Genuine renunciation is never self-sufficient. It overflows in service. The great Rishi-Yogi that Swami was, he realised through renunciation. He would often feel excruiating pain for want of an opening to serve, and would pour forth the agony of his heart to the winds on the public highways, and call upon the people to serve and not be served.
Everyone is aware that renunciation produces a tremendous voltage of spirituality, but if there is no distribution of that production, of what avail is it? That renunciation which by its own urge flows out into a hundred streams of service, can alone transform life in the world by igniting new fires of renunciation with flames of service. We recall in this connection the wonderful testimony of St. JnanaSambandar, who at the very end of his life proved the efficacy of renunciation, by calling upon all those who had gathered for his marrige to take up the name of the Lord, and singing his last Devaram Hymn--“thus do I pine in love with streaming tears, “he embraced the Beloved in the company of the faithful.
True service, Sivathondu as Swami defined it, is nothing but a flame of renunciation as reflected on the necessites of the world. The service of an enlightened Seer beams forth the first intimations of higher values of life, admidst the people with whom he lives and the lives of many, is seen in the service of St. Francis of Asissi, who showed such intense love of God.
Genuine renunciation has always blazed a trail of service by its victory-giving power. “Be Good and Do Good.” It is only by being good that doing good becomes possible. True service must be preceded by genuine renunciation which connotes inner purity. Therefore renunciation and service are both necessary for a man's happiness on earth, and hereafter.
“Blessed are those who perform all service as unto Siva.
For they shall attain divinity.”
--Natchintanai. 43.
It is an interesting and enriching study to trace the genesis of the ideal of Service. Looking at the estuary of the Ganges, we may not believe the smallness of its source. In like manner, the Ideal of service emerging from the Vedas may not look at first as one pointed as the ideal of Sivathondu expounded by Swami today. But the accents and details of the ideals of service as lived and communicated by Swami, are indeed found in the Vedas in seed forms. The vastness of the estuary of that idea, is only proof of the potency and the power of the perennial source.
The Vedic Deities are not mere personitications of the forces of nature. It will be more revealing to say, that they are objectifications of the potent yearnings of their souls and aspiritations of their hearts. The presence of the gods was felt everywhere, and in that sentiment of the presence of the gods, there was a germ of religious morality, sufficiently strong to restrain people from committing before the eyes of their gods, what they were ashamed to commit before the eyes of men.
It is against this backdrop that we will view the spontaneity of the genesis if the ideal of service in the Vedic mind. Under the seeing eye of their breathing Gods, the Vedic Aryans had to grow and live and perform their actions. The relation of man to gods is one of dependence, but the expression of love for the gods is marked as father, mother, and son addresses. The way of devotion, Bhakti Marga, which some scholars imagine to be a later development of Hindu religion, is already evident in the Rig Veda.
The Gods being powerful rulers of the universe had to be approached for blessings to man in a pleasing way, and thus was constituted the soul of the principle of Service. Hymns, oblations, prasises and offerings to gods were the first manifestations of srevice--a heart link between gods and men, the earth and heaven. This indeed is the first incentive for SivaThondu.
Yoga also signifies the giving up of things in the name of Dieties. This giving up of things typifies the most primitive form of both renuncition and service. Though lofty, the Vedic Gods are not beyond human intimacy. The offerings are that which, men like--milk, grain, butter, flesh of sheep and soma juice, and are conveyed to heaven by the fire God--All this constitutes service. In return men asked for some kind of divine service from the Gods. The Gita enjoins this practice. “Perform everything as unto a sacrifice--Actions done with beneficial merit to all do not bind one.” Chapter III. 9.
Thus Service came to mean a bilateral cherishing between God and man in the free association of each other. Work done in a spirit of sacrifice, for the love of the Divine has no binding power. Sacrifice itself is interpreted in a broad sense. We have to sacrifice the lower mind to the higher. The religious duty towards the Vedic gods here becomes service of creation in the name of the Supreme.
“Cherish the Devas with this Yagjna, and may those Devas cherish you. Thus cherishing one another, ye shall attain the highest good.” (Gita III.11.).
This indeed is the keynote of Service or SivaThondu. Life itself becomes a Yagjna or sacrificial service, to a devotee of the Lord.
When we can bring ourselves to feel this idea in its essential spiritual pulsation, we stand in awe before the creativity of this conception. Service is the only way, by which man can lift up his heart to the Gods in adoration, and they can stretch their arms to him in benediction. Man can approximate gods, and gods can be proximate to man.
Through this sovereign path, God's godliness--Siva's transcendence, and man's manhood--man's immanence, found self-expression. It was through this golden way that the Hindu Seers first went out in the expanse of their own spiritual potentialites. This pathway inevitably lead to the fundamental realisation, that the macrocosm quivered within the very heart of microcosm. From this vantage point, the conception of service transcended itself and attained a higher soul as it were. Everything became a mighty play of the Self within the self, as testified in the Eternal Message of the Upanishads, and the Testimony of the Saiva Saints in Periya Puranam. It is the Testament of Swami, in Natchintanai.
Swami would make us read in his Ashram, the Purusha Sukta (Rig Veda X. 90; Yajur Veda XXXI) which is a unique poem in marking the expansion of human consciousness. Its spiritual import is superb. As the Sivathondar understand it, it is a magnificent paean on Man.
“Be great. No great work can be done without sacrifice. The Purusha himself sacrificed himself to create the world. Lay down your comforts, your pleasures, your name, fame or position, nay, even your lives, and make a bridge of human chains over which millions will cross this ocean of life.”
“Bring all forces of good together. Do not care under what banner you march. Do not care what your colour be, green, blue, or red, but mix up all colours and produce the intense glow of white, the colour of love. Ours is to work. The results will take care of themselves.”
Total self-immolation for the good of the world is the acme of the ideals of renunciation and service, and it is effectively and symbolically expressed in Purusha Sukta. Thus we see that the ideal of service has been permeating the entire scheme of Hindu Life. The spiritual quality and social applicability received an effective orientation in the hands of the venerable YogaSwami of Lanka in the Twentieth Century, in this blessed land of Yalpanam.
Hindus have always been profound realists. Virtue, Plenitude, Bliss and Moksha are the four Ends of life, according to our Dharma Sastras and Tirukural. Neither economics nor politics determined the patterns of the Hindu social institutions. The focal point was the soul's relation to the supreme ParaSivam. All individual selves are fixed in this Mid-Point. Siva is below; Siva is above; behind and before--to the right and to the left. Siva is all that exists--one who sees thus, thinks thus, understands thus, loves Siva, revels in Siva, enjoys the presence of Siva, and rejoices in Siva. Swami's Song-- “See, see Sivaparan everywhere,” echoes the universality of Saivam.
He is the innerself of all creatures--
The ideal of SivaThondu draws its nourishment from the very core of these realisations. These age-old truths were socialised to suit the needs of the modern Hindus, and Swami worked out the integral ideal of SivaThondu. If all are in Siva, and Siva art all, then all men are of equal status. We recognise ever so clearly the futility of the palpable inequalities that thrive around us. Hinduism is a unique fusion of super-idealism and hyper-realism, and her Pathfinders have been great planners of life. The peculiar necessities of different men in different levels of being have been recognised in Hindu Society, and implemented by her spiritual Teachers.
Men, according to their inner make up, necessities and qualities came to have different modes of life with different duties and privileges. Every man's path connected him on the one hand with his ultimate goal of life--which was equal for all ultimately, the realisation of the divine in man and his liberation--and to the society on the other, for the welfare of which, he had to exert himself to the utmost. In this perspective and context, the Varnashrama dharma stands out as one of the superb Service Schemes, which form the web and woof of Hindu society, and therefore needs to be upheld even today.
All men are equal as far as the aspiration part of the life's quest is concerned. But according to the psycho-physical requirements of men of different levels, the necessity part of people's lives had to differ. Swami's Sivathondu helped to implement this ideal, where a group of people could discharge their duties so well, that they could progress towards their goal of life which is liberation, as well as contribute in the process, a service to the society which would help other groups of people in going a step nearer towards the common goal of all men--“To Realise Siva through Sivathondu”. Let us join the servitors of Siva and sing with Swami:
Behold God in all and rejoice, AUM.
Free from desire, malice and lust, AUM.
Steadfast is their meditation so joyful, AUM.
Good and ill deeds they endure gladly, AUM.
In dire distress, are they unruffled, AUM.
In Oneness they perceive heaven and earth AUM.
They see the dance of holy Feet and praise, AUM.
They invoke and chant--Hail Namasivaya, AUM.
The First and Last shall not assail them, AUM.
The loving servitors of Siva, they forget not, AUM.
And they set aside the chains of caste and creed, AUM.
They do not swerve from the serenity of truth, AUM.
On earth they will not act ignobly, AUM.
Nor will they rejoice in gay youthfulness, AUM.
In ecstatic joy, they evoke His Praise, AUM.
And declare that Truth abides in All, AUM.
They perceive not the male, female and neuter, AUM.
But chant in joy Hara, Hara, Siva, Siva, AUM.
The Devotees of Siva
Behold the light that mingles in the seeing Eye, AUM.
And the vision of Oneness beyond day and night, AUM.
They avow the impermanence of birth and death, AUM.
And appear like fools and lunatics, AUM.
They chastise the wiles that prey on goodly minds, AUM.
The Lord's name of Namasivaya do they extol, AUM.
And trust that nothing's lost nor gained, AUM.
They know the essence of five and three, AUM.
And declare there's no going nor coming, AUM.
Thus they keep in check the wayward mind, AUM.
The Devotees of Truth
Unknown to the devas, seers and mystics, AUM.
Yet known in their adoration of Siva-Siva, AUM.
The Supreme Lord they do praise always, AUM.
Yet do not despise those of evil deeds, AUM.
Carnal delights allure them not on earth.AUM.
The arrogance of ego do they eschew, AUM.
And attain wisdom by subduing the Five, AUM.
Inordinate desires can never seduce them, AUM.
And they remember not the past or present, AUM.
Nor do they cling to winsome worldly wiles, AUM.
The Devotees of Siva
By soulful incantations make even Yama retreat, AUM.
They heed not to obstacles from any quarter, AUM.
Thus did manifest on earth the wise Sivathondan, AUM.
Like waxing moon resplendent, Hail Sivathondan, AUM.
Oh Devotees of Siva!
Affirm that the will of Siva prevails supreme, AUM.
And speak with one and all in sweet simplicity, AUM.
Praise in cadence fine the adorable Sivathondan, AUM.
Who as Self of self, sees not right nor wrong, AUM.
Flawless and beauteous art Thou, Sivathondan, AUM.
Whose benign grace cleaves the bonds of birth, AUM.
Long live Sivathondan! AUM.
All Hail, All Hail, Sivathondan, AUM.
--Natchintanai, 204-207.
“We are Sivanadiyar. We lack nothing. Our delight is to do His bidding. That is our goal of life.
The sun, moon and stars, devas and asuras and all sentient beings are engaged in activity, in consonance with Siva's Will.
They fulfil the supreme will of the Lord, through the goal of service to Siva.
Nothing moves except by His Will. There is no gain, neither is there any loss.
We are incomparable: we have transcended pain and pleasure;
There is neither death nor birth for us; no desires canthwart us, neither desirelessness; Beyond the sway of the senses are we, and the convolutions of the mind affect us not. Away with barriers of Time and space!
We are Sivanadiyar.
We witness the majesty of our Lord Siva.
We are spectators in the stage of the Universe.”
--Natchintanai. 370.
'We are Sivanadiyar, the bondsman of Siva! Our meditation, our concentration, our conduct and our action--all are focussed on Him!
Blessed are we, for we are the beloved of Siva.
Immersed
in His Grace, we intensely experience His Bliss.
We are not subject to the code of finite knowledge. We
enjoy the freedom fo realisation. Thus do we reflect
on the
Mahavaakiam:
Intrinsci evil there is not.
That is what It is--from everlasting His Will prevails.
We know not--who knoweth?
All That is, is Truth absolute.
--Natchintanai. 371.
It will be significant in this context to reflect on the Prologue to Periya Puranam, where St. Sekkilar depicts Lord Siva as extolling the virtuous qualities of the sanctified servitors of Siva; and bidding St. Sundarar to sing of their glory par excellence:
“These are my servitors,
In matchless glory, they shed unique lustre;
By devotion non-pareil, they attain me;
They control the world by their integral harmony.
They are not subject to ills nor bonds.
In peerless stature, they are established.
Inbued with great Love, they enjoy bliss divine,
Duality have they transcende;
Do thou resort to this fine galaxy.”
--Thaduthadkonda Puranam V. 196.
At the bidding of Lord Siva, St. Sudarar sings in praise of the holy galaxy with humility and love. He tunes himself in worshipful reverence to do the Lord's injuction, and sees in it an admirable avenue, a flawless pathway to rid himself of blemish and imperfection:
T. P-197.
He takes his pledge of eternal servitude to each of the heroic bondsman of Siva:
Drawn by an irresistible bond of allegiance, he picks up the chord of inspiration from the first line uttered by the Lord:
“To Thy devout bondsmen who in sacred Thillai Dwell, my obeisance be.”
He sings the garland of Poesy called Tiru Thondar Togai-- the work on sanctified saints, which formed the source for St. Sekkilar's immortal Epic of Tiru Thondar Puranam-- the magnum opus on the galaxy of the faithful devotees of Siva.
SivaJnana Botham, the foremost authority on Saiva Siddhanta Metaphysics, enjoins the admission of an enlightened soul to the galaxy of the servitors of Siva, as the acme of Siva's Grace. The last sutra delineates the liberated souls, the Jivan-muktar, as enjoying the holy companionship and felicity of the faithful bondsmen of Siva, and adoring their wisdom with pious veneration.
St Manicavacagar in the Temple Lyric supplicates for admission to the assembly of Siva's bondsmen:
“Ever grant this humble devotee the grace to dwell,
Amidst thy holy band of servitors,
That my soul's yearning be fulfilled.”
In the opening stanzas of the Prologue to Periyapuranam, St. Sekkillar describes the august assembly of these holy votaries of Siva, in the courtyard known as “Devasiriyan Porch,” at the temple of Tiruvarur.
“It was like thousand seas of milk
Sparkling in the luminosity of the holy Ash;
Of shining mien are these radiant votaries,
And resounding in their chant of mystic letters Five.
They worship the Feet of Him, the primal Cause,
And live as mighty rulers of this earth.
From global corners wide are they gathered here;
And the world lies vanquished at their feet.
Their resplendent countenance lights up
Every side and their exalted glory,
None can extol. These men are as pure inside
As the holy ash adorning their bodies outside.”
Thus we see the panorama of the Society of God-men, who demonstrated their deep love of Siva by their joyous and dedicated lives. In Swami's Psalm of Praise too, we discover the cherished goal of Saiva-Neri as the relentless pursuit of the Beloved Siva by these God-men, who realised their own perfection and made kings and common men bow to them. These servitors are the eternal liegemen of Siva, who do not know of any other objective in life except service unto Siva.
St. Sekkilar delineates their heroic valour and fearlessness thus:
“They lack nothing as they rest on the will of Siva.
Their only aim in life is to serve the Lord.
Their steadfast, undaunted courage defy all analysis.”
--Periyapuranam IV. Tirukootachirapu. 9.
In the Natchintanai Ode, to the rhythm of the primordial sound AUM, Swami hails these illustrious Siva-Thondar as moving to the Will of Siva, and from among this band of God-men, he singles out the unique role of the Master SivaThondan, the manifestation of the Grace of Siva, in the form of His Grace:
“Thus did manifest on earth, the wise Sivathondan,
Aum.
All Hail, All Hail, Sivathondan, Aum.
--Natchintanai. 207.
What a wondrous panorama of divine God-men march past us in this song! Whatever be their mode of activity or status of being, they are all linked to the Feet of the Lord. They are the chosen ones of Siva's Grace.
“Light that dwelleth serene in thy Sweep of Grace,
Height untouched by a craving or counsel, Lord,
Endless births would I undergo, if through all,
Bending knees to thy saints I could serve them well.”
--St. Tayumanavar. 258.
Walking, standing, sleeping, waking, eating or fasting, in purity or impurity, in wealth or poverty, in pleasure or pain, in enjoyment or separation, they are constantly aware of the Presence of Siva, and are the inheritors of His ineffable Grace.
Before the Sat-Guru--Sivathondan, we envisage a consecration ceremony, where the pledge of eternal servitude is taken by his devout bondsmen, this centenary year of our dearly loved GURU:
“We are the legion of servitors. We take the vow of
allegiance at the Feet of the Lord, who is immanent in
the cosmos and in our inner self. We do not suffer from
the pangs of life's misery; no more diverstiy; no discord,
no dissolution and decay shall ever touch us. We have
become immortal. Ceaseless shall be our remembrance
of Siva, whose name is ever on our lips. We live in Him
and He in us. Harmonious and serene shall be our lives
on earth under the victorious banner of Master
Sivathondan.” Thy Will be done. Ellaam Sari.
We shall follow the pledge by singing in chorus Swami's Song of “Tondar Naangale--Sivathondar Naangale”, with Swami leading the choir:
Servitors are we,
Siva's servitors are we.
In the whole as in the part,
We behold the Lord.
We shall not suffer from dire disease,
Nor travel again by the uterine path;
Hoary sins have from us dissolved,
All things on earth are linked to us.
He is our refuge and to Him we offer love,
For e'er His thrall, for e'er living in Him.
We see naught but unity in Sidhanta and Vedanta,
To the path of perfection we hold fast.
We chant Siva, Siva in ceaseless refrain,
In mind apprehending Siva as the Indweller.
We see everything where we are.
A life of sweet content is ours on earth.
--Natchintanai. 4.