The Yoga of Siddha Tirumular

Foreword

Thanks to the tireless efforts of M. Govindan of Babaji’s Kriya Yoga and Publications, the Ramakrishna Mission and the late Swami Subramanya of Hawaii, Tirumular is now well known in the West. The present work by T.N. Ganapathy and KR. Arumugam, The Yoga of Siddha Tirumular, ventures to present an in-depth study of Tirumular’s monumental work, the Tirumandiram.

Tradition cherishes it as one of the important Saivite scriptures, Tirumular who can be considered to belong to the 5th Century A.D. believed that the Saivism of his times was not only a religion with a convincing philosophy and Yoga system but that it formed an integral part of our mundane life also.

The Philosophy of the Tirumandiram
After surveying various pramanas or alavais (processes of acquiring valid knowledge), the author of this chapter states that Saiva Siddhanta accepts only three processes (alavais)-perception, inference, and testimony. He has considered in depth the views of Tirumular about God, soul and the world (Pati, pasu and pasa). He explains both the accidental nature and the essential nature of God as delineated in Saiva Siddhanta in the times of Tirumular. He has often quoted the Tirumandiram to explain the following concepts of Saiva Siddhanta: 1. Maya
a. suddha-maya
b. asuddha-maya

2. Karma
3. Anava
4. Nature of the soul
5. States of the soul (stages of consciousness)
6. The soul’s liberation and
7. The nature of the soul in the state of release.

Saivism as Conceived in the Tirumandiram
Tirumular’s philosophy was based on the religious concepts of Saivism, which spoke of the four steps saloka, samipa, sarupa and sayujya in order to reach Siva. The popular myths about it are re-interpreted by Tirumular to explain the metaphysical truths behind them.

The Yoga of the Tirumandiram
The author interprets Yoga as a means by which the basic features of the individual, namely, the physical body, the vital current, mind, consciousness and energy get mobilized and harmonized.

Tirumular has founded a new tradition in Tamil which goes beyond Patanjali’s concept of Yoga. To Tirumular, Siddhas are yogins who practice Siva-Yoga and have attained Siva-jnana. These yogins are called jivan-muktas; jivan-mukti (liberation while living) is a state of embodied wisdom in which the yogin’s attainment transforms all aspects of human life.

The author reveals similarities between the Tantric school of Yoga and the Yoga of Tirumular by analyzing Laya-Yoga. Laya-Yoga is concerned with the functioning of the Kundalini, the cosmic power that is inherent in the human body. He considers Laya-Yoga as the highest form of Hatha-Yoga, though its lower stages are now claimed to be Yoga in the Western countries.

The cakra system extolled by Tirumular is an important component of the Laya-Yoga. The author of this chapter has viewed it in the right perspective and appreciates it as one of the subtle operative powers. The cakras are believed to be awakened by the kundalini-the form of the great cosmic power in the individual body. The awakening corresponds to the predominant psychological states and the levels of spiritual consciousness, the aspirant has attained. Kundalini-Yoga is a technique for transforming ordinary consciousness into supreme consciousness.

The function of pranayama (the control of breath and prana) is to awaken the cakras and thus facilitate the rising kundalini through them.

An important element of Tantra-Yoga is the use of mantras and mandalas. The Tirumandiram is a repository of many mantras. The author has given the right explanation to these mantras, the focus being on bija-mantras (the syllable seeds). He defines the bija-mantras as the concentration of the vital force at a point where its sound emitting power gets exhibited.

According to Tirumular, the sphere of the six adharas is classified into three mandalas, agni (fire), Surya (sun) and candra (moon). Tirumular devotes a separate chapter to describe in detail the powers of these mandalas. There is an exclusive discussion in this book on Pariyanga-Yoga of Tirumular. It is called Maithuna-Yoga in which the semen instead of getting ejected is sublimated upwards.

The author considers Pariyanga-Yoga as a type of Yoga in which the heroic yogin and his consort participate inn the great banquet, a secret sex ritual, which culminates in their act of intercourse. It is an expression to show that the yogin’s sensory tumult is stilled, an expression to show that the yogin’s sensory tumult is stilled, paving way for an ever-increasing identity with the cosmic consciousness.