Guest guest Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Dear Friends, The following are a few verses from the composition of Tamil saint Thayumanavar, recommended by Ramana Maharishi to be read by the devotees, Ramana having held in high esteem this saint. Thayumanavar, not being identified with any school of thought, pours out his articulations. The Saiva-Siddhantha schools relate his teachings to their thoughts, the vedantins identifying his teaching with Advaitha Vedanta. Whatever it be, it is clear from his writings that he is a great teacher. The translation has been made by an Australian Saiva devotee, being available in the following website. with warm regards sankarraman http://mountainman.com.au/thayumanavar/ As the hauteur that is ''I'' Affects and harasses you, The maya that pertains to the world Takes diverse forms and pursues you, As flesh, body, organs external and internal, As sky, wind, fire, water and earth, As mountain and forest, Thus is the ocean of sorrow That grows out of this - Who can describe indeed? Sights visible, as mountain after mountain, Sights not visible at all to the naked eye, Forgetfulness and remembrance, Sorrows and joys that come as waves from the ocean of maya, And the karmas they bring in their train, And the numerous faiths to end them, And their respective gods, And their devotees, And the numerous paths that claim to be their witness, And the doctrines and logic behind them, Oh, how many, how many are they? Well may the sands of the sea, Easier reckoned be! All that are rare to see Will of themselves occur en mass. And to show that all these Are but transient and illusory Like the camphor mountain in blaze - He comes. Eating and sleeping, Experiencing sorrows and joys And possess of habitation and the rest, As unto me He takes the form. And as with deer the deer is trapped He comes as the compassionate Mauna Guru To cleanse me of my impurities. Coming thus He takes hold of my body, life and possessions In his own hands And following the adhava path He points out: "You are not the five senses. You are not the five elements. You are not the several organs. You are not the gunas Nor are you this body And the knowledge and ignorance That pertain to it. You partake the nature of that around you. You are unto the crystal That reflects whatever is near to it. You are the chit That awaits its bonds to sunder - And I am the Teacher who imparts the wisdom Appropriate to your ripeness." If you desire to be enlightened, Transported into bliss, Attain the everlasting state And reach the all pervasive Goal Absolute, That is the Temple of Compassion, I shall tell you in order What you should do. Listen. "May you reach the heart and state That knows no attributes And so live long! May all the dense ignorance lifting, You attain knowledge bliss! May your bonds break asunder!" He imparted the silent way of true knowledge Of sundering the bonds. That way is devoid of thought, Devoid of I-ness, Devoid of space, time and direction, Devoid of attachment, separation and the rest, Devoid of speech, Devoid of day and night appearance, Devoid of end, beginning and middle, Devoid of inside and outside, Devoid of things all. ''Devoid, devoid'' does not mean Nothing there is. There it is, natural and ever Indescribable is that nature, Appearing not as ''I'' and ''Thou,'' Form manifestness that comprehends all; Consuming all ignorance Like the day that has consumed darkness Himself successfull Consuming your own knowledge And making you as Thine. As Light within In silentness will He shine. Nothing will it permit to appear Except it be of its own essence. Even if one appears It will disappear like the flame of camphor Without another land of its own to lodge. The knower devoid of knowledge And the object of knowledge Will slip and slip not away. Oh! Who shall relate its greatness to whom? He that has become It, That alone can say. If you say ''it,'' The question arises ''what.'' And so giving up ''it'' totally King Janaka, Rishi Sukha and others Lived like the bee that drank of the nectar. This is the nature of Godhead. As Thou accepted me in Thy service Grant me the Grace To attain the supreme bliss Throught transcendental samadhi! Without reaching this goal I will not sleep, I will not do work any. I shall make a picture of Thee And mount the thorny fibre-horse In the classical Madal way, Vowing never to dismount until Thou accept me. I will cry aloud for Thee, saying: ''Will Thou not come? Thou the Lord of my life?'' Encircling me from directions several, Thou made me all Thine own. Letting myself not investigate And knowing further, Like the wounded at heart I wept in silence, Shedding tears in profusion. Sighing and sobbing So did I stand transfixed. To the horror of Thine devotees That have attained jnana and have tasted bliss, Becoming one with Thee, Some espoused faiths that taught cruel ways. Them I made think clear And turned them back. I sought forest, sea and mountain In search of fruits, weeds and withered leaves That I may eat to keep life going. Straight seeking the mystic moon's beams as goal, I lie agitated, Like the tower crest of a temple Fallen at the portal front. How shall I speak of His greatness? Thou, night and day! He made you come so regular, Failing never. Thou, wind! By whom are you blowing? By whom are you circling incessant? Pray, speak! Thou, the clouds that pour! What is it that you specially perform Which makes you rain bounteous Like the mercy of my Lord! Pray, speak! Oh! Thou Expanse Vast That defies thought! Thou art pervasive full. But what will be the nature of that Which will at our terminal be? Pray, speak! Oh! Thou Earth! What will it be like At your end? Will not the serpent king, Sesha, That is of perfect awareness, The Truth reveal? Pray, speak! Oh! Thou Scriptures! Do you not reveal the Truth Equally to all? What is it that is your finding? Pray, speak! Oh! Thou, the ocean Of indescribable dimension That extends your wavy hands And roars incessant! Who is it that placed you Surrounding this globe Without banks any? Pray, speak! Oh! Thou, the green parrots of the wild! Oh! Thou, the bees of striped wings That resort to the lotus! Oh! Thou, the swans! Hath not carrying message been What you have been doing All this time? Have you ever seen and talked To the Great Object that is Perfection? Pray, say for once! Foolish I am, unto one, Who wishing to drive away the elephant Makes motions of it with his hand inside a pot. Hoping to unite indissolubly with Thee, I dissolve salt in water, Burn camphor in fire, And stand disappointed! When Thou, the Being Supreme of compassion great were, Then was I, too. But only to me are the bonds of Anava, karma and the rest. Did not thus limiting me, The holy scriptures speak even then? From that day to this What did the millions and millions That were born get? Except to perish in sorrow? Not until this day has mukti been attained. When this body is not to be, I do not know. So even now, Will you not accept me - This vile cur - in your service That my distress be wiped out? Thou, the Lord of Sikali! Thou, of Navalur That went as messenger to get gold! Thou, that hailed Thine devotee as ''Our appa!'' Thou, the Lord Of the treasure house of compassion limitless! Thou, Vadavur Deva! Thou, Tirumula Deva! Thou, Siva Vakya Master, That came to kindle the desire for mukti In men of this world! Thou, Arunagiri of fame great That taught the way of Obtaintaining Grace, sitting impassive! Thou, the Saints great - Thus I invoke them all. Thus I stand transfixed, Like the faultless image painted That my sorrows indescribable vanish Before I relate them full. Is there none like the peerless Sukhar To enquire why, why - so I ask. Will not a silentness be born That destroys difference and nondifference? Will not the Lord that Observes the grand silentness Under the wild banyan tree Come to see the world for once - Thus my thoughts running I became like the yearning cow. I pined like the love stricken maiden. It is your duty to understand and protect me. This I say again and again. Long may Thy Grace live! Long may Thy Nature live Into which is fused time, space and matter! Long may the tradition of love live That espouses holy faiths like Saivam And transcends those faiths, too! Long may that Compassion live That made this humble one Petition thus as length! Long may the Supreme Guru At the foot of the banyan tree live! Long may Thy devotees Of infinite Grace live! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2005 Report Share Posted November 19, 2005 Thank you Sri Sanakararaman-ji for bringing to this great forum the verses of Saint-poet Sri Thayumanavar! Just a few posts ago , i had mentioned Sri Thayumanavar's name in another context. What is the meaning of the word 'Thayumanavar'- it is a Tamizh word which literaaly means 'One who became a Mother or one who assumed the form of a mother ' ! Here is the legend surrounding the Original Thayumanavar, Lord Shiva HIMSELF! While on a pilgrimage trip to South Indian temples in the winter of 2002/2003, One of the temples i visited in Tiruchi located in the heart of the city is the 'Ucchi Pillaiyaar' kovil on top of a Rock so called because of the higher elevation of the temple. At the base of the Rock temple is another temple dedicated to Lord Shiva known as 'Thayumanavar' temple. I The Legend of Thayumanavar This story is about a great Shiva devotee who was living on the other side of the river Kaveri. This woman devotee was pregnant at that time but she never failed to visit the Shiva temple daily to offer her prayers to her Ishata-nishta Lord Shiva. One day while she was visiting the temple and after concluding her daily puja, the pregnant woman found to her dismay that she will not be able to return home ! The river Kaveri was in spate and there was no sign of the waters receding for the woman to safely cross the river. Meanwhile, the woman experienced acute labor pains and there was no one to attend to her. But suddenly,, her mother appeared from nowhere on the scene and assisted the lady during labor . As a result, the baby was delivered safe and sound ! AfTER THIS , THE MOTHER DISAPPERARED MYSTERIOUSLY! It is believed Lord Shiva himself had assumed the form of the 'Mother' to help his devotee in her hour of need ! It is for this reason the Deity here is called 'Thayumanavar' ( the one who became a Mother) ! This legend is beautifully depicted on the temple walls ! It is so picturesque ! Shiva in the form of a Mid-wife Mother! " Thanthaiyum Neeye ! Thayum Neeye! Arul Purivayzh! Enn Karunai Kadale! Enn Siva perumane! Ellam Siva-mayam " "Oh! Lord Shiva! Ocean of Compassion! Thou art my father ! Thou art my Father ! Thou Art everything! " Our respected Sankararaman-ji has given us the url for Sage Thayumanavar where you can read the entire biography of this great siddha saint and his Divine compositions. tHE SAGE WAS SO NAMED BECAUSE HIS PARENTS WERE DEVOTEES OF Lord Thayumanavar of the rock temple at Tiiruchi! To Know more about sage Thayumanavar's influence on Sri Ramana Bhagwan go to http://www.tamilnation.org/sathyam/east/saivaism/thayumanavar.pdf It is interesting to note that Sri Ramana Bhagwan's 'atma-vichara' path followed the 'vedantic' philosopy and Sage Thayumanavar's philosophy was that of 'Shaiva Siddantha'! However , both the saints agreed that 'in the experience of the 'SELF', all philosophical divisions and distinctions are dissolved! Sage Thayumanavar wrote : Since 'my' own actions are forever 'YOUR' actions Since the 'I' nature does not exist apart from 'YOU' 'I' am not *differnt' from 'You ' This is the state in which Vedanta and Siddanta are harmonised ! " 'I am (in effect) doing nothing at all!' -- so The disciplined man should think, knowing the truth, When he sees, hears, touches, smells, Eats, walks, sleeps, breathes," Bg Ch V with love and blessings os : sankararaman-ji, keep posting such beautiful verseS! a feast to the eyes and a delight to the ears! in Tamizh , it sounds even more wonderful! advaitin, Ganesan Sankarraman <shnkaran> wrote: > > Dear Friends, > > The following are a few verses from the composition of Tamil saint Thayumanavar, recommended by Ramana Maharishi to be read by the devotees, Ramana having held in high esteem this saint. Thayumanavar, not being identified with any school of thought, pours out his articulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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