5.1. Meyyunarthal (Realizing the Truth)
“Uthaman aththan udaiyaan adiye ninainthurugi” (Melting in devotion, thinking of the feet of the Supreme One, the Father, my Master)
God is the Supreme Being; He is the Supreme One (Uthaman)! He is the one seated in the letter ‘U’! He is the Father (Aththan)! He is the one residing in the letter ‘A’! Thus, as ‘U’ being the left eye, and as ‘A’ being the right eye, He who possesses, supreme Being who exists as the soul, thinking of my two eyes which are Your Thiruvadi holy feet, I shall melt and perform penance! Vallalar too, in his Thiruvarutpa, beautifully describes the way to perform penance as “thinking and thinking, realizing and realizing, melting and melting” on thiruvadi! constantly remembering, deeply realizing, and completely melting.
5-2 Instruction (Arivuruthal)
“Naadagaththaal unnadiyaar polnadiththu naan naduve
Veedagaththae pugunthiduvaan migapperithum viraiginren
Aadagachcheer manikkunrae idaiyaraa anbunakken
Oodagaththae ninrurugath thandharullam udaiyaanae”
(By acting like Your devotee through drama, in the midst of it / I hasten greatly to enter the inner sanctuary of liberation / Oh mountain of gold and fine gems! Ceaseless love for You / Granting it to stand and melt within my core, Oh Lord who possesses me!)
Oh Lord, at first I merely acted like Your devotee of thiruadi! As time passed, I transformed into a true devotee of Yours. Gradually, my mind merged into Your beautiful holy feet – thiruvadi! Then, realizing the supreme truth, I will draw inward, performing my penance within the very sanctum of my mind! How deeply and urgently I desire to embrace Your grace! O Lord, You are a mountain of brilliant gems; You are the divine light within my eye. Bestow upon me a ceaseless devotion for Your sacred feet and for the pupil of my eye. O Master of my being, bless me with the grace to lovingly dissolve in penance while dwelling within this mortal body!
“Aamaarun thiruvadikkae aganguzhaiyaen anburugaen
Poomaalai punainthaeththaen pugazhnthuraiyaen puththaeleer
Komaannin thirukkoyil thookaenmezhugaen koothtaadaen
Saamaarae viraiginraen sathuraalae saarvaanae”
(I do not melt in my heart, nor does my love pour out to become a servant to Your holy feet / I do not weave garlands of flowers and praise You, nor do I speak Your glory / Oh King of the Devas, I do not sweep Your holy temple, I do not smear it clean, I do not dance / I am only hastening towards death, Oh capable one whom I must reach!)
“O Lord, my heart does not soften, nor do I melt with love to become a servant at Your holy feet! This is precisely the message of Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar, who graced us with the Thiruvarutpa. He urges us to perform penance by softening our hearts—crying out, ‘O Nectar of Grace! O Precious Treasure! O King of the Dance of Wisdom!’ He guides us to practice constant remembrance, deep realization, and complete surrender, allowing our hearts to overflow with love until our bodies are drenched in tears of devotion!
O Lord, I have neither woven flower garlands for You nor sung Your praises! O Lord, who shines eternally as an ever-fresh light, I have not swept Your holy temple, nor have I cleaned it! I have not purified it by smearing sacred cow dung! I have not danced in ecstatic devotion! Instead, I am merely rushing toward death. If I read the sacred texts that extol Your glory, I will be moved to do all these things and become Your true devotee of Thiruvadi!”
5.3 Suttaruthal (Severing Attachments)
“Kanninainin thiruppaathap pothuk kaakki
vandhanaiyum ammalarkkae yaakki vaakkun
manivaarththaik kaakki”
(Making my two eyes dedicated to Your lotus-like holy feet, dedicating all worship to those same flowers,
and making my speech into Your gem-like words)
The Divine has transformed both our eyes into His own sacred feet! Every greeting, every offering of praise, and every glorification we express, He has directed toward those very same blossoms—the delicate, radiant flowers of the eyes! O Lord, You have taken the humble speech I utter and refined it into Your own precious gem—the sacred words emanating from the pupil of the eye! The utterances of the great saint Manikkavasagar are exactly these: sentences born directly from that divine thiruvadi (mani-pupil of eyes)! This is the essence of Manivasagam! This is the profound truth of the Thiruvasagam!
“Naattargal vizhiththiruppa gnaalath thullae
kaattaa thanavellaang kaattip pinnung
kaelaa thanavellaang kaetpith thennai
meettaeyum piravaamal kaaththaat kondaan”
(While the people of the world were awake, He showed me within this world all that had never been shown, made me hear all that had never been heard, redeemed me, and ruled over me to protect me from being born again)
Those whose hearts are entirely fixed upon the Lord—anchored deeply at His sacred, lotus feet—perform their penance not in the dark, but in the radiant, awakened light of His presence! It is only those lost in the slumber of worldly ignorance who keep their eyes tightly shut to the Divine. But the great saint Manikkavasagar was fully, spiritually awake!
In Tamil, the word “Gnalam” means the world. Yet, in this profound mystical state, the vast earth and the universe we inhabit are mirrored entirely within the pupil of the eye! The pupil becomes the sacred microcosm—the infinite world contained within the very vessel of our human body.
Through this awakened inner vision, the Supreme Lord bestowed His boundless grace:
- The Unseen Revealed: He unveiled before Manikkavasagar the deepest, unshown secrets of the cosmos, opening his eyes to divine truths previously hidden from mortal sight.
- The Unheard Spoken: He poured into the saint’s soul celestial wisdom and sacred sounds that no human ear had ever been privileged to hear.
“Showering him with such immeasurable compassion, the Lord did not just grant him universal knowledge; He bestowed the ultimate blessing of liberation—severing the chains of Karma and protecting him forever from the endless, sorrowful cycle of rebirth!”
“Yaamaarkkung kudiyallom yaathum anjom”
(We are subjects to no one, we fear nothing)
This profound fearlessness is the very hallmark of enlightened souls (Jnanis)! When a devotee places their life entirely at the lotus feet of the Lord, accepting Him as their one and ultimate refuge, all worldly anxieties dissolve. Bathed in His supreme grace, they fear nothing and no one in this transient world!
The great saint Thirunavukkarasar echoes this majestic devotion when he triumphantly sings, “We are subjects to no mortal, nor do we fear even Yama (the Lord of Death)!” Those who immerse themselves in the divine discipline of wisdom simply do not know the shadow of fear. Was it not this same spiritual fire that led the great poet Subramania Bharathiyar to declare, “Even if the very sky crumbles and crashes upon our heads, we have no fear, we have no fear, there is no such thing as fear!” He, too, was a mighty practitioner of this wisdom. Where the light of true devotion shines, the darkness of fear cannot survive; a trembling heart has yet to taste the supreme freedom of divine wisdom!
5-4 Aathuma Suthi (Purification of the Soul)
“Inaiyan baavanai irumbugal manamsevi”
(Of such nature, meditation, iron/stone-like mind and ear)
Man wanders aimlessly without knowing or realizing God! Only if one finds a Guru—a true Guru of wisdom (Gnana Sadguru)—can one know the holy feet of God! Only if one knows, can one realize it, right?
If you want to merge with God, first learn what His holy feet truly are! One who searches on the outside is ignorant!! The one who searches within themselves is the true spiritualist! A practitioner of wisdom (Gnana Sadhakan)! The ordinary person who lacks this has a mind of iron! Their ears are made of stone!! Yet, even a mind made of iron will melt if it understands God’s holy feet, realizes them, and performs penance! To melt iron, you need fire, don’t you? God Himself is that “Fire”! He will melt you! Because he held onto God’s holy feet, another devotee sang, “May even the heavy, stone-like heart soften and melt!”
“Oonil aaviyai oombuthar poruttinum unduduth thirunthaenae”
(Even if only to preserve the spirit within the flesh, I remained merely eating and dressing)
Manikkavasagar sang this gracefully specifically for us to realize this truth. What does an average human do? Eating, sleeping, and dressing up—that is their only job! For many, this is what life is! There is a proverb: “A measure to eat, four cubits to wear.” When we were young, our grandmother used to scold us saying, “unduvalanthaan(tamil) You just grew up by eating!” People ate merely for the sake of staying alive! Lumps of flesh fattened by rice! Only fools who do not know God will exist like this! Lord Vallalar questions, “If one truly has the thirst to see God, if there is that hunger, will the tears of crying ever cease? Will desire ever turn toward food?”
In the mornings and evenings, my grandmother would scold my sisters, saying, “Are you just playing around without sweeping the entrance, sprinkling water, and drawing a kolam?” Every day, twice a day, we would sweep the house and the threshold clean. We would sprinkle water at the entrance, or dissolve fresh cow dung in water and sprinkle it inside the house and out in the front. They would draw a maakolam (pattern made of rice flour)! In those days, the exact same practices happened in temples too! Both the home and the temple were kept sacred!
But today, most people do not even sweep and clean their own homes! If you mention cow dung, they pinch their noses in disgust! But fresh cow dung is a highly effective disinfectant! They used to smear it in houses back in the day. We lived safely, ensuring that no microscopic, unseen germs affected us or our homes. We lived purely! And today?! Humans are living in a very miserable state. Under the guise of “civilization,” they have descended into a cultural degradation of eating and dressing! There is no good, pure food! There are no proper clothes! They do not spare a single thing that crawls or flies slaughters and consumes, transforming into a wild savage! The way of dressing has become degraded! Our wise ancestors instructed us, “To live a naturally healthy life, consume good, pure, Sattvic (vegetarian) food! Wear fine, dignified, and pure cotton clothing!”
There is a traditional proverb: “Half is the person, and half is their attire.” But it seems today’s society, infatuated with Western illusions, has misinterpreted this to mean wearing meager clothes that expose half the body! How shameful! Even grown men wander shamelessly in the streets wearing short trousers like little boys! As for women, need it even be said? It is unseemly and inappropriate. Their attire merely serves to incite the lustful frenzy of men!
Where has our nation’s exalted heritage gone? Where is our sacred culture? They have vanished because humanity has lost its spiritual awareness! Because man has forgotten God, he has fallen into this degraded state! In the past, when looking at the women of our land, people would reverently say they embodied Goddess Mahalakshmi! Men, too, dressed with such dignity that others would respect and praise them!
Wear respectable, dignified, and modest clothing! Partake in pure, Sattvic vegetarian food! Do not become enslaved to dark habits and wicked customs! Strive with all your heart to know the Divine! At the very least, live a life anchored in devotion! Live with noble virtues! Cherish and uphold the spiritual culture of our Bharat (India)!
Remember the sacred truths: “Humanity is one family, and God is but One!” “Every town is my own, and all people are my kin!” “My sole duty is to lovingly serve the Lord and His devotees!” May all living beings live in joy! Living together in harmony yields a million-fold blessings! Worshipping at the temple is supremely beneficial; never reside in a town that has no temple! Mother, Father, and the Guru are the true manifestations of God!
The Supreme Lord has granted us this precious human birth as a divine opportunity, asking, “Born as a human, will you finally reach Me at least in this lifetime?” If you miss the chance of this human birth, who knows what birth awaits you next?? O human soul! Awaken from your slumber, at least now!
5-5 Kaimmaaru Koduthal (Offering in Return / Recompense)
“Katta ruthuthenai yaandugan naaranee
ritta anbaro diyaavarung kaanavae
patti mandapam aetrinai aetrinai
etti nodiran dumari yaenaiyae”(Severing my bonds, You ruled over me; while devotees with ash-smeared, tear-filled eyes and all others watched, / You elevated me, oh You elevated me, to the pavilion of debate, / I, who knew neither the eight nor the two!)
Severing the bonds — Having entirely severed the dual, binding chains of my Karma (both virtue and sin), and then…Tear-filled eyes / Ash-smeared — Tears of divine ecstasy will overflow from the eyes of those completely immersed in the profound penance of Wisdom (Gnana Thavam)! This is exactly what the great saint Manikkavasagar is expressing. Devotees are those who smear the sacred ash (Vibhuti) upon their foreheads and bodies Not just that!
Oh Lord, You caused the true devotees—who ceaselessly realize the pupil of the eye as God’s holy feet and shed tears of divine ecstasy—to behold this, rejoice, and sing praises! How? Oh Lord, You elevated me to the “Pavilion of Debate” (Patti Mandapam) and made the world praise me!
At the sacred junction where the solar, lunar, and fire channels (Kalas) unite; at the inner convergence where all energies gather; within the Golden Hall (Ponnambalam) where the Supreme Soul (Paramatma) reigns as the divine Light of the Soul. In that ten-pillared hall where the Eight and the Two merge—that is the true Patti Mandapam! You elevated me there! You bestowed Your Grace! Upon me, who knew neither the Eight nor the Two!
The Eight is the letter ‘A’ (அ), the Two is the letter ‘U’ (உ). ‘A’ represents the right eye, and ‘U’ represents the left eye. These two eyes are indeed the holy feet of the Lord! Only when one realizes this profound truth does the phrase “Eight and Two make Ten” become more than a simple mathematical explanation! When ‘A’ (8) and ‘U’ (2) join, it becomes the letter ‘Ya’ (ய – 10)!! ‘Ya’ represents the Jeevasthanam (the seat of the soul) located in the center of our head—the Fire element (Agni Kalai)! ‘Ya’ is the exact divine center where the sun, moon, and fire elements converge. The merging of these three radiant flames creates the “Three Fires” (Mutthee)—and that is Mukti (Ultimate Liberation)! Only those endowed with deep spiritual wisdom can contemplate and realize this inner truth! How can this ever be understood by “educated” fools who wander about arrogantly boasting, “I am a great intellectual,” writing endless books and shallow commentaries?! As long as the ego of being “learned” infects them, divine wisdom will never enter their heads?!
Smear the holy ash until your eyes are full of devotion! Then the Lord—the Lord who resides deep within—will take you, who stand at the forefront in the eyes, and elevate you to the ten-pillared hall, the Patti Mandapam, located behind in the sanctum of the head! He will grant you Grace! You will attain Supreme Bliss! This is the grand secret of Wisdom! It is a mystic language (Paribhashai)! A profound truth conveyed through subtle, esoteric hints!
This will never be understood by mere literary scholars who study grammar and babble nonsense, nor by educated fools!! Universities are utterly useless for attaining spiritual wisdom! True wisdom is attained only by surrendering at the feet of a Guru!
Wisdom (Gnana) fundamentally means absolute, perfect knowledge! What you study in modern universities is like a “gourd drawn on a piece of paper” (useless for cooking, devoid of reality)! It does not help in true life! You may wander around gripped by the arrogance of saying, “I am educated!” But the true education of life must be learned only by bowing down at the lotus feet of the Guru!
Through true Wisdom, one can understand everything about the entire universe! Has any true enlightened sage (Gnani) born into this world so far ever studied at a university? All that they learned was sitting at the holy feet of God It is indeed Him! Right within everyone’s own eyes, represented by the mystic ‘eight and two’! Vallalar, who performed penance surrendering mind within the ‘eight and two’—the eyes—proclaims: ‘Oh Lord, You taught me all the unlearned arts! Oh Lord, You imparted to me all the unwritten scriptures of the palm leaves! Your grace is indeed the supreme grace!’
Does not the great Lord Manikkavasagar rejoice in the previous song of this very same decad, singing, ‘Oh Lord, You showed me visions never seen before, You made me hear spiritual wisdom never heard before, and You severed my cycle of birth!’ To attain true wisdom, seek a true spiritual guru (Gnana Sadguru)! Have not many of those who have written commentaries on the Thiruvasagam thus far tried to interpret it merely through the lens of grammar and literature, only to ultimately fail?! To this humble servant’s knowledge, only Sundara Manikka Yogiswarar has elucidated its spiritual wisdom. Even then, he did so subtly, barely touching upon it! He merely pointed it out here and there, leaving a note to ‘learn the rest through a Guru’! Very well! By the divine blessings of Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar Ramalinga Swamigal, this humble servant (Adiyen) has already written and published 33 books! This commentary on the Thiruvasagam, detailing true spiritual wisdom, is the 34th book published by this humble servant!!
In this verse, Manikkavasagar specifically refers to ‘devotees whose eyes brimmed with tears’. This itself is the true state of spiritual penance! Tears—when one contemplates and realizes the pupil of the eye in deep meditation, tears will naturally pour down like a waterfall! Only the one who has realized through a Guru that the eye itself represents the holy feet of the Lord will truly perform penance! Those who possess university degrees yet are bloated with the impurity of ego (Aanava Malam) are like dogs trying to roll a whole coconut! Fools might even consider this statement an insult! Surrender to the Guru! You shall attain true virtue!
5-6. Anuboga Suthi (Purification of Experience)
“Ulavaak kaalanth thavameydhi
Uruppum verutthing gunaikkaanbaan
Palamaa munivar nanivaadap
Paavi yenaip pani konda
While countless ascetics torture their bodies performing rigorous penance across ages, the Lord took immense pity on Manikkavasagar and showered him with grace, making him His own! Why? Does the Supreme Lord harbor such partiality? The Lord watches, thinking, “Who are they? How exactly are they performing this penance?” In our village, there is a saying: “Dancing without knowing the stage!” Not knowing where the Lord resides, what His true nature is, or the path to reach Him, how can those who perform penance with their eyes blindly closed ever attain His divine grace? (Can this even be called true penance?) It is exactly like a blind cat trying to cross a wooden beam inside a dark well!
It is precisely concerning those who practice such blind, eye-closed penance that the great Siddhar Thirumoolar declares: “Even if one performs penance for eight thousand years, they will never realize the nectar of the eye!” You will only behold the Divine if you understand the nectar of the eye, consciously realize it, and perform your penance with your eyes open!
To achieve this, you must first ‘Kada’ (cross over/enter)—you must enter within, into your ‘Kadam’, which represents your physical body! How does one enter? The pathway is through the pupil of the eye! That is the one and only way! To comprehend this profound secret, seek a true Gnana Sadguru (a supreme master of spiritual wisdom).
Merely wearing saffron robes, smearing holy ash (Thiruneeru) all over the body, growing long matted hair and a thick beard, adorning oneself with Rudraksha garlands, despising the physical body, starving, and surviving solely on raw fruits and roots yields absolutely no spiritual benefit!
The great saint Arunagirinathar prays and surrenders to Lord Muruga in his Thiruppugazh, pleading: “Grant me the cool lotus where the stillness of the soul and the stillness of the elements arise together.”
The world is full of impostors who put on spiritual disguises to deceive others! The sacred space where our life force (Jeevan) merges into perfect stillness, the very place where all five elements converge, is the ‘Seethala Padmam’—the cool, soothing lotus flower that represents the Lord’s Holy Feet! The five elements reside entirely within our two eyes. The Lord’s Holy Feet are none other than our own two eyes! Only through the pathway of these two eyes can we witness our soul resting in stillness within!
Realize the truth of the eye through a Gnana Sadguru—which means, realize your true Self! Forsaking this, no matter what external rituals you perform, true wisdom (Gnanam) will never be attained!
Otherwise, God Himself must come to you! If the Lord Himself is to come searching for you, you must live as a pure, exalted devotee like Manikkavasagar, meditating upon Him at all times, in every breath! He will certainly come! Believe it!
To witness those Holy Feet that even the celestial Devas and the holy Trinity could not behold, you must become utterly pure! Know the Truth! Realize your ‘Mei’! (The Tamil word Mei means both ‘physical body’ and ‘Absolute Truth’). Mei represents the Ultimate Truth—that which is Eternal, Indestructible—the Supreme Reality! That itself is God! Look closely, deep within yourself!
5-7 Karuniyathirangal (Expressions of Divine Compassion)
Potrinin karunai vellap pudhumadhuppuvanam neertheek
Kaatriya maanan vaanam irusudark kadavu laane
“O Supreme Lord! The boundless flood of Your divine compassion overflows and graciously bestows upon me the very nectar of immortality! I sing Your praises! I prostrate in utter surrender at Your Lotus Feet!
O Bhagavan, You are the absolute Sovereign and Master of all the five primordial elements (Pancha Bhootas): water, fire, earth, wind, and the vast, boundless expanse of the sky! But who truly are You? You are the Irusudar Kadavul—the Lord of the Two Divine Flames!
And what are these two supreme flames? They are the very luminaries shining resplendently within our own two eyes! That supreme internal light itself is the Holy Feet of the Divine (Thiruvadi)!”
The Inner Vision and the Necessity of the Sadguru
Look at how lucidly and unambiguously the great saint Manikkavasagar reveals this profound spiritual truth, explicitly identifying the “Lord of the Two Flames” as our very own two eyes! Similarly, when the great saint Arunagirinathar speaks of the Aimbootha Odukkam—the grand dissolution and absorption of the five primordial elements—he is also esoterically referring to our eye! The eye itself is the sacred Lotus Feet of the Lord! In both our eyes reside these two divine flames!
This exact supreme truth is what our Mahakavi Bharathiyar articulates with utmost clarity in his verses: “Chuttum iruvizhich chudar thaan kan” (The two illuminating flame is indeed the eye). However, one must know exactly where to pause while chanting these sacred hymns. Do not blindly rush and merge the words into “Kannamma” as in “Chuttum iruvizhich chudar thaan Kannamma”! You must purposefully pause at “Chuttum iruvizhich chudar thaan kan” (The illuminating flame of the two eyes is indeed the eye), and only then proceed to read the next phrase, “kan Amma sooriya chandiraro” (O Mother, are they the Sun and the Moon?). When you chant it with this sacred pause, true spiritual wisdom (Gnanam) will dawn upon you! If you recklessly read the words all jumbled together, the divine essence is entirely lost. You must meticulously separate the words! Pause where necessary! Only when you read with such deliberate reverence will the ultimate truth be comprehended!
The Ignorance of the Superficial Scholar
The sacred hymns of all enlightened Sages (Gnanis) must be approached in this precise manner—pausing exactly where a pause is mandated and splitting the phrases exactly where they must be split. Only then does the true inner meaning reveal itself! Will the superficially “educated intellectuals” of today ever grasp this? Never! This profound truth is accessible only to a sincere, devoted disciple who has received absolute spiritual instruction (Gnana Upadesam) and divine initiation (Gnana Deeksha) directly from a genuine Spiritual Master (Gnana Sadguru)!
There are many educated fools today, perfectly exemplifying the old adage: “The one who recited ruined the song, while the one who scribed ruined the sacred palm-leaf manuscript.” In our native region, there is a popular Malayalam proverb that illustrates this beautifully: “While transcribing the Shastras, the ocean (Samuthiram) was turned into urine (Moothiram)!” Let me elaborate on this tragedy of errors. When a scribe was meticulously copying the sacred Shastras from one manuscript to another, he reached the end of a line with the syllable ‘Sa’ (ச). On the completely next line, he continued the word with ‘muthiram’ (முத்திரம்). Later, another individual came along to read it and arrogantly decided to “correct” the text. How did he do this? He noticed a line beginning with ‘muthiram’. Assuming that no such word exists in the vocabulary, he foolishly deduced that it must be a misspelling of Moothiram (urine). Thus, he altered the sacred text! Thanks to the sheer ignorance of subsequent readers, the majestic Ocean (Samuthiram) was desecrated into urine! Interestingly, Moothiram is a pure, classical Tamil word for urine, proving that pure Senthamizh is indeed the root of Malayalam!
This tragic comedy is exactly what is happening today. The so-called “educated intellectuals” and half-baked scholars of our modern age have blindly scribbled down nonsensical, foolish commentaries and completely butchered the sacred texts! O Wise and Discerning Seekers! Reflect upon this deeply! Contemplate the ultimate truth! Rectify your understanding and elevate yourselves! May you prosper in true spiritual grace!
5-8. Immersion in Bliss (Āṉandhath Thazhundhal)
“Aaga engai kangal thaarai aara thaaga aiyane”
Every single phrase flowing from the gem-like Manikkavasagar is a pearl of supreme wisdom (Gnanam)! As one reads the Thiruvasagam again and again, it becomes abundantly clear why the Lord Himself desired to transcribe this with His own divine hands. Aha! How incredibly sweet is every single song! It is all pure spiritual wisdom! It is the insatiable, crystal-clear nectar of the divine! Saint Manikkavasagar reveals countless profound spiritual secrets (Gnana Rahasyas) openly and directly! Here, he says “my hands – eyes” (en kai – kangal).
Our eyes, which are the holy feet (Thiruvadi) of the Lord, are indeed our hands(code word for thiruvadi)! This itself is the matchless path of wisdom (Gnana Paadhai)!
Next, in Lord Shiva’s temples, they maintain a Thaarai (a vessel for continuous dripping). Suspended in the air above the Shiva Lingam using a rope network (Uri), they place a vessel with a tiny hole, filling it with water, milk, or rose water (Panneer)! Through that small hole, the sacred water will continuously fall, drop by drop, upon the Shiva Lingam. This continuous stream is what is called a Thaarai! This is in the external sense—in the realm of ritualistic devotion (Bhakti)!
But in the realm of true wisdom (Gnanam), the Siddhas declare that our very eye is the “unbuilt” (naturally formed) Shiva Lingam! If you look at the Shiva Lingam in a temple from directly above, you will first see one circle representing the Lingam, the next outer circle for the Aavudai (the base), and the next outermost circle for the pedestal (Paadham)—thus, three circles appear nested one inside the other! It only appears as a Shiva Lingam when viewed from the front! Does our eye not also possess three circles? This is exactly why the Siddhas, using their mystic twilight language (Paribhashai), referred to it as the “unbuilt Lingam.”
We must contemplate deeply and attain clarity on how this is so. Not everyone can comprehend this so quickly! That is precisely why a master is needed to teach such hidden languages and secrets! He is the Guru! The Gnana Sarguru! Those who truly know all this are very few in today’s times! Even they have kept it hidden, constantly claiming, “It is a secret, it is a secret,” to the point where true wisdom itself is fading away!
By the boundless grace of Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar, whose supreme doctrine is, “Come, O worldly people, let us live the great immortal life,” I (Adiyen – this humble devotee) have brought these spiritual secrets to light for the world, having published 33 books thus far! I have also published these Gnana secrets on the website www.vallalyaar.com to make the entire world aware! I have openly revealed all that was once instructed “not to be told”! Why? Simply so that everyone may attain supreme wisdom (Gnanam)! Is this wisdom meant only for a select few?! My deep yearning that this Sanatana Dharma, this path of wisdom (Gnana Neri), this path of ultimate truth (Sanmargam)—which has been practiced in India since ancient times—should be known to the world, and that all people of the world should attain true wisdom, is what compelled me to write and publish these books of absolute truth (Meignanam)! The Lord is my eternal support!
Thus, from my eyes, which act as my hands, water overflows and streams down like a river (Thaarai thaaraiyaga)! On the outside, it is a river of tears! On the inside, it is a river of fire! Fire upon water! Inside, we can unite with my Lord, our Lord God! We can rejoice in supreme bliss! Fire will naturally merge with fire, will it not! Our inner soul’s light (Jeeva Oli) shall seamlessly merge with the Supreme Radiant Light of the Lord!
“Viruppu muṇṭu niṉkaṇ eṉkaṇ eṉpa teṉṉaviccaiyē”
“O Lord, I possess a deep yearning for You! ‘Nin kan Sivam’ (Your eye is Sivam)—the eye where the Divine Light resides is the Lord Himself, is it not?! That is precisely why the great saint Manikkavasagar said, ‘O Lord, Your eye’! The eye where the Lord resides is indeed my very own eye! And because it is my eye, I have such a profound desire for it! How wonderfully and marvelously Manikkavasagar expresses his intense yearning for the Lord!”
5-9: Aanandha Paravasam (Ecstatic Bliss)
“Yāṉē poy eṉ neñcum poy eṉ aṉpum poy
Āṉāl viṉaiyēṉ aḻutāl uṉṉaip peṟalāmē”
“I myself am false (an illusion), my heart is false, and my love is false. Yet, if I, a lowly soul bound by karma, weep for You, can I attain Your Divine Grace?”
- “I myself am false” (Yaane poi): This physical body of mine is completely false! It is perishable and bound to be destroyed! Who on earth named this perishable body ‘Mei’ (a Tamil word which means both ‘body’ and ‘truth’)?!
- “My heart is false”: Within my heart, deceit runs rampant. Jealousy, anger, hatred, lust, greed, delusion, arrogance, egoism, and all such vile, dark qualities are brimming and overflowing. Therefore, my heart is indeed entirely false!
- “My love is false”: I wander around worldly life foolishly claiming, “my mother, my father, my wife, my children, my brothers and sisters, my relatives, my house, mine, mine,” possessing everything with deep attachment. I have even reduced the Supreme Lord to merely “my Swami.” When I am bound by such worldly attachments, what else will remain with me but falsehood, hypocrisy, and sheer delusion!!
Is the root cause of all this falsehood the karmic deeds (vinai) that this humble devotee committed in previous births?! Yes, this is the absolute truth proclaimed by the Vedas! This is the ultimate reality realized by the enlightened Sages (Gnanis)! This is exactly what our Sanatana Dharma declares!
Thus, for us who are born in falsehood, who grow in falsehood, and who live our entire lives in falsehood—”By weeping, we can attain His divine grace!” How?
Think/Regret of the sins you have committed and weep! Resolve never to commit sins again! Think of the suffering the world has inflicted upon you and weep! Resolve never to cause harm to anyone! Think of the immense suffering your parents endured, especially your mother who carried you in her womb for ten months and sacrificed daily to raise you, and weep! As long as you live, revere, worship, and care for your Mata (Mother) and Pita (Father)!
Someone, some Supreme Entity, or some Divine Power created everything and everyone like me, did It not? Weep with an agonizing longing to witness that Divine Power! Weep intensely! Weep, sobbing and melting from within (Khumuri khumuri azhu)! The worldly people may mock you and call you a mad man! Pay them no mind! You must not stop weeping! All these tears will guide you to attain spiritual perfection! They will guide you to realize the Ultimate Truth! In times of sorrow – in loss – in detriment weeping [for worldly sorrows] provides merely temporary mental solace! However, Manikkavasagar, Vallalar, and all the enlightened sages (Gnanis) and Siddhas of the world have emphatically and firmly declared that by weeping for the Divine, one can certainly attain the Lord’s supreme grace.
“Azhudhaal unnai peralaame” > — Saint Manikkavasagar (“By weeping, one can attain You.”)
“Ninainthu ninainthu, unarnthu unarnthu, negizhnthu negizhnthu, anbe nirainthu nirainthu, ootrezhum kanneer athanaal udambu nanainthu nanainthu, arulamudhe, nannidhiye, gnana nadaththarase” > — Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar (“Thinking and thinking, realizing and realizing, melting and melting, brimming and brimming with pure love, the upwelling tears continuously drenching the body—O Nectar of Grace, O Supreme Treasure, O King of the Cosmic Dance of Wisdom!”)
“Kanneerodu vidhaikkinravan gambeerathodu aruppaan” > — Lord Jesus (“He who sows with tears shall reap with joy and majesty.”)
The Path of Divine Tears
There was once a revered Siddhar known as Azhuganni Siddhar (The Weeping Siddhar). It is said that he was in a perpetual state of divine, ecstatic weeping, which is exactly why the world lovingly called him by that name! “Kaadhalagi kasinthu kanneer malgi” > — Saint Thirugnanasambandar (“Melting with supreme love, tears overflowing…”)
In this very manner, countless sages have instructed us to weep in order to attain the Supreme Lord! Only when one learns and deeply realizes through a true Guru that the Lord’s holy feet (Thiruvadi) are our very own eyes, will tears naturally well up and stream down! Just like this, keep weeping and weeping until your karmic sins dissolve and until you finally behold the Divine Light!
Would any mother simply sit back and watch her child cry? Wouldn’t she come rushing over? Wouldn’t she feed the child divine nectar, worried that her little one is hungry? Yes, the Divine Mother will come! She will grant the nectar!
When an innocent, ignorant three-year-old child cried out, didn’t Mother Parvati come rushing down to feed him the milk of divine wisdom?! Just like She did for that divine child, Thiru-gnana-sambandar! Similarly, when Thiruvarut-prakasa Vallalar was nine years old and fell asleep utterly exhausted by hunger, didn’t the Divine Mother gently wake him up, feed him sacred food (Annam), and shower him with Her supreme grace?!
That Mother—the primordial Vaalaithai (the youthful Divine Mother)—will absolutely bestow divine nectar upon every child who cries for Her! This is the absolute Truth (Sathyam)!
By weeping, letting the inner light multiply, drinking the divine nectar, hearing the mystic inner sound (Oli), and beholding the Supreme Light, one can attain infinite, ecstatic bliss (Perinbam)! We can witness our Creator! We can merge eternally at His holy feet!
To attain true spiritual wisdom (Gnanam) and the Lord’s grace, you must humbly approach a highly qualified Sadguru to learn and understand exactly how one must weep!
10: Aanandhatheetham (The Ultimate Ecstasy)
Eeṟi lāthanī eḷiyai yākivanth
oḷisey māṉuṭa māka nōkkiyuṅ
To take the great Saint Manikkavasagar into His divine fold, the Supreme Lord Himself assumed the form of a Shiva devotee. Accompanied by a gathering of disciples, He sat beneath the sacred Kuruntha tree at Thirup perunthurai, graciously imparting spiritual instruction (Upadesam). Deeply drawn to Him, our beloved Manikkavasagar approached the Guru, bowed down in utter reverence, and earnestly pleaded to be blessed with supreme spiritual wisdom (Gnanam).
The Lord, who had descended specifically for this very purpose, bestowed His grace by “looking at him as a luminous human” (olisei maanudamaaga nokki). This divine, illuminating gaze itself is Gnana Deeksha (Spiritual Initiation)!!
For the sake of the great Lord Manikkavasagar, the Supreme Lord Himself came in person and bestowed Gnana Deeksha! The Guru blessing the disciple by gazing directly into their eyes with the divine light of His own eyes—this is the true initiation! What exactly does He bestow? He kindles the dormant light within the disciple’s eyes using the radiant light of His own eyes! Stimulating the divine light present within the pupil (Kanmani), which is the Ultimate Reality (Meipporul) residing within this physical body (Mei)—that alone is true Gnana Deeksha!!
Can just anyone impart this?! This is a deeply subtle and mystical inner process (Sootchumam)! Only by the boundless grace of an enlightened Sage (Gnani), only by a Gnana Sadguru rightly seated upon the holy Guru’s pedestal (Guru Peedam), can such a profound Gnana Deeksha be granted!
Receiving Gnana Deeksha is an exceptionally rare and supreme blessing (Perum Peru)! Only in the ears of those who have accumulated millions of lifetimes of meritorious deeds (Kodi Punniyam) will this wisdom even reach! The very eagerness and yearning of those who hear it is their qualification to attain Gnanam! The mere, sincere thought that “I too must attain Gnanam” is sufficient!
Anyone who steadfastly adheres to a path of high moral conduct, consumes a pure vegetarian (Sutha Saiva) diet, and is completely free from any bad habits or vices—be they male or female, regardless of their caste or religion—is fully qualified to receive Gnana Deeksha!
A Call to the Seekers of Truth
Welcome to the Kanyakumari Thanga Jothi Gnana Sabai! By the infinite grace of Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar Ramalinga Swamigal, the Samarasa Sutha Sanmarga Sathiya Sangam has been established. By His grace, He has placed me (Adiyen – this humble servant) as the Gnana Sadguru to impart this Gnana Upadesam (spiritual instruction) and bestow Gnana Deeksha!!
Those who possess a true yearning, come! You shall attain Gnanam! Do not stand hesitant or shy to bow down and surrender to the Guru! Without a doubt, the Guru is far greater than you! Do not forget to offer your Guru Dakshina (sacred offerings to the Master)! Make your very body, your wealth, and your soul (Udal, Porul, Aavi) a complete offering! Then, the ultimate Gnana Upadesam shall be yours! Gnana Deeksha shall be yours!!