Guest guest Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Hi freinds, An article about Ancient Siddha poems on various mystical siddha arts. If you want to know more about ancient mystic siddhas, please visit to www.achalasiddha.com Ancient Siddha Poems : ======================== Siddhar poems form an important corpus of Tamil poetry of circa 16th Century. Though the Eighteen Siddhars are revered by scholars, their poems did not find an important place among the " interpreters " or " hermeneutists " of the Tamil school of interpretation. For instance, the very popular Thirukkural has found interpreters even in the modern Tamil era, [The late Dr.Mu.Varadharasanar]. But only a very few interpreters have tried their hands at Siddhar poems. The following reasons could be attributed to the lack of interpretation: 1.Siddhar poems were quite off-beat for their time. 2.Siddhar poems were hard to interpret due to their esoteric quality. 3.Many scholars and interpreters thought these poems belonged to the schema of mysticism and the occult. 4.These poems apparently contained imagery offending the conventional reader of poetry. Siddhar poems are so much entrenched in metaphor and imagery that they often resemble puzzles that have to be unscrambled. These poems question the assumptions and basics of accepted Tamil theology. While polytheism was an unquestioned canon of their time they dared to speak of " One Indivisible God " . Siddhars like Siva Vakkiyaar have directly attacked the empty and meaningless rituals practiced by the brahmans of their time. Siva Vakkiyaar's poems bear testimony to this point. Almost all these mystic poets share a contempt for the body. But it is not a mere shunning of the body. They seemed to have reached a point of ennui with regard to the desires of the body so that they wanted to shun the " flesh " and the millions of ailments it is heir to. All of them wanted to subjugate the senses. Winning, a permanent victory over the five senses offers an absolute control of the body leading to the control of the wandering mind. One of them refers to the five senses as " five thieves " . Thiruvalluvar who wrote in the Ist Century A.D. has compared the control of the five senses to the action of the tortoise when it protects itself from the enemy. Siddhars looked at life from a different angle of vision. They also despised and scorned the nine portals of the human body. They were existentialists in another sense. They lived a mendicant's life and slept in the temples when they wanted to stretch their body. According to Pattinathar, even a person with a begging bowl and a dog for company is a " family man " . They were misunderstood in their own time since they repudiated the materialistic view of life and claimed that there could be only one supreme God. Very little has been on record about their personal life, except for meager details like place of birth and place of death. Some anthologists have pinned down their community. This socio-economic background information has been handy in the understanding of their imagery. Some of them might have turned misogenics after enjoying the intimacy of quite a number of women. Despite this fact, their addressee is pre-nubile girl who is referred to as Vaalai pen. Some of their poems indicate [Karuvoorar's poems especially] that this Vaalai is girleen who has not attained puberty, but who is tremendously beautiful. That Thirukkural seems to have had a strong influence on the Siddhars is evident from many cross-references in their poems: " As the bird flies away from the egg shell Should be the friendship of the body to being " [Thirukkural: Section on impermanence] Thiruvalluvar, the saint-poet with a strong Jainistic streak, explains the relationship of the body to the soul in the above lines. Or the impermanence of the body is stressed here in the most epigrammatic manner. In the section devoted to " Penance " Thirukkural writes: " All the beings of the world will worship the one Who doesn't slay and doesn't eat that is slain " . In another Couplet he writes: " When words of sweetness exist, uttering the harsh ones Is like snatching the half-ripe ones rejecting ripe fruits " . The echo of these lines can be found in Pattinathar's poems. Pattinathar has also expressed his wish to be a non-violent vegetarian and as abstainer from killing. Thiruvalluvar has devoted a separate chapter on " Abstinence from killing " . From Pattinathar's poems one can estimate that he was well grounded in classics like Periya puranam and Siva puranam. History indicates that the Siddhars who lived in South India were 18 in number. If a yogi is to be accepted as a Siddhar he should be able to perform the following feats: 1. Anima or the ability to turn oneself into a atom. 2. Mahima or the ability to transfigure oneself to the size of a mountain. 3. Lahima or the capability to become as light as air. 4. Karima or the capability to become heavy as gold. 5. Prapthi or the ability to rule over everything. 6. Vasithuvam or the ability to attract everyone. 7. Brakamiyam or the art of transmigration. 8. Eesathuvam or the ability to achieve everything one wish for and the ability to enjoy it. These are called as " Eight Great Siddhis " or Ashtamaha siddhi. These mystic poets represent different communities. Siddha Pattinathar was born into a rich family of merchants in the sea-town of Kaveripoompattinam and he himself was a successful merchant before giving up his materialistic way of life. Badhragiriyar who finally became a disciple of Pattinathar was the king of a province in Thanjavur. Idaikkaattu Siddhar was a goat-herd according to the available meagre records of literary history. Thiru molar is said to have come from Varanasi to meet the Saint Agasthiar of the South. During his journey he happened to stop at a place called Tiruvavaduthurai in TamilNadu (one of the states of south India) and felt pity for the cattle that were so much attached to the cattle-herd whose name was Moolan. Moolan had died of a snake bite and with the help of his inner-vision and power of transmigration, the Siva Yogi shed his physique and entered the dead Moolan's body to console the cattle. After reaching the village where the cattle-herd lived, he left the cattle in the pen and tried to extricate from Moolan's wife who was unaware of the fact that the person who appears as her husband was the Siva Yogi. When he checked for old body he was dismayed because it had disappeared. He accepted everything as the will of God and decided to live in the same village as Moolan and he was later called Thiru Moolar. Another mystic is a Muslim by birth as his name Beer Mohammed suggests. Roma Rishi might have had connections with the Rome of his time. Some like Paampaati Siddhar wrote treaties on herbal medicine and were capable of small miracles in real life. Boghar is said to have visited the Roman Empire to study the herbs of that country for medical application. Boghar was born into a family of potters in China as the legend goes. Pulasthiar is Sinhala by birth. Idaikaattu Siddhar is said to be the author of Saareeram, a book on medicine. Some consider him as the disciple of Boghar. In the advanced stages of penance, these mystics are said to have lived just on air and dried herbal leaves. Some of them able to suspend their bodility functions temporarily if they had to spend their days in a hostile environment. From rhymed quatrains, rhymed couplets based on Thirukkural, to simple folk songs, Siddhars have used a variety of stanza forms to express their thoughts. Catchy lines from the Siddhars sung by beggars can still be heard in the village streets of TamilNadu. Many readers quote these poems or snatches of lines quite unaware of the source. A handful of these poems have been simplified and adapted a lyrics for Tamil film songs. One can read this anthology of Siddhar Poems just to get the basics of meditation and yogic breathing. Another can refer to it to decipher the formula to concoct traditional siddha medicine. Still others can use this anthology to make a deep study to acquire the methods of conquering the five senses of the body. For a serious reader of poetry it is treasure house that has a richness and freshness of its own. One will be struck by the candidates with which these poems analyse God and the filthiness of the body. A few of the sections written by Vanmeegar and Nandeeswarar prescribe the rules for making offering to a deity. for more information,Visit www.achalasiddha.com This is an exclusive web site dealing siddha tradition in its full dimensions. Peace Ahimsa. ========================= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 The eight siddies anima, mahima are really impossible, not true and not much described by siddhers. It may be from patanchali yoga text. kayasiddhi. life extension, yoga siddhi kundli awakening vada siddhi alchemy success gna siddhi true wisdom are the siddhies obtained by siddhars. Those who has writen books , devloped dicipls are called siddhers. Refer sattamuni kaya kalpam 100 book sillarai kovai. R.Vidhyasagar. --- nativesiddha <nativesiddha wrote: > Hi freinds, > > An article about Ancient Siddha poems on various > mystical siddha > arts. If you want to know more about ancient mystic > siddhas, please > visit to www.achalasiddha.com > > > Ancient Siddha Poems : > ======================== > > Siddhar poems form an important corpus of Tamil > poetry > of circa 16th Century. Though the Eighteen Siddhars > are revered by scholars, their poems did not find an > important place among the " interpreters " or > " hermeneutists " of the Tamil school of > interpretation. > For instance, the very popular Thirukkural has found > interpreters even in the modern Tamil era, [The late > Dr.Mu.Varadharasanar]. But only a very few > interpreters have tried their hands at Siddhar > poems. > The following reasons could be attributed to the > lack > of interpretation: > 1.Siddhar poems were quite off-beat for their time. > 2.Siddhar poems were hard to interpret due to their > esoteric quality. > 3.Many scholars and interpreters thought these poems > belonged to the schema of mysticism and the occult. > 4.These poems apparently contained imagery offending > the conventional reader of poetry. > Siddhar poems are so much entrenched in metaphor and > imagery that they often resemble puzzles that have > to > be unscrambled. These poems question the assumptions > and basics of accepted Tamil theology. While > polytheism was an unquestioned canon of their time > they dared to speak of " One Indivisible God " . > Siddhars > like Siva Vakkiyaar have directly attacked the empty > and meaningless rituals practiced by the brahmans of > their time. Siva Vakkiyaar's poems bear testimony to > this point. > Almost all these mystic poets share a contempt for > the > body. But it is not a mere shunning of the body. > They > seemed to have reached a point of ennui with regard > to > the desires of the body so that they wanted to shun > the " flesh " and the millions of ailments it is heir > to. All of them wanted to subjugate the senses. > Winning, a permanent victory over the five senses > offers an absolute control of the body leading to > the > control of the wandering mind. One of them refers to > the five senses as " five thieves " . Thiruvalluvar who > wrote in the Ist Century A.D. has compared the > control > of the five senses to the action of the tortoise > when > it protects itself from the enemy. Siddhars looked > at > life from a different angle of vision. > They also > despised and scorned the nine portals of the human > body. They were existentialists in another sense. > They > lived a mendicant's life and slept in the temples > when > they wanted to stretch their body. According to > Pattinathar, even a person with a begging bowl and a > dog for company is a " family man " . They were > misunderstood in their own time since they > repudiated > the materialistic view of life and claimed that > there > could be only one supreme God. > Very little has been on > record about their personal life, except for meager > details like place of birth and place of death. Some > anthologists have pinned down their community. This > socio-economic background information has been handy > in the understanding of their imagery. > Some of them might have turned misogenics after > enjoying the intimacy of quite a number of women. > Despite this fact, their addressee is pre-nubile > girl > who is referred to as Vaalai pen. Some of their > poems > indicate [Karuvoorar's poems especially] that this > Vaalai is girleen who has not attained puberty, but > who is tremendously beautiful. > > That Thirukkural seems to have had a strong > influence > on the Siddhars is evident from many > cross-references > in their poems: > " As the bird flies away from the egg shell > Should be the friendship of the body to being " > [Thirukkural: Section on impermanence] > Thiruvalluvar, the saint-poet with a strong > Jainistic > streak, explains the relationship of the body to the > soul in the above lines. Or the impermanence of the > body is stressed here in the most epigrammatic > manner. > In the section devoted to " Penance " Thirukkural > writes: > " All the beings of the world will worship the one > Who doesn't slay and doesn't eat that is slain " . > In another Couplet he writes: > " When words of sweetness exist, uttering the harsh > ones > Is like snatching the half-ripe ones rejecting ripe > fruits " . > The echo of these lines can be found in > Pattinathar's > poems. Pattinathar has also expressed his wish to be > a > non-violent vegetarian and as abstainer from > killing. > Thiruvalluvar has devoted a separate chapter on > " Abstinence from killing " . From Pattinathar's poems > one can estimate that he was well grounded in > classics > like Periya puranam and Siva puranam. > History indicates that the Siddhars who lived in > South > India were 18 in number. If a yogi is to be accepted > as a Siddhar he should be able to perform the > following feats: > 1. Anima or the ability to turn oneself into a atom. > 2. Mahima or the ability to transfigure oneself to > the > size of a mountain. > 3. Lahima or the capability to become as light as > air. > 4. Karima or the capability to become heavy as gold. > 5. Prapthi or the ability to rule over everything. > 6. Vasithuvam or the ability to attract everyone. > 7. Brakamiyam or the art of transmigration. > 8. Eesathuvam or the ability to achieve everything > one > wish for and the ability to enjoy it. > These are called as " Eight Great Siddhis " or > Ashtamaha > siddhi. These mystic poets represent different > communities. Siddha Pattinathar was born into a rich > family of merchants in the sea-town of > Kaveripoompattinam and he himself was a successful > merchant before giving up his materialistic way of > life. > Badhragiriyar who finally became a disciple of > Pattinathar was the king of a province in Thanjavur. > Idaikkaattu Siddhar was a goat-herd according to the > available meagre records of literary history. > Thiru molar is said to have come from Varanasi to > meet > the Saint Agasthiar of the South. During his journey > he happened to stop at a place called > Tiruvavaduthurai in TamilNadu (one of the states of > south India) and felt pity for the cattle that were > so > much attached to the cattle-herd whose name was > Moolan. > Moolan had died of a snake bite and with the > help of his inner-vision and power of > transmigration, > the Siva Yogi shed his physique and entered the dead > Moolan's body to console the cattle. After reaching > the village where the cattle-herd lived, he left the > cattle in the pen and tried to extricate from > Moolan's > wife who was unaware of the fact that the person who > appears as her husband was the Siva Yogi. When he > checked for old body he was dismayed because it had > disappeared. > He accepted everything as the will of God > and decided to live in the same village as Moolan > and > he was later called Thiru Moolar. Another mystic is > a > Muslim by birth as his name Beer Mohammed suggests. > Roma Rishi might have had connections with the Rome > of > his time. > Some like Paampaati Siddhar wrote treaties on herbal > medicine and were capable of small miracles in real > life. Boghar is said to have visited the Roman > Empire > to study the herbs of that country for medical > application. Boghar was born into a family of > potters > in China as the legend goes. Pulasthiar is Sinhala > by > birth. > === message truncated === ______________________________\ ____ The fish are biting. Get more visitors on your site using Search Marketing. http://searchmarketing./arp/sponsoredsearch_v2.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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