திருமந்திரம் -பாயிரம் - I

திருமந்திரம் - முதல் தந்திரம்  

In our saiva siddhantha the scripts written by the shiva devotees who are known as Nayanmars are categorized as Thirumarai (திருமறை ). Among the 18 Thirumarai's Thirumandhiram is written by Thirumoolar who is a great Shiva devotee(சிவன் அடியார் ) who has lived for ages. It has 3000 Mandirams sectioned as three Thanthiram. And it is the 10th Thirumarai.

   For any one who is hearing the word Thanthiram (தந்திரம்). The film pancha thranthiram acted by Kamal hasan will come to mind. But these are Thanthirams written by Thirumoolar for the men to reach Shiva and to become Shiva. 

         The Manthirams in Thanthiram are titled in similar fashion as திருக்குறள் . The scholars are saying one should read Thirukural first before reading Thirumandhiram. Because Kural is quiet easy to comprehend compared to Thirumandhiram.

       The little background about Thirumanthiram will give us the significance of it. There was a Rishi who travelled from Himalayas and reached Southern Tamilnadu. On his way he happened to see a dead billy boy(இடையன் ). Because he is dead , the cows are all in panic on not seeing their master and are in Thirsty  too. And this yielded Rishi to shower his grace கருணை  , so he decided to go inside the dead billy boy's body and make the cows calm and take them to their cow shed. 

         This is the art that he knows on how to hop from one body to another. And with this learned skill he planned to enter in to the dead's body . So the Rishi kept his own body safe under a banyan tree and entered in to the dead's body. Soon the night comes. And the billy boy's wife on seeing him, did not allowed him to leave. So he cannot able to get back to his own body as planned in time.

               During this time his own body also vanished which he kept under Banyan tree. So the Rishi considers this as Shiva's wish to tell him that he should write a book to leave behind so that it would be a treasure in the future for others to learn and follow this Art to reach Shiva. This is how he started writing Thirumanthiram. 

         The very amazing truth is that Thirumoolar has lived for more than 3000 years and above. 

I am writing here an explanation of the very first song of the Mandhirams.

திருமந்திரம்  

ஒன்று அவன் தானே, இரண்டு அவன் இன் அருள்,
நின்றனன் மூன்றின் உள், நான்கு உணர்ந்தான், ஐந்து
வென்றனன், ஆறு விரிந்தனன், ஏழ் உம்பர்ச்
சென்றனன், தான் இருந்தான் உணர்ந்து எட்டே.

கருத்து 

சிவன் ஒருவனே . சக்தியோடு இரண்டாய் , முமூர்த்தியாய் படைத்தல் காதல் அழித்தல் ஆகிய மூன்று தொழில் களை செய்து நான்கு வேதங்களால் உண்மை விளங்கச்செய்து ஐந்து இந்திரியங்களை அடக்கும் ஆற்றல் அளிப்பவனாய் , ஆறாதாரங்களிலும் விரிந்து சஹஸ்ரதளத்தின் மேல் பொருந்தி , அட்ட மூர்த்தமாய் விளங்குகின்றான்

 This is from பாயிரம் . Which means summary section of Thirumandhiram. Thirumoolar openly declared that GOD is inside every one and he is one, And we can reach him with prescribed steps. Saiva doctrine declares that Anma which is different from body and mind has to be taken to SHiva and it has to identify itself with Shiva, for it to reach that super consious state.
         For Anma(ஆன்ம ) to reach shiva, we need to train the mind that it has no pleasures in the sense objects. The mind works in 7 stages which are its addictions . We need to un-bond the mind from these 7 attractions and have to convince the mind that it can find more pleasures in Shiva than these.

            According Saiva doctrines these sense pleasures are called as Three Moolas(மும்மலம்  ). So we have to purify the mind first and get rid of these 3 moolams. They are respectively ஆணவம் , கன்மம் ,மாயை .

      This first song essentially summarises these steps on how to reach GOD.

ஒன்று அவன் தானே 

   
He is one.

இரண்டு அவன் இன் அருள்,

    His Grace is 2.For Rishi's the first two experiences they feel on deep Yoga (meditation) are Sound and light. These are called as Shiva and Sakthi(ஒளி  , ஒலி ). They 2 are mentioned here.

நின்றனன் மூன்றின் உள்,

He is doing three things. படைத்தல், காத்தல்  , அழித்தல் . Creation , maintenance , Destruction. It also refers to three general characters of the human being. 

1. ராஜஸ் (Rajas) - One who are with great desires and passions
2. சாத்துவீகம்  - Who are balanced in attitude seeing positive and negative equally
3. தாமசம் - who are dull in nature

These 3 characters are in every one. Only the degree of intensity in each person differs.

நான்கு உணர்ந்தான்

He knows and well versed in four vedas, அறம் , பொருள் , இன்பம் , வீடு . Justice, wealth, love and sacrifice.

ஐந்து வென்றனன்

He has perfect control over his five sense organs and has become master of these.

 ஆறு விரிந்தனன்,

He knows the well existence and the process of this universe. He has captured the six chakras of the body.

1. மூலாதாரம்  
2. சுவாதிட்டானம் 
3. மணிப்பூரகம் 
4. அநாகதம் 
5. விசுத்தி 
6. அஞயைய் 

 ஏழ் உம்பர்ச் சென்றனன்,

He has seen the Aadhi of this universe. (ஜடைமுடி ) of Shiva. Here the seventh chakra in the Head is mentioned, Which is a thousand petaled lotus which when activated one can reach Shiva.

தான் இருந்தான் உணர்ந்து எட்டே.

The GOD who poses all these 7 characters are inside you only.! Go Experience him and reach him.