“Ellorum inbutrirukka ninaippathuve allaamal verondrum ariyen paraparame” – Thayumanavar (MInnal History)

“Rare is human birth.  While yet I live on this earth, in this body with heart and soul, I must revel in the ecstasy of Divine Grace”.
“Ellorum inbutrirukka ninaippathuve allaamal verondrum ariyen paraparame”.

Thayumanavar was a distinguished Tamil poet who lived in the first half of the 18th century from 1705 to 1742.

Thayumanavar was brought up in the Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu, the coastal district of Vedaranyam. His father, Kodiliappa, came from an agricultural background but progressed from being a farmer to being the administrator of the local Vedapureeswarar temple. He carried out the responsibility so well that he was subsequently offered the job of palace manager and royal advisor by Vijayaranga Chockkalinga Naicker, the reigning prince of Tiruchirapalli. When Thayumanavar was born, his father named him after Thayumaneswarar, the presiding deity at the Tiruchirapalli fort temple.

Thayumanavar received good education at the court by which he ended up acquiring an outstanding knowledge of literature in both Sanskrit and Tamil language. When his father passed away, he was considered qualified to take his post. He managed the financial affairs of the kingdom. While this was going on, his religious yearnings impelled him to look for a guru who could help him to progress spiritually. He found one in a person called Arulnandi Sivachariar who was known as “Maunaguru” whose lineage could be traced to Tirumoolar. When Thayumanavar asked him if he could follow him wherever he went, it is believed, the Maunaguru told him ‘Summa Iru” which meant “Be Still” or “Remain as you are”.

“Wait good soul” admonished the teacher. “Be a householder until you beget a child. Then I shall come to initiate you into meditation”.

It is believed, he had the sage mind of Pattinathar, the contemplation of Buddha, the inspiration of Vedic Seers, the fervour of Manikavachakar, the humility of Appar and the faith of Sambandar.

Soon the King Chokkanatha saw a holy saint in his secretary. He is supposed to have said “waste not your days in politics and diplomacy. You are no more the king’s servant, the king is your servant, I shall raise an ashram for you and you can fix yourself in yoga there”. One day, the King offered him a rich shawl. At that moment, a poor lady passed by shivering in cold.  Thayumanavar gave the shawl to the lady saying “Mother, you need this more than I”. The king felt insulted and demanded an explanation, to which Thayumanavar is supposed to have said, “No caste, No hag. I gave the shawl to the Universal Mother. It is she who has received back what belonged to her”.

Soon Thayumanavar learnt to draw the mind from the wandering sense into inner recollection and contemplated on the pure reality which he was.  He internalized his attention, intensified his concentration, controlled his thoughts and lulled his mind into meditation. Once he was attending to his duty by reading some documents [in palm leaves], he suddenly crushed and threw them away. The officers who were there could not understand the reason he did so. It was known later that the saree of Goddess Akilandeswari in the garbagraha of Thiruvanaikkaval temple caught fire by camphor and was put out by this act of miracle.

With the passing-away of King Chokkanatha in a war, the queen Meenakshi sought help from Thayumanavar for political guidance. Thayumanavar listened to his inner self.  He told the queen, “Your kingdom is wardom. Leave me in peace. I obey only the king’s order. The king of my soul is God”

Thayumanavar, on the insistence of his brother married Malluvarkhuzhali and got a child called Kanakasabapathi. His wife died soon after the child’s birth. He realized that he could not fulfill the duties as a householder and left his son with his brother.

He travelled to places like Tiruvannamalai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvarur, Madurai and Tiruvotiyur.  During the course of his travels, he met his earlier mentor, ‘the silent guru’ at Manamadurai and received his blessings. At Rameshwaram, he made a public appeal in the temple for God to intervene and end a drought that had affected that part of the country.  An immediate downpour was witnessed which filled all the tanks and wells.

The Raja of Ramnad and his subjects worshipped the sage and brought him to Ramnad in a palanquin.  Thayumanavar rejected all royal honours and spent the remainder of his brief life in a small hut, meditating and composing the songs that were to make him famous. His disciple, Arulayya and Kodikkarai Jnani wrote the poems and began to sing in public. The hymns of Thayumanavar bring high solace to life and soul. To learn them is to elevate life and soul.

In 1742, on a full moon day in the month of January, he withdrew into his hut and left a message pinned on the outside of the door, “See the world as you see a drama.  See without attachment, this is supreme knowledge”.  He was given a royal funeral in Ramanathapuram by the local Raja.

Thayumanavar followed the discipline of silence [mouna] which he describes as, “the state which spontaneously manifests after the annihilation of the ego”.  He says, “It is a state beyond light and darkness, but it is called light, since language is inadequate to express it. The ego disappears and I spontaneously manifest in full glory.” The Maharishi particularly singled out this verse of his for admiration.

Thayumanavar’s key teaching is to discipline the mind, control desire and meditate peacefully.  He went on to say that “it is easy to control an elephant, catch hold of the tiger’s tail, grab the snake and dance, dictate the angels, transmigrate to another body, walk on water or sit on the sea, but it is more difficult to control the mind and remain quiet”.

Saint Thayumanavar composed more than 1400 poems in Tamil. He wrote in silence, lived in silence and steeped himself in Divine silence. The highest bliss is “Chumma Iruppathu” and without knowing this, I am struggling in the world.

Some vedantic truths authored by the Saint are:

1)    Contented with minimum physical needs of food, clothing and shelter serve the mankind and be one among them.

2)    May I remain like a bee seeking only the good aspects of life.

3)    God is like a gooseberry tasting bitter first and then sweet.

4)    Not a single atom moves without him

5)    If you turn your back to the lamp, you cannot see the light. How can you get enlightenment when you walk in the opposite direction?

The hymns of Thayumanavar bring great solace to life; to hear them is to elevate life and soul.  To live them is to enjoy the highest Bliss in spiritual consciousness. It covers the entire field of yoga and jnana. The hymns of Thayumanavar are music of the soul, the songs of the inner spirit.

GEETHA GANGADARAN
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