Tirumantiram - TANTRA FIVE – Verses 1495 - 1517 of 1572

Tirumantiram

English translation of the Tamil Spiritual Classic by Saint Tirumular

 

 

TANTRA FIVE – Verses 1495 - 1517  of 1572

 

 

11 SATPUTRA MARGA (PATH OF KRIYA)

 

1495: Path of Filial Piety Leads to Jnana

 

The Path of Filial Piety is the Way of Kriya true;

The Kriya Path leads to Yoga Path;

Transcending both,

And uniting in Sakti of Yoga State

Indeed is consummation of Sanmarga Path.

 

 

1496: What Constitutes Kriya Path

 

To perform Pujas, to read the scriptures holy

To praise the Lord, to chant His holy name,

To practise Tapas, to be truthful,

To bear no envy,

Thyself to cook the offering for Lord with loving care

These and other acts of reverence

Constitute Pure Path of Filial Piety.

 

 

1497: All Nature Seeks Flowers; Why Not You?

 

The humming bees roam unceasing from flower to flower;

The snow-white swans float amidst lotus and blue-bells,

They all, all, seek flowers fragrant;

Yet, you who have beheld all this,

Adore not the Lord with flowers for a while even.

 

 

1498: Lord is Our Defence and Refuge

 

His Holy Feet are our Rock of Refuge;

His commandments, our defence's battlements;

He is verily the finite Shore

For the surging tide of Jivas on earth;

He pervades thus, the seven worlds alike.

 

 

1499: Adore Lord in Diverse Ways; He Shall Be Yours

 

Rise high, bend low, kiss and embrace Lord;

Praise Him, sing Him and pray at His Holy Feet;

That shall your birth's fulfilment be;

In trembling love do adore Him;

He, indeed, shall be beloved unto you.

 

 

1500: Approach Lord Through Kriya Path

 

In reverence I stand and adore mine lord;

In humility I prostrate and praise Him;

And for ever and ever shall I worship the Divine Light of Beauty;

You too shall seek Him with flowers fragrant,

The more you adore Him

The fuller He reveals Himself unto you,

He the Lord of Beings Heavenly.

 

 

1501: Kriya Comes of Chariya

 

Hearken! You, worldly men

That stand in Chariya Path,

It leads to the Kriya Path,

That exalts you;

Then shall your primordial Pasas lie prostrate,

And you live in unending bliss for ever.

 

 

12 DASA MARGA (PATH OF DEVOTION)

 

1502: Ways of Dasamarga

 

Gently light the lamp,

Gather flowers fragrant,

Humbly ground the holy paste,

Softly sweep,

Sing Lord's Praise,

Count the crystal beads,

Anoint in many ways,

And perform the diverse acts of temple service.

 

 

1503: Hold Fast to Chariya Path

 

This the Primal Being, that the Primal Being

Thus in doubt tossed,

Away they moved farther and farther from It;

They know not this is the true Path,

And worship not;

Do pursue this appointed way,

And seek the King of Kings;

That, in truth, shall quell

All doubts within you swell.

 

 

1504: All Worship Began From Chariya

 

"I meditate on the Moon Nadi on the left,

I shift on to the Sun Nadi on the right"

-The worship the yogins thus

At the Feet of the One perform

And the worship the Celestial Beings

Daily to Lord offer,

All these but begin

In the Path of Chariya ultimate.

 

 

1505: Lord Appears in Love Entwined

 

The Celestial Beings seek Lord

Chanting His glory in names thousand;

They that adore His Holy Feet

In abiding rapture of their hearts,

And hold him as their eyes' apple

Unto them is He sweet melody,

To them He appears in divine love entwined.

 

 

1506: Be of Love and See the Lord

 

What avails it

That you read holy scriptures,

Perform Pujas,

Gather flowers in cluster?

As long as your heart is unto a pebble

Dropped into a dark pool

Over-spread with moss of ignorance,

You can never realize the Lord;

Lord that is in your heart's love;

Lord that is blue-throated;

He, the Pure Light.

 

 

13 SALOKAM (IN GOD'S WORLD)

 

1507: Successive Stages to Finite Beatitude

 

The four stages of attainment

Saloka, Samipa, Sarupa and Sayujya

Are in gradation reached from Chariya;

The path of Chariya leads to Saloka;

And that in turn to Samipa;

And Samipa shows the way to Sarupa;

And ultimately to Para of Infinite Space (Sayujya)

Beyond which there is state none.

 

 

1508: The Four Ordinations in Kriya Worship

 

In Kriya worship are sacraments four;

Samaya sacrament prepares heart to be a Tabernacle of God;

Visesha sacrament installs the Faith firm;

Nirvana helps realize the Truth of Faith;

Abhisheka confereth the state of Samadhi Supreme.

 

 

14 SAMIPAM (IN GOD'S PROXIMITY)

 

1509: Transformation of World-Knowledge

 

In Saloka Pasa Jnana (World knowledge) becomes Pasu Jnana (Spiritual

knowledge)

In Samipa it becomes Arul Jnana (Grace-knowledge)

In Sarupa it is transformed into Pati Jnana (God-knowledge)

In Sayujya it is for ever dissolved.

 

 

15 SARUPAM (IN GOD'S FORM)

 

1510: Only Jnana-in-Yoga Leads to Sarupa State

 

The State of Sarupa is, no doubt, reached

Through the eight-pronged yoga way;

But unless it be Sanmarga-in-Yoga,

The Sarupa state cannot be;

The yoga way but leads to bodily Siddhis diverse;

But for the Sarupa state to realize,

None these but the pure way of Jnana-in-Yoga.

 

 

1511: Sarupa State by Nearness to God

 

All things, living and non-living,

As they reach the Golden Mount of Meru

Are themselves into gold transformed;

Even so,

They that reach the world of Master Divine

Attain Form the Light Divine

His, of the King of Kailas.

 

 

16 SAYUJYAM (ONE IN GOD)

 

1512: Stages in the Soul's Pilgrimage

 

In the Soul's Pilgrimage towards God

The Path of Saivam describes stages four;

It is Saivam, when the Self forges a kindred tie with Siva (in Saloka)

It is Saivam, when the Soul realizes itself and nears God (in Samipa)

It is Saivam, when it leaves Samipa (and reaches Sarupa)

It is Saivam when it enjoys the final bliss of Sivananda,

The inextricable union in Sayujya.

 

 

1513: Sayujyam

 

Sayujya is the state of Jagra-Atita-the Beyond-Consciousness

Sayujya is to abide for ever in Upasantha,

The peace that knows no understanding

Sayujya is to become Siva Himself,

Sayujya is to experience the infinite power of inward bliss,

Forever and ever.

 

 

17 SATHINIPADAM (DESCENT OF GRACE)

 

1514: Wooing of the Soul by the Lady of Grace

 

In the corner dark of the Chamber of Primal Stuff

There She was-the Virgin Lady of Grace;

Intent on consorting with the Blind Old Man-the Soul immortal,

She rent his veil of night,

Showered full many a favour,

Wooed with temptations diverse,

And lo! to Her bosom took him,

In wedlock holy.

 

 

1515: The Infinite Ground of Sakti's Descent

 

If you meditate on the primal source

Whence the evil senses sprang

You shall know it as Land of Becoming,

The ambrosia of the Realized;

They that have been given the clear vision, nectar sweet,

Are verily the Infinite Ground

Of Sakti's highest seeking.

 

 

1516: Arul Sakti Helps Attain Liberation

 

The Primal Sakti releases Jiva from enveloping gloom,

Rows it across the sea of myriad births,

Grants the Grace Abiding;

And lands it on the shores of Truth's Bliss

United in the Lord of Heavenly Beings,

-Themselves as yet unfree

From Impurity's obscuration.

 

 

1517: Grace Illumines

 

As when groping in a chamber enveloped in thick gloom,

A sudden shaft of light pierces and illumines,

Unto it into the gloom of bewildering Ignorance

Is the Presence of Lord and Lady of Grace,

Lord that is Nandi, worshipped in the blossom of heart.