Tamil Siddhars

 

An Introduction to the Tamil Siddhas:
Their Tantric Roots, Alchemy, Poetry,
and the True Nature of their Heresy
Within the Context of South Indian Shaivite Society
by Layne Little
(Please Note: This paper was originally presented at a symposium on world religions at the University of Utah in the spring of '97. It was haphazardly strung together almost overnight. Unfortunately, I failed to carefully list my sources and footnote their contributions. I have tried to list the most significant references at the tail of this article, but it is by no means complete. Nor to give them proper credit in the body of the work. I apologize profusely for this oversight, and welcome comments and criticism on this or any other issues. I must especially acknowledge how much Dr. David Gordon White and Dr. Kamil Zvelebil have contributed to this raggle-taggle introduction to Siddha tradition. Thanks!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Tamil Siddhas are a religious order of mystics found in the southern part of India, who's origins can be traced back to the eighth century. They form a distinctive part of a larger movement which spread throughout South Asia, from Sri Lanka in the South to Tibet in the north, between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Siddhas everywhere share common practices, cosmology, and symbols derived from Tantrism whether the practitioner is Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain. All are part of a "pan-Indian tantric yoga movement" which Eliade described as formulating over a five hundred year period, between the 7th and the 11th centuries, but fully flowering only after the 12th century.
Excluding perhaps the Buddhist Siddhas, all such groups are considered radical, if not dangerous, by the orthodoxy.
An intriguing aspect of the Tamil Siddha cult is that it shares with the orthodox Saiva Siddhanta sect a common text which defines the philosophy of both groups. Since each sect emphasized different aspects of the teaching they quickly became widely divergent, with the two orders often at odds. The Siddhas would be scoffing at temple worship, reliance upon Brahminical authority, and proclaiming the injustice of caste; while the Saiva Siddhantins would berate the Siddhas much as M. Srinivasa Iyangar did in 1914 when he wrote that the Siddhas are "mostly plagiarists and impostors" and in addition, "Being eaters of opium & dwellers in the land of dreams, their conceit knew no bounds".
At times the Siddhantins have even engaged in an organized effort to eliminate the Siddhar faction. For example, one movement, observed in the latter half of the nineteenth century, systematically sought out any copy of the writings of the heretical Siddha-poet Sivavakkiyar, and promptly destroyed them.
The rift between the two orders has been sharply polarized by the fact that some Saiva Siddhantins, who mostly worship their God Shiva as the Lingam or sacred Phallus, have had a difficult time accepting the Siddhas tendency to emphasize the Goddess. To the Tamil Siddhas, Shiva is the unqualified and ultimate reality beyond form or comprehension, but Shakti, the Goddess, is immanent and accessible as the divine force abiding within the body itself. There she can be coaxed & subdued, manipulated & directed. As the serpent power Kundalini, flowing through the subtle body, she can propel the consciousness of the Siddhar into union with the Absolute. Though the orthodox Saiva Siddhantin may content himself with the worship of Shiva in the temple through the rituals of the priest, the Siddha placates the goddess to intercede on his behalf and expand the consciousness of the Siddha beyond all limitation, where he may become Shiva himself. Notions, such as this, being fundamental to the Tamil Siddha, has struck the Shaivite orthodoxy as heretical.
Within the context of Hindu myth the name Siddha originally denoted one of the eighteen categories of celestial beings. These beings of semi-divine status were said to be of great purity and their dwelling was thought to be in the sky between the earth and the sun. Later they became associated with a class of more adept human being, often an accomplished yogi. The term had been derived from the Sanskrit root sidh meaning "fulfillment" or "achievement," so the noun came to refer to one who had attained perfection. Because the Tamil language lacks the aspirated consonants of Sanskrit the word has been written and pronounced by the Tamils as cittar. This has lead the Tamils to associate the word more with the Sanskrit term chit, meaning "consciousness."
This appellation is evident even in the Shaivite devotionals known as the Tevaram hymns of the 6th & 7th centuries that would later become part of the Saiva Siddhanta canon. There the term is applied not only to one of the 18 categories of divine beings but also to God Shiva himself, who is a cittar because the very nature of God is consciousness. Likewise, it describes the devotee as also being a cittar since his consciousness is always immersed in the Divine presence. By the 12th-13th century the term has taken on new meaning as we learn from the writings of Perumparrapuliyur Nambi who describes the God Shiva as the cittar alchemist who is working strange miracles in the city of Madurai.
Essentially though, the term Siddha or Cittar has the same connotations as it does when referring to the 84 Siddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism, the Natha Siddhas of North India, or the medieval alchemists known as the Rasa Siddhas. It is a movement born of a synthesis of Vajrayana Buddhism, Shaivite Tantrism, Indian Alchemy, magic, and the hatha yoga and pranayama disciplines as expounded by the ascetic saint Goraknath. Although, in the present era, the term is often applied to any form of unorthodox mystic or saint.
All of the writings of the Tamil Siddhas, whether defining philosophical viewpoints, yogic practices, or presenting alchemical recipes for herbal tinctures and base metal amalgams were presented in poetic form, often employing the more difficult meters that harkened back to the ancient Tamil Sangam Age. These works are also riddled with tantric imagery, references to Kundalini, and clues to control the dangerous feminine power through breathing practices or the recitation of the Goddess's secret names. Because of the enigmatic nature of the Siddha imagery, and their philosophy structured in direct defiance of human logic, few scholars have ventured to address the Tamil Siddhas and then often only as mere curiosities. Needless to say, the vast majority of the Tamil Siddha works have never been translated, as has been the case with some of the verses presented here.
One of the most basic characteristics of Tamil composition, and one that is particularly relevant to Siddha poetry, is the tendency to layer the work so that each word or image builds upon the last. Because each component image is presented so as to be viewed autonomously and in relationship both sequentially and to the totality of the verse, the images of the poem may seem slightly disjointed and contradictory. Though this may at first seem to undermine the aesthetic quality and over-complicate the simple act of enjoying poetry, the Tamil Siddha compositions pattern the imagery to expound the subtle complexity of their philosophical concepts or to map out the terrain of the inner landscape which is dominated by the dormant serpent energy.
Though most of the Indian Siddha schools did not come into their own until the 12th century, we find that the southern variant, the Tamil Siddha school, had a fully defined system in the eighth century itself. It was at this time that Tirumular, himself one of the 64 canonized Shaivite saints or Nayanars of the Saiva Siddhanta sect, authored the Tirumantiram which fully defined the nature of the Tamil Siddha cult up until the present era. The text also became the 10th book of the Saiva Siddhanta canon, which is referred to as the Tirumurai. Though it was the one work outlining the philosophy of the Saiva Siddhanta cult, the orthodox followers within the Saiva Siddhanta sect have always had a difficult time fully accepting the many passages which discuss the worship of the Goddess and the Kundalini Yoga practices so characteristic of Tantrism. On the other hand, the Siddhas have viewed these same passages as the most critical in formulating their esoteric doctrines on the arousal of the serpent energy.
As we can see in verse 730, the Siddhantins were confronted with the tantric orientation of their philosopher Tirumular, when he relates that it is the human body itself that is the temple of the Goddess Shakti...
In Shakti's temple
if you control
the left & the right
you can hear a lute
in the center of your face.
And Shiva will come out
dancing sweetly.
I swear upon Sada Nandi
we have spoken the truth.

Here Tirumular discusses the basis of Kundalini Yoga whereby the breath, carrying one of the vital airs known as prana, flows into the solar and lunar currents which run from the right and left nostrils down to the base of the spine and are there brought into union. The point of this union is at the root chakra Muladhara, the first of six chakras or nerve plexuses through which the Kundalini energy will flow. This energy is moved by the solar and lunar streams of vital breath that have entered the central current at Muladhara and will ascend upwards through the six chakras, each corresponding to a higher and more expansive state of consciousness. The individual awareness is sublimated into divine union at the crown of the head. It is a kind of inner journey towards the infinitude of the Divine, but begins only after the two streams flow into the central current as we learn from verse 801 of the Tirumantiram...

801

Left hand
Right hand
Both hands...
Change!!!
He who eats
with the hand of worship
need not be depleted.
The conscious ones
capable of abandoning sleep
need not die...
they can live forever.

The term used to denote the 'hand of worship' is Tutikai. Tuti is a verb meaning "to worship," kai is the noun meaning "hand". Together, as Tutikai, the expression also means the "elephant's trunk." This interpretation is equally viable in that Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of gateways and new beginnings is said to reside in the body at the base of the spine, at the root chakra Muladhara where the two currents flow together and enter central current Shashumna. Shashumna is sometimes envisioned as the trunk of Ganesha raised aloft and holding the full blown lotus of enlightenment, Sahasrara, at the crown of the head. What is eaten is amrita, conceived of as both the nectar of spiritual ecstasy and the elixir of immortality.
Tantra appears in its definitive form around the 4th century, but its beginnings seem to reach back much earlier. Elements of tantric thought had already pervaded the south by the time of Tirumular, as they had seeped into yogic theory and practice at some antecedent time and even impacted temple ritual and the budding bhakti cults. Tantra was more deeply rooted in a fluid set of symbolic constructs than a static enunciation of doctrine. It represents a profound refinement of the symbol system of Hindu-Buddhist South Asia. It's emphasis on the experiential aspects of the individual's religious experience collided with the Shaivite orthodoxy like the Gnostic heresy did with the early Christian Church.
In an effort to demonstrate that the macrocosm is reflected within the microcosm, Tantra began to emphasize that the universe, in all its totality, is contained within the body of the individual. It superimposed universal symbols over the human body to help demonstrate this relationship. The spine, along which the Shashumna or central channel ran, became the cosmic axis. All the Gods that oversaw the mechanism that is this universe we-re hidden in the lotus centers of the body's chakras, like blossoms flowering on the vine of the spine. But it was the portly god Ganesha, who guarded the gate to the inner world. He became a patron of Kundalini yoga in the South and was invoked by the female Siddha mendicant Avaiyar, in this excerpt from her 14th century work Vinayagar Agaval. Here she relates how the elephant-headed god has reconciled the dualistic nature of the universe as the various manifestations of Shiva were taught to be part of her inner savoring.

He has concentrated my mind,
clarified my intellect,
and said,
"Light & Darkness
share a common place."
He presses me down
into the grace giving ecstasy.
In my ear
he renders limitless bliss.
He has revealed Sada Shiva
within the sound.
He has revealed the Shiva Lingam
within the mind.
And he has revealed that...
The smaller than the smallest,
The larger that the largest,
stands within...
like ripe sugarcane.

In about 1661, as Aurangzeb set about to expand his kingdom throughout the subcontinent and free the land of heretics, he was at the same time extending his protection to an obscure Hindu monastery in the Punjab. At the time in question Aanand Nath, the abbot of the monastery and a Natha Siddha alchemist, was providing history's great persecutor of Hinduism a regular supply of treated mercury which promised to confer longevity. At the same time in the deep south, the Tamil Siddha alchemist Bhogar, who had supposedly migrated from China along with his guru Kalangi Nathar, was establishing a shrine to the God Murugan on the top of Palani Hill. It was there that he composed his 7000 verses on Kundalini Yoga, alchemy, and Siddha medicine. By medieval times Indian alchemy had come into vogue much like tantra had done almost a millennium earlier. And though the Indian alchemists also sought to develop the chemical processes of transforming base metals into gold as in Europe & the Middle East, they often emphasized the pursuit of bodily perfection and the preparation of the elixir of immortality as the Chinese alchemists had sought. They often viewed their experience of the inner processes of Kundalini Yoga as mirroring the chemical process of the alchemical work.
Though nine hundred years after Tirumular, Bhogar is still wrestling with the serpent energy, even in the midst of his alchemical operations. Though now, the Kundalini is personified as the consort of Ganesha, the Goddess Vallabai...

9 The green-hued Vallabai
will become subservient
and bow down.
She'll tell you
the appropriate time
for the appropriate chakra.
If the basis of Muladhara
is perfected...
You can go anywhere,
wandering freely
throughout the three worlds.

The dull-hued body
will mellow
and shine.
All impurities
will be removed
and the six chakras
will become visible
to the eye.
The gold-colored alchemy
will heed your every word.
In the Sleepless Sleep
all subtlety
can be perceived.


Look and see.

In a particularly odd verse of Bhogar, we find him describing a visionary experience involving the ingestion of an unidentified substance and the wearing of mercurial amalgams.

80 Bhogar's Leap Into the Universe
As the Principle of Intelligence itself
I leapt into the cosmos.

Shiva clearly elucidated
the nature of this universe.
For the sake of all beings
there is a path
that becomes a vehicle
for the five senses.
The universe that appeared before me
was arranged in layers.

Grandfather (Tirumular) said,
"Enter the tenth one."
I took what was given me
and put it in my mouth.

And a bunch
of mercurial amalgams
I tied onto my wrist.
Off I went.
Entering the universe
of fire and light.

In 1293, on his way back from China, Marco Polo got a taste of South India when he stopped along the Malabar Coast. He records a meeting he had with a group of yogi alchemists who, by preparing a tincture of mercury and sulfur, were afforded a lifespan of 150-200 years. Mercury was viewed as the seminal seed of Shiva. It formed a part of the alchemical triad of mercury sulfur and air, corresponding to the trinity of moon sun, and wind. Breath controlled through the practices of Pranayama, transformed the body's winds into a spiritual mediator that could unify the solar and lunar currents within the body. Much like the alchemical process applied air to mercury and sulfur to form the amalgam that brought the work to completion.
Consciousness was seen to ride the vehicle of breath into union with the absolute in the Sahasrara chakra at the top of the head. The Siddha could, through the intercession of the Goddess, placated by manipulation of the breath, expand consciousness to the point where it becomes what is called the Maha Chitta or "Great Awareness" which is the God Shiva himself. Here is one of the closing verses of Bhogar's discussion of Kundalini Yoga..

94

Invite the breath,
the outer space,
to come within your house.

If you are unwavering,
placing it there
as though you were
putting oil in a lamp,...
They shall meet.
Breath and God
becoming one.
Like wind becoming breath
there is no individual intelligence.

The Great Awareness becomes Siva.
He and breath
merge into one.

It is this light becoming breath
that redeems the soul.
Surely this is the truth
of Siva Yoga!

In the modern era, the Siddhas have had a profound influence on contemporary Tamil society because of the impact of a single poet who lived in the last century. Ramalingar was born in 1823 near Chidambaram, the greatest of all Shaivite temples. Naturally, the heretical nature of his teaching and the growing number of his disciples caused the protest of temple officials and a variety of Saiva Siddhanta institutions throughout the region. Eventually they were forced to call in Arumuga Naalavar from Jaffna to put an end to Ramalingar. As a Tamil scholar and Shaivite authority, the orthodox religious leaders throughout the area, were confident that he could expose the fallacy of Ramalingar's teaching and defrock the heretical saint. Arumuga quickly set about organizing public meetings to provide a platform on which to abuse Ramalingar and a horde of pamphlets were circulated issuing public warning about this dangerous little man. Eventually though, Arumuga was forced to take legal action and filed a suit against the saint. The gentle Ramalingar was dragged into court, but eloquently speaking in his own defense, easily won the case.
The nature of Ramalingar's heresy is found to be all the more insidious when we learn that he also cherished and called his own the devotional hymns of Saiva Siddhanta saints other than Tirumular. One of these, the last of the canonized 64, was Manikkavasagar, who had a profound influence on Ramalingar and Siddha devotionalism in general. Manikkavasagar's name means "He who's utterances are rubies" and in the 9th century he beautifully wrote this mini creation myth in flowing verse...

Becoming sky & earth
Wind & light
Becoming flesh & spirit
All that truly is
& all that which is not
Becoming the Lord,
He makes those who say,
"I" & "mine"
Dance in the show
Becoming sky
& standing there...
How can my words
praise Him?

In this final work of Ramalingar, we see a different side of the heretical Siddhas. Not the enigmatic ramblings or harsh riddles of the ascetic, but a tender ode, that views the Siddha's experience of union as the distilled essence of life's sweetness. In this poem Ramalingar praises Saint Manikkavasagar, and weaves his verse with a complex echoing of sound as he speaks again and again of the sweetness of his mystic absorption experienced when hearing the poetry of the saint. This fervent merging, savored by the ecstatic Ramalingar is described with the Tamil word Kalantha, from the verb root Kala meaning "to flow together", "to make as one", as it also denotes a sexual union.

One with sky Manikkavasagar,
your words...
One with me when I sing
Nectar of sugarcane
One with honey
One with milk
and one with the sweetness
of the fertile fruit
One with my flesh
One with my soul
Insatiable
is that sweetness!

Although Ramalingar's hymns were penned in praise of the God Shiva, they were often addressed to a feminine audience with unqualified personal designations such as 'Amma' or 'Akka', 'Mother' or 'Sister'. Perhaps indicating that the hymn was meant for an internal and distinctly feminine force that could propel the invocation along the proper channels of the inner cosmos, towards Shiva's divine abode.
The fact that his songs began to be sung in the schools, villages and even the temples of 19th century Cennai, began to outrage the orthodox Shaivites in the area. He, as all other Tamil Siddhas, was somewhat iconoclastic, not adequately deferential to temple or Brahminical tradition. He did not worship the linga. Forgoing all such images, he perpetrated the greatest of heresies by blatantly revealing the true face of God veiled within volumes of tantric lore. At the shrine he established at Vadalur, behind the curtain that housed the holy of holy's, he established a single flame's light to illuminate a mirror that would reflect the image of the worshipper as the secret face of god and final mystery of the Tamil Siddha cult.


According to the web-site viz: http://www.experiencefestival.com/siddhar:

I.Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

In South India, a Siddha reffers to a being who has achieved physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that Siddhas alledgedly attained physical immortality. Thus Siddha, like Siddhar or Cittar (indigenisation of Sanskrit terms in Tamil Nadu) refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of Sadhana and become a perfected being. In Tamil Nadu, South India, where the Siddha tradition is practiced, special individuals are recognized as and called Siddhas, or Siddhars or Cittars, who are on the path to that assumed perfection after they have taken special secret Rasayanas to perfect their bodies, in order to be able to sustain prolonged meditation along with a form of Pranayama which reduces the number of breaths taken by them considerably.

Due to the obscurity of the art and practice of becoming a Siddha, many false prophets of this art have arisen. A general sign of genuinity of a Siddha is the fact that he does not advertise himself, but is going into hiding. Generally Siddhas are continually itinerant, and do not gather a following. Most practitioners of Siddha medicine are not Siddhas themselves, but use some of the remedies described by Siddhas.


II.Siddhar - All Siddhars in order

1. Sri Pathanjali
2. Sri Agasthiyar
3. Sri Kamalamuni
4. Sri Thirumoolar
5. Sri Kuthambai
6. Sri Korakkar
7. Sri Thanvandri
8. Sri Sundaranandar
9. Sri Konganar
10. Sri Sattamuni
11. Sri Valmiki (Vaanmeegar)
12. Sri Ramadevar
13. Sri Nandeeswarar
14. Sri Edaikkadar
15. Sri Machamuni
16. Sri Karuvoorar
17. Sri Bogar
18. Sri Pambatti

The 9 or 18 list as Abithana Chitamani states is as follows, and the following list seems to be more correct than the one above because the siddhars like Karuvoorar, Paambatti are Siddhars of more recent times than those in the list below. Of course all the people mentioned in the list are considered as Siddhars and are unparalleled in their own respects.

The 9-list of Siddhars is:

1. Sathyanathar
2. Sadhoganathar
3. Aadhinathar
4. Anadhinathar
5. Vegulinathar
6. Madhanganathar
7. Machaendranathar
8. Gadaendranathar or Gajendranathar
9. Korakkanathar

The 18-list of siddhars is:

1. Agastyar
2. Bogar
3. Korakkar
4. Kailasanathar
5. SattaiMuni
6. Tirumoolar
7. Nandhi
8. Koonkannar
9. Konganar
10. MachaMuni
11. VaasaMuni
12. KoormaMuni
13. KamalaMuni
14. Edaikaadar
15. Punnakeesar
16. Sundarandandar
17. Romarishi
18. BramhaMuni

Apart from these there are several others like Dhanvandhri, Pulasthiyar, Pujandar or Kagapujandar, Pathanjali, Karuvoorar, Ramadevar, Theraiyar, Kabilar, Kumbhamuni, Paambaati Siddhar, Kudhumbai Siddhar

III.Siddhar - Powers of siddhars

The siddhars are believed to have had powers both major and other ‘minor’ powers. They are explained in detail in various yogic as well as religious texts;Thirumandiram 668:

1. To become tiny as the atom within the atom (Anima)
2. To become big in unshakeable proportions (Mahima)
3. To become as light as vapour in levitation (Laghima)
4. To become as heavy as the mountain (Garima)
5. To enter into other bodies in transmigration (Prapti)
6. To be in all things,omni-pervasive (Prakamya)
7. To be lord of all creation in omnipotence (Isatvam)
8. To be everywhere in omnipresence (Vasitvam)

These eight are the Great Siddhis.

__________________________________________________________________________________

An Introduction to the Tamil Siddhas:
Their Tantric Roots, Alchemy, Poetry,
and the True Nature of their Heresy
Within the Context of South Indian Shaivite Society
by Layne Little
anjaneya@ix.netcom.com
(Please Note: This paper was originally presented at a symposium on world religions at the University of Utah in the spring of '97. It was haphazardly strung together almost overnight. Unfortunately, I failed to carefully list my sources and footnote their contributions. I have tried to list the most significant references at the tail of this article, but it is by no means complete. Nor to I give them proper credit in the body of the work. I apologize profusely for this oversight, and welcome comments and criticism on this or any other issues. I must especially acknowledge how much Dr. David Gordon White and Dr. Kamil Zvelebil have contributed to this raggle-taggle introduction to Siddha tradition. Thanks!)
Back to Indian alchemy.

The Tamil Siddhas are a religious order of mystics found in the southern part of India, who's origins can be traced back to the eighth century. They form a distinctive part of a larger movement which spread throughout South Asia, from Sri Lanka in the South to Tibet in the north, between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Siddhas everywhere share common practices, cosmology, and symbols derived from Tantrism whether the practitioner is Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain. All are part of a "pan-Indian tantric yoga movement" which Eliade described as formulating over a five hundred year period, between the 7th and the 11th centuries, but fully flowering only after the 12th century.
Excluding perhaps the Buddhist Siddhas, all such groups are considered radical, if not dangerous, by the orthodoxy.
An intriguing aspect of the Tamil Siddha cult is that it shares with the orthodox Saiva Siddhanta sect a common text which defines the philosophy of both groups. Since each sect emphasized different aspects of the teaching they quickly became widely divergent, with the two orders often at odds. The Siddhas would be scoffing at temple worship, reliance upon Brahminical authority, and proclaiming the injustice of caste; while the Saiva Siddhantins would berate the Siddhas much as M. Srinivasa Iyangar did in 1914 when he wrote that the Siddhas are "mostly plagiarists and impostors" and in addition, "Being eaters of opium & dwellers in the land of dreams, their conceit knew no bounds".
At times the Siddhantins have even engaged in an organized effort to eliminate the Siddhar faction. For example, one movement, observed in the latter half of the nineteenth century, systematically sought out any copy of the writings of the heretical Siddha-poet Sivavakkiyar, and promptly destroyed them.
The rift between the two orders has been sharply polarized by the fact that some Saiva Siddhantins, who mostly worship their God Shiva as the Lingam or sacred Phallus, have had a difficult time accepting the Siddhas tendency to emphasize the Goddess. To the Tamil Siddhas, Shiva is the unqualified and ultimate reality beyond form or comprehension, but Shakti, the Goddess, is immanent and accessible as the divine force abiding within the body itself. There she can be coaxed & subdued, manipulated & directed. As the serpent power Kundalini, flowing through the subtle body, she can propel the consciousness of the Siddhar into union with the Absolute. Though the orthodox Saiva Siddhantin may content himself with the worship of Shiva in the temple through the rituals of the priest, the Siddha placates the goddess to intercede on his behalf and expand the consciousness of the Siddha beyond all limitation, where he may become Shiva himself. Notions, such as this, being fundamental to the Tamil Siddha, has struck the Shaivite orthodoxy as heretical.
Within the context of Hindu myth the name Siddha originally denoted one of the eighteen categories of celestial beings. These beings of semi-divine status were said to be of great purity and their dwelling was thought to be in the sky between the earth and the sun. Later they became associated with a class of more adept human being, often an accomplished yogi. The term had been derived from the Sanskrit root sidh meaning "fulfillment" or "achievement," so the noun came to refer to one who had attained perfection. Because the Tamil language lacks the aspirated consonants of Sanskrit the word has been written and pronounced by the Tamils as cittar. This has lead the Tamils to associate the word more with the Sanskrit term chit, meaning "consciousness."
This appellation is evident even in the Shaivite devotionals known as the Tevaram hymns of the 6th & 7th centuries that would later become part of the Saiva Siddhanta canon. There the term is applied not only to one of the 18 categories of divine beings but also to God Shiva himself, who is a cittar because the very nature of God is consciousness. Likewise, it describes the devotee as also being a cittar since his consciousness is always immersed in the Divine presence. By the 12th-13th century the term has taken on new meaning as we learn from the writings of Perumparrapuliyur Nambi who describes the God Shiva as the cittar alchemist who is working strange miracles in the city of Madurai.
Essentially though, the term Siddha or Cittar has the same connotations as it does when referring to the 84 Siddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism, the Natha Siddhas of North India, or the medieval alchemists known as the Rasa Siddhas. It is a movement born of a synthesis of Vajrayana Buddhism, Shaivite Tantrism, Indian Alchemy, magic, and the hatha yoga and pranayama disciplines as expounded by the ascetic saint Goraknath. Although, in the present era, the term is often applied to any form of unorthodox mystic or saint.
All of the writings of the Tamil Siddhas, whether defining philosophical viewpoints, yogic practices, or presenting alchemical recipes for herbal tinctures and base metal amalgams were presented in poetic form, often employing the more difficult meters that harkened back to the ancient Tamil Sangam Age. These works are also riddled with tantric imagery, references to Kundalini, and clues to control the dangerous feminine power through breathing practices or the recitation of the Goddess's secret names. Because of the enigmatic nature of the Siddha imagery, and their philosophy structured in direct defiance of human logic, few scholars have ventured to address the Tamil Siddhas and then often only as mere curiosities. Needless to say, the vast majority of the Tamil Siddha works have never been translated, as has been the case with some of the verses presented here.
One of the most basic characteristics of Tamil composition, and one that is particularly relevant to Siddha poetry, is the tendency to layer the work so that each word or image builds upon the last. Because each component image is presented so as to be viewed autonomously and in relationship both sequentially and to the totality of the verse, the images of the poem may seem slightly disjointed and contradictory. Though this may at first seem to undermine the aesthetic quality and over-complicate the simple act of enjoying poetry, the Tamil Siddha compositions pattern the imagery to expound the subtle complexity of their philosophical concepts or to map out the terrain of the inner landscape which is dominated by the dormant serpent energy.
Though most of the Indian Siddha schools did not come into their own until the 12th century, we find that the southern variant, the Tamil Siddha school, had a fully defined system in the eighth century itself. It was at this time that Tirumular, himself one of the 64 canonized Shaivite saints or Nayanars of the Saiva Siddhanta sect, authored the Tirumantiram which fully defined the nature of the Tamil Siddha cult up until the present era. The text also became the 10th book of the Saiva Siddhanta canon, which is referred to as the Tirumurai. Though it was the one work outlining the philosophy of the Saiva Siddhanta cult, the orthodox followers within the Saiva Siddhanta sect have always had a difficult time fully accepting the many passages which discuss the worship of the Goddess and the Kundalini Yoga practices so characteristic of Tantrism. On the other hand, the Siddhas have viewed these same passages as the most critical in formulating their esoteric doctrines on the arousal of the serpent energy.
As we can see in verse 730, the Siddhantins were confronted with the tantric orientation of their philosopher Tirumular, when he relates that it is the human body itself that is the temple of the Goddess Shakti...

In Shakti's temple
if you control
the left & the right
you can hear a lute
in the center of your face.
And Shiva will come out
dancing sweetly.
I swear upon Sada Nandi
we have spoken the truth.

Here Tirumular discusses the basis of Kundalini Yoga whereby the breath, carrying one of the vital airs known as prana, flows into the solar and lunar currents which run from the right and left nostrils down to the base of the spine and are there brought into union. The point of this union is at the root chakra Muladhara, the first of six chakras or nerve plexuses through which the Kundalini energy will flow. This energy is moved by the solar and lunar streams of vital breath that have entered the central current at Muladhara and will ascend upwards through the six chakras, each corresponding to a higher and more expansive state of consciousness. The individual awareness is sublimated into divine union at the crown of the head. It is a kind of inner journey towards the infinitude of the Divine, but begins only after the two streams flow into the central current as we learn from verse 801 of the Tirumantiram...

801

Left hand
Right hand
Both hands...
Change!!!
He who eats
with the hand of worship
need not be depleted.
The conscious ones
capable of abandoning sleep
need not die...
they can live forever.

The term used to denote the 'hand of worship' is Tutikai. Tuti is a verb meaning "to worship," kai is the noun meaning "hand". Together, as Tutikai, the expression also means the "elephant's trunk." This interpretation is equally viable in that Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of gateways and new beginnings is said to reside in the body at the base of the spine, at the root chakra Muladhara where the two currents flow together and enter central current Shashumna. Shashumna is sometimes envisioned as the trunk of Ganesha raised aloft and holding the full blown lotus of enlightenment, Sahasrara, at the crown of the head. What is eaten is amrita, conceived of as both the nectar of spiritual ecstasy and the elixir of immortality.
Tantra appears in its definitive form around the 4th century, but its beginnings seem to reach back much earlier. Elements of tantric thought had already pervaded the south by the time of Tirumular, as they had seeped into yogic theory and practice at some antecedent time and even impacted temple ritual and the budding bhakti cults. Tantra was more deeply rooted in a fluid set of symbolic constructs than a static enunciation of doctrine. It represents a profound refinement of the symbol system of Hindu-Buddhist South Asia. It's emphasis on the experiential aspects of the individual's religious experience collided with the Shaivite orthodoxy like the Gnostic heresy did with the early Christian Church.
In an effort to demonstrate that the macrocosm is reflected within the microcosm, Tantra began to emphasize that the universe, in all its totality, is contained within the body of the individual. It superimposed universal symbols over the human body to help demonstrate this relationship. The spine, along which the Shashumna or central channel ran, became the cosmic axis. All the Gods that oversaw the mechanism that is this universe we-re hidden in the lotus centers of the body's chakras, like blossoms flowering on the vine of the spine. But it was the portly god Ganesha, who guarded the gate to the inner world. He became a patron of Kundalini yoga in the South and was invoked by the female Siddha mendicant Avaiyar, in this excerpt from her 14th century work Vinayagar Agaval. Here she relates how the elephant-headed god has reconciled the dualistic nature of the universe as the various manifestations of Shiva were taught to be part of her inner savoring.

He has concentrated my mind,
clarified my intellect,
and said,
"Light & Darkness
share a common place."
He presses me down
into the grace giving ecstasy.
In my ear
he renders limitless bliss.
He has revealed Sada Shiva
within the sound.
He has revealed the Shiva Lingam
within the mind.
And he has revealed that...
The smaller than the smallest,
The larger that the largest,
stands within...
like ripe sugarcane.

In about 1661, as Aurangzeb set about to expand his kingdom throughout the subcontinent and free the land of heretics, he was at the same time extending his protection to an obscure Hindu monastery in the Punjab. At the time in question Aanand Nath, the abbot of the monastery and a Natha Siddha alchemist, was providing history's great persecutor of Hinduism a regular supply of treated mercury which promised to confer longevity. At the same time in the deep south, the Tamil Siddha alchemist Bhogar, who had supposedly migrated from China along with his guru Kalangi Nathar, was establishing a shrine to the God Murugan on the top of Palani Hill. It was there that he composed his 7000 verses on Kundalini Yoga, alchemy, and Siddha medicine. By medieval times Indian alchemy had come into vogue much like tantra had done almost a millennium earlier. And though the Indian alchemists also sought to develop the chemical processes of transforming base metals into gold as in Europe & the Middle East, they often emphasized the pursuit of bodily perfection and the preparation of the elixir of immortality as the Chinese alchemists had sought. They often viewed their experience of the inner processes of Kundalini Yoga as mirroring the chemical process of the alchemical work.
Though nine hundred years after Tirumular, Bhogar is still wrestling with the serpent energy, even in the midst of his alchemical operations. Though now, the Kundalini is personified as the consort of Ganesha, the Goddess Vallabai...

9 The green-hued Vallabai
will become subservient
and bow down.
She'll tell you
the appropriate time
for the appropriate chakra.
If the basis of Muladhara
is perfected...
You can go anywhere,
wandering freely
throughout the three worlds.

The dull-hued body
will mellow
and shine.
All impurities
will be removed
and the six chakras
will become visible
to the eye.
The gold-colored alchemy
will heed your every word.
In the Sleepless Sleep
all subtlety
can be perceived.
Look and see.

In a particularly odd verse of Bhogar, we find him describing a visionary experience involving the ingestion of an unidentified substance and the wearing of mercurial amalgams.

80 Bhogar's Leap Into the Universe
As the Principle of Intelligence itself
I leapt into the cosmos.

Shiva clearly elucidated
the nature of this universe.
For the sake of all beings
there is a path
that becomes a vehicle
for the five senses.
The universe that appeared before me
was arranged in layers.

Grandfather (Tirumular) said,
"Enter the tenth one."
I took what was given me
and put it in my mouth.

And a bunch
of mercurial amalgams
I tied onto my wrist.
Off I went.
Entering the universe
of fire and light.

In 1293, on his way back from China, Marco Polo got a taste of South India when he stopped along the Malabar Coast. He records a meeting he had with a group of yogi alchemists who, by preparing a tincture of mercury and sulfur, were afforded a lifespan of 150-200 years. Mercury was viewed as the seminal seed of Shiva. It formed a part of the alchemical triad of mercury sulfur and air, corresponding to the trinity of moon sun, and wind. Breath controlled through the practices of Pranayama, transformed the body's winds into a spiritual mediator that could unify the solar and lunar currents within the body. Much like the alchemical process applied air to mercury and sulfur to form the amalgam that brought the work to completion.
Consciousness was seen to ride the vehicle of breath into union with the absolute in the Sahasrara chakra at the top of the head. The Siddha could, through the intercession of the Goddess, placated by manipulation of the breath, expand consciousness to the point where it becomes what is called the Maha Chitta or "Great Awareness" which is the God Shiva himself. Here is one of the closing verses of Bhogar's discussion of Kundalini Yoga..

94

Invite the breath,
the outer space,
to come within your house.

If you are unwavering,
placing it there
as though you were
putting oil in a lamp,...
They shall meet.
Breath and God
becoming one.
Like wind becoming breath
there is no individual intelligence.

The Great Awareness becomes Siva.
He and breath
merge into one.

It is this light becoming breath
that redeems the soul.
Surely this is the truth
of Siva Yoga!

In the modern era, the Siddhas have had a profound influence on contemporary Tamil society because of the impact of a single poet who lived in the last century. Ramalingar was born in 1823 near Chidambaram, the greatest of all Shaivite temples. Naturally, the heretical nature of his teaching and the growing number of his disciples caused the protest of temple officials and a variety of Saiva Siddhanta institutions throughout the region. Eventually they were forced to call in Arumuga Naalavar from Jaffna to put an end to Ramalingar. As a Tamil scholar and Shaivite authority, the orthodox religious leaders throughout the area, were confident that he could expose the fallacy of Ramalingar's teaching and defrock the heretical saint. Arumuga quickly set about organizing public meetings to provide a platform on which to abuse Ramalingar and a horde of pamphlets were circulated issuing public warning about this dangerous little man. Eventually though, Arumuga was forced to take legal action and filed a suit against the saint. The gentle Ramalingar was dragged into court, but eloquently speaking in his own defense, easily won the case.
The nature of Ramalingar's heresy is found to be all the more insidious when we learn that he also cherished and called his own the devotional hymns of Saiva Siddhanta saints other than Tirumular. One of these, the last of the canonized 64, was Manikkavasagar, who had a profound influence on Ramalingar and Siddha devotionalism in general. Manikkavasagar's name means "He who's utterances are rubies" and in the 9th century he beautifully wrote this mini creation myth in flowing verse...

Becoming sky & earth
Wind & light
Becoming flesh & spirit
All that truly is
& all that which is not
Becoming the Lord,
He makes those who say,
"I" & "mine"
Dance in the show
Becoming sky
& standing there...
How can my words
praise Him?

In this final work of Ramalingar, we see a different side of the heretical Siddhas. Not the enigmatic ramblings or harsh riddles of the ascetic, but a tender ode, that views the Siddha's experience of union as the distilled essence of life's sweetness. In this poem Ramalingar praises Saint Manikkavasagar, and weaves his verse with a complex echoing of sound as he speaks again and again of the sweetness of his mystic absorption experienced when hearing the poetry of the saint. This fervent merging, savored by the ecstatic Ramalingar is described with the Tamil word Kalantha, from the verb root Kala meaning "to flow together", "to make as one", as it also denotes a sexual union.

One with sky Manikkavasagar,
your words...
One with me when I sing
Nectar of sugarcane
One with honey
One with milk
and one with the sweetness
of the fertile fruit
One with my flesh
One with my soul
Insatiable
is that sweetness!

Although Ramalingar's hymns were penned in praise of the God Shiva, they were often addressed to a feminine audience with unqualified personal designations such as 'Amma' or 'Akka', 'Mother' or 'Sister'. Perhaps indicating that the hymn was meant for an internal and distinctly feminine force that could propel the invocation along the proper channels of the inner cosmos, towards Shiva's divine abode.
The fact that his songs began to be sung in the schools, villages and even the temples of 19th century Cennai, began to outrage the orthodox Shaivites in the area. He, as all other Tamil Siddhas, was somewhat iconoclastic, not adequately deferential to temple or Brahminical tradition. He did not worship the linga. Forgoing all such images, he perpetrated the greatest of heresies by blatantly revealing the true face of God veiled within volumes of tantric lore. At the shrine he established at Vadalur, behind the curtain that housed the holy of holy's, he established a single flame's light to illuminate a mirror that would reflect the image of the worshipper as the secret face of god and final mystery of the Tamil Siddha cult.

References:

Eliade, Mircea. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Princeton: Bollingen, 1969.
Francis, T. Dayanandan. The Mission and Message of Ramalinga Swamy. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990.
Little, Layne. Shaking the Tree: Kundalini Yoga, Spiritual Alchemy, & the Mysteries of the Breath in Bhogar's 7000. Unpublished, 1994.
Venkataraman, R. A History of the Tamil Siddha Cult. Madurai: Ennes Publications, 1990.
White, David Gordon. The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. (By far the best work of its kind. Its exploration of the North Indian schools is indepth and unparralelled.)
Zvelebil, Kamil V. Tamil Literature. Leiden, 1975.
----The Poets of the Powers. London: Rider,1973.
----Tamil Lexicon. ??? 

The above article is copied from the web page: http://www.alchemywebsite.com/tamil_si.html

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Siddhars as Medical Scientists

Siddha medicine is the oldest and the foremost of all other medical systems of the world

Introduction
The Siddha System of medicine is the oldest in the world. There are two ancient system of medicine in India. The Siddha which flourished in South India and Ayurvedha prevalent in North India.

The word Siddha comes from the word Siddhi which means an object to attain perfection or heavenly bliss.

Siddha generally refers to Athma Siddha that is the 8th supernatural power. Those who attained or achieved the above said powers are known as Siddhars.

There were 18 important siddhars in olden days and they developed this system of medicine. Hence, it is called Siddha Medicine.


Basic Principles
Siddha science considers nature and man as essentially one. Nature is man and man is nature. Man is said to be the microcosm and Universe is the macrocosm because what exists in the world exists in man. Man is nothing but a miniature world containing the five elements of the various principles which constitute the minerals, vegetables and the animal kingdom. According to Siddha medical science, the Universe originally consisted of atoms which contributed to the five basic elements, viz., earth, water, fire, air and sky which correspond to the five senses of the human body and they were the fundamentals of all the corporeal things in the world.

A close relationship is found to exist between the external world and the internal system of man. Siddhars (practitioners of Siddha) maintain that the structure of the human body is a miniature world in itself. Man consumes water and food, breathes the air and thus maintains the heat in the body. He is alive on account of the life force given by ether. The earth is the first element which gives fine shape to the body including bones, tissues, muscles, skin, hair etc. Water is the second element representing blood, secretions of the glands, vital fluid etc. Fire is the third element that gives motion, vigor and vitality to the body. It also helps digestion, circulation and simulation besides respiration and the nervous system. Above all, ether is the characteristic of man's mental and spiritual faculties.

Siddha system of medicine is based on Saiva Siddhantha. Siddha is a Tamil word that is derived from its root 'chit' which means perfection in life or "heavenly bliss".



The fundamental subjects of Siddha methodology are

1.VADHAM (ALCHEMY)
2.AITHIYAM (MEDICINE)
3.YOGAM (YOGA)
4.GNANAM or THATHUVAM (PHILOSOPHY)

Siddhars, spiritual scientists of Tamil Nadu explored and explained the reality of Nature and its relationship to man by their yogic awareness and experimental findings. They postulated the concept of spiritualism for self improvement and the practices propounded by them came to be known as the "SIDDHA SYSTEM".

The eight mighty SIDDHIC PROCESS or OCTOMIRACLE ("ATTA-MA-SIDDHI") which could keep the body strong and perfect for EXTERNAL LIFE, where THERE IS NO DEATH OR REBIRTH.

The above article is from: http://www.medindia.net/alternativemedicine/index.asp?Choice=Siddha

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Siddhars' Nadi Astrology

The Siddars have already predicted the present, past and future of the world by their meditational powers. They had also recorded in leaves called as Nadi Leaves. Since the Siddhars knew who would be coming to them with problems, they name this as Nadi Leaves. (Nadi in tamil means seeking/looking/coming to a person)

The Nadi Leaves we have was given by Sri KagaPujandar. Given here are certain instances which where told our devotees and also to Breeze Maharishi In Pittsburgh USA. The recent storm which affected Gujarat, India was to affect Florida, USA. These natural disasters are created and sopped by Siddhars. Other instances which where already predicted from the Nadi leaves are the Taiwan earthquake, Turkey earthquake and also the results of the Indian election and that of Tamilnadu where also predicted much before the elections.
Can you believe that someone in India is storing records of your entire life cycle ie. your past, present and future, hard to believe but Yes, this is called Nadi Astrology. Nadi is an ancient astrology, which has been composed by great Maharishis (sages) of India in the past using their spiritual powers. The sages recorded these predictions for every individuals for the betterment of humanity and to safeguard dharma (righteousness). These sages predicted the characteristics, family history, as well as the careers of innumerable individuals contain in several thousand volumes, each containing around a hundred predictions. These Nadi prediction recordings, being the repository of wisdom of the Great Saint was one of the well preserved books for thousands of years by the many generations of rulers, until an auction during the British rule, when it finally became the proud possession of an influential family of Valluvar community at Vaitheeswarankoil in the Tanjore district of Tamilnadu. 

The Rishis (sages), who dictated those Nadis, were gifted with such a remarkable foresight that they accurately foretold the entire future of all mankind. Many scholars in different parts of India have in their safekeeping several granthas. Initially, Nadi Astrology predictions was thought to be just writing on Astrology, but soon it became evident that the scriptures contained some unique predictions of specific natives, who will come seeking them, at a particular stage of their lifetime, as foretold by the Great Saint in these predictions.

This great work makes us realize the limitations of human sciences. That great compilation predicting the future of all human beings born or yet to be born, eclipses the achievements of all other sciences put together. These predictive texts also contain a chapter recommending certain Pilgrimages or prayers, worship and charities at specific shrines, to neutralize ones past sins.

History of Nadi Astrology 


The source point of Nadi Astrology leaves can be traced back to approximately more then 2000 years. It is said that the Seven Maharishis (sages) Agasthya, Kausika, Vyasa, BoharBrigu, Vasishtha and Valmiki had predicted and then written life of each individual on leaves of a palm tree by their spiritual powers. These Nadi leaves were initially stored in the premises of Tanjore Saraswati Mahal of Tamilnadu State in India. The British rulers later showed interest in the Nadi leaves concerned with herbs and medicine, future prediction etc; but ironically left most of the Nadi prediction leaves to their loyal people. Some leaves get destroyed and some very auctioned during the British rule. Some Nadi leaves were anyhow possessed by the families of astrologers in Vaitheeswarankoil from Tanjore Saraswati Mahal Library. At about 13th century these leaves were rediscovered by the forefathers which were lying unclaimed in Vaitheeswarankoil and realized their tremendous value and created the copies of the predictions on the palm leafs and created them their exact duplicates. Then these Nadi leaves were passed down from generation to generation make predictions, astrologers earn their lively hood from them. It has become profession which was provided by their ancestors to them, the son got trained by his father and the father by his father to make Nadi predictions. The prediction written on the leaf is in ancient Tamil in form of poems, same as language used in ancient temple of Tamilnadu. 

The Nadi Astrology is a branch of Astrology that offers explanations and advice regarding the influence of the planets or the results the planets bring about to souls who seek the aid of this branch of Astrology. Every soul has two main nasal passages or nostrils. The breath through the nostrils is termed as Yidakalai and Pinkalai respectively. (Yidakalai-Sun kalai; Pingalai-Moon kalai). The breath through the left nostril is termed as 'Yidakalai' and the breath through the right nostril is termed as 'Pinkalai'. In addition to the two ways by which breath passes, there is a third way termed as 'Sulimunaikalai'. This refers to the art of breathing by which breath through the right and left nostrils pass simultaneously. Sages, Siththa's (persons who have acquired the eight great mystic powers) Sages, Yogi's (Devotees of Yoga) survive by practicing this art (Sulimunaikalai) acquire special power through spiritual knowledge about the past, present and future periods.

With sulimunai Nadi as the basis, its seven other sub-divisions (sub-divisions of sulimunai) can be practiced separately at different percentage levels. The sulimunaikalai and its sub-divisions enable Sages to understand through their spiritual power, the results the good and bad deeds yield (of the past lives) to the souls who come in search of them (Sages). Then, with the aid of the man kalai (Sulimunai) and other sub-divisions of the same kalai, which go a long way in making the Sages, attain spiritual knowledge and enable them to offer splendid explanations to the world. The results are accurately explained to the minutest detail to souls who seek the help of the Sages. The sabtha (Seven) Nadi kalai (sub-divisions of Sulimunaikalai) are Aththi, Alambudai, Gaandhari, Sangini, Singuvai, Purudan and Guru. With the secret images of the sabtha Nadigal as the basis of support, the spiritual knowledge of the good and bad deeds (of the past births) are compared with the minute secrets of the nine planets and finally clear explanations are offered to the world. Therefore this kind of astrological advice is known as Nadi Astrology.

NADI ASTROLOGY (NAADI ASTROLOGY)-IT'S GREATNESS

The Nadi Astrology is a branch of Astrology that offers explanations and advice regarding the influence of the planets or the results the planets bring about to souls who seek the aid of this branch of Astrology. Every soul has two main nasal passages or nostrils. The breath through the nostrils is termed as Yidakalai and Pinkalai respectively. (Yidakalai-Moon kalai; Pingalai-Sun kalai). The breath through the left nostril is termed as 'Yidakalai' and the breath through the right nostril is termed as 'Pinkalai'. In addition to the two ways by which breath passes, there is a third way termed as 'Sulimunaikalai'. This refers to the art of breathing by which breath through the right and left nostrils pass simultaneously. Sages, Siththa's (persons who have acquired the eight great mystic powers) Sages, Yogi's (Devotees of Yoga) survive by practicing this art (Sulimunaikalai) acquire special power through spiritual knowledge about the past, present and future periods.

With sulimunai Nadi as the basis, its seven other sub-divisions (sub-divisions of sulimunai) can be practiced separately at different percentage levels. The sulimunaikalai and its sub-divisions enable Sages to understand through their spiritual power, the results the good and bad deeds yield (of the past lives) to the souls who come in search of them (Sages). Then, with the aid of the man kalai (Sulimunai) and other sub-divisions of the same kalai, which go a long way in making the Sages, attain spiritual knowledge and enable them to offer splendid explanations to the world. The results are accurately explained to the minutest detail to souls who seek the help of the Sages. The sabtha (Seven) Nadi kalai (sub-divisions of Sulimunaikalai) are Aththi, Alambudai, Gaandhari, Sangini, Singuvai, Purudan and Guru. With the secret images of the sabtha Nadigal as the basis of support, the spiritual knowledge of the good and bad deeds (of the past births) are compared with the minute secrets of the nine planets and finally clear explanations are offered to the world. Therefore this kind of astrological advice is known as Nadi Astrology.

The Astrologer whose soul bears only the good deeds of his past births (has followed the path of righteousness) and possesses a charitable and compassionate disposition will be capable of offering complete genuine predictions. Since such Astrologers are very few in number in the present world, there are difficulties in producing genuine and complete predictions through Vedic Astrology.

The original treatise of Nadi Astrology has been composed in the form of poetry. Tamil is a language with the presence of life in it. Therefore, there are vowels, (vowels in the Tamil language) called Uyir eluththukkal-letters representing life, Mey eluththukkal-letters representing body and Uyirmey eluththukkal-letters representing life and body. Apart from these letters there is a letter known as Aayutha eluththu, which makes the other, letters function. Apart from these four classes of letters there is a fifth class, which comprises of masculine and feminine letters. The fifth class is a Divine secret class known only to the celestials (Deva's).

When a man and a woman unite equally and completely, a live offspring is being created .In the same manner, the masculine and feminine letters are united in their proper proportions in the form of a poem, the predictions are arranged in an orderly way and the predictions are finally presented in the form of poetry. The predictions are being linked together by a secret rope called 'Arampaadal' and then published. Thus, nadi astrology science (sastra) occupies a supreme place among other astrology sciences (sastra's), that exist in the world and is therefore said to be the mother of all other sciences (sastra's).

Many years ago when 'The Supreme Preceptor of the Universe' - "Sre Kagabujandar (Sre Kakabusundi)"was teaching his disciple Sage Sre Gorakkar the various secrets of the world, Sage Sre Gorakkar said " I beseech your grace to provide me with information about minute details regarding the state of life of the human beings". "Sre Kagabujandar (Sre Kakabusundi)" agreed to give explanations on the subject. He then chanted through his sacred lips a divine song, which gave a detailed account of the people who would approach him, the age (age of the person) at which they would approach him, the persons with the specified birth details who would approach him, to get the predictions as prescribed in the treatise and also the necessary predictions he should offer to them at that time. Sage Sree Gorakkar wrote down all the the Divine secrets chanted through the sacred lips of his Preceptor (Sre Kagabujandar) on palm leaves, preserved them in his secret cupboard (earthen pot) placed in his secret abode-"Gorakkar gundam" in Kollimalai (Kolli hills). With the blessings of their Holinesses Sre Kagabujandar (Sre Kakabusundi) and Sree Gorakkar the hidden treasure (Divine secrets written on palm leaves) came to the hand of the Kaliyuga hair namely Bhaaskharamaharishi obeying the holy command of his spiritual Preceptor (Guru), the divine secrets are being explained in detail by him. Therefore, it stands to reason that the Nadi Astrology, which has been directly handed down by the Sages, is the head of all Astrological sciences. 

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Directory of Web Pages about Siddhars

Read this article about Siddha as science the scientists being Siddhars

 

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