Thirumoolar's Sivayoga
"By concentration on me, the student will draw me to initiate a spiritual charge of transmission for the opening necessary for them to tap the power that lies in these great teachings"
He told me to make this known, and so I am. I cannot stress enough the importance of following this simple request. It could very well mean the between success and failure in your practice. This is most probably one of the greatest masters to ever live, and from his place of great love and compassion for his family of the world, he has chosen to again help us. It is my great privilege to serve him in this capacity.If you practice the following teachings with enduring love for the Divine, you will draw the Divine near to you, for that Divine One is Love (Anbe Sivam). God is Love. When one comes to know the Divine Primal Creator (first through self-realization and thenthrough God-realization) one experiences deep abiding bliss. It is a joy so great that attempts to describe this state always fall short. The transcendental union of the soul with it's creator is beyond the description of all words and speech. It can only be known through direct experience.
Thirumoolar's Siva Mantras
"The Transcendent Reality fills the chakras with 51 letters"The 51 letters of the sanskrit language are identified with various parts of Sakti.
The first one-lettered mantra is OM. From this came all that is made. It is often called Nada, Sabdha, sound current, etc. In Hinduism it is often called "the dance of creation", as Shiva is said to have danced his eternal dance of bliss into being. Om precedes most mantras, as is also the case with the 50 letters, bringing the count to 51. The 50 letters are also the 5 letters (sounds) and Thirumoolar gives a definite order for these. He places them in 5 rows. They are as Follows:
OMSi Va Ya Na MaYa Na Va Si MaMa Va Ya Na SiSi Ya Na Ma VaVa Si Ma Ya NaOM
Their correct pronunciation is: "See-Vaa-Ya-Na-Ma". This is what Thirumoolar refers to as "the mystic word". In the preface to his Mantra Malai-- meaning "garland of mantras", he gives his reason for which he wrote this great masterpiece (later to be called Thirumandiram). "The bliss I gained may the world gain... On one taking recourse more and more to the Mantra, the Mystic word- Na-Ma-See-Vaa-Ya, the 5 letters, and experiencing it in every fiber of the body, the heaven-dwelling content of the Vedas, will of it's own accord reveal itself". (TM, verse 85, as translated by G. Vanmikanathan in Sekkizhaar, 1985 p. 321) (The Vedas, referred to in the above quote, are one of India's great spiritual scriptures) A very simple melody of the scales accompanies this mantra of 51 letters. We have recorded it here on this site for you. The tune makes both learning it and repeating it much easier to do. I have found this to be a most amazing mantra. One has to concentrate on it, even after memorizing it, or you tend to lose the order in which the sounds are placed. This creates an easier tendency toward continual concentration. For most people just beginning to learn techniques of concentration and meditation, it is difficult to hold the mind on the subject matter without it wandering from one thing to another. The mantra of 51 letters does a great deal to correct this problem. When chanting the 51 letters, it should be done out loud at first. This makes it easier to learn. Then by degrees it can be taken from physical sound and vibration, inward to the Spiritual Sound, while ever increasing one's ability in one-pointed concentration. To start, however, the whole of the 51 letters should be chanted out loud until memorized (or nearly so). It is a good idea to keep a 3"x 5" card with the 5 lines of 51 letters written outso it is easy to read. It can then be easily referred to during practice if one forgets a line, or where they are in the manta. The next step after memorization is twofold. If one has a string of beads (mala) to work with, it can help facilitate the process. If not, refer to a clock. You should chant the 51 letters out loud for approximately 10 minutes. The last minute or so, your chanting should become softer and softer, then just a whispered chant, ending by repeating it over and over mentally. This process draws varying levels of your consciousness into the process, while your concentration becomes more and more focused. The second half of this practice is to chant the 51 letters silently, concentrating not only on their sounds, but in listening within as well. Also become aware of your ears, as though you were hearing the chant coming into you from outside, as well as mentally saying the letters silently. This should ideally be practiced for another 10 minutes, bringing the full practice to 20 minutes. After you have done this for awhile and are comfortable with it, you can increase the time you spend on the second half if you like. At some point in the practice, you may experience cessation of the breath. This should not be cause for worry. It is a natural result of one-pointed concentration. When your body requires more oxygen, your breath will return of it's own accord. Just observe it, and know you are making good progress when this begins to happen. This actually is a major step toward Samadhi. Samadhi is obtained when the meditator, the process of meditation/concentration, and the object of the meditation have become one. This is also called contemplative absorption. When the object of meditation is Siva/Sakti-- (God/Goddess); then the Super-Conscious state, in which one experiences their identity within the ultimate Reality, is attained.
