7. Humility of Saint Thirumooolar

Teachings to treasure, teachings that transform. 

Thirumoolar Thavamozhi

Motivation

 

7. Humility of  Saint Thirumoolar

 Among the 63 saiva saints, our saint Thirumoolar is one. Among the 12 saiva sacred texts, his Thirumanthiram is one.

Our elders praise with devotion that our Saint Thirumoolar was born to expound the essence of the vedas in Tamil. Saint Nambi Aroorar (Sundarar) in his Thirutondar thogai praises and prostrates to Saint Thirumoolar. (நம்பிரான் திருமூலன் அடியார்க்கும் அடியேன்).

He says that our Saint was a guru to all saiva saints and that he was proficient in the "anima" siddhis.

Another saint Nambiandar Nambi praises our Saint by contemplating on his glory, and placing our Saint's feet on his head. (யேபர விட்டெ னுச்சி  அடிமன்ன வைத்த பிரான் மூலனாகிய அங்கணனே.)

Our Saint who has been praised by other saints is so humble that he begins his works.

ஆரறி வார் எங்கள் அண்ணல் பெருமையை
யாரறி வார்இந்த அகலமும் நீளமும்
பேரறி யாத பெருஞ்சுடர் ஒன்றதின்
வேரறி யாமை விளம்புகின் றேனே.  1 

Our Saint exclaims who can properly know the glory of the lord! Who has ever measured the length and breadth of the Lord's glory? can anyone  measure, he exclaims!

பேரறி யாத பெருஞ்சுடர் ஒன்ற

The Lord is a effulgent light that lord Vishnu and lord Brahma could not measure when they went in search of the head and feet, as in the saiva puranas.  The Lord is beyond the roles of creation and sustenance. He cannot be measured by the mind or words. The Lord cannot be simply recognized by our naked eyes.

(வேரறி யாமை விளம்புகின் றேனே) Our Saint says that he is not able to yet comprehend the source or the root of the effulgence of the Lord.

No one in the world can comprehend the effulgent Lord. I do not know where is the root of that effulgence. I am declaring the truth that I do not know. Our Saint says, "I had experienced that divine bliss that is beyond knowledge. I am telling you about that experience". 

He says, "How can I say that I have known that effulgent lord, whose glory no one knows, and whose length and breadth no one has yet measured. No". He sings with humility that he wishes to explain about that effulgence which cannot be known by intelligence.

He reminds that the lord is beyond knowledge. The Lord is limitless and the Lord is great. That experience  that the "lord is beyond knowledge" is the true knowledge.

After making repeated efforts to know the lord, and reaching that feeling that one is ignorant, is the knowledge that is the end product of all penances. Our Saint shares this profound truth, with all humility rather than with pride.

Moving away from the effort to gain "knowledge" of the lord, immersing one with no other awareness, where  all five senses are united in that divine experience, is the true blissful experience. That bliss is the ultimate goal of all penances. The purpose of preaching by all teachers  to their students is only to experience this bliss!

As we soak ourselves repeatedly in the blissful experience of the lord, we also begin to realise that the bliss is expanding without boundary. Our Saint who had spent many years in penance and immersed himself in that divine bliss, and also experienced  that the divine bliss is limitless. He speaks humbly from that state, "i do not know where is the root of this divine bliss". How nice.

To read other translated pages in these posts, see: Thirumoolar