tantra two - Himalayan Academy

727 Pages·2013·3.12 MB·English

by  Saint Tirumular

Tirumantiram
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE TAMIL SPIRITUAL CLASSIC
BY
SAINT TIRUMULAR
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Invocation
Preface
Tirumantiram - Inspired Talk
by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Tantra One
Tantra Two
Tantra Three
Tantra Four
Tantra Five
Tantra Six
Tantra Seven
Tantra Eight
Tantra Nine
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INVOCATION TO VINAYAKA
He who has the five hands and the elephant's face,
Whose tusk is even as the crescent moon,
The son of Nandi, the Flower of Wisdom,
Him I cherish in thought, His feet adore.
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PAYIRAM: PROEM
(Verses 1 to 112)
1 IN PRAISE OF GOD
1: One Is Many
The One is He, the Two His sweet Grace,
In Three He stood, in all the Four witnessed,
The Five He conquered, the Six He filled,
The Seven Worlds pervades, manifests the Eight
And so remains.
2: Defies Death
The Holy One who all life sustains,
Lord of Her, beloved of all the world,
He who spurned Yama, the Southern Qrarter's King
Of Him I sing, His glory and praise.
3: Immortals Adore
He who stands the same to all,
The Pure One, whom immortal Gods adore,
Whom, even they, that daily stand beside, know not,
Him I seek, praise, and meditate.
4: Dispells Gloom
The Truth of Spaces Vast, Seek of the Universe orb,
Our Haven of Refuge, He bade me seek and find,
Him I praised by night and day,
And praising thus, gloom{-}dispelled,
I held firm in this world of strifes.
5: Siva Is Nonpareil
Search where ye will, there's no God like Siva,
None here below to equal Him in glory;
Lotus like, He, of gleaming matted locks,
Golden in splendour, beyond the worlds, apart.
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6: Omni-Competent
Without Him, there be Celestials none,
Without Him, penance is not,
Without Him, naught the Three accomplish,
Without Him, I know not the City's Gate.
7: Divine Father
Primal First is He, older than the Co-eval Three
But the Lord is He peerless, unequalled;
Call Him "Father," and Father He to thee,
Inside you He flames in the Lotus of golden hue.
8: Kinder Than Mother
Hotter is He than fire, cooler than water;
And yet none knows of His Grace abounding;
Purer than the child, kinder by far than the mother,
Nearest to Love is He, of the flowing matted locks.
9: All Worship Him
Gold-bewrought, His matted locks fall back and gleam;
Nandi, His name,
My Lord is He, ever by me worshipt;
But none there be whom He worships.
10: Omnium Gatherum
Holding the worlds apart, as the Heavens high He spreads;
Himself the scorching Fire, Sun and Moon,
Himself the Mother that sends down the rains
Himself the mountains strong and oceans cold.
11: Effort And Fruit
Near and far I look; but around the Being First,
No other God, I see, mightier than He;
Himself the effort, and Himself, too, effort's end;
Himself the rains, Himself the clouds rain-laden,
The Nandi named.
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12: Beyond Comprehension
The One of the fore-head eye, in Love Supreme, unmoved,
Dead were the countless Devas,
Born were the myriads on earth;
Upward they climbed to lives beyond count,
Yet none did know the Lord was He.
13: Immeasurable
Mal who spanned the earth and Brahma the Lotus seated one,
And others of the Gods fathomed Him not;
There be none to measure Him that measured the Heav'ns
And thus He stood, all visions transcending.
14: Transcends All
Transcended He Brahma on the lotus-seat,
Transcended Mayan, the ocean-hued,
Transcended He, Isan, who transcends all,
Transcended He space infinite, witnessing all.
15: Blossoms As All
Into Brahma did He expand, into Hara did He,
And into the soul of the body He pervades
As the Effulgence Divine, the Dharmic law limitless,
The Eternal and the Everlasting.
16: Confers Wisdom On Gods
He, of the matted locks, the odorous Konrai clustering,
He, of the Divine Consort with forehead divinely gleaming,
He, whom the Immortals and Devas sought,
Wisdom to learn, Ignorance to dispel.
17: Love Profound
Howe'er well the two garlics and musk boil and mix,
Yet will musk's fragrance stand o'ertopping all,
So may all space mix and hold the God as One,
Yet, upwelling, pours forth Isan's love profound.
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18: Munificent
The Supreme Lord saw Alagai King's penance devout,
Much pleased, He made the King Lord of all Riches;
Even so, approach the Lord, noble deeds performing;
For thus says the Lord, "Hold this lordship!"
19: Created Universe
He, the Wisdom Primeval, He made the City Ancient
Of the seven meadows, fragrant-spiced;
He fixed the Moon, and to penance inclining,
He abides there, making that His seat.
20: In Mount Kailas
Seek the Abode of the Holy,
Who, of yore, created Birth and Death
A high hill it is, where thunders roar and lightnings flash,
Where fragrant flowers bud and bloom,
His mighty likeness it bears.
21: Comes Speeding
Sing His praise! Oh how quick He comes!
He, the Lord, who in one fell sweep the wild elephant slashed,
The Lord who ends this muddy vesture's mortal coil,
Of the Heavenly Hosts, of Brahma Divine,
Of Mal, hued like the clouds rain-borne.
22: Seek Him, He Seeks You
This Lord of Maya-land that has its rise in the mind,
He, the Being without thought, knows yet all our thoughts;
Some be who groan,"God is not to me a friend;"
But, sure, God seeks those who seek their souls to save.
23: Infinite Grace
The Mighty Lord, the God of Fire, set amidst the seas,
Whom the comprehending souls never deny;
He, the Lord of the Heavenly Beings all,
Who, day and night, pours forth His Divine Grace.
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24: Firm In Minds Firm
Sing His praise, Sing of His Holy Feet!
Pour all your treasures at Siva'a Sacred Feet!
And they who shake off the clouded eye and disturbed mind,
With them He ever stood, benignantly firm.
25: Illusions Vanish
The Birthless is He, the Divine Mad, of Compassion vast,
The Deathless is He, the Boundless One, Granter of Joys all,
To Him kneel, and, kneeling, shall find
Naught becomes Maya, the bond immemorial.
26: Attain Grace
Adore the Lord, who in unbroken continuity stood,
The Lord who protecting over all earth expanded,
Transcending all He stood; over the lotus bloom aloft,
In smiling glory He sat; Holy be His feet!
27: He Enters Into You
The Infinite of Lotus-Face, rivalling twilight ineffable,
May ours be His Grace Divine!
And they who thus Nandi daily beseech,
Into their Heart, creeping, He comes! He comes!
28: Your Guide
Beckoning He stood, He, the All-pervading;
But they who, doubt-tossed, in self-contention lost,
They stood withered at the root;
To those who freely give themselves to the Lord on High,
To them is He the certain, immutable Guide.
29: Axle-Pin
Oh! You, the Unseen, only kin to this forlorn slave,
Let me not falter to embrace Your feet!
For to the heart of Your servant, pure and true
You ever stood even as the axle-pin.
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30: Yearn For Him
As the Heavens draw the rains;
Even so will my Lord draw me to Him?
Thus, doubting, many ask.
But like to the mother-cow, for my Nandi I yearn
And all the world, all the world know it too!
31: Seek Him In Love
Of the Earth is He, of the sky is He! Well He be!
Of the Heaven is He, of truest Gold is He! Well He be!
Of sweetest song's inmost rapture is He!
Him my love besought, from heart's central core.
32: Sing Of Him
The Lord of Gods, and of ours too,
The Lord who all space pervades,
And the seven Worlds, ocean-bound, transcends;
None do know His nature true,
How then may we sing His Grace Divine?
33: Adore Him
Many the Gods this hoary world adores,
Many the rituals; many the songs they sing;
But knowing not the One Truth, of Wisdom bereft
Unillumined, they can but droop at heart.
34*3Chant His Names Thousand
Like the fragrance of the musk the musk-deer constant emits,
Is the True Path which the Lord to Celestials imparts.
Sitting or moving, I chant the rich essence of His Name,
His thousand Names that are with spark divine.
35: Path Crossed
Even the Path impassable is foot-easy made,
If you the Lord praise and Him adore;
The East and West and directions all
He does transmute--and thus dances He the Lord.
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