SELECTIONS FROM THE UTTERANCES OF NAYANAR SAINTS

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

SELECTIONS FROM THE UTTERANCES OF NAYANAR
SAINTS
Appar Or Tirunavukkarasar
The rare jewel of the Brahmins is the Veda with its six angas (parts). The rare jewel of the
Saivite is the Panchakshara.
Everything is the manifestation of Lord Siva. Siva is Narayana, Brahma, the four Vedas, the
Holiest, the most Ancient, the Perfect. Though Siva is all these, He is none of these. He is without
name, without birth, death or disease. He is at once the transcendent and the immanent.
Love of Lord Siva must be felt and manifested. Sing. Pray. Worship. Weep. Dance. Lord
Siva is the music or melody in the song, the sweetness in the fruit, the thought in the mind, the lustre
in the eyes. He is neither male, nor female. He is without dimensions.
Subdue the senses. Practise regular meditation. Practise the four-fold Saivite discipline.
Develop dispassion (Vairagya). Transcend the three bodies. Unite the individual soul with the
supreme soul or Lord Siva. You will attain eternal bliss and immortality. You can behold Lord Siva
if you look for Him with the light of wisdom issuing forth from the wick of life, fed with the ghee of
meditation in the lamp of the mind within the house of your body.
Plough with truth. Plant the seeds of desire for Self-knowledge. Irrigate the mind with the
water of patience. Supervise your work by looking within or introspecting. Build the fence of
Yama, Niyama, or right conduct or right living. You will soon attain Sivanandam or eternal bliss of
Siva.
Regard your body as the temple of Lord Siva, your mind as the worshipper, Truth as purity
which is necessary for worship, the jewel of the mind as the Lingam, love as the ghee, milk, etc.
Perform Puja to Lord Siva thus. Lord Siva cannot be obtained without making the mind one-pointed
and meditating on the Panchakshara.