God Is Love, Said Tamil Saint Thirumular

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Thirumular was one of the greatest mystics of Tamil Nadu. The Siddhas of Tamil consider Tirumular as their primary guru.

Bible says – whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Bible, First Epistle, Fourth Chapter, Verse 8 of John.
The saying 'God is love' is generally attributed to this. The date of New Testament is around 100 AD.

Tirumoolar lived around 6000 BC — 6000 years before Christ — and he said:

அன்பும் சிவமும் இரண்டு என்பர் அறிவிலார்
அன்பே சிவம் ஆவது யாரும் அறிகிலார்
அன்பே சிவம் ஆவது யாரும் அறிந்தபின்
அன்பே சிவமாய் அமர்ந்து இருந்தாரே

Those who think that Shiva and love are two different things, they are senseless, they don’t know anything. They don’t know that it is love only that is Shiva. It is love only that becomes Shiva. Once they realize this, they remain rooted in Shiva, rooted in love.

I am not trying to say that this is copied from here to there or anything. It hardly matters also, even if it is. As long as it is for universal welfare, it doesn’t matter. Who said it first doesn’t matter. Only thing that matters is — are we following it today? Be it any religion.

The only reason I have taken up this topic is because recently a young boy asked, why is there so much violence in Hindu religion whereas other religions preach peace and love?

This is a gross misunderstanding.

If you are referring to Kurukshetra war or Rama killing Ravana, then they are not acts of aggression. There were efforts of diplomacy. Peace messenger went to the Kaurava. Peace messenger went to Lanka. When everything fails, then the surgical strike or war happens. You cannot allow evil to flourish and rule the world. That’s what gods are here for. They intervene and set it right.

Sanatana Dharma does not promote violence. Sanatana Dharma does not promote aggression. In our entire history, we have never done invasions. We have never run crusades for the sake of religion. Kings may have invaded neighbouring countries, but that is not for the sake of religion.

Sanatana Dharma has never done forced conversions or incentivised conversion. The only thing that Sanatana Dharma does is to keep knowledge in the public domain. If you like it, take it. If you don’t like it, leave it. This has been our approach throughout.

So, it is just that these principles — principles of love and peace — are universal. Someone discovers now, someone would discover 5000 years later. Someone would discover it in India, and someone elsewhere.

Thirumoolar was originally in the Himalayas, and he was initiated by Lord Shiva himself. He once came to the South to meet Sage Agastya.

He found some cows sad and crying. He saw that their herd was lying dead nearby. That’s why they were crying. He left his own body behind on top of a tree and entered into the cowherd. The cows became very happy seeing that their master has come back alive.

The cowherd’s wife came running and held his hand. He walked away and entered into samadhi. The cowherd’s name was Moolan. The saint continued to live in his body. Once, when he went back to his own body which he had left behind and found that it was not there — the villagers had found it and cremated it.

He went to Tiruvaduturai temple and there, under a tree, went into samadhi again. Every year, he would wake up once and deliver one poem. He did this for 3000 years and gave 3000 verses. They are collectively called Thirumanthiram.

Since he did this in the body of Moolan, he became known as Thirumoolar. After the task was completed, he left Moolan’s body.

There is something special about Thirumanthiram. It has got material for all levels of aspirants — from most basic to most advanced. He has given a proper method for attainment of Shiva Sayujya. No matter what is your level, you can get into Thirumanthiram and start progressing.

Thirumoolar says it is not the knowledgeable who will progress spiritually. It is the ignorant who will progress. Knowledge is a block. In spirituality, it is a block. Acceptance of your ignorance is necessary for spiritual progress.

He says – who can ever know His greatness? Who can know His length and breadth? Who can know what His real name is? We call Him by so many names — Shiva, Parameshwara, Mahadeva — but do we know His real name? Who can know His roots?

Forget describing Him, forget singing His glories — I don’t even know how to search for Him. This is how Thirumoolar starts Thirumanthiram.

Thirumoolar says – go beyond both knowledge and ignorance. Even this differentiation into 'I know' and 'I do not know' is not good. He says, go beyond both. Knowledge or lack of knowledge is immaterial for progress. If you know that you know something, then that is a block. To say that 'I don’t know anything' is better than this.

Going beyond both knowledge and ignorance, enter into pure consciousness. The method for doing this is what he teaches in Thirumanthiram.

A child has a toy made of wood — an elephant. The child plays fully absorbed, believing one hundred percent that it is a real elephant and enjoys. A grown-up man cannot do this. He knows it is not a real elephant, it is only a piece of wood. This is the problem with knowledge. This is how knowledge blocks divine experience.

The innocence of the child is what is required to attain God. The purity of the mind is what is required to attain God.

He tells where mind is located in the body. How to look for mind within yourself. And once you know where your mind is, you get control over it.

The four states of the mind — awake, sleeping, dreaming and the fourth called Turiya — you can control these. You can keep your body awake, move about physically, and still put your mind to sleep or into the dream state.

All these are possible through practice. And when your mind is under your control, you can put it to rest — and this will lead you to God.

He talks about another thing. Let the mind distract as much as it wants. You should learn to separate the mind from the actions of the senses. Then you will be able to bypass the mind.

Like how bypass roads are made to avoid the congestion and traffic of the cities — through these roads you can get past these cities when their behaviour doesn’t change. The traffic and crowd will still be there. You can’t go in and impose Section 144 in a city just because you want to pass through it. You take the bypass.

This will be possible once you delineate the mind from the senses. Controlling the mind is one thing. Bypassing the mind while the mind plays all its tricks is another thing.

Thirumoolar was aware that he had a mission. He says –
God has created me, and He has created me well. Why?
Because so that
I can reveal Him and reveal Him well.
Through this, the world will attain Him.

Thirumoolar talks very clearly about the deep states of spiritual awareness. He says – I kept on meditating and became Him — then there was nothing left to meditate upon. I had become Him. Elsewhere he says — there was not anybody to worship anymore, so I started worshipping myself.

Thirumoolar wants the aspirant to conquer his mind with his own mind. Nobody else can do it for you. You have to do it yourself.

He says to those who say that my method is the best —
God would laugh at such people, who go around professing that 'my method is the best method' or 'my method is the only method.'
If you are devoted, all methods are alike — they will take you to God.

According to Thirumoolar, there is a door, an opening in the body through which soul enters the body at the time of birth and leaves the body at the time of death. Unless we know where this door is, the sequence of births and deaths will not stop.

Shastras say – शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम्

Thirumoolar also says –
At first, I thought body was lowly and an impediment.
Then I realized that reality can be known only through the body.

He says every body is a temple. The vast mental body or the sukshama sharira is a temple, and the physical body is the garbha griha. Mouth is the door to the garbha griha. Jeeva itself is the Shiva Linga in this temple. And the five senses are the five wicks in a lamp lighted before the divinity in this temple.

Very interesting concepts. Make use of the body as long as it is there to get spiritual experiences, to get spiritual growth. Don’t waste time. As you develop, you will experience Nataraja dancing within your own body and understand that body is not something to be hated or looked down upon.

Thirumoolar gives not theory, but step-by-step guidance for the aspirant. A tried and tested method delving into every minute detail of this method.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi