Siddhar:
Siddhas of Tamil Nadu are the saints who are self-realized and lived in the 16th to 18th century CE. The word ‘Siddhi’ means to attain. ‘Siddhars’ are the persons who have attained ‘self-realization’.
“The seers of the truth are the ones who are, Wandering like a ghost; Sleeping like a dead body; eating the begged food like a dog; Toiling like a fox; treating woman as mother; humble like a friend; behaving like a kid.”
Sivavakya is one of the important Siddha.
Teachings of Sivavakya (Selections & free translation);
o ….People have spent their life time searching the Self; the energy which is spread inside the body. Millions have died in sadness without realizing the self…
o … When someone touches your man\woman you are ready to kill him\her; but when that person dies you willingly give the same body to the undertaker for burial or cremation…
o …Beyond the gods, beyond the colours, neither small nor big, beyond the states of sleep, waking and dream is the consciousness which is the self, hold on to that …..
o … Dear priest, who sing the sacred hymns to invoke god, will these hymns save you from death; even for a moment if you are able to turn your consciousness inside and realize the self then that will save you from the disease and pain and lead you to immortality…..
o …You are building a big house with a long door to live in happily. But when death knocks at your door you will be helpless. Only the god (self) is real…..
o …Hey people! Who go to temples and ponds for worshipping, where are the temples and ponds? They are inside you. There is nothing created and nothing destroyed……
o …It neither has a shape nor is an empty space: It is neither attached to anything nor dependent on anything: It is not related to anything: Neither it can be explained nor is it beyond explanation: It is neither big nor small: It is not the one who talks. Who can know this one which belongs to everyone…….
o …..The spirit which contains all the things is also the one within you. If you meditate on the light which flows everywhere and is within you, it will lead you to the salvation…..
o … Like the bumble bee which drinks the honey from flowers, if you are able to bring the breathing (life) closer to your heart with love, then you can see the god (self)….
o …. Like the tree which is contained in a seed and grows from it, the Self (God) is in you, realize that; you are not required to chant any other sacred hymns….
o …. Oh people! Who have grown out like the ever changing ghosts (from the elements) in the watery womb, if you cut down the attachment to senses, you can realise the self…..
o …The one who speaks, which is the Self is inside you. The five senses are confusing you, not allowing you to realise the self, if you are able to control it then you can realise the self….
o …People who have controlled the nine gates of the body and five gates of the senses: who has opened the power through the controlled breathing and has made it reach the centre of the head are not born again….
o … Self (God) is everywhere, in the thing things on the earth and sky. But the self-realized person is the one who sees the self both inside and outside his body…..
o ….. The non-believers who say there is no God, you cannot see what is not there: one cannot say I have seen or not seen about what cannot be seen; that which you say is not there is the ‘self’ or ‘consciousness’, it is not something apart from you. The one who has realised this is not born again……
o ….Like the lightning which strikes and resolves back, the self in me comes out through the senses and resolves back into itself. I have not known the self which sees through my eyes but it knows me…..
o …Oh you (dumb) people who have converted eternal truths into mere ceremonies. One cannot but laugh at you worshipping the stones. See the God residing inside you like the budding leaves….
o …..There is not ‘your God’ or ‘my God’. There is only one eternal truth (self or consciousness) spread everywhere and which is inside you….
o …..You run after the things you desire; you will get only the things you are supposed to get; if you leave the desire to have then the things which are to come to you will come on its own…..
o …. Why do you find contradiction in everything you see (you unconscious fools), the light and consciousness are harmonious; If you can go beyond the contradiction then you can reach the ultimate pleasure (reality)……
o …If you look at the blue coloured light between your eyebrows you will realize the self……
o …Place of worship, prayers and chanting are not required: be truthful and good then you can realise god….
o … Like melting the gold and purifying it with the help of bellows you can purify your heart and realise the god in you….
o …. My soul is the god and so the whole universe is inside me. The five senses and organs are the light. For the god who dances inside me there is no day or night…..
o ... (Hey) people who take bath every day to clean your body, is your body pure now? Is there any part of your body which is not dirty? : But if you can purify your body and mind then you can see the pure light (god) inside you….
o … Where life was and where was the body before birth: What was the identity of life and body before birth: What made it join together? Please tell me….
o …Like the bees which go to garden without flowers and fruits, you drink wine (of worldly desires) and lie intoxicated day and night. Before you travel to the other shore (of life) in a rudderless boat, understand the power of silence: it cannot be explained in words…..
o ….. Without cleaning your soiled mind if you are taking bath to clean your body, it is of no use…..
o …God is not standing or sitting: it is not seen or understood: it is not tied and is not required to be liberated: one cannot be trained to approach it: it cannot be heard; how to explain that infinite space…..
o ….. Be detached in worldly life like the water drop on the lotus leaves….
o …. God(self) is neither black or white; he is neither seen nor hidden; he is not one, two or many, he is everywhere; he is not merged in something and not destroyed: he can be called by the one who realises him in his heart….
o …. Some people search God as light and fail; some people search God as the beginning (cause) and fail; some people spend their time in vain arguments and fail; but God or light is in the nature of the things….
o ….. You do not require Place of worship, the Masters (Guru), Holy baths or sacred water; You can realise God with in you without the requirement of anyone or anything. If you realise that then God will be like your parent and guide you….
o … You were born many a times and died many a times and in this birth also you are spending your time in outward worship. Even if you take bath in many holy rivers you cannot see God. Leave the desire and ignorance then you can see God inside you…..
o ….. You break the good marble stone into two; one you put as a stepping stone at the entrance of the place of worship and the other you put as an idol which you worship with flowers and holy water; can you which stone is holy?…
o …. (God) I do nothing but think about you: there is no other thing to think of; you are the one - remembering and forgetting; changing and unchanging; the universe with all the things; the beginning and before beginning. You are inside me and I am inside you….