Siddhar Charithiram : Kamalamuni

This is an ongo­ing series on the Sid­dhar Param­abarai of India. Sid­dha refers to per­fect­ed mas­ters who have achieved a high degree of phys­i­cal as well as spir­i­tu­al per­fec­tion or enlight­en­ment. We look at var­i­ous Sid­dhas who have graced upon this earth with their Pres­ence — their life and the wis­dom they shared in the form of poems, cou­plets that are referred to as Sid­dhar Padal­gal. To begin with, we are look­ing at Sid­dhas from the tra­di­tion of “Pathi­nen Sid­dhar­gal”. In the pre­vi­ous issues, we saw about Kud­ham­bai Sid­dhar, Pam­bat­ti Sid­dhar, Idaikkaat­tu Sid­dhar, Sat­taimu­ni Sid­dhar, Sun­daraanan­dar Sid­dhar, Karu­voorar Sid­dhar, Gorak­natha Sid­dhar, Mat­syen­dranatha Sid­dhar, Ramade­var Sid­dhar, Dhan­van­tari Sid­dhar, Patan­jali Sid­dhar, Sid­dha Thiru­moolar, Sid­dha Kon­ga­nar and Sid­dha Van­mikar. In the Guru Poorn­i­ma spe­cial edi­tion of series we were blessed to also write about the great Sid­dha Avvai.We also saw how the Sid­dhar­gal poet­ry is pre­sent­ed in Sand­hya Bhasha. In this arti­cle, we will see the glo­ry of Sid­dha Kamala­mu­ni.

Kamala­mu­ni Sid­dhar

Sid­dha Kamala­mu­ni’s birth star is Poosam in the Tamil month of Vaikasi (mid May to mid June). And as we pub­lish this arti­cle, it is the spe­cial occa­sion of Poosam or Pushya naksha­tra in the Tamil month Thai (mid Jan­u­ary to mid Feb­ru­ary). Thai Poosam is a high­ly ven­er­at­ed day in the Sid­dha tra­di­tion. As we write this arti­cle sit­ting some 15 kilo meters from Palani (estab­lished by Sid­dha Bog­ar), we wit­ness thou­sands of devout seek­ers under­tak­ing kava­di (a heavy offer­ing car­ried on the shoul­ders for Lord Muru­ga) and paday­a­tra. Every year women, men and chil­dren from var­i­ous regions of Tamil Nadu, offer this paday­a­tra where they walk hun­dreds of miles, bare­foot, ener­get­i­cal­ly chant­i­ng the name of Lord Skan­da. It is a sight that extols the beau­ty of our tra­di­tion and brings deep devo­tion even to the bystander. Thai Poosam is con­sid­ered an aus­pi­cious day in the Sid­dha tra­di­tion cho­sen by advance Sid­dhas to leave the bhu­lo­ka (realm of Moth­er Earth) for a divine gathi (beyond life on Earth).

There is not much known about the his­to­ry of Sid­dhar Kamala­mu­ni. Sid­dhar Kamala­mu­ni and Sid­dhar Kalang­i­nathar are con­sid­ered as one and the same. Sid­dhar Kalang­i­nathar is the ven­er­at­ed guru of Sid­dha Boganathar. Sid­dha Kalang­i­nathar is also referred to as the Kan­ja Malai Sid­dhar. Kan­ja Malai is a series of hillocks near the city of Salem in Tamil Nadu. We had the good for­tune of hav­ing dar­shan at the ancient tem­ple of Lord Shi­va and Par­vati at the foothills of Kan­ja­malai. There Lord Shi­va is in the form of Sid­dhesh­warar (Lord of Sid­dhas). Kan­ja­malai Sub­ra­manya tem­ple is on an adja­cent hill near­by. Sid­dha Kalang­i­nathar is referred by Sid­dha Bog­ar in his works as “Maa­mu­ni” (the Great Sage) and “Kamalamuni”(the Lotus Sage). Kamala­mu­ni Sid­dhar is said to have attained samad­hi in the Tiru­varur tem­ple. His pee­tam is found near the Amman shrine.

Now let us study a few vers­es from Kamala­mu­ni Siddhar’s Tamil poems from “Jnana Chai­tanyam”. Very unique­ly Kamala­mu­ni Siddhar’s prayer is a wor­ship of the paramporul (fun­da­men­tal and all encom­pass­ing prin­ci­ple) as mouna (silence).

மூலமுத லாகிநின்ற ஆயி பாதம் முச்சுடராய் நின்றதொரு சோதி பாதம் தாலமதிற் றென்மலைவா ழாசான் பாதம் தவறாமற் போற்றயிந்த நூலைச் சொல்வேன் கோலமணி பூரகமே சேர்ந்து வாழும் குறித்துநின்ற சித்தருட பாதம் போற்றி மாலயனுந் தேவர்களுங் காணொ ணாத மவுனமென்ற பூரணமே காப்புத் தானே

As the pri­ma­ry Moolathaara, stands Moth­er’s feet As three sacred flames, stands the radi­ant feet Dwelling in the south­ern hills is the Mas­ter’s feet Unfail­ing­ly I pray to them and present this lit­er­a­ture Dwelling in the won­der­ful Manipu­ra­ka Praise the feet of Sid­dha who stands root­ed Incom­pre­hen­si­ble even to the Devas The Absolute that is Silence is the revered pro­tec­tor

Kamala­mu­ni Sid­dhar also bestows on the sad­hakas direct guid­ance on how to recite the Mahamantra and how to also med­i­tate on the susum­na nadi. The great Sid­dhar advo­cates one year of intense prac­tice to achieve great Sid­dhi through this instruc­tion.

தானென்ற நாட்டத்தில் அவ்வும் உவ்வும் சாதகமாய் மவ்வோடே சிவ்வும் வைத்துத் தேனென்ற மனமதிலே இவரி ருந்து தெளிவாக அஞ்செழுத்தைச் சிறக்கப் போடு கானென்ற முச்சுடரும் லிங்கந் தோன்றும் கருதிப்பார் சுழிமுனையிற் கனிந்து நித்தம் தானென்ற பூசையிலே மதுவை யுண்டு சாதகமா யாண்டொன்றி லுடனே சித்தி

In the I‑consciousness the syl­la­bles a and u In prac­tice syl­la­bles m and ci to be forged In the hon­ey-filled mind Sivam shall dwell Clear­ly recite the five-syl­la­ble mantra Three sparkling flames and the lingam shall man­i­fest Med­i­tate on the susum­na, mel­low­ing every­day In the I‑consciousness, wor­ship and drink the ambrosia And in due prac­tice, one can attain this sid­dhi in one year

Sid­dha Kamala­mu­ni also care­ful­ly guides how to blend bhak­thi in this kriya yoga process. HE instructs a spe­cif­ic order of prayer and pranaya­ma. Soak in!

செய்யயிலே முந்திமுந்தி கணேசன் பூசை திறமான மனோன்மணித்தாய் மயேசன் பூசை தொய்யயிலே சுப்ரமணியன் வடுகன் பூசை சுகமாகச் சித்தருட பூசை செய்து சய்யயிலே நவகோண மேரு பூசை சதாசிவமாம் சிதம்பரத்தின் பூசை பண்ணு பய்யயிலே இவ்வளவும் பூசை பண்ணி பரமான பிராணாயஞ் செய்து நோக்கே

While prac­tis­ing, first wor­ship Lord Gane­sha Wor­ship intense­ly Moth­er Manon­mani and Mahe­sha Fol­low­ing is the wor­ship of Lord Sub­ra­ma­nia and Lord Vatukar (Bhaira­va) With joy, per­form the wor­ship of Sid­dha While lying per­form the Navakona-Meru wor­ship Per­form the wor­ship of Sadashiv­am as Chi­dambaram While steadi­ly per­form­ing all these wor­ships Do the supreme pranaya­ma and close­ly observe (the effect)

The elixirs offered by Sid­dha Kamala­mu­ni are so many. We invite you to con­tem­plate more on these lines and share with us your insights. We also invite you to share with us lines from Sid­dhar Padal­gal that have deeply touched you. You could write to us at anaadifoundation@gmail.com.