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Siddhar Agastya, head of the Siddhar Gnana Koottam, under guidance of Lord Kartikeya, Celestial King of Lemuria

Siddhar (Tamil: சித்தர் cittar, Sanskrit: siddha) describes a self-realised human being, who has attained spiritual powers called Siddhis. Their main objective however, was to experience Sivam, the supreme consciousness, in their respective human frame, and share this knowledge with others, interested in following their path.

Historically, the term Siddhar referred to individuals who decided at a young age, to become wandering ascetics and mendicants, and explore consciousness; ancient psychonauts, if you will. They dominated the ancient Tamil academic landscape with regards to health, alchemy and philosophy. They were iconoclastic philosophers and scientists, whose ideas and views challenged the norms of the time, and still do today. They were knowledgeable in alchemy, technology, astrology, medicine and the fine arts. They provided various solutions to remedy ailments and illness amongst the population, as well as advice for future generations to come. Most of their ideologies have their origins in the First Sangam period.

Overview

Siddhars, from their own accounts, were born into families of potters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, merchants, fishermen and shepherds. One of their number was a snake charmer (Pambatti Siddhar) by profession. Contrary to what is known, Siddhar Kuthambai was a woman. Although they were from various backgrounds, they had a singular unifying purpose. They chose, during the course of their lives, to relinquish the material and live as wandering ascetics, in the quest to experience the supreme consciousness and ponder life's mysteries. By virtue of their austere penance (Tapasya), they developed Siddhis. However, these were and are distractions on the path. Returning later, upon completion of their Tapasya, to live with us as poets, saints, philosophers, physicians and alchemists, to share their knowledge with everyone, irrespective of gender, creed or caste. They recorded their discoveries, in the form of cryptic Tamil poetry on to palm leaf manuscripts. These manuscripts are still owned by some families in Tamil Nadu and are handed down through the generations. Some of which are kept at universities in India, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. There is an overall reluctance to translate these manuscripts and share this knowledge with a wider audience; possibly to control the dissemination of this knowledge, to present their biased views, using only their interpretation to support said views.

An ancient system of healthcare, now known as Siddhar Medicine, evolved from the Siddhars' understanding of the human body, in relation to the natural world. The basic tenets of this system are food and lifestyle. It is a holistic and sustainable way of delivering healthcare, as it is largely preventative and focused on rejuvenation and prolongation. There is a saying, common amongst those familiar with the system, 'unave marunthu, marunthe unavu' (food is medicine, medicine is food). A rustic form of healing, inspired by Siddhar medicine, is practiced today by experienced elders in the villages of Tamil Nadu, referred to as 'paatti vaitthiyam' (grandmother's medicine) 'naattu marunthu' (folk medicine) and 'mooligai marutthuvam' (herbal medicine). The Siddhars also used pulse-reading to identify the origin of illnesses and physical conditions.

Siddhars are also believed to be the founders of Varma Kalai, a martial art used for self-defense. It also can be harnessed as a form of medical treatment, depending on how it is applied. Varmam, are vital energy points located in the human body serving as concentrations of life energy, the manipulation of which, can produce various results, such as disabling an attacker for self-defense, or for mitigating a physical condition as an easy first-aid medical treatment in the field.

The Siddhars wrote many such cryptic Tamil poems pertaining to our human existence, as well as describing alchemical processes. It is believed that most of them have lived for centuries, if not millenia, in and out of states of samadhi. Their base of operations was Sathuragiri, a mountain range near Thaaniparai village in Tamil Nadu, which pilgrims frequent to this day. Siddhar Agastya, who gave us the Tamil language, took up residence in Pothigai.

The Siddhars

Ancient Siddhars

The Abithana Chintamani encyclopedia states that there were 18 Siddhars, as listed below, but Siddhar Agastya tells us that there are many who precede and follow these 18. Siddhar Agastya was head of the Siddhar Gnana Koottam, a Siddhar collective, that was inaugrated by Lord Kartikeya. Together they furthered research in various fields, pertaining to their respective strengths. Siddhar Bhogar established an alchemical research centre in Thiruparankundram, leading the scientific division, Pulastya developed literature and Pambatti Siddhar led a team researching venom at his centre in Marudhamalai.

The 18

These are the 18 esteemed Siddhars of yore, according to the Tamil tradition:

The Navagraha 18

Apart from the 18 listed above, there is a further list of 18 Siddhars, representing the 9 Navagrahas (2 Siddhars per heavenly body). Special homams and poojas have been devised in order to invoke and obtain the blessing of these Siddhars to negate any malefic effect the Navagrahas might have on one's material life. The details of the 18 Siddhars who represent the 9 Navagrahas are as follows:

Sri Pattinathar Siddhar - Sun, Surya
Sri Kaduveli Siddhar - Sun, Surya
Sri Vallalar Siddhar - Mercury, Budha
Sri Idaikkadar Siddhar - Mercury, Budha
Sri Kanjamalai Siddhar - Venus, Shukra
Sri Chennimalai Siddhar - Venus, Shukra
Sri Bhogar Siddhar - Mars, Mangala
Sri Pullipani Siddhar - Mars, Mangala
Sri Sivavakkiyar Siddhar - Moon, Chandra
Sri Kailaya Kambili Sattaimuni Siddhar - Moon, Chandra
Sri Kaagapujandar Siddhar - Jupiter, Brhaspati
Sri Agapai Siddhar - Jupiter, Brhaspati
Sri Kapilar Siddhar - Saturn, Shani
Sri Karuvoorar Siddhar - Saturn, Shani
Sri Azhugani Siddhar - Rahu
Sri Pambatti Siddhar - Rahu
Sri Sattaimuni Siddhar - Ketu
Sri Kuthambai Siddhar - Ketu

There is a universal shrine for these 18 Siddhars from the 2nd list, in Madambakkam, Chennai, called the Sri Chakra Mahameru Sri Seshadri Swamigal 18 Siddhars Vrindavana Sakthi Peedam built under the instruction of Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal.

The supreme Siddhar is Lord Shiva himself.

Contemporary Siddhars

There are two major Nath traditions that began millenia ago, with the first primal Siddhar, Lord Shiva or Adinath; the ever-popular and flourishing Nandinatha Sampradaya which led to the development of Saiva Siddhanta philosophy, and the other more obscure Adinath Sampradaya which resulted in Siddha Siddhanta philosophy. Both traditions have syncretized, systematized and interpreted the teachings of the ancient Siddhars, for anyone wishing to follow in their footsteps.

Nandinatha Sampradaya

According to Saiva Siddhanta, Nandeeswarar is considered to be chief among the Siddhars, initiated by Mother Parvati and Father Shiva into the divine knowledge of the Agamas. He conferred this knowledge to his 8 disciples, namely, the Four Kumaras, Sundaranandar who later becomes Tirumular by a chance happening, Vyagrapada (also known as Pullipani), Patanjali, and Sivayoga Muni. They were sent out in 8 different directions, to spread wisdom. His teachings continue to be upheld today by the Nandinatha Sampradaya, a line of gurus descending directly from Maharishi Nandinatha himself. The Saiva Siddhanta school is a proponent of a living preceptor, a distinct monastic or Grihastha lifestyle for the avid seeker and places much emphasis on Tirumular's Tirumantiram. The philosophy was responsible for the Bhakti Movement that swept through Tamil Nadu in the 7th to 10th centuries CE.

Spiritual lineage : Maharishi Nandinath → Sundaranandar, who later becomes Tirumular → → → Kadaitswami → Chellapaswami → Siva Yogaswami → Sivaya Subramuniyaswami → Bodhinatha Veylanswami

Adinath Sampradaya

Dattatreya, to whom the Avadhuta Gita is attributed, an incarnation of the Trimurti, initiated Siddhar Machamuni, who then founded the Adinath Sampradaya and later passed on his teachings to Gorakhnath. Gorakhnath, or Korakkar, as he is known in Southern India, further developed Siddha Siddhanta philosophy. The Adinath Sampradaya's line concluded with its last living preceptor, Shri Gurudev Mahendranath, as he did not officially inititate anyone into the tradition before he entered Samadhi.

Today, many subsects of the Sampradaya exist as the Navnath Sampradaya which takes as its principal gurus nine saints, descending from Dattatreya, which include Matsyendranatha and Gorakhnath. However, Nisargadatta Maharaj maintained that the tradition is informal and a conventional guru-shishya relationship is not always necessary. Siddha Siddhanta methods are heterodox to the standard Vedic school of thought and Saiva Siddhanta philosophy; practicing a mixture of both Vamachara and Daksinachara, taking Gorakhnath's Siddha Siddhanta Paddati as its main textual reference, thereby shunning monastic life for solitude and aseticism. The Adinath Sampradaya was integral to the development of the unadulterated form of Hatha Yoga.

Their Powers

The Siddhars had both major and minor Siddhis, these are described in detail in various tantric texts, like the Tirumantiram. They had the power to convert their mass to energy and thereby achieve teleportation to different galaxies without any external means. They were also able to move their awareness into lifeless bodies, reanimating them; as in the case of Sundaranandar transferring his being into the body of the dead cowherd Moolan, because the cows Moolan had been tending to were mourning their loss and as such Sundaranandar felt sorry for them.

Anima -- To reduce one's self to become as tiny as the atom within an atom
Laghima -- To make one's self become as light as vapour
Mahima -- To have the grace of Sivam and become great and glorious in one's self
Prapti -- To transcend one's desires
Prakamya -- To 'transmigrate' one's self into the mortal coils of other beings
Isavatam -- To be lord of all creation, to be omni-potent and be inextricably one with Sivam
Vasitvam -- To be in all things, to be omni-pervasive, to perceive Sivam in all beings that come within one's reach
Kamarutatva -- To be everywhere and pervade all space, to be omnipresent and visit all worlds with one's physical body inert and stationary

These eight are the Great Siddhis (Ashtama Siddhis), or Great Perfections. Apart from the Siddhars, only Hanuman the Vayuputra is known to wield all 8 Ashtama Siddhis, being an avatar of Lord Shiva.

Their Poetry

Some of their compiled works, in the form of the aforementioned cryptic poetry, addressing topics such as health, science, social equality, alchemy, yoga and the nature of our existence, are mostly available in the Tamil language, with a few in Sanskrit. A small minority of important texts have been translated into English, such as the Tirumantiram. Their poetry can be interpreted in a number of ways, subjective and dependent upon the spiritual attainment of the seeker.

A verse from Kaagapujandar's Gnanam 80:

'தானென்ற பிரமத்தை யடுத்திடாமல்,

Thaanendrra brahmaththai yaduthedaamal

தரணியில் தெய்வமடா அனந்த மென்றும்'

Tharanneyyil deivamadaa anantha mendrrum

'Forgetting to embrace the self-god within,

We search this wide world for various divine solutions'

A verse from Thirumoolar's Tirumantiram; Tantra 3, Verse 725:

'உடம்பினை முன்னம் இழுக்கு என்று இருந்தேன்

Udampinai munnam izhukkendru irundhaen

உடம்பினுக்கு உள்ளே உறு பொருள் கண்டேன்

Udampinukkulle uruporul kandeen

உடம்பு உளே உத்தமன் கோயில் கொண்டான் என்று

Udampule uthaman kovil kondaanendru

உடம்பினை யான் இருந்து ஓம்பு கின்றேனே'

Udampinai yaanirundhu ombuginraenae

'There was a time when I despised the body;

But then I saw the self-god residing within

And the body, I realised, is the Lord's temple

And so I began preserving it with care infinite'

A verse from Kuthambai's Siddhar Padalgal:

எங்கு நிறைந்தே இருக்கின்ற சோதியை

Yengu neerainthey irukindra jothiyai

அங்கத்துள் பார்ப்பாயடி குதம்பாய்

Angathul paarpaiyadi kudhambai

அங்கத்துள் பார்ப்பாயடி

Angathul paarpaiyadi

'That divine omnipresent light,

See within your self, O Kuthambai,

See within your self'

Jeeva Samadhi

Samadhi is a state of oneness with Sivam, the supreme consciousness. There are various states of Samadhi one can experience on the spiritual path. The most complete dissolution of the small self into the all pervasive, omnipotent Sivam, is termed Nirvikalpa Samadhi. These states can be experienced for durations at a time, or even permanently.

The ancient Siddhars, adepts in their practice, achieved these various states, and on completion of their mission on this earthly plane, chose sites of their preference, wherein they attained Jeeva Samadhi; becoming, of their own volition, completely immersed and absorbed in Sivam, ceasing bodily functions, leaving their mortal coils and entering into an eternal state of Samadhi. Some Siddhars, like Vallalar, dematerialized his physical body and became one with the Arut Perum Jyoti, the divine light.

However, in most cases, their physical bodies were left behind, entombed in caves by disciples, at behest of the Siddhars. Over time, some of these Jeeva Samadhis have turned into pilgrimage sites, with temples dedicated to various deities being built around them.

To individuals on the path and the meditative, a Jeeva Samadhi can hold immense dimensions of energy that can help catalyze a seeker's spiritual unfoldment.

There are many such Jeeva Samadhi sites across the Indian subcontinent. Siddhar Bhogar's Jeeva Samadhi can be found in the southwestern corridor of the Dhandayuthapani Temple, Palani, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu. This being the temple where he crafted and installed the Navapashanam murti of Lord Kartikeya. Other murtis that he worshipped have also been installed at his Jeeva Samadhi. The Sankara Narayanaswamy Temple in Sankarankovil, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu, is the site of Pambatti Siddhar's Jeeva Samadhi. There are also other, more obscure Samadhis, that are found outside the Indian subcontinent; take for example, Mauna Guru Siddhar's Jeeva Samadhi, within the Batu Malai temple complex in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia.

Notes and references

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