I worship the one with five arms and an elephantine face,
The one whose tusks resemble the young crescent moon,
The son of Nandi, the tender sprout of wisdom,
I hold him in my heart and bow at his feet.
We extend a warm welcome to all the spiritual souls gathered here, who have come to learn and understand the Supreme Truth of Brahma Jnana. On behalf of our ancient Tamil Siddha Gurus’ Brahma Jnana Sabha and Gurukulam, as well as on behalf of our revered Guru, Sri Sri Paramahansa Sundarananda Maharishi, who has been imparting Brahma Jnana to us, we offer our respects and blessings humbly. We pray that all the souls listening to this discourse attain complete Brahma Jnana and merge in light with the Divine. Now, let us journey into the deep essence of the Agaval.
Lord Vinayaka, with five hands, an elephant face, and tusks resembling the young crescent moon, is the son of Nandi, who is none other than Lord Shiva, and he carries the tender sprout of wisdom. I rejoice in venerating Maha Ganapati, the Kalpaka Ganapati, the one who fulfills all wishes, placing him in my sacred feet.
The fifth hand of Ganapati is his trunk. This is a marvelous and profound expression of wisdom. The word Thumpikkai can be split into Thumbi (a bee) and Kai (hand). The term Thumbi refers to an insect species whose sound is described as the Muroroli sound, similar to the Hreemkara Nada, a sound that vibrates harmoniously. Thus, Ganapati’s fifth hand signifies the Hreemkara Nada, the sacred sound that enters through the third eye and touches the soul.
Nandi can be broken into Nam (us) and Thee (light). The light, symbolizing wisdom, enters and exits our body through the third eye, located at the forehead. It is from this forehead that Murugan, the son of Shiva, was born. As Murugan is born from the third eye, the eye of wisdom, he is called Gnana Kozhundu (the sprout of wisdom) by Thirumoolar. In such a manner, I venerate Lord Vinayaka and Lord Murugan in my sacred feet with great joy and devotion, as did our revered Saint Thirumoolar, the Tamil poet-saint.
For all the people of the world to attain the divine Lord Shiva, the Siddhars, Jnanis, Rishis, Munis, and Yogis have been engaged in intense Brahma Jnana penance for thousands of years. Through their efforts, they have experienced indescribable bliss, which they constantly enjoy by inhaling and consuming the supreme divine essence in the Pranava. These are the unshakable divine truths of our sacred Indian land.
The question of whether one can attain God through multiple paths or only by one single path has been asked by many across the ages, even up to today.
Lord Shiva resides silently within us, in the deepest core, nearer than the tips of our fingers, closer than the blink of an eye. He is the Lord who exists within, just a touch away. Therefore, grasp Him within yourself; let go of all else.
After Thirumoolar and Manickavasagar, great saints like Thirunavukkarasar, Thirujnana Sambandar, Sundarar, and others, who sang the Devaram hymns, elaborated on the Brahma Jnana penance and the paths to attain God. They expressed these teachings clearly and profoundly in their hymns, but also, subtly included teachings on Sakha (esoteric) knowledge.
All those who attained the state of Siddhas, through Brahma Jnana penance, received a purified body and the body of Pranava, ultimately attaining the light body of Jnana. There were also Siddhas who, without the attainment of the light body, achieved an immortal state. Many of their Jeevasamadhi (divine samadhi) exist even today, both in India and abroad.
The divine state of Jeevasamadhi is a state where the soul remains within the body without leaving, in a state of silence. Those who have attained this state never experience a reduction in their body temperature; their body remains in a normal human temperature, like any other living person. If the body still feels warmth, it implies the soul has not left. A body in a state of coldness signifies it is dead. As long as Shiva resides within the body, the body does not decay. Once it becomes a corpse, Shiva no longer resides within.
In this way, there are a few rare spiritual texts on Sakha knowledge. Among them, one unavoidable Brahma Jnani is Avvai Thayi. However, how many people are aware of this truth is unknown.
The divine poet and sage Thiruvalluvar, who gave the world the universally revered Thirukkural, did not sing separately about the profound and rare Sakha knowledge, which is considered the precious spiritual treasure of Tamil society, despite having written extensively on virtue (Aram), wealth (Porul), and love (Kama) in 133 chapters and 1330 verses. This question has always burned within us, unresolved. It is true that Sakha knowledge is referenced in some places in the Thirukkural. However, there is no mention of practical techniques or methods to attain Sakha knowledge.
To resolve this gap, we discovered through the guidance of our spiritual teacher that Thiruvalluvar entrusted this great responsibility to his elder sister, Avvai Thayi. Upon researching her history, we came to understand that Avvai Thayi taught how one could attain the divine light of knowledge and how Brahma Jnana (supreme wisdom) can be received through the grace of the guru, like a sculptor shaping a stone. She submerged herself deeply in the ocean of knowledge, picking out precious gems of wisdom and stringing them together as a garland of knowledge (Jnana Maalai) for the benefit of others. This is why her teachings on Brahma Jnana are so significant.
Her teachings convey the deep truth of attaining the divine, with verses such as:
“Let the bliss I have attained reach the entire world.
The knowledge of the supreme truth, conveyed by the divine,
Resonating in sacred mantras that awaken the higher senses,
All will naturally come to the truth in the end.” (Thirumoolar, Thirumandiram 85)
Encouraged by the words of Thirumoolar, we embarked on this path of spiritual action, which eventually led us to realize the profound essence of Brahma Jnana.
In 2020, we published a work on the true meaning of these teachings, with the second edition now available in print. Today, we are fortunate to present the deeper meaning of another of Avvai Thayi’s songs, Vinaayakar Agaval (invocation of Lord Ganesha), through a discourse on the true wisdom of Brahma Jnana, and we are filled with true bliss.
It is safe to say that today, Avvai Thayi is known to everyone in Tamil society. Her name is universally praised. We now wish to share some rare facts about her life with you, as we delight in honoring her profound legacy.
The Wonder of the Poet’s Birth
In the Chola kingdom, in a town called Urayur, a woman named Avvai was born to parents Aadhi and Bhagavan. Her brother, Thiruvalluvar, was her sibling. After Avvai was born, as per the vow of her parents, they separated, leaving her at a crossroads in the village. At that moment, her mother, Aadhi, cried as she looked at her newborn daughter, saying, “I am leaving you now, my dear.” Even as a child, Avvai, through her wisdom and divine knowledge, wrote these words of comfort:
“Mother, don’t fear. Though I may face extreme poverty and hardship, I know the divine will be my protector. There is no need for you to worry in your heart.”
Avvai composed these verses to wipe her mother’s tears and console her. This event reveals that Avvai, even from birth, was a woman blessed with divine grace.
Avvai’s Early Life
As time passed, Avvai grew from a child into a young woman, raised by a family of bards who sang songs for a living. These bards were known as Paanars in ancient times, and they made their livelihood by composing and singing.
The Era of Avvai
Before understanding the true essence of the Vinaayakar Agaval, we must first comprehend a few things. Scholars suggest that between the 2nd century BCE and the 18th century CE, six prominent Avvai poets lived and contributed their works. Some researchers believe Avvai lived during the Sangam age, while others place her in the later period of the medieval Tamil kingdoms.
There was an extraordinary bond of mutual love and friendship between Avvai and Athiyamaan, the king who ruled in the 3rd century BCE. Evidence of this is found in an inscription discovered in Jambai, a town near Thirukovilur in Tamil Nadu. The inscription refers to the king Athiyamaan, who is known for his generosity in gifting sculptures to Jain monks.
This inscription provides a timeline, suggesting that Avvai’s period aligns with that of King Athiyamaan, in the 3rd century BCE to the 2nd century BCE. This helps us understand that Avvai was active during that era.
However, many scholars have missed an important aspect of Avvai’s teachings—her mastery of the True Path of spiritual knowledge. To fully grasp the profound wisdom of Avvai, one must recognize that she mastered the True Path, a path that leads to divine enlightenment and unity with the Divine Light. Without this deeper understanding of the True Path, her hymns, including the Vinaayakar Agaval and the Jnana Kural, would not have been composed with the depth of insight and experiential knowledge that they possess. Only someone who has attained the Light Body (the enlightened spiritual state) can impart such wisdom.
As for Avvai, her body did not experience death, because she had attained the divine boon of immortality. She lived through various ages, not in a physical body, but in a spiritual form. From the findings of the inscriptions and studies by scholars, it can be inferred that her time of life spanned from the 3rd century BCE to the 2nd century BCE. If we assume her period to be the 2nd century BCE, then it has been 1824 years since she composed and shared her divine wisdom through works like the Vinaayakar Agaval and Jnana Kural.
The Vinaayakar Agaval by Avvai:
It is well known that Avvai composed the Vinaayakar Agaval and the Jnana Kural. However, the details about the Jnana Kural are not widely known to most people—95 out of 100 do not know much about it. When we published the explanation of the Jnana Kural in 2020, many scholars and Tamil researchers questioned whether Avvai truly composed the Jnana Kural. After reading the work, they were greatly pleased to find that she did.
Now, we ask: which of these two works did Avvai compose first, and which did she compose second? After a period of reflection, we found the answer. Upon comparing the Vinaayakar Agaval with the structure and essence of the Jnana Kural, we realized the depth of Avvai’s wisdom, which was truly astonishing. How this happened, we would like to share with you for the first time here.
We concluded that Avvai composed both of these works for the same reason. Our research suggests that she may have composed the Vinaayakar Agaval first. Following that, she would have composed the Jnana Kural. This is because, in the Vinaayakar Agaval, she describes a character (the Lord Ganesha) and explains in simple terms how to use that character to experience spiritual awareness through various methods. When we realized this, the joy we felt was beyond words.
Through these two works, Avvai conveyed a profound message to the world’s souls: first, we must understand the true instrument to attain Brahmajnana (knowledge of the Absolute). Through a True Guru, we receive the sacred initiation of knowledge and attain Sakha (spiritual knowledge) through True Path education. The true instrument for attaining knowledge is the feet of the Guru, and it is through the spiritual practices of Brahmajnana that we unite with the Divine Light. This is the message that Avvai conveyed through her works. We understood from her words that to attain Shivajnana (knowledge of Shiva) or Brahmajnana, we must first venerate the Guru’s feet and engage in spiritual practices.
In Tamil tradition, before starting any task, we always first worship Lord Vinayaka. This tradition is echoed by Avvai in her work, where she calls upon Lord Vinayaka to bestow wisdom and Brahmajnana upon us.
Now, let us enter the verses of the Vinaayakar Agaval.
The Opening Verse of the Vinaayakar Agaval:
“Sīta Kaḷapach Senthāmarai Pūm” “Pāṭaś Cilambu Palaviśai Pāṭap”
In these opening lines, the first word Sīta Kaḷapam (meaning “cool fragrance”) is crucial. The next phrase is Senthāmarai Pūmpādham (meaning “the lotus feet”).
The word Sīta means “cool” or “refreshing”. What does the Thirumandiram say about this concept? It mentions that Shiva and Shakti (divine energy) are cool, as they maintain the balance of the world with their cooling and calming powers. Nandi, the divine bull, who is associated with Lord Shiva, spreads the sound of fertility and sustains life in the world. Sīta can be associated with cooling as the cooling energy present in all creation that sustains and nurtures life.
Explanation of the Verse:
The Thirumandiram reveals that Shiva, through his divine knowledge, is present in all things, and Maya (illusion) with its cooling properties protects the material world. The sound and vision are imbued in everything, providing balance and support. Shiva pervades all worlds, and Shakti (divine energy) is within everything, maintaining the balance and growth, much like the coolness in life that nurtures all beings.
The verse emphasizes Nandi (the bull) and Shiva, who work together to protect and maintain the universe. This cooling principle of Sita aligns with how Shiva’s wisdom brings stability and preservation to the cosmos.
The word Kalabam has two meanings: one is the sandalwood paste applied on the feet, and the other is a baby elephant. When Auvaiyar started singing the Vinayagar Agaval, she called Vinayaka, the baby elephant, to come running with joy. She calls out, “O baby elephant, come to me, the one who always resides in my soul as ambrosia.” This aligns with the Tamil tradition where calling Vinayaka is always accompanied by praise and celebration, as he is revered as the embodiment of joy and sweetness.
Auvaiyar uses the word ambrosia here because ambrosia is always cool and soothing. There are two types of heat in the world: one is scorching heat, which comes from the sun, and the other is gentle warmth, which is cooling. The scorching heat destroys the body, while gentle warmth protects the body. Ambrosia is the cooling essence that sustains the body, which is why Auvaiyar uses this metaphor for Vinayaka, who is the source of this cool and soothing essence.
The body remains preserved when the cooling ambrosia, which is the vital life force, flows through the head and circulates throughout the body. Auvaiyar points out that this cooling essence, when properly activated, is the only method that can protect the body from decay and destruction.
Thus, through the Vinayagar Agaval, Auvaiyar conveys that the key to preserving the body and attaining spiritual knowledge lies in invoking Vinayaka, whose feet (symbolizing the path to knowledge) guide one towards the realization of self-knowledge.
“Senthamarai Poombadham” (The Holy Feet) – The Significance:
The next key phrase is Senthamarai Poombadham, which refers to the holy feet of Vinayaka, the Lord of the universe. The word Senthamarai means beautiful red lotus, a metaphor for the divine and pure feet of Vinayaka. In this context, Auvaiyar refers to the feet as divine and sacred because they are the foundation of spiritual realization.
Even though the word “padam” generally refers to feet, Auvaiyar here uses it to mean divine feet, the sacred path towards the ultimate realization. While we often think of feet as referring to the human body, in the context of spiritual teachings, the feet represent the path or guidance of the divine.
The nature of flowers, which bloom when exposed to sunlight and shrink when it fades, is similar to the nature of human life. Just as flowers rely on sunlight to open, the spiritual path (represented by the divine feet) also requires the guidance of Vinayaka to flourish and evolve.
In this section, the discussion revolves around the symbolic meaning of “Senthamarai Poombadham” (the feet of Vinayaka) and its deeper spiritual implication as portrayed by Auvaiyar.
The Symbolism of the Lotus Feet: Auvaiyar describes the feet of Vinayaka as being like the lotus flower. This raises the question: Does our feet resemble a lotus flower? The lotus has multiple petals, which expand and contract. However, our feet do not have petals that expand and contract. Furthermore, the lotus is found in water, particularly in ponds. Do our feet stay in water like the lotus does? Upon reflection, we realize that the feet of Vinayaka, as described by Auvaiyar, are metaphorically connected to a lotus that grows in the water.
The Significance of “Thiruvadigal” (Sacred Feet): Auvaiyar calls these feet of Vinayaka the “Thiruvadigal” or Sacred Feet, which are not merely physical feet, but they represent a spiritual path. The term Thiruvadigal refers to the divine guidance that leads one to spiritual awakening and knowledge. This is not to be confused with ordinary human feet. While our feet physically carry us, the Thiruvadigal metaphorically guides us spiritually. The “Thiruvadigal” represents divine vision and spiritual clarity.
In fact, Auvaiyar uses the term Thiruvadigal to refer to our eyes. Just as our feet carry us physically, our eyes guide us towards the truth. The Thiruvadigal here symbolically points to the spiritual vision, which is the pathway to knowledge. The eyes, which are often referred to as the windows to the soul, become the instruments of divine perception when guided by the sacred feet of Vinayaka.
The Path of Knowledge: Auvaiyar thus highlights that the journey towards spiritual enlightenment is not just about following physical footsteps. It is about seeing the divine truth through our spiritual eyes, which are empowered by the divine grace symbolized by Vinayaka’s feet. To understand and follow the Thiruvadigal is to realize the true vision of knowledge. Hence, throughout her hymn, Auvaiyar urges us to connect our spiritual vision with the divine, guiding us towards the path of self-realization.
In this passage, the discussion delves into the rich symbolism within Tamil spiritual literature, particularly focusing on how “Bhakti” (devotion) and “Jnana” (knowledge) are intertwined in the works of our ancestors. Here, Auvaiyar and other Tamil poets present knowledge through the lens of devotion. The key point to understand is that Bhakti is not merely about worship; it is also a tool for expressing and realizing the inner wisdom. In this context, Bhakti serves as an internal means to express the knowledge within us, guiding us toward spiritual enlightenment.
The term “Sillambu” is explained next. Sillambu refers to an ornament (often called a “sathangai” or anklet) that symbolizes divine vision. The word is broken into two parts: “Sil” and “Ambu”. The “Sil” can be interpreted as “Sila” (a reference to a sacred or divine entity), and “Ambu” refers to an arrow, a symbol of directed vision or focus. Therefore, Sillambu can represent the arrows or visionary focus of the divine eyes, which guide devotees on the spiritual path.
A reference from Thiruppugazh by Arunagirinathar is given to illustrate the point. In this verse, the poet speaks of the eyes as a means of reaching the divine. The eyes, like arrows, shoot toward the divine truth, and the focus of the eyes is a spiritual weapon in the pursuit of knowledge and devotion.
In this context, the Sillambu or “anklet” becomes more than just a physical ornament. It is a spiritual symbol that ties the devotee to the divine, through the metaphor of the eyes’ ability to “shoot arrows” of focus toward the higher truth. These spiritual weapons of focus and devotion help guide the individual toward enlightenment, using symbols of arrows, eyes, and vision to convey a deeper message.
If the gift is given to the one who called the poor, who ordered the work, and earned money by selling his body with a paltry lust, and who called the prostitutes who called the lustful ones, because he did not have the gift to give,
The next line is to sing many times. We should keep shooting these praises with our eyes with the arrows of devotion towards Lord Ganesha. This shooting should be done in one harmony, as if we are continuously singing music. That is what the song is to sing many times, said the auvaithai.
The next line is to know gold. Gold is half knowledge. Knowledge refers to the three-spiraled string called naan. Naan means the string that pulls the bow. Here the bow refers to our two eyebrows. Bharathidasan’s song is an example of how these eyebrows become bows. He said, “If a lover shows the eye’s gaze, even a mango tree in the ground is like a mustard seed to a Kumara.” Since eyes refer to the feet of the gods, and arrows can be shot only through those eyes, the bow through which arrows are shot must also be there. That bow is our two eyebrows. A rope, or string, is needed to pull and tie the two eyebrows. That string is nothing else but the eyelashes that are in our eyes. The lower the eyelids, the more we suddenly open them upwards, the arrows will fly smoothly from the bow called eyebrows through the feet of the gods called eyes towards the sky, towards the target we have set. Then, the sound – melody – of the arrows will be heard, and the foot of the foot will sing many times. We think you will understand now.
The next word is Poontugil Aadiyum. Tugil also means clothing; White light also has a meaning. The evidence for this can be found in our literature.
Avir tugil purayaum am vellaruvi – Kurinji Patal 55 (Kurinji Thinai is the first Thinai among the five. It refers to the areas related to mountains and mountains.)
That is, the meaning of the above Sangam song is that of the beautiful white waterfall that is like a shining white dress.
That is, our eyes, which are the feet of the gods, have a soft light-filled dress like a flower. That is, our white eyes. It is these white eyes that are called puandukil aadai. No one here denies that our eyes are the only organ in the body that can penetrate light. If there are those who deny this, they can think and talk to us after finishing this lecture. Good.
Good, let’s meet again tomorrow and discuss.
From the Brahmanana Gold Sabha Gurukul
Your Rudra Shivatha, Salem.
May all beings live happily!
Tiruchirappalli!!
