Golden Lay Verses

Verse 343 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

சாந்தமுறும் ஸகஜநிலை தன்னி லப்பா

ஏந்துலகம் கண்ணாடி நிழலைப் போல

தாவுமனம் தானிறந்து தயங்கித் தேங்கும்

இழைந்திழைந்து நழுவுமடா சித்தம் சித்தம்

ஆந்தரிகத் தவள் நிற்பா ளனைத்தும் சித்தி

அப்பனே செப்பிய தோர் மந்திரங்கள்

மாய்ந்தவனாய் மரணமிலா மணிப்பீடத்தே

வாசமட சிவைவாசம் கைலாசந்தான்

Transliteration

cāntamuṟum sakajanilai tannilappā

ēntulakam kaṇṇāṭi niḻalaip pōla

tāvumanam tāniṟantu tayaṅgit tēṅkum

iḻaintiḻaintu naḻuvumaṭā cittam cittam

āntarikat tawaḷ niṟpā ḷanaittum citti

appanē ceppiya tōr mantiraṅkaḷ

māyntavaṉāy maraṇamilā maṇippīṭattē

vācamaṭa civaivācama kailācentān

Literal Translation

O father, in that peaceful sahaja-state,

this upheld world is like a shadow in a mirror.

The leaping mind, having “died” (or crossed over itself), wavers and stagnates;

slipping, slipping, the citta—yes, the citta—keeps sliding away.

Within, “she” stands (in the inner/antarika space); everything becomes siddhi.

The mantras that the Father uttered,

having become one who has dissolved/ended,

come—dwell upon the deathless jeweled pedestal:

that dwelling is the abode of Śiva; that itself is Kailāsa.

Interpretive Translation

When repose in the natural (sahaja) state is established, the world is known as a mere reflected appearance—like a mirror-image or shadow—without independent substance. The outward-running mind exhausts itself; yet the subtle mind-stuff (citta) still has a tendency to slip and wobble. In the inner space, the feminine principle—Śakti/Kundalinī or the indwelling power—stands revealed; from that, accomplishments (siddhis) arise. By the mantras given by the Guru/Śiva, the practitioner “dies” to the ego-sense and becomes dissolved in the Absolute. Then one abides on the ‘jeweled throne’ of deathlessness—read as the immortal state (kāya-siddhi) or the crown-seat of realization—this is called Śiva’s abode, Kailāsa, understood also as an inner locus rather than a distant place.

Philosophical Explanation

1) Sahaja and the status of the world: “சகஜநிலை” points to the natural, non-contrived equipoise (often aligned with sahaja-samādhi). In that condition, the world is described as “கண்ணாடி நிழல்” (mirror-shadow), a strong image for māyā: it appears, is experienced, yet is dependent—like a reflection requiring a surface and light. The verse does not deny experience; it denies independent self-standing reality.

2) Mind vs. citta: The text distinguishes “மனம்” (mind: the roaming, desiring, leaping faculty) from “சித்தம்” (citta: deeper mental substance, memory-impression field). Even if the gross mind is ‘ended’ (தானிறந்து: died, subsided, or crossed over), the citta may still “slip” (நழுவும்)—a subtle warning that residual vāsanā-s (impressions) can pull one out of steadiness.

3) The inner feminine (“ஆந்தரிகத் தவள்”): This cryptic phrase indicates a ‘she’ in the inner space (antarika). In Siddhar idiom, this can signify Kuṇḍalinī-Śakti, the inner energy-current, the indwelling deity, or the subtle principle that ‘stands’ when the practitioner’s attention is stabilized. The line “அனைத்தும் சித்தி” links her standing/revelation with siddhi-arising—both yogic powers and the deeper ‘accomplishment’ of steadiness in awareness. Siddhar texts often caution that siddhis may arise as side-effects, not the final aim.

4) Mantra as transmitted force: “அப்பனே செப்பிய… மந்திரங்கள்” frames mantra as what the ‘Father’ spoke—this can be Śiva, the Guru, or the primal source. Mantra here is not only sound but a transmitted method that reorganizes prāṇa and attention, enabling dissolution of ego-patterns.

5) Deathlessness and the jeweled throne: “மரணமிலா மணிப்பீடம்” can be read in two registers. (a) Yogic-metaphysical: the ‘seat’ of realization—often associated with the crown (sahasrāra) or bindu-sthāna—where awareness abides without return to delusion. (b) Siddhar alchemical/medical: the ‘deathless’ state can imply kāya-siddhi (body-perfection) and a transformed physiology via inner fire, breath-regulation, and rasavāda (alchemical) symbolism. The “jeweled” quality suggests incorruptibility and luminosity—either of the subtle seat of consciousness or of a perfected body.

6) Kailāsa as inner abode: Ending with “சிவைவாசம் கைலாசந்தான்” compresses theology and yogic geography: Kailāsa is Śiva’s abode, but the verse implies that the true Kailāsa is the state of abiding (வாசம்) in Śiva-consciousness—an interiorization typical of Siddhar teaching.

Key Concepts

  • Sahaja-nilai (natural state / sahaja-samādhi)
  • World as reflection (mirror-shadow) and māyā
  • Manas (mind) vs. citta (mind-stuff, vāsanā-field)
  • Slipping of attention (instability even after mind-subsiding)
  • Antarika / inner space
  • Inner feminine principle (Śakti/Kundalinī) as siddhi-source
  • Mantra as guru/Śiva transmission
  • Ego-death / dissolution (மாய்ந்தவன்)
  • Deathlessness (amaratva) and kāya-siddhi possibility
  • Maṇi-pīṭham (jeweled pedestal) as crown-seat or perfected state
  • Śiva-vāsam and Kailāsa as inner abode

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “சகஜநிலை” may mean simple naturalness in daily life, or a technical sahaja-samādhi attained after yogic maturation.
  • “கண்ணாடி நிழல்” can be read as (a) the world’s dependent appearance (māyā), or (b) the mind’s projection/reflection—shifting the critique from cosmos to cognition.
  • “தானிறந்து” (having died) may denote literal renunciation of selfhood/ego, the subsiding of mental movement, or a metaphorical ‘death’ in samādhi.
  • The repetition “சித்தம் சித்தம்” can be emphasis, lament, or instruction—either warning about citta’s slipperiness or pointing to citta as the crucial field to be mastered.
  • “ஆந்தரிகத் தவள்” is cryptic: it may indicate Kuṇḍalinī-Śakti, a specific inner deity, the ‘inner voice/presence,’ or the subtle prāṇa-current stabilized in the central channel.
  • “அனைத்தும் சித்தி” can mean siddhis arise (potential distraction) or that ‘all is accomplished’ (the final siddhi being liberation).
  • “அப்பன்” may be Śiva, the human guru, or the primal ‘Father’ principle; each shifts whether the authority is devotional, initiatory, or metaphysical.
  • “மரணமிலா மணிப்பீடம்” may be read as a subtle chakra-seat (non-physical), or as an alchemical-physiological claim of bodily deathlessness (kāya-kalpa).
  • “கைலாசம்” can be (a) the mythic Himalayan abode, (b) an inner yogic locus (crown/heart), or (c) the nondual state named in devotional language.