Golden Lay Verses

Verse 349 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

உலகத்துக் கேசவமாய் உலகமெலாம் ஊடாடும்

கலகத்துக் கேசாக்கிக் கண்ணாகக் கண்காணாத்

தலமுற்று நானகற்றித் தானான சித்தத்தே

இலகுற்றுச் சித்தினியாள் இயலுற்றான் சித்தனடா

Transliteration

ulakaththuk kEsavamAy ulakamelAm UDAadum

kalakaththuk kEsAkkik kaNNAkak kaNkANAdh

thalamutru nAnagatRith thAnAna siththatthE

ilakutru siththiniyAL iyalutRAn siththanadA

Literal Translation

As “Keśava” in the world, he moves (plays) through the whole world.

In the commotion, he makes it “kēśa-ākki”; as the eye, he is not seen by the eye.

Cutting away the “I” thoroughly from its seat, in the mind that has become “itself”,

becoming light (luminous/loosened), he naturally joined with the Siddhinī-woman; he is a Siddha indeed.

Interpretive Translation

He is present within the world as an all-pervading divine principle (called “Keśava”), moving through all things; yet he cannot be grasped by ordinary perception—though he is the very “eye”, the outer eye cannot see him.

By uprooting the sense of “I” from its fundamental base, he abides in the mind that has become self-established (non-dependent).

When clarity/lightness dawns, he comes into natural union with the inner Siddhinī (Śakti / yogic power), and that integration itself is the mark of a Siddha.

Philosophical Explanation

The verse compresses a Siddhar view of realization into a few cryptic moves:

1) “Keśava in the world” (உலகத்துக் கேசவமாய்): Keśava commonly names Viṣṇu, a figure of cosmic pervasion and preservation. In Siddhar idiom this can point less to sectarian theology and more to immanence—consciousness that “moves through” (ஊடாடும்) all phenomena while not being limited to any one.

2) “As the eye, not seen by the eye” (கண்ணாகக் கண்காணாத்): This is a standard nondual motif: the seer cannot be seen as an object. The Self is the condition for seeing, so the sensory organ (or outward attention) cannot capture it. Yogically this implies inward-turning (pratyāhāra) and subtle perception beyond the gross senses.

3) “Removing ‘I’ from its seat” (தலமுற்று நானகற்றித்): Siddhar instruction often targets the root of “nāṉ” (I-ness/ego). “Seat” (தலம்) can indicate the locus where ego crystallizes—psychologically as identification, yogically as a nodal center (a “place” in the body), or even the crown/head-region by which individuality claims mastery. The act is not moral self-denial but ontological deconstruction: dismantling the ‘I’ that appropriates experience.

4) “Siddhinī-woman” (சித்தினியாள்): The feminine term can be read as (a) an external yoginī/adept, (b) the inner Śakti (kuṇḍalinī / prāṇic intelligence), or (c) siddhi itself personified. Union with “her” then signifies integration of consciousness (śiva-tattva / witnessing) and power (śakti-tattva / dynamism). The Siddha-state is presented as a natural settling (இயலுற்றான்) rather than a forced achievement.

The verse therefore sketches a path: immanence without entanglement → ungraspability by the senses → uprooting ego → luminous stability → śakti-integration → Siddhahood.

Key Concepts

  • Keśava (as symbol of all-pervading divinity / immanent consciousness)
  • The seer not being an object of sight (self as the ‘eye’ unseen by the eye)
  • Ego (“nāṉ” / I-ness) uprooting
  • Pratyāhāra (withdrawal from outward sense-grasping) (implied)
  • Self-established mind (abiding in ‘that which is itself’)
  • Siddhinī (yoginī / inner Śakti / personified siddhi)
  • Śiva-Śakti integration (nondual completion)
  • Siddha state (realized, naturally established being)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Keśava” may be a direct reference to Viṣṇu, or a coded Siddhar sign for the all-pervading principle; it can also echo ‘kēśa’ (hair), allowing layered wordplay.
  • “கலகத்துக் கேசாக்கி” is cryptic: “kalakam” can mean turmoil/commotion, but can also suggest mixing/stirring (potentially alchemical language). “kēśa-ākki” may mean ‘made into hair/locks’ (ascetic sign), ‘made the hairs stand on end’ (devotional ecstasy), or a coded transformation step.
  • “கண்ணாகக் கண்காணாத்” can mean (a) he is the eye yet not seen by the eye (nondual epistemology), or (b) he makes the eye not see (sense-withdrawal / deliberate non-looking).
  • “தலம்” in “தலமுற்று” can mean a physical ‘place/seat’ (a bodily center), the ‘head/crown’ region, or the foundational locus of identification; the verse does not specify which, keeping the instruction polyvalent.
  • “சித்தினியாள்” may refer to an external female adept, an inner śakti/kuṇḍalinī, or siddhi personified; the line preserves the Siddhar habit of keeping inner and outer referents simultaneously possible.
  • “இலகுற்று” can mean becoming light/loose (freed from heaviness of ego) or becoming luminous/clear (illumination), both fitting yogic attainment.