Saiva Siddhantham is a unique doctrine of philosophy and has existed for a very long period. This philosophy is very much Indian and is largely practiced in Tamilnadu, the temple land of the world.
Saiva Siddhantham is a unique doctrine of philosophy and has existed for a very long period. This philosophy is very much Indian and is largely practiced in Tamilnadu, the temple land of the world.
Saiva Siddhantham is logical, practical, application-oriented and applicable to modern science. It postulates 3 categories viz. Irai, Uyir, and Thalai, and its also known as Pathi, Pasu and Pasam.
The soul or uyir, the bonds or thalai are as eternal as Irai: Sivam. The bonds are known to affect or influence the souls but they do not do so to Sivam. The moment that the souls turn to or are drawn to Sivam, the bonds will get driven away. This is the foundation of a universally appreciated philosophy known as Saiva Siddhantham and it is a gift of the Tamil populace to the believers who surrender their all to Pasupathi - The Lord of the Universe.
The family of Vidwan Kandaswamy Mudaliar and his son Sivakavimani C.K.Subramanya Mudaliar (1878 - 1961) continues to live in the house named after 'Sekkilar' (the author of Periya Puranam) on Vysial Street since 1888.
The contribution of the father and son duo to the Perur Patteswarar Temple and the world of Saiva Siddhantam cannot be measured. The great Sivakavimani CKS has given the world a fabulous treatise on Periya Puranam while living in his house at Vysial Street. CKS was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva and he used to perform an 'Athmartha pooja' at a personal level in his home all his life. He used 'putru mann' (the soil from an anthill) for making a lingam every day for his pooja and later the same sacred soil went back to nature once the lingam was immersed in the holy waters of Noyyal - the river that has been diligently sustaining Coimbatore.
He used to offer worship to the ancient icons of Lord Vinayaka and Nageswarar with great devotion every day. The Saivaite tradition of the family was continued by C.S.Kannayiram Mudaliar (1920 - 2018) on an everyday basis with the same zeal and devotion.
C.S.Kannayiram Mudaliar (CSK) was born to another C.K.Subramanya Mudaliar and Subbulakshmi Ammal as the first among five sons in Chinnadharapuram. He completed his S.S.L.C by the year 1939 at Karur and did some temporary work for a while before joining the Thanjavur Cooperative establishment and it was there he got trained in order to pass the required exam.
Thereafter he worked at the Tiruchirappalli District Central Cooperative bank for 3 years (1942 - 1945). The intelligent and hardworking CSK was awarded a silver trophy in appreciation of his good work during the very first year of his service. This recognition impelled him to do yet another exam that got him a job in the revenue department in 1945. He served in this department between the years 1945 and 1976 in Erode, Karur, Trichy and Salem. The simple Government servant used to cycle to work until he became the Tahsildar in the year 1965. It was after becoming a senior official that he used to move about in the jeep provided by the Government of Tamilnadu.
The successful officer attracted the attention of CKS in Coimbatore and he married Dhanasundaram from the same family in the year 1946. Unfortunately, she passed away in the year 1955. CKS would not let go of C.S.Kannayiram and he married the younger sister Mangayarkarasi. It was in the year 1954 that CSK moved over to Coimbatore at the behest of CKS and he began to work on publishing a reprint of the Periya Puranam. This was something that he continued all his life. CSK was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva and he used to perform 'Athmartha pooja' to the Lord all his life.
He used to sleep late but get up pretty early and do yoga for some time every day. Religiously, he used to perform worship at the family pooja room by making a sandalwood paste Sivalingam every day and the paste was made by him at home itself. He used to take about one and a half hours for the pooja and the sandalwood paste lingam made by him known as the 'Kshanagalingam' used to be dissolved in water and applied by him on his person. If there was someone nearby he used to give it to the lucky one. His 'Thiruneeru' or vibhuti used to come from Thiruchendur and later on he used to get it from the Perur Branch of the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam. CSK was a disciplinarian - vegetarian and he used to be prompt at all times. He was never known to favour people and even his sons Sivasubramanian, Kandaswamy (named so after his family elders) were directed to get things done on their own merit. CSK was an avid reader and learner all his life. He used to extensively quote from the texts with complete detail even during the course of an ordinary conversation. The Shivarathri was his favorite festival and he used to perform a four kala pooja at home year on year. Every pooja was followed by a bath and in between the rituals he used to visit the Pettai Visweswaraswamy Temple in order to offer his prayers. He used to stay with an empty stomach until the time he completed the memorial services to the family elders on the days concerned.
CSK learned a bit of Sangam literature and Thiruvasagam from Ku.Natesa Gounder, Principal - Perur Tamil Kalloori between the years 1963 and 1970. The points taken down by him during those times were used to write a seven-volume work on Thiruvasagam and it was brought out by Sivakudil in Kovaipudur. He was associated with a number of great and saintly elders who included Thondaimandala Adheenam - the 229th Pontiff, Poorvashramam Muthu. Su. Manickavasaga Mudaliar (whose classes he attended in the year 1962), Old Madurai Adheenam - the 291 st Pontiff H.H. Somasundara Paramacharya Swamigal who gave him the Visesha Diksha in 1963 and the initiation to do the regular Siva pooja in the year 1964 and he was also in touch with the Pontiffs of Thiruvaduthurai. CSK conducted the family endowments connected with the Perur Temple, took classes on Perur Puranam besides taking classes on Periya Puranam at Sivakudil in Kovaipudur. Thondaimandala Adheenam presented him the title 'Siddhanta Banu' in 1974 and Sivakudil Siddhar Swamigal had honoured him with 'Sivagnana Saraswathi' in the year 1992. CSK knew a lot about Sangam literature and had mastered the 12 Thirumurais completely. He was kind of a mobile university and his 35 books will continue to be the mentors for the students pursuing Saiva Siddhanta. His 'Sadhabhishekham' (80 years celebration) was performed at Sivakudil and the birth of a great-grandchild gave the opportunity to the family members to organize a 'Kanakabhishekam' for him. Otherwise, he never celebrated his birthday on his own ever. Religious CSK was born in the Punarvasu star and he belonged to the literary tradition of Chandrashekharam Pillai of the nineteenth century.
The true Sivanadiyar or devotee of Lord Siva has written 35 books and 6 of them are yet to be published. He was devoted to his Kula Deivam, Ankala Parameshwari Amman of Choodamani near Chinnadharapuram. He had visited a number of Padal Petra Stalams, Vaippu Sthalams and Jyothir Linga Kshethrams including Kedarnath with his wife Mangaiyarkarasi. It’s pertinent to mention that his devout spouse Mangaiyarkarasi was largely responsible for ensuring that Sivakavimani C.K.Subramanya Mudaliar rendered his autobiography 'Oru Pithanin Kadhai'. If this had not happened a part of our history connected with Saiva Siddhanta, the freedom struggle and temples would not have been with us. Poojas were done by CSK whether he was home or in a camp. In fact, he had two pooja sets to serve the purpose. The books written by CSK include CKS Meenakshi Ammaiyar Mummuni Kovai, Attaveerattanjali, Pachainayagi Shodasopacharamaalai, Sivankudil Sannidhimurai, Patti Vinayagar Padhigam, Aram Valartha Nayagimaalai, Sivaparathathuva Vilakkam, Thiruvenjamakoodal Puranam (contains 1316 verses and is uniquely exhaustive). A number of works done by Sivakavimani C.K.Subramanya Mudaliar and C.S.Kannayiram Mudaliar are being published by 'Sekkilar Nilayam' and interested people may contact K.Sivasubramanian for getting them. Both the sons, K.Sivasubramanian and K.Kandaswamy have an unabiding interest in the worship of Lord Siva and have done much in the regard by taking up the work of their father.
Saiva Siddhanta is a unique way of life devoted to the worship of Lord Siva and its origins are from Tamilnadu. It’s known for its inclusive approach for it does not isolate itself from humanity. C.S.Kannayiram Mudaliar was an epitome of this marvelous tradition which propounded Siva Bhakthi in the most humane form.