Mystic truths - Mantra 76.

Sri gurubhyo namaha.

The seventy sixth mantra in the Thirumandiram where the author gives further clues pertaining to the discipline of body and mind needed by a student to achieve clarity in this path.

சதாசிவந் தத்துவம் முத்தமிழ் வேதம்

மிதாசனி யாதிருந் தேன்இன்ற காலம்

இதாசனி யாதிருந் தேன்மனம் நீங்கி

உதாசனி யாதுடனே உணர்ந் தோமால். 4.5.76.

Mystic Truths Flashed

Sadasiva, Tattva, the Muthamil and Veda

Them I sought not while here I stood;

I held them not in the heart; but soon my mind turned,

And indifference abandoning, realised them all. 4.5.76.

Com – Sadasiva, Tattva, the Muthamil and Veda The Sadashiva Tattva (Principle), the beautiful Tamil language and the Vedas Them I sought not while here I stood were all deeply and thoroughly examined and realised by me. I held them not in the heart And during the time I spent so in researching and studying (the above mentioned subjects), I remained without even food- which strengthens and helps the body. but soon my mind turned As a result of that, the confusion and duality in my mind was cleared and the mind made pure. And indifference abandoning, Casting aside my likes and dislikes (and other such pairs of opposites) realised them all I remained pure, enabling me to realise the Truth.

* When it is said that one does not eat in the day, it does not mean that one does not eat at all. Instead, we take it to mean that one eats in the night. This is an axiom of the Nyaya school of thought as propounded by Gauthama rishi. It is known as the Devadatta nyaya - where Devadatta is the person who declares that he never eats in the day. On observation it becomes clear that the above Devadatta never looses weight but is still healthy and robust (even though he does not eat in the day). From this it becomes evident that Devadatta must be eating in the night (so that he can still maintain the body weight), even though that he eats in the night is not expressed in literal words.
Likewise, the first two lines of the above mantra have to be understood to mean that the author analysed and researched, to an extremely high degree, the Sadashiva Tattva,( the absolute principle pertaining to the supreme), the Tamil language and the Vedas. As a result of his intense involvement, he even abandoned everyday things like food and likes and dislikes. And as a further result (of being indifferent) he attained the clarity of mind, enabling him to realise the truth that is conveyed through the three (see above) subjects. It can be understood here that the author recommends the sadhakas to eat moderately (not in excess) and remain pure without bias, in order to reach great states of clarity and understanding. In the above mantra the sage gives useful advice to his disciples who are on the quest to reach rarefied heights of self knowledge to aid their abiding in the state of Siva samadhi. He also reiterates the vedic and upanishadic truth that one biased (held in thrall) by likes and dislikes and one who is a slave to his senses (held in thrall by food,smells,tastes etc) can never imagine reaching such unadulterated and blissful heights of absorptive consciousness.