[moohassinny]

Now we come to the questions asked at the beginning.

Let us examine some of the current projections about Siddhars

1. Pure Tamil.

2. Anti-Brahmin.

3. Anti Sanskrit.

4. Anti-Hindu and even Atheist.

5. Secular.

6. They lived before the advent of Sanskrit Hinduism into Tamil Nadu.

1. Pure Tamil.

Though most of the Siddhars were Tamil, not all of them were. Some major ones like Thirumoolar and Bogar were not Tamil. Thirumoolar was from North India. From Kailasam as it is claimed. Bogar was from China.

You can not call Thirumoolar a Tamil unless you believe in the fantastic and ridiculous theory that the whole of India was populated by Tamils and they were driven from North India (Kailasam ) by the invading Aryans.

Bogar being Chinese does tie with some of my theories. More about it later.

But this is not to say that all the Tamil Nadu Siddhars were from North India. The siddhars who were included in the list because of the Sampradhaya like Pathanjali, Gorakkar, Macchamuni were from outside Tamil Nadu.

3. Anti Sanskrit.

Thirumandiram was originally known as mantra mala. It contains a number of Sanskrit words Like Nakkan (For Shiva) (Nagnan or Nude in Sanskrit), Navakkari (Navakshari in Sanskrit). The Navakkari consists of None Beeja mantras. All these Beeja mantras are from Sanskrit. All the mantras are in Sanskrit. I can go on.

Again I will be tracing the Sampradhaya to sources outside Tamil Nadu.

2. Anti-Brahmin.

The Siddhars like the Nayanmars and most of the Bhakthi movement were against the Caste system. Caste system is rooted in the Purva Mimansa philosophy. All other systems of Hindu philosophy like Sankhya, Yoga and Advaita Vedanta were against it.

But these were philosophical systems and the followers of these systems did not attempt to reform the caste system. And writing against the caste system does not make one Anti_Brahmin. The fact is that many of the Upanishads which were authored by Brahmin Rishis were also against the caste system.

All these people accepted the caste system and never attempted to reform or abolish it.

Anti Vedic

Thirumandiram provides explanation to the MahaVakyas from the Vedas Like Tat-Tvam-Asi. in Verses 2568 to 2586.

In verse 2057 of Thirumandiram it is said

He is Guru Holy
Who entranced in Bliss
The Vedas and Agamas speaks of
Enters into Siva Yoga
And all thoughts stilled
Removes the bondage of Pasa
And leads you to Lord.

4. Anti-Hindu and even Atheist.

5. Secular.

The religion of the Siddhars is rooted in Hinduism. There is absolutely no evidence that the Siddhars were inclined to Buddhism and Jainism which were the only other religions in India at that time. There are many ideas which are common to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Thirumandiram talks about the Vedas and Agamas.

The Sankhya and Yoga philosophies have been termed as atheist by some modern philosophers because they do not believe in a Supreme God. This is generally not accepted. But even here the reference to God as Sadhasiva is numerous in Thirumandiram. Other Gods are also referred to.

They are secular in the sense that they did accept all the other religions.

6. They lived before the advent of Sanskrit Hinduism into Tamil Nadu.

The earliest period of the Siddhars is 700 A.D. It is likely that Tamil Nadu which had initiated a revolution in religion with The Saivite Bhakthi movement of the Nayanmars, attracted the followers of all sets of Saivism. But Saiva Siddhanta which is based on the Siva Agamas is older than this period. It originated in Kashmir.

Saiva Siddhanta is Sanskrit Hinduism as it is based on Saiva Agamas which are in Sanskrit. It existed before Thirumandiram was written around 1200A.D. Just adaption of Thirumandiram which is in Tamil does not make Saiva Siddhanta which originated in Kashmir a Tamil religion.

We can see from the above how much of propaganda and falsehood have gone into the so called Siddhar history.

Any Doubts?