Who
is a siddha ? A siddha is one who has attained siddhi, i.e.
"power, prowess, strength, ability", then a special
kind of psychic and supernatural, miraculous, occult power.
There are eight kinds of super natural powers called as
"Ashtama Siddhis."
The
basic difficulty of a study of the Siddhas begins with the
term Siddha itself, which has several interconnected and
often overlapping meanings without any common accepted usages.
It is a Sanskrit term meaning "accomplished".
A Siddha is a "fully boiled" (vidagdha), i.e.,
perfected being. He stands for the Indian ideal of perfection.
The siddhas know of four types of liberation (mukti):
1.
salokya - the status of living in the world of God
2. samipya - the status of being near to God
3. sarupya - the status of assuming the form of God
4. sayujya - the status of being one with the God
The
Siddhas are those adepts who have attained the last type
of liberation. The first three type of liberation are called
padamukti by Tirumular and the last one is named siddhi
(" perfection"). Tirumular says that one whose
mind is serene and clear like an ocean without waves is
a Siddha. In South India it is customary among the Siddhas
to trace their origin to Siva, who is also called a Siddha.
A
Siddha is one who has realized the non-duality of jiva (the
psyche) and Siva. He is one who has realized Siva in himself.
He is said to have attained Sivanubhava. Sivanubhava stands
for the stare of experiencing the non-duality or oneness
between the experiencing jiva and Siva. This is known as
jiva-siva-aikya. There is a Tamil saying " Sittan pokku,
Sivan pokku" meaning that a Siddha walks or follows
the way of Siva.
A
Siddha is a yogin. Saint Tirumular says that those who live
in Yoga and see the divine power and light through Yoga
are the Siddhas. He is an experimental yogin who attains
perfection by the method of self-effort. As yogins the Siddhas
are said to have the triple control - the control of breath,
the control of the seminal fluid ( i.e., the control of
all passions and the achievement of desirelessness), and
the control of mind. A Siddha is one who has succeeded on
stabilizing these controls in oneself and one who maintains
equanimity and a sense of equilibrium.
A
Siddhas is a free thinker and a revolutionary who refuses
to allow himself to be carried away by any dogma, scripture,
or ritual. One Siddha says, "A Siddha is one who has
burnt the sastras." This is to be interpreted not in
the literal sense but in the sense that for a jnanin, "the
Vedas are not Vedas." A Siddha is one has attained
a stage, of realization in which he is no longer bound by
the injunctions of the sastras, and in which he has gone
beyond even the Vedas. At this stage, sastras become irrelevant.
There is always a gulf between words and the experience
for which they stand. To seek enlightenment in words and
ideas is like expecting the sight of a menu card to satisfy
a hungry man. A description can never in itself transmit
experience. All the sastras, Vedas, Puranas, and the various
religious sects turn humanity into obedient creatures. Truth
is felt experience and cannot be translated fully in any
sastra. As a Doha song states, "Looking at the fruit
in the tree is not smelling it. Does disease fly away at
the sight of the physician?" The Siddhas seem to be
opposed to the scriptures, but their temper is devout. They
are "pious rebels" inside the field of religion
and as such are not atheists. Karai Siddhar draws a distinction
between Siddha and a non-Siddha by saying that a Siddha
points to the path of experience whereas a non-Siddha points
to the path of scriptures.
According
to the book "Valmiki Suthira Gyanam" authored
by Siddhar Valmiki, "By purifying the mind and attaining
perfection one becomes a siddha (Tamil Chittan); He is indeed
fit to be called SIVA".
A
classical definition of siddhas is given by Siddhar Thirumoolar:
"Those who live in yoga and see the divine light and
power through yoga are the siddhars (Tamil Chittar)".
According
to Kamil Zvelebil, there are some features which are typical
for all or almost all siddhars as a body of thinkers.
First,
in sharp opposition to the bhakti tradition, they refuse
to allow themselves be carried away by idol worship in particular
temples.
Second,
in contrast to bhakti which emphasizes passionate devotion
to God, the siddhar emphasize knowledge, yoga practice,
and character, moral behavior, right conduct. Anger, lust
and egoism are the worst sins.
Third, almost all siddhar's raise a protest against caste
and casteism.
The
whole atmosphere of siddha thinking is empirical and experimental.
Their writings are not in the nature of clear cut formalized
statements of any well defined doctrine. Hence, it is difficult
to extricate a philosophical system out of their writings,
at least at the present state of our knowledge of their
works. However, it is possible to point out a few essential
features, and one day, when their writings are better known,
it should be possible to state their philosophy more explicitly.
This
web site is devoted to publishing the works of siddhars
for the internet community. Most of the works are available
only in Tamil and it is possible that the author of document
interprets things in his own way while translating the original
text. An attempt is made to present information about siddhars
here.
Siddha
is one of the oldest system of medicine practiced in India.
This system was developed in the state of Tamil Nadu in
India. It is supposed to have been conceived by the Siddhas
or evolved souls ( numbering 18) who lived in the past.
The word 'Siddha' comes from 'Siddhi' which means an object
to be attained or perfection of heavenly bliss.
Siddhas
or Siddhars were great doctors of medicine, philosophers,
men with deep knowledge of anatomy and chemistry and savants
noted for their wide travel, simple living and high thinking.
The Siddhas have their own manuscripts or basic works, written
in secret code. Some of the treasured treatises on medicine
are poems in palm leaf manuscripts which are now preserved
in the Saraswathi Mahal Library, Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu.
They were the pioneers in the use of metals and minerals
in the treatment of diseases.
The
systems of Siddha and Ayurveda are very much similar. In
both systems, the basis of treatment is the three element
theory or 'tridosha' (three humours). The three humours
are Vatha (air), Pitta (bile) and Kapha (phlegm). It is
believed that without these humours an individual cannot
exist and imbalance of these may cause diseases. There are
number of medicines common to both Siddha and Ayurveda.
In both systems medicines are prescribed to set right the
imbalance in the three life factors.
In
Siddha, diseases are diagnosed mainly with the help of signs
and symptoms of diseases. Other factors that help to diagnose
diseases are touch, examining the pulse, tongue, colour,
speech, eyes, faeces and urine.
The
main aim of Siddha is to assure a healthy life to man kind.
