இலண்டன் சைவ மாநாடு (சிறப்புமலர்)

7வது சைவ மாநாடு live and to be individual. If we like something, we are told to explore it. If we do not, we are told to abstain. Therefore, if our questions about rituals, practices, traditions and faith are simple left unanswered, what option do we have but to simply lose interest in religion? So we come to the reason for our weekly classes. We aim to give students who want to explore their beliefs and religion the opportunity to discuss issues and raise questions that might be lingering in their thoughts. Our sessions, held in English, are completely open and forthright. Generally, we leave the class with a great number of things to contemplate further, and a spark truly ignited that makes us want to learn more. At all times, the suggestion emphasised by those who teach us is that we are only beginning to explore a vast information space. Nothing we discuss is easy or trivial - challenging the way we think and view things is never going to be - but we at least know that the answers to our questions can be found, if we start by looking in the right places. Topics discussed are varied, and this is not the arena for explaining them in detail. However, I would like to simply suggest what kind of questions members of our generation may have. We discussed the rationale behind going to Temple, when we could instead pray at home. The scientific and fundamental reason for Temple worship conveyed to us was truly eye-opening. Again, even if we do not accept the reasons given at face-value, we have something to hold onto and think about. The issue of Murugan having two "wives" was raised, and we were shown how we could interpret it further than the usual explanation given. We also discussed the fundamentals of Saiva Siddhantam - simply hearing that term is bound to turn people away initially, but gaining an insight into the meaning of Karma, Dharma, and re-incarnation proved to be of great importance. Hopefully this train of thought will provide us with the answers to questions on rituals, practices and traditions, and enable us to understand ideas such as why we do Poosai at Temple, why we offer fruit and flowers and why we worship the way we do. இலண்டன் 2004 I started by suggesting that this piece would be concerned with Saivaism and its place in contemporary society. Indeed, the question "does it have a place at all" still stands in many ways. However, I firmly believe that if our concerns are not blindly dismissed, then we will be keen to find out more. It is hard enough to follow a path we do not yet fully understand. It is even harder still to follow it believing that we will never be illuminated. We should realise that this will not be the case. கூற்றாயின வாறு விலக்ககலீர் கொடுமை பலசெய்தன நானறியேன் ஏற்றாய் அடிக் கேஇரவும் பகலும் பிரியாது வணங்குவன் எப்பொழுதும் தோற்றாதென் வயிற்றின் அகம்படியே குடரோடு துடக்கி முடக்கியிட ஆற்றேன்அடி யேன்அதி கைக்கெடில வீரட்டா னத்துறை அம்மானே. நாமார்க்கும் குடியல்லோம் நமனை அஞ்சோம் நரகத்தில் இடர்ப்படோம் நடலை யில்லோம் ஏமாப்போம் பிணிய றியோம் பணிவோம் அல்லோம் இன்பமே எந்நாளும் துன்பம் இல்லை தாமார்க்கும் குடியல்லாத் தன்மை யான சங்கரன்நற் சங்கவெண் குழையோர் காதில் கோமாற்கே நாமென்றும் மீளா ஆளாய்க் கொய்மலர்ச்சே வடியிணையே குறுகி னோமே. அப்பர் 153 நட்டகல்லைத் தெய்வம் என்று நாலு புட்பம் சாத்தியே சுற்றிவந்து முணமுணென்று சொலு மந்திரம் ஏதடா! நட்டகல்லும் பேசுமோ நாதன் உள்ளிருக்கையில்! சுட்டசட்டி சட்டுவம் கறிச் சுவை அறியுமோ? சிவவாக்கியர்