[ 36. The Truth of the Soul; 37. Atman is NOT Brahman; 38 Death Rebirth and Personal Identity; 39. Why the Materialists  (or Marxists) will Never Understand Metaphysics; 40. Karma Dharma and their Sumero-Dravidian Origins]

Hermeneutics and Metaphysics

36: The Truth of the Soul

The Western man suffers from what can be called the disease of Naturalism and in this so reminiscent of the ancient Lokayatas who operated with the principle that what is unavailable for the senses and their instrumental extensions are nonexistent irreal and so forth. and the soul is so. The notion of science is confined in the West to that positive science with its orientation to experimentation and refutations. What is IRREFUTABLE as KarL Popper would say,  remains a kind of truth , a kind of truth that remains always open to be refuted and thrown out. This remains  the "Logic of Scientific Discovery'. But with this logic the whole of History where experimantations are NOT possible is thrown out as beyond science. However we have the hermeneut like Dilthy and so forth arguing that History is a  Science and so are the Human Sciences  where the texts and their interpretations are the central scientific activities. So now a days we hear of interpretive social sciences where linguistcis psychology sociology and so forth are seen as sciences belonging to hermeneutic sciences.

The Dravidian folks were scientific in the hermeneutic sense and this we see most clearly in the body of Tolkaappiyam where linguistics is practiced as hermeneutic science rather than positivistic science. One of the offshoots of this line of scientific thinking is the recognition of the reality of the individual psyche as distinct from BEING and the material processes even of the prakriti variety, the physical stuff underlying the autonomic processes in the body.

The reality of the truth of the soul is also sensory, something that is also disclosed by the senses but only when we take perceiving as not simply responding to a cascade of physical stimuli but rather a SEEING, an act where the very of seeing as a that of something also discloses the presence of the one who sees viz. the psyche. This requires that we look at the seen as a TEXT, where consciousness of an object is reading and hence the being a psychic entity as that which reads or interprets. In other words the practice of Psychology as a field of Hermeneutic Science does not BLIND us to the reality of the psychic entity as would the psychology as a positive  science.

This line of argument begins to appear form the following verse onwards.
 
 

51.

kaaNoNaa karaNangkaLukku uyir
    kaNdidaamaiyin inRenin
kaaNumoo kadangkaNda kaNNinaik
    kaNdu nirpatung kaNNatee
kaaNoNaatu uyir taanum ippadi
    kaNdidung karanangkaLukku uyir
uNmai yaavatung kaNdidee

Meaning:

Lokayata! You say that the anma does not exist or irreal because it is NOT available for any of the senses forperception , on the assumption that whatever is beyond the reaches of the senses is nonexistent. Well then tell me  how in perceiving a pot, while the pot does perceive the seeing eyes and hence the person, nevertheless the person knows that he is  seeing the pot. It must be that the eyes in seeing the pot also informs the person that he is seeing the pot with the eyes. Know that the anma is NOT like the pots and pans, i.e. a direct object of sensory perception but nevertheless, it is senses that inform the presence of the seer in every act of seeing. The reality and truth of the anmas is to be seen in this way- by noting the double function of the senses.

Notes:

Here begins the Hermeneutic Theory of Perception that constitutes a central theme in Saiva Siddhanta and made full use of in establishing the metaphysics as belonging to the filed of Hermeneutic Science, a science where seeing  and seeing more and more becomes the primary concern.

The act of  seeing is rather different from that of just sensing, being a vehicle for registering an enormous range of stimuli coming from the environment both internal and external. After or even during these processes of sensing, there is a selectional mechanism at work and only as  a result of such selections and processing the information further that the the-tic consciousness ( cudduNarvu) such  as  "that is a pot"  and so forth arises.  Of course the anma is NOT an object of such perceptual consciousness -- we cannot encounter it as an object of  the the-tic consciousness  such as the above. This much is granted and agreed upon. But AruNandi goes on to say that  this just shows that the anma is  irreal or nonexistent but only that it is categorically DIFFERENT from the pots and pans and such other physical objects that can be sensed through their senses or their instrumental extensions and be made an object of the-tic consciousness.

He points out that  in seeing a pot, even though the pot seen does NOT inform the person that he seeing it, but nevertheless he sees that he is seeing the pot while seeing it. The act of seeing through a sense also provides consciousness that in that act seeing, one is seeing with a certain sense. Thus the eye that sees the pot also informs the seer that he seeing with the eyes during those moments he is seeing something. This seer who sees that he is  seeing with the eyes  is the anma or the soul. So it follows that it is through the senses that we also see the truth of anma though not as that which is seen but as that which sees.
 

Thus the senses have a double function: that of disclosing the presence of a physical objects and along with it, informing the anma that it is seeing with the eyes nose ears and so forth. Where we see perception not simply as sensing but rather that of SEEING, then it follows that that anma is also real, as real as the physical objects but only that  it remains the seer rather than seen.

In our analytical understanding, we should, taking the seen as a TEXT ,   move through acts of interpretations into the deep structure and which will be seen as the anma, the soul. The senses are only tools in the service of the anma for it to see the objects. Thus the very acts of seeing that disclose the presence of objects in the world also disclose the presence of psychic entities as those which does the seeing and with the structure of its own.

Hermeneutics and Metaphysics

37 : The Atman is NOT Brahman

Thanks to the hermeneutic orientations that became well entrenched in Tamil Culture at least from the days of Tolkaappiyam if not earlier , they accomplished what can be called a "Copernican Revolution in Metaphysics"  much more fundamental than that of Kant who introduced the notion of Aprior Knowledge  in Western metaphysics. The revolution consists in noting that in addition to consciousness , understanding or njaanam as such  being characteristic of the self , it is also the  Metaphysical Darkness, a certain Blindness or Ignorance or the Anj-njaanam   that is also equally characteristic of the anmas.

How is that the selves are IGNORANT , are NOT conscious of so many things that are there and there is a difference among the individuals in their consciousness of things that are already there ? Why there is this BLINDNESS , thickly with some and very thinly with others? Why is there  an evolutionary gradation in terms of   IGNORANCE, the more ignorant ones being less developed and so forth.

It is questions such as these and which arise from a faultless understanding of how the creatures fare in the world that finally led them to discover  that the anmas are just as eternal and unoriginated  as BEING and along with that also , the presence of different  kinds binders, the paacaas . This was the insight , "patiyinaip pool pacu paacam anaati", that was first announced by Tirumular and subsequently came to be called Anatip PoruLial. , i.e. Fundamental Ontology. Since the days of Tirumular at least,  Saiva  Siddhanta  as a distinct metaphysical system  established itself with this Fundamental Ontology being  clarified  and confirmed  further and further . And because of  this Fundamental Ontology remains  to this day  unassailed  and unsubverted.

In the following two verses Arunandi touches upon this issue  using some depth psychological arguments that are quite interesting and a more detailed account  of which is available in the Eighth Tantra of Tirumular.

52.

angkiyaanatu taanum onRai
    aNaintu ninRu nikazntidum
pamgkiyaatu uyir taanum ippadi
    paRRiyallatu ninRidaa
tengkumaar tayilattai uNdezu
    tiibamaanatu erintidum
angkataam udal ninRu kanam
    arunti aaruyir aavatee.

Meaning:

Even though there is such a thing as FIRE, but we do not see it separately as an individual object, it always shows itself through some physical objects like wood and so forth. The soul is also such an entity and this analogy applies to it  without any defects. The fire burns as a flame by consuming the oil  inherent in the flesh of the  coconut, getting it thorugh  a wick in a lamp. In the same way the soul "burns" through a physical body, doing and enjoying whatever praximatic potential it has in terms of its karma.
 

53.

aRivutaan udalattin veeratuvaay iRantu pirantidin
aRivu munbu uLatu ingku vantum arintaamaiyatu inRenin
aRivaiyoo kanavattu nii nanavattu anRu tarattu iruntu
aRiyum avvaRivoo mayakkaRivaatalaal aRiyaatu kaaN.

Meaning

Lokayata , you say there cannot be souls that are unoriginated ( anaati) and hence eternal and that comes toexistence with a body, die and then reborn and so forth because such a soul cannot  at all be ignorant as it is detached from the body and hence nonexistent because all living creatures are ignorant in some ways. Now you listen: when you dream , while being in that state you are ignorant of the forms of awareness of the state of full vigilance. Similarly when you are fully aware , vigilant and conscious, you are NOT aware of the contents of the dream states . While  being in one state, you are ignorant of the other. But nevertheless in both states in being conscious of some you are also ignorant of the the other. In the same manner, the bodiless soul as well as the embodied soul while being aware of some is ignorant of others and hence what is intrinsic to it is IGNORANCE

COMMENTARY:

The debate is now becoming more interesting as the questions now touch upon fundamental issues :  on the nature and reality of the souls or anma. The  verse  52 , just adds additional explanation on what can be called Categorical Confusion ; the anma being taken just like another of the so many physical stuffs that appear in some visible forms. The soul belongs to a category of objects that is distinct from the physical, it shows itself always not separately on its own but THROUGH a physical media and in that it like fire that discloses itself only through burning something. In other words the soul is a GHOST-LIKE entity, invisible but nevertheless real as that which agitates a physical body as its animating principle. While one may  NOT see it with the senses and instruments that are extensions of these, nevertheless once we become HERMENEUTIC we can SEE it as the Deep Structure of a  living body , that which underlies the praximatic disposition, i.e. the competence to ACT as such.

The soul is NOT invisible to the hermeneutic eye though perhaps so  to the sensorial.

Now granted this, another objection is raised by the Lokayata:  such a soul CANNOT be IGNORANT at all and hence nonexistent or vacuous as all the living creatures are ignorant in some ways.

Of course Lokayatas are recalling such ancient notions of the Vedantic  schools as : the atman is Brahman, it cannot be killed as it does not come to  birth, reamins forever unblemished supremely conscious etc.

In Saiva Siddhanta such a Brahman is NOT the soul but rather forms of presentation of BEING or Siva. The soul is IGNORANT right from the beginning because already initially enveloped by Malam, that which breeds DARKNESS in understanding. The soul remains ignorant throughout its long evolutionary history, the very purpose or reason for the phenomenal circulation being the destruction of precisely this ignorance, the anjnjaanam. Thus if IGNORANCE is intrinsic to the soul, then the objection raised by the Lokayata against the presence of souls and they assuming bodies and through that suffer phenomenal circulation also becomes ineffective, meaningless

An analogy is given to drive in  the point. While caught in dreams states one is Unconscious of the wakeful -- it is just concealed from the dreamer for otherwise the dream experience cannot be continued. Similarly while awake the dream states are concealed , not allowed to pervade the wakeful for otherwise the wakeful cannot not be sustained. Thus during both states of Being in the world, there is CONCEALMENT and hence  IGNORANCE or anj-njaanam as such. The same even for embodied and disembodied psychic entities, the souls. While being bodiless the bodily states of Being are concealed, while being embodied the bodiless states of Being are concealed. However in both states of Being of the anma, while something remains disclosed others remains concealed. Thus there is IGNORANCE as such intrinsic to anma as part of itslef in both staes of Being in the world.

Hermeneutics and Metaphysics
 

38 : Death Rebirth and Personal Identity

Saiva Siddhanta  has to face  the problem of explaining personal identity not just that which holds from the moment of birth to that  death but that which holds in existential repetition, the long sequence of births deaths and rebirths in the cosmic existence itself.  This problem does not exist in most of the Buddhist thinking where the soul is reduced to flow of consciousness-photons with its doctrine of   momentary particulars, the kaNapangka vaatam and that of dependent origination ( caarbinil toonRutaL) where something NEW is said to be born at the point of death of the earlier.

This problem also does not exist in the different schools of Vedantic thinking. The Advaita Vedanta Sankara dismisses this problem with its notion that  the Atman is actually Brahman but a truth that is not appreciated because of the workings of Maya Sakti that misleads  and deludes people  into thinking that they   are in fact separate. Other schools of thought use a variant of the Samkya doctrine that the self is only a REFLECTION of Purusha in a material substratum  and once this material substratum, the physical body is destroyed the self will turn out to the Purusha itself. The analogy of the Vast and Unlimited Space and that of the space restricted by a pot  are brought  in explain the matter. ( kudaakaaya aakaayak kuuttaaddam - Meykandar)

But in Saiva Siddhanta , the self is NOT Brahman, neither it  is an insubstantial entity like the reflections of a sun in a pot or simply a flow of evernescent particulars. Within the framework of Praximatism, that the self ACTS is so many different ways to attain and enjoy what it desires, the Atman cannot be anything insubstantial as the Buddhists  Vedanties and Samkyas would maintain.

This presents a problem about its identity after death and its continuity at the point of rebirth. In the following verses AruNandi deals with this problem in manner that corresponds to some  recent studies in psychology especially related to out of body experiences where  persons near death  actually report of having seen what is done to their body while they were still "dead". Arunandi in addition such experiences also brings in  those Deep Sleep , Dream Experiences and so forth to make intelligible the possibility of the psychic entity surviving death , retaining its identity and getting to reborn but with loss of memory of its earlier life.
 

54

iRantidum aRivee piRantidum enpatu ingku icaiyaatenin
uRangkidum pozutinRi ninRu uNarvingku utittidumaaRathu oor;
piRanta ivvudal pooka veeRu udal pinbu vantamai peecidin
maRantidum kanavattin veeRudal vantavaaRee matittidee

Meaning

Lokayata! you say that it is difficult to agree to the thesis that it is same anma that dies at this birth that  retains its identity  somehow and gets to reborn with a new body. Well you reflect on the following to appreciate this possibility. While awake a person remains conscious of what happens around while in deep sleep he is NOT so at all. In this manner we can see that the anma comes to know things while embodied but not so while disembodied. Similarly during dream state the anma forgets completely what happened in real life  because it seems to experience another world  with another body altogether.
 

55.

karaNam vaayuvidattu adangka adangki vantezu kaariyam
maraNamaana vidattu maRRivai maayntu pinbu varum ceyal
kiraNamaar kalai keddu utippa iRappinoodu piRappaiyum
tarNiyoorkaL matikku uraippar; uyirkkum ippadi caaRRidee

Meaning:

Lokayata! You can  make sense of the fact that an anma loses its present body and comes with another at the point rebirth along the following lines too. When  a person faints or gets into a coma, the cognitive utensils withdraw into the Vaayu, the animating force and when the person recovers from that state , then they begin to function having emerged from that vaayu. In this way perhaps the cognitive utensils are lost at the point of death  and but later recovered during rebirth.  Another analogy is that of the moon, how it loses the light in stages and then recovers also in stages.

Notes:

That anma is categorically distinct from the physical body and it is anati, unoriginated, appears to be beyond question now. The physicalistic position that the anma is just a product of consciousness-producing physical stuff does not hold anymore. However there are problems and difficulties in understanding the whole mechanism of death and rebirth and retention of personal identify in all these.

AruNandi is at pains to bring a number analogies that are well known to all to diffuse the incomprehensibility. First of all there is the difference between being fully awake and enjoying deep sleep. While there is no cognition of anything during deep sleep but  there is while awake,  we still think in terms of the SAME person, and  recognize that the personal identity is retained despite these fluctuations in the cognitive states. Being dead is like being asleep in this manner and hence a state of Being where there is NO PROCESSING anything at all. Rebirth is like becoming awake and hence processing again. The point is we can of the SAME PERSON in an analogous manner during both states -- being dead and being alive.

The body assumed at a new birth is DIFFERENT from the earlier as obviously the initial body has  turned into dust or ash. How can we understand the assumption of new body against this  fact of the matter? Here the anma acquiring a new body during Dream Experiences is brought in to explain the matter.  The conscious experience while being engaged with the physical body will not make possible the dream experiences which have their own logic and essence. For example in dreams a person can fly,  walk through fire and so forth that are impossible with the physical body. Thus the anma functions with a different body altogether, a mantra-body perhaps,  during dreaming states. But nevertheless the anma remains the same -- the dreaming anma is NOT different from the alert anma though while dreaming the contents of wakeful life are not remembered. In a similar manner, the anma acquiring a new body is like the mantra-body during dream states -- it functions having lost all memories of earlier life.

Another problem is with respect to understanding the emergence of similar kind of body during rebirth. For this a person fainting or going into coma is brought in. When this happens the anma is there but ALMOST DEAD as it is severed from being in active commerce with bodily organs both internal external. The anma may be "out of the body" but during the process of recovery ,  slowly the whole body comes under its control again so that it can function like before. Thus death is like loosing control of the body organs while being reborn again is like coming into control again of such organs.

Hermeneutics and Metaphysics

39 : Why the Materialists (or Marxists) will Never Understand Metaphysics

The ancient Lokayatas or at least those who lived during the time of the Imperial Cholas were very subtle in their philosophical thinking and presented real challenges to the Saivites  and in the course of combating  them they became even more profound. What were matters simply understood on intuitive basis became matters understood with considerable philosophical clarity and the meykanda sastras remain a tribute to this clarity.

The modern Marxists seem to be in a way similar to these ancient Lokayatas and the disconstructions of AruNandi of their views may also be  relevant to the modern times. In the following two verses Arunandi notes something peculiar about coming to UNDERSTAND especially the metaphysical depths that reinforces the notion of Bakthi. For he maintains that an UNDERSTANDING of the metaphysical truths is NOT simply a matter of logical acumen and analytical skills. Prior to deep seated metaphysical reflections there must the initial and perhaps vague intuitions ( the NiruvikaRpa njaanam) which allow meaningful reflections and the attainment of illuminations. And these matters  belong to DISCLOSURES and hence a provision of aruL. And such blessings are NOT possible unless one develops LOVE  not just unto BEING but towards the whole of humanity. As such a love or bakthi develops so would the engracings of BEING and within which is located the understanding and appropriation of Fundamental Ontology, the finest achievement of metaphysical inquiries. This understanding that brings immense peace of mind is a gift and only for those full of LOVE. It also remains CONCEALED from the Lokayatas ( and modern Marxist?)  and such other people who do not cultivate genuine bakthi , driving them into a state of meaninglessness , Virakti , in the end.

56

puutamaanavai kaariyangkaL polintu manni azintidum
aatalaal oru naatan ingkuLan enRu aRintukoL aiyanee
peetamaana kadaati maNNInil vantavaaRu pidittidil
kootilaata kulaalanaal varu ceykai enru kuRiiparee

Meaning:

Lokayata! What you take as permanent substances by the use  of which all are generated are in fact not so , they are in fact  evolved forms from something even more primordial, the Tuumaayai. And as these things of the world are in fact the products of DEEP ACTIONS, the Universal Praxis as they come into being with some form subsist and then dissolve only to reappear in modified forms. Hence there is BEING as the Agent or source of these productive processes or praxis. We can make sense of it by noting that  it is through the efforts of a skillful potter that pots of various shapes emerge form the formless clay.

57.

veetan naaranan aaranam ariyaa immupporuL peetaipaal
tuutanaay irukaal nadantitdum toozan vanmai cey toNdanukku
kaatalaal adiyaarukku eLiyaan adik kamalangkaL nii
kaatalaal aNai iiNdan veeNdina immaiyee tarung kandidee

Meaning:

The Truth of Fundamental Ontology is beyond the functions of the archetype of creative process Brahma, and that of the conserving processes of Vishnu as well as  beyond all the wordy scriptures. However it becomes easy to understand for those who are genuine devotees. We can see this in the case of Sundarar: because of his genuine LOVE he enjoyed having BEING Himself coming down as his ambassador not once but twice . The fact is BEING discloses himself very readily for those who are full of LOVE and stay one with people without any feeling of alienness. Thus  Lokayata!  You must discard your arrogant ways of arid intellectual analysis and approach the  Lotus feet of BEING with genuine LOVE in your heart. Then you find that in this life itself you will receive whatever you desire!

Commentary:

It is  now AruNandi's turn to advise the Lokayata having shown that his physicalism is ill founded and cannot be sustained at all. The Lokayata's philosophy  is simply a way of RATIONALIZING the already preconceived physicalism,  an ideology that allows a hedonistic kind of life  where one can enjoy without worrying the ethical values and moral worth of actions. Once it is felt that there is Karma that inscribes the Moral consequences of the actions effected then of course there will be a CONTROL and hence a restriction in anarchical freedom that the Lokayatas would want to enjoy.  Such an ideological stance is untenable and AruNandi has succeeded in disconstructing all counter arguments, very subtle it must be admitted, that were put forward to sustain their physicalism. The TRUTH is simply different.

Here also emerges  the PRAXIMATISM of Saiva Siddhanta that distinguishes this school of Indian Philosophy from the rest. The analysis begins with the fact of Human Praxis, that human beings ( also all living things) ACT and it is because these actions are  intentional or otherwise that they FALL or DEVELOP and that the evolutionary history of creatures is basically an outcome of such actions, the PRAXIS. Further inquiries  into its Depths , without entertaining any kind REDUCTIONISM on the way, shows that the Human Praxis itself is an appropriation as- for- self-itself  the UNIVERSAL  PRAXIS already there and which are noted as the Panjca Kiruttiyam --  the five fold General Praxis. Since ACTIONS as such  are impossible without an agent , it follows that underlying the Universal Praxis, there  is BEING brought out here by the analogy of the potter.

This way of understanding BEING also clarifies Fundamental Ontology , that there are an uncountable number of anmas and the various kinds of Finitizing agents especially the aaNvam just as anaati or unoriginated as BEING. For if BEING  acts it must be for something and here obviously to redeem the anmas. But why they  have to be redeemed? Because they are already INFECTED by these Malam and because of which they SUFFER. Thus BEING enacts the World Drama though his Five Fold Praxis to free the anmas from these monstrous forces and enable them to enjoy Mukti, the final redemption, a kind of Purity and Freedom.

And because BEING is spiritual HE can be approached only through LOVE. Hence HE becomes easier to behold and understand once we cultivate LOVE and show love unto all. Intellectual efforts ideological constructions and shrewd thinking to justify them and so forth, being loveless only make BEING more distant. BEING conceals Himself from such people  and because of which they CANNOT see the Spirit but only the flesh. They remain BLIND to the presence of BEING and because of that SUFFER with doubts and uncertainties of  a deep sort assailing them continuously.

In other words though these materialists and physicalists can argue brilliantly to DEFEND their ideological views, they are fooling themselves. There will come a time in their life when the whole life will be meaningless empty and without a purpose. They may even contemplate suicide at such moments overcome with disenchantment -- virakti--  and in fact they may end up just like that unless BEING interferes and rescues them.

Hermeneutics and Metaphysics

40: Karma Dharma and their Sumero-Dravidian Origins

If we are to single out some  metaphysical concepts that characterize not only Hinduism but the whole range of metaphysical thoughts , the various Darsanas that constitutes the essence of Indian Civilization, they would include Karma and Dharma though may not other metaphysical notions such as the truth of anmas and BEING and various kinds of binders also as anati, unoriginated as the Saivites would hold in terms of their Fundamental Ontology. And it is interesting that both concepts are well developed and was the foundation of existential philosophy of the SumeroDravidians even during the Third Millennium B.C. and hence before the presumed arrival of Aryans and their Vedas ( if true). It just goes to show that the fabric of Indian civilization is Dravidian and that the metaphysical dramas in the Indian soil was a continuation of those that took place in the Sumerian soil. It may be possible it was NATIVE to the Indian Subcontinent and the SEAsian region where human civilization seems to have flowered amidst the luxuriance of the tropical forest and abundance of sunlight.

This is borne out by almost all the classical texts of the Sumerians written during the Third Millennium but I shall content here with pointing it out as it is presented in Sulgi's hymn Mutariibiyam ( Hymn B) , certainly one of most metaphysically interesting piece of literature. Sulgi was a King who had to wage wars not only with  the enemies of Sumer, the Sabarians from the surrounding hills but also with fellow Sumerians who continuously challenged his Power. In the wars he waged both within and without he had to think about the MORAL issues, the rights and wrongs of his actions and why some people are gifted with lasting leadership and some others are not and so forth. It is in course of such political actions that his philosophy that we can call the initial statement of Praximatism was forged to last continuously and NOT  to  be dismissed  as a fiction of the mind but rather adumbrated further and further untill recent times. It constitutes the LIVING Philosophy of life of the Saivite Tamils  to this day and the Hindus in general in India and throughout the world.

The Authentic and the Pretenders.

The following lines are to the point with with regard to this.

334. lugal-nig-ga-e nig bi-in-si-ga-am )The King, who (having seen) my deeds, (tried) to imitate them)

*Ta. uLugaL niika mika eeyin ceykuva aam ( The lowly kind of Kings would do the wrong actions abundantly)

335. aga-ni (d) An-ne ba-ra-ba-ta-an-il (An did not upraise his crown)

* Ta. angki nii  aaNNee  piRa paddaan iyal ( An did not raise the crown of (such) pretenders)

336 gidri -ni bara-nam-lugal-la-ta ba-ra-ba-ta-e-de (Did not produce his scepter from the royal throne)

*Ta. tikiri nii piRa namuLukaLattu  paraNbittu edee ( HE (aaN) did not raise the royal symbol from  the daise of true kingship)

337. kala-ga nam-ku-zu gestu si-ma-me-en ((But) deeds of bravery, wisdom and intelligence have been given to me)

*Ta. kaaLaka koosuunam kestu ciiyimma maan ( But bravery divine understanding and deep insights He (aan) blessed me with (abundantly)
 

338. nig-gal-gal-ga zag-bi- til-la (Who have accoplished great enterprises)

*Ta. mika kaLkaLLa ngaan caakaibi tilla ( so that I can accomplish great things to the limit of my ability)

The text outlines what are the really brave acts that are impelled by deep insights in truth ( nam-ku-zu) and metaphysical understanding ( gestu) and for forth.

Ethics and Karma:

What is important here is the presence of ETHICS as such and the need to do the GOOD in order to get the favor of aaN, the ONE BEING above all. The false , the mere pretenders CANNOT CHEAT  with such pretenses and BEING who knows the TRUTH, will not raise their crown and scepter and hence they will NOT continue with their political leadership, no matter how hard they try. Behind and ABOVE the political machinations of man  stands the rule of aaN, BEING and it would transpire that the FALSE will not be  sustained but rather thrown out .

This linkage of MORAL values with actions has been analyzed in terms of the notion of 'iruvinai' in Saiva  Siddhnata literature, a term that really means 'double action' and which really means "ethical judgments' as all judgments involve the application of a value and because of which a DECISION is made and a possible course of action continued or discontinued.

Sulgi is very clear that in view of his AUTHENTIC and truly ethical actions not only was kingship sustained by aaN, but also get blessed with indomitable courage, deep insights and metaphysical wisdom. With this we have the central notion of Praximatism, the Karma Theory : the Grace floods the anmas that persist in actions that  are good and beneficial to mankind as a whole ( that Sulgi details in other places). Thus GOOD and the RIGHT kind of actions , the PuNNiyam as they are called now, disclose themselves as actions that are GRACE eliciting and hence actions that sustain political  leadership by providing the necessary talents. While the False decay and gets thrown out or marginalized, the TRUE one  prospers continues and accomplishes more and more.

Thus the notions of PuNNiyam and Paavam, the ethically right and wrong kinds of actions,  are already here though not perhaps articulated explicitly  with appropriate names. (Perhaps already available but I have not across them yet)

The Notion of Prapta Karma:

The Indian religions, right from the ancient days have articulated the notion of Viduti or Viidu beeRu( liberation or releasement) also called Moksa NirvaaNam and so forth. Of course this presupposes the normal existence is one of ABSENCE of LIBERATION and hence one essentially BOUND. The Saivites called the binders the Pacaas and take them to be just as unoriginated as BEING and anmas. Among the paacaas that bind an anma to the earthly existence is Karma , that which keeps on recirculating the anma in phenomenal existence. A more detailed analysis of this has giving birth to the notions of different types of Karmas : aakaamiyam, praaptam and canjcitam. The word 'aakaamiyam" can be linked with Su. ag and Ta. aaku where  it means 'to become" and hence the the kind of karma that makes one BECOME continuosly in the universe as  a biological entity.

The word "paraptam" can be linked with Su. bal : to cross over and Ta. paal that has the same meaning. The Su. bal-bal-a exist now as "paramparai", a tradition, something that survives as historical continuity.

The 'canjcittam' can be seen as 'cam-cittam" that which remain  buried in the citta part of the mental module, the deepest recesses of the mind and hence as latent formants of the biological and psychological natures.

To be FREE is to be free from being this kind of person, one who elicits these kinds of karma that ties one to Sam-sar-ra, to continue existence as the bound, the unliberated.

The following words  of Sulgi , that I have  considered earlier reserve revisiting against this background.

11. lugal-e lugal-a-ri-a nin-e-tu-da- me-en ( I , the king of royal descent, whom a princess bore)

*Ta. uLugaLLee ulugaL aariya ninee todda maan ( Re ally the King, a noble King give birth to by Mother Goddess herself)

 12. Sul-gi-me-en dumu-gi sa-zi-ta nam-dug-tar-ra-me-en ( I Sulgi, the legitimate prince, was allotted a good destiny , right from the faithful heart)

*Ta.  cuulki  maan tamuzi saay catta  tungka taaranam maan. ( I am Sulgi, the valiant, the noble son , the good hearted and (all because one blessed with )  excellent dharma

The   descriptive terms 'aariya ' (  from the root Ta. aar meaning "praiseworthy"  and adjectival formant -a), dumu-gi ( < dumu-zi where it means tamuzi : the excellent son) and sul-gi  (cuul-zi : the one who is valiant)  are terms related to each other and are descriptions of personality traits  that would count as GOOD, EXCELLENT and NOBLE. However what is highly pertinent here is the descriptive term "  nam-dug- tar-ra-me-en " tungka tarumam maan. The term" tungka  tarumam" clearly presupposes the notion of Prapta karma, and which can good or bad, the good being the tungka tarumam and because of which Sulgi is lugal aariya tamuzi etc. Thus there is a givenness, a competency at BIRTH itself  and which not only determines the excellent predispositions but also presumably an inheritance coming from a past where good deeds were done.

This involve the notions of existential repetition , being born  again and again which is   clearly implicit here ( and perhaps explicitly available elsewhere)

The SumeroTamils as the Real Aryans.

As I have already mentioned the word "aariya" is NOT racial but rather descriptive of personality features. The above lines indicate that Sulgi uses both 'tamuzi'  and "aariya"  as terms applicable to describe his personality features where obviously there is CONTRASTING with so many others who are , according to him,  not blessed thus.  However it may be  possible that thse  terms came to describe the Sumerians as a whole,  as a group of people gifted with literacy and other elements of culture in contrast to the Sabarians and other hill tribes who knew not family life literacy high culture and so forth as they themselves have described. It may be possible , looking looking at the deep similarities in cultural values and religions that these Sumerians calling themselves as tamuzi and aariyaas,  drifted into India and became the leading political groups calling themselves the Tamils in the South and Aryans in the North.

We have already seen that the Dravidians as hailing from Kumari were originally from a land mass adjoining the South of India. It may be possible that these people populated both the Indus valley and the Valleys of Euphrates and Tigris basically because before the FLOOD that swallowed Kumari they already  mastered both navigation and reverine agriculture.  Probabaly it is these same people who re-entered en masse after their Sumerian residence was destroyed about 2000 B.C. by the Akkadian speaking Semitic people who continued however their cultur.

It may be possible also that the notion of "chosen people" of the Jews is another variation of this "tamuzi' "aariya" and so forth, a notion initially individual but later extended to a group of people but NOT in a racial sense but  rather in cultural sense.

I offer these ideas as matters for further investigations.

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