Saiva Siddhanta shaped Tamil identity through devotion virtue says J P Nadda

    Chennai, May 3 (PTI) Rooted deeply in Tamil soil, Saiva Siddhanta shaped Tamil identity through its emphasis on devotion, virtue and liberation by divine grace, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Saturday.
    Saiva Siddhanta was not merely a religious philosophy, but a civilisation ethos that taught the sacred relationship between the soul, God and the world, he said, inaugurating the sixth international conference on Saiva Siddhanta, held under the auspices of the Tirukayilaya Paramparai Dharmapuram Adheenam’s International Institute of Saiva Siddhantha Research, Dharmapuram, and SRM Institute of Science & Technology, at Kattankulathur, here.
    Tamil Nadu was a blessed land and the Sangam poets and Saiva saints nourished this philosophy. The Thevaram and Thiruvasagam were sung very vibrantly daily, echoing the ageless devotion of our ancestors, he said.
    "The holy Thevaram (Tamil devotional hymns) composed by saints Appar, Sundarar and Thirugnana Sambandar reaches the divine energy and the sacred Thiruvasagam (sacred anthology of Saiva Siddhanta) authored by Manikavasagar melts even the hardest of the hearts," Nadda said.
    "To understand the Saiva Siddhanta is to understand Mount Kailash itself, the very Abode of Lord Siva, symbolising the stillness, purity and the ultimate liberation," the union minister said, and added that it gave to humanity the message of humility and that liberation could be achieved not by renouncing the world, but by transforming it with love, humility, service and devotion.
    "In the era increasingly dominated by material pursuits, Saiva Siddhanta calls humanity to awaken to its divine nature to recognise that God dwells within each being and universe itself is his manifestation," he said.
    Nadda, who is BJP president, lauded SRM University founder-chancellor T R Paarivendhar for his contribution to education and spirituality. He also thanked the Dharmapuram Aadheenam for organising the three-day conference.
    "Let the timeless light of Saiva Siddhanta illuminate every corner of the world and let its values of compassion, truth, divine, grace, universal peace and inner fulfilment, spread," Nadda said, after releasing a special souvenir on the occasion. Its first copy was received by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi.
    Dharmapuram Adheenam Sri La Sri Kailai Masilamani Desika Gnanasambandha Paramacharya Swamigal, Madurai Aadheenam Harihara Gnanasambandha Desika Paramacharya and Kundrakudi Thiruvannamalai Aadheenam Kundrakudi Ponnambala Adigalar were among those who spoke.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)