Volume 4.2 - Philosophy of the Thevaram (introduction)

The philosophy of Arurar remains to be studied. The last portion of our study on Religion has shown his universal outlook. Arurar is not a philosopher explaining his metaphysical theories. He is a mystic poet and we have to weave his philosophy out of his poems. Is it necessary that we should forget the thrills of his poetry in order to understand his philosophy? Perhaps not. His poetry gives us a glimpse into the mystic experience he had and into the trials he had to undergo to attain this experience. Therefore, we study him as a mystic poet and philosopher.

The world is there, and we are experiencing this world as spiritual individuals, jivas, or souls. God is spoken of as the very basis of all these, the world and the souls, as their Organizer and as their Saviour. First, therefore, we take up Nature and gather together the views of Arurar on this. His Nature-mysticism is an exposition of his mystic experience and an elucidation of his philosophy of history and creation.

In the next part, we discuss the spiritual progress of the soul in terms of purgation, illumination, and love. The sadhanas, the theory of karma, the doctrine of Grace are all examined in the light of Arurar’s poems.

In the third part, God as the final goal and as the highest spiritual experience, is explained in terms of the Erotic or Bridal mysticism of Arurar as revealed by the Bhikshatana hymns and the great ‘akapporul’ hymn and in terms of his description of the final goal. In this part, we examine whether Arurar has given free vent to emotionalism and we find that the ‘Cit’ (knowledge) aspect of God is emphasized even in his erotic mysticism or the mysticism of love even as the idea of service has been emphasized in the previous portion of our study. We conclude that he refuses to be labelled as a mere mystic, and his poems like the Upanisads, are there to be claimed by all the conflicting philosophies as peculiarly their own.