Voice of Thayumanar

Introduction by H. H. Swami Sivananda SaraswatiVoice of Thayumanavar is a great achievement. As millions know, the translator of this work is himself a Maharshi, seer poet, a yogi, a superman and, therefore, his competence to translate and present the entire spirit of Thayumanavar in all its beauty. Right from boyhood, St. Shuddhananda found his great inspiration in the hymns of Thayumanavar, which he committed to memory. The light and charm of Thayumanavar largely influenced his own poetic expressions and contributions.Maharishi Yogi Shuddhananda Bharati preserved silence for two months to write The Voice of Thayumanavar. In Tamil literature, the Hymns of Thayumanavar constitute a great classic and in the world of spiritual literature this translation of those hymns will be rated on its own merits, as a masterpiece.Readers will value in a great measure the information that Sage Thayumanavar’s life had a close connection with the ancestors of Kavi Yogi Maharishi Shuddhananda Bharati. We learn that in the home of Sri Bharati’s ancestors, at Ramnad and Sivaganga, Arulayya and Kodikkarai Jnani, the disciples of the saint often lived.His ancestors were ministers of the Naik rule and one of them, Narayanayya, brought Thayumanavar incognito to Ramnad. Thayumanavar also met Sage Sadasiva Brahmam, who was the forefather of Shuddhananda Bharati and the Atmavilasa of Sadasiva Brahmam inspired in Thayumanavar Vedantic sentiments.In Tamil, English and French, Kavi Yogi Maharishi Shuddhananda Bharati has had to his credit, distinctive poetic achievements. Like Thayumanavar himself, Sri Bharatiar occupies an immortal place in Tamil literature. His prose in English is varied and voluminous; his versatility is marked and more remarkable is his deep spiritual fervour and vitality; his yogic attainments are many-sided and high-soaring.Sri Shuddhananda Bharati is born with a lyrical gift and displays a loftiness of sentiment and soul thrilling spiritual experiences that are couched in a language of rhythm, melody and music. To those who are familiar with Sri Bharati’s magnum opus, Bharata Shakti, nothing need be said of the greatness of soul that is manifest in him. Continuous service, sacrifice, austerity, meditation, yoga, silence, writing of poetry - these are the magnificent facets of the epic life of Maharishi Bharati, the superman who sees in India the symbol of spiritual force and desires to make yoga-sadhana a national discipline.To thousands this work, Voice of Thayumanavar, will constitute a source of perpetual illumination and a constant inspiration for rapid spiritual evolution.Swami SivanandaEditions ASSA, Christian Piaget