Scriptures state that attaining Brahma Jnana liberates one. This implies that one should know what this Jnana is and how it is to be attained. Knowing something at the intellectual level does not imply enlightenment; one may be highly conversant with the Mahavakyas in the Upanishads, may be able to recite, explain and argue the nuances of the import of the scriptures; but this does not guarantee enlightenment. Awareness of the Supreme Being’s presence is an inner experience and is an individual’s pact with the eternal truth which transcends all intellectual attainments. The soul-stirring hymns of realized souls such as the Saivite saints help to bridge this gap between knowledge and experience, since their utterances arise from the depths of the inner experience of the Supreme Lord. It is possible to empathize with the mystical experience of God that is vividly expressed in their hymns.
Siva is the embodiment of love and grace and these saints acknowledge with humility the glory of Siva. The renaissance of Saivism took firm root due to the faith of these Saivite saints who were inspired to establish this truth. When Saint Thirunaukkarasar was bound to a stone and thrown into the sea, his faith in
the total protection of the Lord saved him from any harm whatsoever. He never for a moment forgot the Lord and chanted His names with devotion and fervour. Instead of sinking him into the sea, to the astonishment of all, the rock turned into a boat and he travelled safely to the shore thus. Under normal circumstances the devices for torture cause pain, agony and harm; but to this saint the heat in the limekiln did not hurt him at all when he was thrown into it. So absorbed was he in the Lord’s divine feet, that the pain and danger of the circumstance was not felt by him.Nor did his body receive any physical scars that a hot limekiln would cause on anyone who came into contact with it. In his hymns he refers to this experience as a blissful one — a bliss far surpassing all worldly pleasures and enjoyments.
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