Golden Lay Verses

Verse 181 (யோக வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

பெற்றவர்கள் தங்கடனைத் தீர்க்க வேண்டும்

உற்றவர்கள் உறுகதியைப் பார்க்க வேண்டும்

பற்றுவர வத்தனையு முடிக்க வேண்டும்

பற்றில்லாப் பாமரரைக் காக்க வேண்டும்

செற்றபுலன் பொறியடக்கிச் சேர வேண்டும்

சித்தமுறச் சிவபூசை செய்யத் தானே

கற்றவர்க்கே பலயோகம் கனியும் பாரே

கல்லாதார் யோகமெலாம் பொல்லா யோகம்

Transliteration

Peṟṟavarkaḷ taṅkaṭaṉait tīrkka vēṇṭum

Uṟṟavarkaḷ uṟukatiyaip pārkka vēṇṭum

Paṟṟuvara vattaṉaiyu muṭikka vēṇṭum

Paṟṟillāp pāmararaik kākka vēṇṭum

Ceṟṟapulaṉ poṟiyaṭakkic cēr vēṇṭum

Cittamuṟac civapūcai ceyyat tāṉē

Kaṟṟavarkkē palayōkam kaṉiyum pārē

Kallātār yōkamelām pollā yōkam

Literal Translation

Those who have begotten (or: those who have received/been granted) must clear their own debt.

Those who are close/related must look toward the firm destiny (the sure end, the right path).

The torment that comes when one clings must be brought to an end.

Those simple folk who are without attachment must be protected.

Subduing the maddened senses and sense-organs, one must ‘join/reach’ (the goal).

With a steady mind one must indeed perform Śiva-worship.

See: for the learned, many yogas ripen (bear fruit);

for the unlearned, every yoga becomes a bad/false yoga.

Interpretive Translation

A yogin should not treat yoga as an escape from obligations: one must discharge one’s debts (to family, society, and life itself), guide one’s intimates toward the ‘sure’ good end, and end the suffering born of attachment. Protect the guileless and the genuinely non-attached; restrain the senses; and perform inward-and-outward Śiva-pūjā with an undistracted mind. Only when supported by learning and discernment do the yogic disciplines ‘ripen’; without knowledge, even yoga becomes distorted—turning into harmful practice, egoic display, or misguided pursuit of powers.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse places Siddhar-yoga inside an ethical and epistemic frame.

1) Debt and obligation as a prerequisite for yoga: The opening command—“clear the debt”—echoes the Indian idea of r̥ṇa (debts/obligations). In Siddhar discourse this is not merely social morality; it is also karmic hygiene. A mind burdened by unpaid obligations cannot stabilize in deep practice, and spiritual striving that ignores duties becomes another form of attachment.

2) ‘Uṟṟavar’ and ‘uṟu gati’: The phrase can mean relatives/intimates who must be oriented toward a “sure destiny” (uṟu-gati: firm end, liberation, or right course). It can also be read inwardly: the yogin’s own near-and-dear tendencies (habits, inner companions) must be turned toward the right end. Siddhar lines often allow both social and interior readings.

3) Attachment as the generator of suffering: “The torment of clinging must be ended” is both psychological and yogic. In yogic physiology, repeated grasping strengthens vāsanā (latent impressions), which in turn agitates prāṇa and disturbs the mind. Ending that agitation is part of making the body-mind a fit vessel.

4) Protecting the ‘pāmarar’ who are ‘without attachment’: ‘Pāmarar’ commonly means the unrefined/common person, but here qualified as “without attachment,” it can point to innocents who are not scheming—those who should not be exploited by clever practitioners, gurus, or power-seekers. It can also hint at compassion as a test of realization: a yogin’s attainment must express itself as protection, not domination.

5) Sense-restraint as the hinge: “Subdue the senses and join/reach” names the classic yogic pivot—indriya-nigraha (control of the sense-organs). In Siddhar contexts, this can imply not only moral restraint but also directing sensory energy inward so prāṇa can be conserved and refined.

6) Śiva-pūjā with steadied mind: The verse explicitly grounds yoga in Śaiva devotion. ‘Śiva-pūjā’ can be external ritual, internal worship (manasika pūjā), or the contemplative recognition of Śiva as pure awareness. “With a steady mind” indicates that ritual without inner absorption is incomplete.

7) Learning as discernment: “For the learned, many yogas ripen; for the unlearned, all yoga is bad yoga.” Siddhar texts often warn that technique without discrimination (viveka) becomes ‘pollā yoga’—harmful yoga—because it can inflate ego, chase siddhis, misuse breath practices, or mistake altered states for liberation. ‘Learning’ here can mean scriptural study, disciplined training under a teacher, or experiential wisdom that can judge what is wholesome and what is delusive.

Overall, the verse argues that yoga matures only when (a) ethical debts are settled, (b) attachment-based suffering is cut, (c) compassion is active, (d) senses are restrained, (e) worship/realization is stabilized, and (f) discernment guides practice. Otherwise yoga devolves into a counterfeit spirituality.

Key Concepts

  • r̥ṇa (debt/obligation) and karmic accountability
  • dharma integrated with yoga
  • uṟu-gati (sure end/right destiny/liberation)
  • pattru (attachment) as cause of suffering
  • compassion/protection of the guileless (pāmarar)
  • indriya-nigraha (sense and organ restraint)
  • Śiva-pūjā (external and internal worship)
  • citta-sthairya (steadiness of mind)
  • viveka (discernment) and the necessity of learning
  • pollā yoga (harmful/false yoga) vs ripened yoga

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • ‘பெற்றவர்கள்’ can mean (a) parents/elders (those who have begotten) or (b) those who have obtained/received (life, wealth, knowledge). The instruction then shifts from filial duty to general karmic responsibility.
  • ‘தங்கடனை’ can be read as ‘their/one’s own debt’ rather than a financial debt only—suggesting moral, karmic, and relational obligations.
  • ‘உற்றவர்கள்’ may refer to relatives/intimates in society, but can also imply inner ‘close ones’—habitual tendencies that accompany the practitioner—requiring reorientation toward liberation.
  • ‘உறுகதி’ can mean liberation (mukti), a stable moral course, or simply a ‘sure’ end; the verse does not force a single doctrinal endpoint.
  • ‘பற்றுவர வத்தனையு முடிக்க’ can be read as ending (a) the suffering produced by attachment, or (b) the torment experienced by those who cling—allowing both self-directed and compassionate readings.
  • ‘பற்றில்லாப் பாமரர்’ may mean ‘simple, innocent people who are non-attached,’ but it can also hint at those who appear socially ‘ordinary’ yet possess genuine dispassion—implying the realized should protect, not exploit, such persons.
  • ‘சேர வேண்டும்’ (“must join/reach”) is intentionally open: joining with Śiva, joining the path/community, or reaching samādhi—each fits Siddhar idiom.
  • ‘கற்றவர்’ can mean literate/scripturally learned, or properly trained/initiated; ‘கல்லாதார்’ then denotes not merely illiteracy but lack of disciplined understanding—hence the warning that yoga without guidance becomes ‘pollā.’
  • ‘பலயோகம்’ may be ‘many yogas’ (multiple disciplines bearing fruit) or ‘yogas of great potency/accumulated yogic merit’; the line preserves this breadth without specifying a single technique.