Kandar Anubhūti – Mantra Prayoga – 05
To Remove Mahāmāyā and Saka-māyā and Awaken the Soul
In the fourth hymn, Arunagirināthar warned the sādhaka not to allow wife, children, and family attachments to obstruct spiritual inquiry.
In this fifth hymn, he speaks of the two types of Māyā that trap the soul:
- Mahāmāyā – “The Great Delusion” that arises from grand worldly ambitions and cosmic desires. Example: Sūrapadman’s wish to rule over the universe and dominate the gods.
- Saka-māyā – “The Small or Domestic Delusion” that arises from household confusions: attachments to house, wealth, wife, and children, which disturb and bind the mind.
The Hymn
Tamil Verse (5th Hymn):
மகமாயை களைத்திட வல்ல பிரான்
முகமாறும் மொழிந்தும் ஒழிந்திலனே
அகமாடை மடந்தைய ரென்றயருஞ்
சகமாயை யுள் நின்று தயங்குவதே
Explanation
- Mahāmāyā: A person caught in Mahāmāyā acts confidently, thinking, “I am serving the world, I am achieving greatness,” but secretly seeks power, fame, and influence.
- Saka-māyā: A person trapped in Saka-māyā creates endless fantasies of pleasure and dependence on house, wealth, and women, thus binding himself more and more.
Arunagirināthar’s teaching:
- True spiritual progress requires the destruction of both Mahāmāyā and Saka-māyā.
- Muruga is the Prāṇa-rūpa Lord (Prāṇa as the inseparable life-force), the One who removed Sūrapadman’s Mahāmāyā and transformed his life-force into the peacock and rooster – his vehicle and banner. Thus, even delusion was transmuted into divine emblems.
The Six Faces of Muruga and the Power of Dīkṣā
The six faces of Muruga represent six streams of initiatory grace (ṣaṭ-dīkṣā) that remove māyā.
- Subrahmaṇya Trisati describes him as Śiva with six faces – five being the well-known faces of Śiva (Satyojāta, Vāmadeva, Aghora, Tatpuruṣa, Īśāna), and the sixth (Adhomukha) being the hidden, mysterious face of transcendental wisdom.
- From these six faces flows the power of Śakti-nipāta, the descent of divine energy that destroys Mahāmāyā.
Thus Arunagirināthar sings: “Mugamārum moḻindum oḻindilanē” – “Even after receiving dīkṣā from these six faces, my mind falters under Saka-māyā.”
Profound Lesson
- Even if one has received powerful initiations and the Guru’s grace, progress is blocked if the mind remains bound by Saka-māyā.
- House, wealth, wife – these are not inherently evil; but attachment (moha) and confusion (ayarchi) arising from them obstruct the working of divine grace.
- Only when freed from Saka-māyā can the sādhaka truly receive the Śakti-nipāta from Muruga’s six faces and rise beyond Mahāmāyā.
On the Symbolism of “Woman”
Arunagirināthar here uses the symbol of woman not to condemn wifehood but to point out:
- A wife who gives responsibility, order, and love is Jñāna-śakti, a helper in dharma.
- A woman (or attachment to woman) that brings confusion, delusion, and bondage is Māyā-śakti.
The sādhaka must discern this truth and cut false attachments.
Practical Mantra Prayoga
- Meditate on Muruga as the Six-faced Lord, each face radiating dīkṣā to burn away Māyā.
- Visualize both Mahāmāyā (worldly ambition) and Saka-māyā (domestic confusions) dissolving through the descent of Muruga’s spear-like jñāna-śakti.
- Recite this hymn with bhāva: “Let the Saka-māyā within me be destroyed, so that Mahāmāyā too may be overcome by your grace.”
This hymn has its own specific mūlamantra and yantra taught by the Siddha Guru. Through proper sādhana with these, Saka-māyā dissolves, and the descent of power from Muruga’s six faces removes Mahāmāyā, awakening the soul to true knowledge.
✅ This Mantra Prayoga shows the two-layered bondage of Māyā and how Muruga’s grace transforms even delusion into wisdom-support, provided the sādhaka overcomes domestic confusion and attachment.