20. Fear not!

Verse 20

அஞ்செழுத்திலே பிறந்து அஞ்செழுத்திலே வளர்ந்து

அஞ்செழுத்தை ஓதுகின்ற பஞ்சபூத பாவிகாள்

அஞ்செழுத்தில் ஓர் எழுத்தை அறிந்துகூற வல்லிரேல்

அஞ்சல் அஞ்சல் என்றுநாதன் அம்பலத்தில் ஆடுமே!

Transliteration:

Being born in the five letters, having grown in the five letters

Ye sinners made of the five elements who merely chant the five letters!

If you are capable of knowing and saying even one letter of the five,

The Lord will dance in the space saying “Fear not!  Fear not!”

Commentary:

The five letters mentioned here are namacivaya.  These five letters represent the five elements as follows: na-earth, ma-water, ci-fire, vaa- air and ya- space.  The entire manifested universe arose from these letters and is sustained by them. Hence, Civavākkiyar says that everything was born in the five letters and grew in five letters. The one letter mentioned in the third line is ci, the letter of Śiva.   Civavākkiyar says that if one is capable of saying this letter with true knowledge then the Lord will appear before him in his mind space- he will become a realized soul.

Tirumular in the Tirumandiram Tandiram 4 has devoted an entire section (mandiram 914-1002) on the greatness of the five letter word.  Mandiram 944 says that if the aum- namacivaya is chanted as aum-civayanama then the soul envisions the dance of bliss.  This dance occurs in the ambalam or the arena, the human soul.  The soul beholds the Divine within itself.  Refer also to Tirumandiram sections 5, 6 and 7 of Tantra 9 where the greatness of the mantra civayanama is explained.