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In bricks and in granite by Civivakkiyar (9th Century) Timeline English version by Kamil V. Zvelebil Original Language Tamil Yoga / Hindu : Shaivite (Shiva) 9th Century In bricks and in granite, in the red-rubbed lingam, in copper and brass is Siva's abode --      that's what you tell us,      and you're wrong. Stay where you are and study your own selves. Then you will BECOME the Temple of God,      full of His dance and spell           and song.     -- from The Poets of the Powers: Freedom, Magic, and Renewal, Translated by Kamil V. Zvelebil Amazon.com   / Photo by paalia /	Recommended Books The Poets of the Powers: Freedom, Magic, and Renewal, Translated by Kamil V. Zvelebil
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This poem exhibits the Tamil Siddha opposition to orthodoxy and mindless ritualism -- which tend to externalize God, separating the individual from the presence of the Divine. Civivakkiyar is proclaiming that God (Siva) is not (only) found in temples and objects of worship, places and things that have been separated out and defined as sacred. Not "in bricks and in granite," not in the "lingam" (a common representation of Siva), not in the ritual objects of "copper and brass."

To say that God is in the temple or the altar or the icon and not elsewhere impoverishes us spiritually. That perspective makes us strangers to the presence of the sacred, which is everywhere, always.

The truth is that God is not 'out there' (wherever we imagine 'there' to be). The Divine is right here, right now, within us:

Stay where you are
and study your own selves.
Then you will BECOME
the Temple of God...

It is only within ourselves that we find the proper ground to worship and ultimately encounter God, whether we stand in the temple precinct, or the marketplace, the forest grove, or the office space.

When we stop running from 'sacred' place to 'sacred' place and, instead, finally recognize the living sacred presence everywhere -- and most especially within ourselves -- then we experience such an uninhibited flow of life and delight that we become filled with the eternal "dance and spell / and song."

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.