the vowel and the consonant are linked in a peculiar, inseparable and eternal manner. This is the link or relation between our own human body and the mindorand And from analogy we say there is a similar link between God and the world (including souls). And this link or relation is called, in the Saiva Siddhanta, 'the Advaita,' and the philosophy, postulating this peculiar link between God and man, is called the 'Advaita Siddhanta Philosophy.'

But how does the One link Himself to the many, and become the many, and divide Himself among the many as it were? St. Tirumular postulates '

"He is the one ; the second is His Grace (Arul)" This division of Him is brought about, because He is also Grace or Love. His Second is His Sakti. He is one with His Sakti or Love.

"The ignorant say, Love and God are different. None know that Love and God are the same. When they know that Love and God are the same, They rest in God as Love."

And accordingly, also, St. Meykandan postulates his second Sutra, in which he declares that God is one and different from the world and the souls, as He is one with His Ajna-Sakti, which is all Power, all Intelligence, and all Will and all Love. And in the last argument, he shows that as God is Pure Intelligence, this one-ness, or union with the world, or omnipresence is possible. If He was not intelligent, but material or jadam, this could not be possible.

As such, Sivajnanabodam contains the shortest definition of God as Siva-Sat, or Chit-Sat, or Sat-Chit. Sat denotes God as a Pure Being, in which aspect He can never reach us ; Chit or Arul or Love denotes His aspect in which He can reach us, and we can know Him. Sat is the sun, which we can never comprehend. Chit is the Light, one ray of which.is enough to remove our darkness and enlighten us; and but for that one ray of light, we can never know the Sun.

All other conceptions of God follow from this essential definition of God as 'Sat-Chit' and, if true, must conform to it. If not, they must be rejected as false.

From the fact that He is intelligent, it follows also that God wills and acts.

"The form of this Sakti is Unlimited Intelligence. If asked, whether supreme Will and Power are also found in this Intelligence,

We answer, yes. Wherever there is intelligence, there are Will and Power,

As such, Power and Will will also be manifested by this Chit Sakti."

And He wills to create the worlds, He creates them, and resolves them, and reproduces them again and again. He could not do this purposelessly or out of His mere whim and pleasure; and, as we know He is all love, He could do it only out of such love, to help to lift up the erring and ignorant souls, by giving them their bodies and senses, so that they, themselves, may will and act, and taste the bitter fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and be chastened and purified by suffering and sorrow, and learn to submit their will to the Will of the Supreme.

And Kalidasa in his 'Kumara Sambhava' declares: -

"No selfish want e'er prompts a deed of mine: Do not the forms - eight varied forms - I wear, The truth of this to all the world, declare."

And these eight forms, he mentions in his invocation in 'Sakuntala.'

"1sa' preserve you! He who is revealed, In these eight forms, by man perceptible. - Water of all creation's works the first; The Fire that bears on high the Sacrifice, Presented with solemnity to Heaven; The Priest, the holy offerer of Gifts; The Sun and Moon those two majestic orbs, Eternal Marshallers of day and night. The Subtle Ether, vehicle of sound, Diffused through the boundless universe, The Earth, by sages called the place of birth, Of all material essences and things, And Air which giveth life to all that breathe."

St. Appar has the following verse: -

"As Earth, Fire, Air and Ejaman (of sacrifice), as Moon, the Sun and Akas, as Ashtamurti, as goodness and evil, as male and female, Himself, the form of every form, as yesterday and to-day and to-morrow, my Lord with the braided hair stands supreme."

St. Manikkavacagar has the following verse : -

Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Sky, the Sun and Moon, The sentient man, these eight forms, He pervades The seven worlds, Ten quarters, He the One And Many, He stands so, let us sing.

He pervades these eight forms ; they form His eight bodies and hence Siva is called Ashtamurti.* By this is established His Antaryamitvam or Omnipresence, or Immanence in all nature, as He is Chit. But He is beyond all these forms and beyond all nature and man.

* As pervading these forms, He gets eight names also. The following verse is usually quoted but its source is not known.

"Prithivyo Bava, Apah Sarvah, Agne Rudrah, Vayur Bhimah Akasasya Mahadevah, Suryasya Ugrab, Chandrasya Somah, Atma nah Pasupatih."