THE HERMENEUTIC LOGIC OF THE TAMILS.

 The essence of the Hermeneutic Logic implicit in the Civajnaana Botham of Meykandar

காணப்பட்ட பிரபஞ்சத்தைக் கொண்டு காணப்படாத கடவுள் ஒருவர் உண்டென்று, அநுமானப் பிரமாணத்தாலும் ஆகமபிரமாணத்தாலும் நம்பி, அவரை மெய்யன்போடு வழிபடுவார்க்கே அவர் அருள் உண்டாம். அவ்வாறு வழிபடாதவர்க்கு அது உண்டாகாது. இதனை ‘ஞாலமே கரியாக நானுனை நச்சிட வந்திடுங் காலமே” என்னும் திருவாசகத்தாலும் உணரலாம். ஆதலால் சிவஞானபோதத்தின் இம்முதற் சூத்திரமானது, உலகிற்கு முதற் கடவுள் சிறப்பு வகையால் உண்டென்னும் ஆகமப் பிரமாணத்தை அநுமானப் பிரமாணத்தால் வலியுறுத்துகின்றது.

One gains the Arul of BEING only if one infers from the truth of the visible world, the truth of the invisible presence of BEING using both the Agamas and Hermeneutic Logic and worships BEING in good trust. Those who do not worship may not be granted this Arul. We can see the truth of this from such declarations as in Tiruvasakam: “ When will the time come when I seek to enjoy your presence just taking the world alone as the evidence!” Consistent with this the First Sutra seeks to reason out the truth of BEING as the Causal Ground for world, taking the clue from the Agamas but seeking to establish only through Hermeneutic Logic.

Notes (Loga)

There has been considerable amount of confusion in understanding the methodological principles underlying Botam and where the Logic was extracted but unfortunately put in line with Naiyayika, the most prevalent Logical System in India, little realizing that Meykandar in fact recovers the ancient Logic in Tolkaappiyam which I call the Hermeneutic Logic.

The sense of PiramaaNa as used of by Meykandar is that of Axiomatic Truth and he seeks to show that from the observable factical structure of the world, the presence of the unobservable realities can be intuited. The Axiomatic Truths are there already in the world only that they remain HIDDEN and beyond the normal vision of individuals. Since these Axiomatic Truths are also articulated in the Agamas, they are also taken as sources of such insights but to be recovered only by the exercise of Hermeneutic Logic.

This aspect also discloses that Meykandar accomplishes something indeed of very remarkable - the transformation of metaphysical life into a field of science, not that of the positive sciences where theory building, hypothesis testing, experimental verification and so forth are central but rather as that Hermeneutic Science, where taking whatever that becomes available as a TEXT, a True Understanding is sought to be gained through appropriate INTERPRETATIONS of the text.

The Metaphysics developed is also Natural Metaphysics and NOT the reconstructive or idealistic metaphysics such as that of some Buddhists and Vedanties. The NATURAL is NOT dismissed as untrustworthy and recast into a form in which certain ideological notions become well entrenched like ‘reality is endless flow of momentary particulars” of the Buddhists or “ The appearance of the world, the world of names and forms is not to be trusted etc” of the Vedanties and so forth.

The world of experience is taken as real but at the same infinitely complex and in the depths of which lurk the divine powers fabricating in various ways what transpire as the Historical and Phenomenal. Thus the general thrust is to OPEN UP the eyes, make people gain visions that are penetrative and through that SEE directly the hidden and concealed. This kind of movement of understanding guided by a logic inherent to it, is the substance of Botam as a whole. As we move along with Meykandar, sutra after sutra, we will have our eyes opened up so that what remains invisible at first become immensely visible provided we UNDERSTAND faultlessly what he says.

The apodictic certainty is a product of Direct Vision and this is what Meykandar seeks to accomplish. And Disconstruction of what is stated with the assumption that it is true becomes the METHODOLOGICAL aspect of the Hermeneutic Logic which is the Logic of Hermeneutic Science.

Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar

( The hermeneutic logic, articulated by Dr Loga based on Meykandar's Civajnaana Botham, is among the greatest contribution of Dr Loga to the modern world. The west is still struggling to understand it, the Indians don't understand it, and the Tamils unfortunately don't seem to realise the treasure that their Tamil forefathers have developed )