Human Freedom in Saiva Siddhanta

I would like to outline a summary of the concept of Human Freedom in Saiva Siddhanta.  1. The notion of Human Freedom and its metaphysical analysis is already available in the famous Patikam of Appar (c. 7th cent AD) that begins with Nam yaarrkum Kudi Alloom ( we are not subject to anyone).  This  is the genuine human freedom where there is absence of subjectivity to a nation, cult, religion, ideology or whatever.  This notion is also expressed by Tolkaappiyar(c. 5th Cent BC) as the Munaivan , the illuminated who enjoys the Vinayin Niigki viLangkiya Arivu, an understanding that is FREE of all prejudices (vinai) and hence truly objective. Now while Tokaappiyar  does not bring in BEING to explain this human freedom Appar does where he says that he is subject to no one only because he has neared BEING who is Taan Yaarkkum Kudi allaat tanmaiyoon:  One is absolutely FREE in the sense He is the authority unto Himself. 2. The overall implication is that a person becomes truly free and autonomous only by gravitating towards and become totally under His influence for BEING is NOT an enslaving Power but rather one who FREES all souls for He is himself  absolutely FREE.  In other words, because of His essence as the absolutely FREE and subject to no power other than himself,  He also promotes such a freedom so that an individual who comes close to Him becomes equally FREE and LIBERAL, totally autonomous in his existence in the world.  Now this may sound puzzling and self contradictory where bringing a soul under the total influence of BEING also means letting the individual enjoy absolute freedom, This puzzle cannot be unfolded without bringing in the Fundamental Ontology of Triadism,  an Ontology that remains peculiarly siddhantic to this day, to the best of my knowledge. 3. BEING,  the countless number of souls and binding fetters (Pati Pasu Paasam) are anati , uncreated and eternally there, remaining indestructible and where, while they enter into the configuration of all individuals, they themselves remain free of such constituents.  Here it is  also noted that while the souls are Samalan,  infected with Malam the primordial binding fetter, BEING is Nimalan, One who is absolutely free of this Malam.  This means that while the soul even in its most primitive form of existence is BOUND , infected with fetters, BEING is NOT - He remains always absolutely free. Thus the bound nature of the souls is their essence and that they can become free and autonomous only by the Grace of BEING who remains forever free and absolutely autonomous. In other words it is NOT the case where the human being is robbed of his initiative and exercise of will, conscious and unconscious  as said below but rather one already begins existence with total loss of freedom.  In bringing the soul under the regulation of BEING, He does not rob the initiative and exercise of will of the individual but rather promotes them. There is exercising of free will by humans or for that matter even other lower forms of beings only because of the Grace of BEING who violates the hold of Malam. 4. Here we must also note that even in Saivism,  the religious individual is bound and not free. For he remains cultic - a Sakta, A  VaishNava , the  Saiva and so forth  and fight bitterly among themselves. However among the really great individuals no matter what cult they favour, there is a Transcendence of all cults with the understanding that finally it is one and the same BEING who presents Himself in many different archetypal forms.  There is Metatheism and not Polytheism  and this Metatheism so characteristic of Saivism  is also another reason why an individual's thinking is promoted so that it becomes totally Free and purified of all prejudices. 5. But even here since there is regulation of the individuals thinking and so forth, isn’t it restricting the exercise of Free Will  and so forth? Here we can bring in an analogy to explain the matter. When good parents in their care and love for their children regulate their behaviour pedagogically so that they grow up as excellent and autonomous individuals, matured and independent,  we do not say they are depriving  the free will of the children. What we can say is that they NURTURE the mind of the children so that the growth is healthy and the children become great. BEING as Siva nurtures the souls as do good parents to their their children so that the souls grow up healthy and finally enjoy Moksa. It is here that He promotes the ascendance of the Cakras and which is possible only by dislodging the various fetters, the binding Pasas.  Unless a person’s Free Will is developed he cannot free himself by his own efforts, the binding fetters and become genuinely autonomous.  He has to LEARN to the very end to attain Moksa and BEING promotes LEARNING to the end.  BEING promotes this kind of growth, concealing Himself for the most part so that the individual would exercise his Free Will to the very end.  Only when a person is sufficiently matured that BEING discloses Himself and at which point out of great love and gratitude he becomes a bakta. To be a Bakta is NOT to be a slave but rather deeply loving  as was the case with Appar and all other Azwars and Nayanmars. ULLAGANAR ( 25-5-2010. AT ) ( editing and re-paragraphing by his student ) ( photo taken from https://www.pexels.com/ with thanks