Tirumantiram is the seminal text of Saiva – Siddhanta which has produced a galaxy of saints and has powerfully influenced the day-to-day life of millions in South India, generation after generation. Its author Tirumular was, according to legend, a yogi who took compassion on a herd of cattle that had lost their shepherd and entering the body of the shepherd by his yogic power, continued to look after the flock. So when we find in this great classic such splendid gems as 'anbe Sivam' – God is Love – we realize that the Ultimate Reality is One and all of us belong to the same family has special relevance to us moderns, who have lost our moorings of faith and are 'wandering between two worlds, one dead, the other powerless to be born.'

Apart from its literary merits, Tirumantiram blazes a number of spiritual trails any of which the aspirant can follow with the full confidence that the Goal Supreme is within his reach.