Murugan, the ever-youthful
champion-deity of South Asian song, legend and literature, has long been far
more than His diminutive appearance suggests. Presenting the outward resemblance
of a boy or a youth (or any other form that pleases Him!), Guha
'the Mysterious' repeatedly surfaces in myth, lore and legend
from remote prehistory down to the present, for He always is in
the 'here and now' (Tamil: ippo-ingey), within and yet beyond time
and space. Although best-known today as the God of the South (i.e. South
India and Sri Lanka), in His ancient Sanskritic aspect as Skanda 'the Leaper'
he was long one of India's most popular deities during the classical Gupta
Age and even earlier in late Vedic times. Although uncounted thousands
of years old, this pan-Indian god of love, war, paradox and mystery continues
to exert His charm upon millions of young and old, urban and rural, rich
and poor alike even today at the threshold of a new millennium.
Just like holy Murugan himself, Murugan
bhakti has been around for a very long time -- ancient Tamil
Sangham poets sang His glory and told others how they too could obtain His
abundant grace or arul. Indeed bhakti, a Sanskrit word meaning
participation or involvement (however interpreted as 'devotion' by early
Christian missionaries), had its roots not in North India at all but in
the Dravidian South where Murugan reigned then as now.
Whoever they were,
the ancient Dravidian sages and seers themselves were undoubtedly Murugan
bhaktas -- spiritual enthusiasts who were not merely poets or observers
of the god's Tiru Vilaiyatal or Divine Play, but involved participants
as well. Whatever your background may be, if you visit the Murugan Bhakti
home page sooner or later you are likely to feel attached to Skanda-Murugan
and the rainbow of spiritual paths that converge upon Him. Whether you hail
from East or West, North or South, and regardless of your self-identity
as student or teacher, professional or amateur, pragmatist or idealist, something extraordinary about Murugan Bhakti is likely to subtly transform
your outlook on life. The Murugan Bhakti home page serves as a meeting
point for scholars and non-scholars, bhaktas and others alike, who have found (or suspect)
that there indeed is more to Skanda-Murugan than meets the eye.
