Where did it all start? Unfortunately nothing or very little was written down in those early years of how the Sungum actually started or what was the spark that ignited the Saivite flame but from interviews with members and family that were close to Guru Subramuniam Phillips the following is accepted as being accurate or very close to actual events.

 

In 1968 Guru, Thirumathi Salatchee and Thiru Nadasen Phillip who was Guru's elder brother travelled to Durban to attend the funeral of Thiru Coopasamy Munian who was the father of Thirumathi Salatchee, it was at this funeral that they first witnessed the Sungum's procedure and system. The reason that the Sungum conducted the funeral was due to the fact that Thiru Govindsamy (Goin) Munian (Thirumathi Salatchee's brother) was a member of Head Office and insisted that the Sungum do the necessary, he was in fact quite a forceful but colourful character and although not being the eldest his word carried.

 

Prior to this funeral and during many visits by both Guru and Thiru Nadasen Phillips, Thiru Goin Munian tried his level best to convince both about the virtues of the Saiva Sithantha philosophy and system and one can be assured that there were many lively debates in the Munian household. One many never know what really turned the tide in favour of the Sungum system but the Transvaal contingent returned home suitably impressed; they went back to Durban for the memorial and returned with a tape of the Sungum's keerthanais (music) which was given to Thiru Nadasen Phillip. He in turn asked Thiru Kista Moonsamy to listen to the tape as his intention was to request the Sungum to officiate at the wedding of his niece on his wife's side Kanama Kundan who was betroth to his nephew Theva Phillip who was the eldest son of Guru Subramaniam Phillip.

 

Due to his powers of persuasion as well as being the elder brother Thiru Nadasen Phillip persuaded Guru to agree to the wedding being conducted by the Sungum. Thiru Goin Munian possibly sensing bigger things in the offing together with his elder brothers Thiru Soobramoney(Frank) and Thiru Jagathesan (Juggie) made most of the arrangements that made it possible for the Sungum members to come up to the Transvaal, keep in mind that this period was in the dark days of apartheid, not only travel arrangements were to be made but also “permits” had to be obtained because “non whites” were not allowed unhindered travel between Natal and Transvaal. One can just imagine the excitement that must have been generated by this wedding as it was the first Sungum wedding to be conducted in Transvaal. The wedding was held in the Phillip family's home which at that time was in Statice Street. Stories abound of the number of people who attended and as large as the tents that were erected it was simply not enough to accommodate the invited guests.

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Suffice to say the invited guests and hosts alike were really impressed by the simplicity and the divinity of the Sungum wedding ceremony, so impressed that Thiru Nadasen arranged for the Sungum to come back to Transvaal the following March (1970) to conduct the wedding of Neela Phillip to Devidas Vandayar. Incidentally both weddings were conducted by the then Spiritual Head Karunianandha Swamigal who personified humility and spirituality.

 

The wedding took place on Saturday 27 March 1970 in the Tahiti cinema which at that stage was still a building that was a work in progress. Sri Karunianandha Swamigal requested to have service the following Sunday at the Tahiti cinema which was duly arranged, therefore the first Sungum service was held in the Tahiti cinema on Sunday 28 March 1970. After service everyone made their way back to Statice Street where all the Sungum members stayed and the Swami asked Guru if he could talk to some of the younger family members and Guru then arranged with Thiru Kista Moonsamy to gather the younger members to meet with Karunianandha Swamigal, this watershed moment took place in Dama Phillip's room.

 

The five that met with Swami in no particular order were, Thiru Deva Phillip, Thiru Thangvel Kundan, Thiru Marnie Ramsamy, Thiru Kista Moonsamy and Thiru Devidas Vandayar. The Swami spoke about numerous attempts and subsequent failures to establish a branch of the Sungum in Transvaal, they had previously approached elder priests and such like without success and had now decided to change their strategy and approach younger people hence the meeting. The Swami assured the gathering that knowledge of Saivism was not important as that would follow but a branch should be started if all agree. At this time everyone was very impressed by what they had witnessed and it did not take much convincing for the five to agree.

 

Furthermore they had been privileged to hear the addresses of Swami Navaler especially on the Saiva Sithantha philosophy which had really amazed and enthralled all who listened and they were also really impressed with the Sunday service. The problem the five envisaged was that none of them could read, write or speak Tamil; the Swami stated that they would consult with Guru Subramaniam to assist the five as he was well versed in Tamil. The one hour service recordings were sent from Durban and the five listened to them continuously and that's how our service started in Guru's lounge.

 

One of the problems they initially faced was the fact that three of the members were in the catering field and only got onto the 1 am train for home and to get up and be ready for service at 9 am was not really feasible therefore service was held at 3pm. This resulted in further problems as having service at 3 pm meant that service was held after lunch and concentration levels were severely affected. The other problem was the difficulty in learning the keerthanais, guru virthams and guru vaichiums, one of the ideas was to translate Tamil into Afrikaans and then to English which as strange as it seems was quite true at the time.

 

The breakthrough came about when Thiru Jagathesan Munian (Juggie) a former school teacher and brother of Thirumathi Salathcee came to Lenasia for a holiday, he advised writing the keerthanais on large brown sheets and translating word for word in rudimentary form and this resolved the problem of learning. The five played the tapes over and over resulting in the keerthanais being imprinted in their minds and ringing in their ears even at work. Swami also stated that it was not feasible or desirable for the branch to operate independently of the women folk, the Sungum was basically a family oriented organisation therefore it was only proper for the women folk to join.

 

It was not an easy task to get the women folk involved but this eventually happened, the members at this point were as follows Guru, Thirumathi Salatchee Phillip, Thirumathi Neela Vandayar, Thirumathi Kanama Phillip, Thirumathi Rosie Moonsamy, Thirumathi Paarie Kundan, Thiru Devidas Vandayar, Thiru Kista Moonsamy, Thiru Theva Phillip, Thiru Thangvel Kundan, Thiru Marnie Ramsamy and Thirumathi Phylla Ramsamy. It was also becoming unfeasible to continue having service in Statice Street as the membership was growing but there were disruptions due to family visitations which were only natural therefore the Subramoney temple was approached to use its premises.

 

This also proved to be problematic as there were times when the Subramoney temple had functions and prayers and the Sungum members had to wait till these were finished. Even during this time at the Subramoney temple service still started at 3 pm. Due to the problems experienced Thiru Radha Naidoo who was the principle of Park Primary was approached for permission to use one of the classrooms, he graciously acquiesced and that's how service started in Park Primary.Guru appointed Thiru Kista Moonsamy as the first chairperson, Thiru Devidas Vandayar as the first secretary and Thirumathi Rosie Moonsamy as the first treasurer. The 3 pm service was not ideal as it was tiring in the afternoons as well as there were 22 branches of the Sungum starting service exactly at 9 am therefore it was decided to do the same at the Park Primary.

 

Thiru Nad Ragaval who was one of the first members to join, carved a Sivalingam out of wood and this was used for all the years leading up to the installation of the permanent Sivan Silai (Sivalingam), the wooden Sivalingam is still in existence. It is interesting to note that this Sivalingam was transported to and from the Park Primary to Statice Street in a baby's pram. To get the community involved and to increase membership the members did intensive cottage services; spoke to friends and relatives about joining the new branch of the Sungum which paid off handsomely as membership increased dramatically.

 

This resulted in firstly an additional classroom bringing the number of classrooms to two and then another to three. This must be viewed as a major achievement as the newly formed Lenasia branch was viewed by many as an outcast and pariah Organisation as the system followed was considered by many to be revolutionary as well as contrary to “Hindu” principles and to compound matters the Sunday congregational service was very akin to the Sunday church service. To quote the words of Karunianandha Swamigal when he spoke to the 5 pioneer members “you will advance spiritually whilst following the Saivite philosophy but you will become an outcast in your community because Saivism is not a religion attuned to the majority who favour ritualism”. The Swami also stated that family members will also turn their backs, brother against brother and so on.

 

These words uttered by the Swami proved to be quite true in the years following the formation of the Lenasia Branch. To many in the community this was a “new religion” and the Sungum was treated with disdain and contempt, it is ironic to note that Saivism is indeed the oldest religion in the world and most other religions are basically off shoots of Saivism. The first function that was held in Park Primary was Karthigai Theebam which was conducted by Swami Navalar. This function like all Sungum functions was an eye opener in those early days, all the members and the community only knew of Deepavali and the celebration thereof and here was a function that was not only a Tamil celebration but had so much religious and spiritual meaning as well.

 

Guru requested that all members should observe Karthigai Theebam together with the membership but on the day after they should do the same in their homes (Veedu Theebam) and this was carried out and one can only imagine the reactions of neighbours when they saw the Sungum members light agals around their homes and then singing the Karthigai Theebam keerthanais at a time and date that was not “appropriate”. It is a testament to them that this practice is now accepted and wholeheartedly celebrated by other Tamil organisations and it is one of the highlights of the Tamil yearly festivals.

A highlight of 1972 was hosting the Kavi Yogi Maharishi Suddhanantha Bharathi who was brought to South Africa by Head Office; this astute dynamo of a man was a revelation both as a practising master of yoga, great poet and freedom fighter but also for his philosophical treatise on life and all that made life interesting. The Maharishi portrayed all that was great and wonderful of out great culture and religion, although a past master at yoga, the publisher of 500 books , travelled around the world 7 times and a world renowned lecturer he was a down to earth person with a great love for his fellow man.

 

During his lifetime he held the position of President of the World Yoga Board, President of the Dieticians Society and many more other exalted positions.

The visit and lectures by the Hawaiian Swami Subramuniyaswami Gurudeva was a revelation in that it showed that Saiva Sithantha was a religion for all and broke all barriers whether it be class,colour and or creed. People who attended the Gurudeva's lectures were amazed at his insight and grasp of Saivism. It was his publication of Hindusm today that took Saivism to the mainstream of the Western realm, prior to this publication most of the Westerners did not even realise that there was a religion and a way of life called Saivism.

 

He was a shining example of awakening and wisdom, recognized worldwide as one of Hinduisms foremost masters. (Taken from the Hinduism Today website).
Even though the branch was still in its infancy in the early 70's it dawned on Guru and the officials that a temple was going to be needed in the very near future, the congregation had grown in leaps and bounds and the Park Primary school would soon be inadequate for a large congregations' needs. Plans were drawn for a temple and a suitable large tract of land was sought in Lenasia.

 

The land was bought by the Sungum and this was signed and sealed by Swami Sivananda Navalar who became the spiritual head after Sri Karunianandha Swamigal attained Samadhi and Guru Arnajellum Pillay who was the General Secretary of the Sungum at that time. The actual date that the transaction took place was on 22 August 1974.

It must have taken great courage for Guru Phillips to make such a decision, although he was still only 55 years old it must have been a daunting challenge as very few men make such brave decisions at such an age. One can only speculate as to whether this was a wholly supported decision by all interested parties but the reality of the matter was that Guru Phillips was going to shoulder much of the burden. Although very few records exist the building proper probably started in 1982.

 

One can only imagine the excitement that gripped the membership when they heard about the temple building project. There must have been those that did not doubt for a second that the project would reach fruition and there must been those that doubted this venture would succeed. To those that knew Guru Phillips well must have had no doubt whatsoever, his character was such that he probably felt he could do anything and everything, his faith and his passion must have been awe inspiring.

 

It must be stated that the major donors would not have got involved if it was not for Guru Phillip's leadership and acumen, there are many donors, some of them from other denominations who donated large sums of money not caring whether it was for the Sungum or not, all they needed to know was that the money was given to Guru and they knew it was going to be used for a good and worthy cause.

 

One must take note of an interesting quirk that Guru had, if anyone gave a donation, be it cash or cheque, he would never take the money but would ask a third person to take and place it in a safe place. Strange but true. After a number of years of really hard work, frustration, stress, expectation and disappointments the temple for most part was completed by 1988.

 

Sadly Guru Phillips only had a little time to savour the fruits of his, the officials and members' hard work, dedication and devotion in building the temple because he sadly passed away on 2 June 1988 after an automobile accident.It is highly debatable whether the Lenasia branch of the Sungum would have survived, without the active participation and presence of someone of the calibre of Guru Subramaniam Phillips.