GURU VACHAKA KOVAI
The Light of Supreme Truth
or
THE COLLECTION
OF GURU’S SAYINGS
1193. Those who have perfect knowledge say that the state
of true knowledge [mey-jnana-samadhi], in which one
remains without ‘I’ [the ego], alone is mauna-tapas. In
order to experience [that] silence [mauna], which is
devoid of the body-thought [the feeling ‘I am this
body’], clinging to the Self in the heart is the sadhana.
1194. The pure Silence which shines forth when the
‘I’-sense [the ego] is lost by [one’s] abiding in the
heart, knowing one’s own real existing state instead
of going outwards cherishing and attending to other
things, alone is the limit of Jnana.
Michael James: The state of Jnana is that which is devoid of any
limit and beyond all definitions. If at all a limit or definition is to be
given for Jnana, it is only the pure Silence which remains shining
after the ego is destroyed.
1195. Since, just as the activities seen within [and by] a
dream-person become laughable and non-existent in
the outlook of the waking person, even the activities
of the jiva [such as his birth and death], which are an
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 379
imagination [seen by him] within himself, become
non-existent in [the true awakened outlook of] Selfknowledge,
all [of those activities, including his
bondage and liberation] are unreal [and are a mere
play of maya].
1196. When the pure gracious Supreme reveals the nature
of Self, he who was in the dark room [of ajnana] will
merge in the Silence of Self-abidance, drowning in
Siva-bodha [God-knowledge or existence-consciousness],
which is the beauty of the reality.
1197. Know that Silence – which is the perfect knowledge
of the form of Self and which shines within when the
ego reaches the heart by rejecting all the juggleries
of thoughts [sankalpa-jalas], which are rarely rejected
– alone is the glorious Supreme Word [para-vak].
Sadhu Om: This verse reveals the true import of the word
‘para-vak’, which was used by Sri Bhagavan in verses B12, 706
and 715.
1198. Only those who have not keenly listened to the Lord’s
language of Grace [Silence], which is the Supreme
Word [para-vak], [which shines forth] when the wandering
mind subsides, will say that [the sound of] a
flute is sweet, that [the sound of] a veena is sweet, or
that the prattling speech of their own babbling children
is very sweet.
Sadhu Om: Since the Sadguru’s language of Grace – the para-vak
or Silence which shines forth in the heart when the wandering mind
subsides and is destroyed there – bestows immortal and perfect
bliss, it is sweeter than even the sweetest sound in this world.
Because the Sage Tiruvalluvar wrote the Tirukkural in order
to give advice to all sorts of people according to their own level of
maturity, in verse 66 [in the chapter concerning having children,
which comes in the section dealing with the life of householders]
he said, “Only those who have not heard the prattling speech of
their own children, will say that [the sound of] a flute is sweet or
that [the sound of] a veena is sweet”. But merely because
Tiruvalluvar said thus, we should not at all come to the conclusion
380 Sri Muruganar
that hearing the prattling speech of one’s own children is the
sweetest of all experiences. Since hearing the prattling of children
can give one only a transitory pleasure, Sri Bhagavan addresses
aspirants who are engaged in the highest spiritual practice and
says in this verse that the sweetness of the supreme Silence of the
Sadguru, which is ever shining within the heart, is greater and
more real than the sweetness of the sound of one’s prattling children.
However, readers should not conclude from this verse that
Tiruvalluvar was one of “those who have not keenly listened to the
Lord’s language of Grace, which is the Supreme Word, [which
shines forth] when the wandering mind subsides”, but should
understand that, since he himself never had any children, he composed
that verse only for the sake of householders who seek
worldly pleasures.
1199. If the noise of thoughts [sankalpas] rising [incessantly]
within does not subside, the ineffable state of
Silence will not be revealed. Those whose thoughts
[vrittis] have subsided within, will not leave the
strong and perfect [state of] Silence even in a big
battlefield.
Sadhu Om: Just as the sweet sound of soft and melodious music
cannot be heard in a place where there is a great noise such as the
hubbub of a market or the roaring of the waves of an ocean, so the
sweet silent teaching [mouna-upadesa] of the Sadguru, which is
ever going on deep within the heart, cannot be heard by ordinary
people because of the noise of the millions of thoughts which are
incessantly rising in their minds. On the other hand, because of the
strength of His Silence, even the great noise of battlefield will
remain unknown to a Jnani, who has annihilated the mind by
destroying all thoughts or sankalpas. Because the ajnani attends
only to the hubbub of thoughts, he does not notice the ever-shining
Silence within, whereas because the Jnani attends only the Silence
within, He does not know even the greatest noise which may be
going on outside.
1200. Tell me, is not the vocal silence observed by those
who do not engage in Self-enquiry [jnana-swavichara]
and who do not know the real goal, which is
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 381
the Silence [that shines forth] when the ego, ‘I am the
fleshy and filthy body’, subsides and reaches the
heart, a [mere] mental endeavour [chitta-vyapara]?
Sadhu Om: The effort of those who merely observe vocal silence
instead of engaging in Self-enquiry or Self-attention, which is the
real state of Silence of mind, is useless.
1201. The life of Self – the true knowledge [mey-jnana]
which shines forth devoid of the ego-sense due to
the drowning [of the ego] in its source when the madness
of desire for the petty, illusory and delusive
sense-objects has been completely destroyed –
alone is that which can [truly] satisfy the mind.
1202. Those whose hearts are surging with joy by experiencing
the ever-new ambrosia [amrita] of Self, which
shines brightly in the pure Silence, will not be spoilt
in the world by experiencing the petty sense-objects,
which give a little mad pleasure caused by mental
delusion.
1203. The reality which is very clearly known by Sages as
the goal [siddhanta] of all Vedas and Agamas, and
the observance of reality [sat-achara] recommended
by all dharma-upadesas, is [nothing but] Silence, the
state of supreme peace.
Sadhu Om: The ultimate goal which is taught in all the Vedas,
Agamas, dharma-sastras and other scriptures is only the state of
perfect Silence [pari-purna-mauna], which is nothing but the
destruction of the mind [mano-nasa]. Refer to the work Who am I?
where Sri Bhagavan says that all scriptures finally conclude that in
order to attain liberation one must quell the mind.
1204. The complete giving up of all [the other three purusharthas]
beginning with dharma, is the glorious state
of peace, which is the nature of liberation [the fourth
purushartha, the only true purushartha]. [Therefore]
completely giving up [all] thought of the others [the
three false purusharthas], cling only to Silence, the
knowledge of the supreme Self, which is Siva.
382 Sri Muruganar
Sadhu Om: The true purushartha or goal of human life is the
peaceful state of liberation, which can be attained only when one
completely gives up the desire for the other three so-called
purusharthas, namely dharma, artha and kama. Therefore, one
should give up even the thought of those other three purusharthas
and should steadfastly abide in Silence, the supreme state of
Self-knowledge, which alone is liberation. Refer here to verse 8 of
this work.
54 Supreme Devotion
(Para-Bhakti Tiran)
1205. When one has completely surrendered oneself at the
Feet of Siva and has become of the nature of Self, the
[resulting] abundant peace, in which there is not
even the least room within the heart [for one] to make
any complaint about [one’s] defects and deficiencies,
alone is the nature of supreme devotion.
Sadhu Om: If one has surrendered oneself completely to God, it
will be impossible for one to pray even for liberation. Refer here to
verse 7 of Sri Arunachala Navamani-malai.
1206. In the heart which exists and shines as the true and
perfect bliss, having become a target to the Grace of
God, can there be the petty deficiencies of mind,
which are a sign of the fleshy ego-sense [the feeling
‘I am this fleshy body’], which is ignorance?
1207. Only so long as there are other thoughts in the heart,
can there be a thought of God conceived by one’s
mind. The death of even that thought [of God] due to
the death of [all] other thoughts [including the rootthought
‘I’], alone is the true thought [of God], the
unthought thought.
Sadhu Om: Only so long as there are other thoughts in one’s
mind, can one think of or meditate upon God. But the true thought
of or meditation upon God, which is the “unthought thought”, is only
that state in which all other thoughts, including the first thought ‘I
am this body’, have died through self-surrender.
Only after the rising of the ego or thinker, the first thought ‘I
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 383
am the body’, can other thoughts rise about the world and God.
After the rising of these thoughts, since one then feels that God is
different from oneself, one can only meditate upon Him as an
object of thought. But when the ego, the root-thought ‘I’, dies
through self-surrender, not only will all the thoughts about the world
vanish, but even the thought of God, which has the same reality
[sama-satya] as the other thoughts, will also disappear. This state,
which is devoid of all thought of world, soul and God, and in which
one shines as the thought-free supreme reality, alone is the true
meditation or Brahma-dhyana.
1208. If you ask, “Tell me, why is ‘being still’ [the state of
mere being described in the previous verse], which is
devoid of even a single rising thought, called a
‘thought’ [or ‘meditation’]?”, know that it is because
of the shining of the ever-unforgettable consciousness
of the reality [‘I am’].
Sadhu Om: Thinking and forgetting are a dyad [dvandva] or pair of
opposites. Since the ever-unforgettable consciousness of reality [‘I
am’] shines perfectly in the state of ‘being still’ – the state of Selfattention
or Self-abidance – that state is sometimes referred to as
a state of ‘thought’ or ‘meditation’ [dhyana]. That is, since the reality
is not forgotten in that thought-free state, it is loosely described
as a state of ‘thinking of’ or ‘meditating upon’ the reality. It is only in
this sense that Sri Bhagavan described the state of Self-attention
as ‘thought of Self’ [atma-chintanai] in Who am I? and in verse 482
of this work.
1209. The love that wells up within, in the place [the heart]
where the clear peace is attained due to the light [of
Jnana], which surges forth when the delusive mind,
which is filled with the poisonous darkness [of
ajnana], is destroyed and when the heart becomes
open like the space, alone is the true love [meybhakti]
for Siva.
1210. Only those fortunate ones who live always depending
only upon Self [which is the true form of God] as the
best refuge, will attain their own reality. For others,
liberation, that unending gracious Supreme Abode
384 Sri Muruganar
[param-dhama], is unattainable by any means
whatsoever.
1211. The true devotees who in all ways remain subjected
[adhina] only to Self [God], [alone] are tadiyars
[those who belong to the Lord]. Know that only for
them [those true devotees], in whom there is unceasing
love, will the Supreme Abode [param-dhama],
which triumphs as transcendent, be a complete attainment.
55 The Attainment of Jnana
(Jnana-Siddhi Tiran)
1212. Though siddhis are said to be many and different,
Jnana alone is the highest of those many different
siddhis, [because] those who have attained other
siddhis will desire Jnana, [whereas] those who have
attained Jnana will not desire other [siddhis]. [Therefore]
aspire [only for Jnana].
1213. One who has attained Self [atma-swarupa-siddha] is
one who has attained all other [siddhis] together,
since that one [Self-attainment or atma-siddhi] is the
highest siddhi. Just as [all] the planets are within
space, [whether] manifest or unmanifest, all of them
[all the siddhis] will be in one who has attained
Self-knowledge [atma-jnana-siddha].
1214. If by diving deep one reaches the bottom of the heart,
the sense of baseness [the feeling ‘I am a petty jiva’]
will leave and perish, and the life of being the Lord of
Jnana, at whose Feet even the king of heaven [Indra]
will bow down his head, will come to be lived [by
one].
56 Brahman
(Brahman Tiran)
1215. The blissful silent real principle [Self or Brahman]
alone is the stage or base for Maya – who is the great
power of consciousness [maha-chit-sakti], which is
not other than the real perfect principle – to play [her]
game for ever, having the three principles [the world,
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 385
soul and God] as [her] playthings. What a wonder it
is!
Sadhu Om: From this verse we should understand that, apart from
Brahman, Maya has no real existence of her own. The three principles,
the world, soul and God, are the playthings with which she
enacts her illusory game [maya-lila] of creation, sustenance and
destruction. But the game she plays with these three could not take
place if it did not have Self or Brahman, the perfect reality, as its
base. The truth that Self ever remains as the base on which Maya
plays, is what is indicated by Saktas when they figuratively depict
Goddess Kali dancing on the lying body of Lord Siva. What is to be
understood here is that the appearance of the world, soul and God,
and of their creation, sustenance and destruction, are all an unreal
play of Maya, who has no reality of her own. It is with the teaching
given in this verse that the first chapter of part two of The Path of
Sri Ramana begins.
1216. If they see the many moving pictures, they do not see
the one unmoving screen, the base. Those who see
the unmoving screen do not see any of the pictures.
This is the nature of a cinema theatre.
Michael James: When pictures are projected on a cinema screen,
they in effect hide that screen. Likewise, when the pictures of
names and forms – the world, soul and God – are seen, they in
effect hide their base, the Self or Brahman. Therefore, just as the
screen is seen as it is only when the pictures are not seen, so Self
is seen as it is only when the world, soul and God are not seen.
Hence, if the world, soul and God are seen, Self will not be seen,
and if Self is seen, the world, soul and God will not be seen. Refer
also to verses 46, 876 and 877, where the same truth is expressed.
1217. In a cinema-theatre, without the unmoving screen
there cannot be any moving pictures. When scrutinized,
that one unmoving screen is different from the
moving pictures on the screen.
1218. The screen, the unmoving base, alone is Brahman [or
Self]. The soul, God and worlds are only the moving
pictures on that unmoving screen. [Therefore] know
386 Sri Muruganar
that all that is seen [on that screen] is an illusion
[maya].
Michael James: The above three verses reveal that the world,
soul and God can be seen only when Brahman is not seen, but that
without Brahman there cannot be any world, soul or God, and that,
though Brahman is thus the reality or base on which they appear, it
is different from them. Hence this verse concludes by drawing the
inference, “All that is seen (i.e. the world, soul and God) is an illusion”.
Compare here verse 160 and 1047 and 1049.
1219. He who, in the picture world, thinks about and longs
not only for the picture world – which moves with
picture souls, which move like himself – but also for
the picture God [who creates, sustains and destroys
the picture world and picture souls], is only the soul
[jiva], who is a moving picture.
Sadhu Om: The world, soul and God are mere moving pictures;
they cannot be the screen, the base. The soul or man, who is one
among the moving pictures, sees the world and God, the other two
among the moving pictures, and suffers by having either likes or
dislikes towards them. That is, many people see and desire the
objects of the world and suffer with the longing to obtain them,
while others suffer with the longing to see and attain God. The first
kind of people are called worldly people, while the second kind are
called devotees of God. However, this verse teaches that, since
both these kinds of longing and suffering which people undergo are
part of the play of maya, they have no meaning whatsoever and
are both merely unreal occurrences resulting from the ignorance of
not knowing Self or Brahman, the supreme reality which is the
base on which maya thus plays.
1220. For the thought [chitta-vritti] which undergoes suffering
by thinking itself – who is [in its real nature nothing
but] the screen, the unmoving base – to be a
moving picture [the soul or jiva], the proper thing to
do is to abide firmly in the state of Silence, having
completely subsided [through Self-attention].
Sadhu Om: The chitta-vritti mentioned in this verse is the soul, the
ego or ‘I’-thought [aham-vritti], whose real nature is only Self, the
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 387
unmoving base, but who wrongly identifies himself to be a body,
one of the moving pictures on the screen, and who thereby sees
and desires the other pictures, the world and God.
In the previous verse, even the noble effort of a devotee who
longs to see and attain God, was found to be at fault, was it not?
When it is so, is it not necessary to teach that noble soul what the
proper thing is for him to do? Therefore, in this verse Sri Bhagavan
teaches that the best and most noble thing for the soul to do is to
subside and abide firmly in the state of Silence by knowing and
remaining as Self, the unmoving base on which the moving pictures
of the world soul and God appear. Since [as stated in verse
1216] one who sees the screen cannot see the pictures, when one
thus knows one’s real nature one will not see the pictures of the
world, soul and God, and hence one will attain the supreme peace
which is devoid of the delusion of being mad after those pictures.
55 The Nature of Liberation
(Mukti Uru Tiran)
1221. The knowledge of one’s own true nature – which
remains in the heart when even the thought of being
saved from bondage is destroyed due to the complete
removal of the thought of that bondage in the
mind which sees itself [by scrutinizing] thus ‘Who am
I that am bound?’ – alone is the nature of liberation.
Michael James: When the mind sees its own true nature by
enquiring ‘Who am I that am bound?’, it will realize that it was in
truth never bound. Therefore, since the thought of bondage is thus
completely destroyed, the contrary thought of liberation will also
vanish, because bondage and liberation are a dyad [dvandva] or
pair of opposites, each of which has a meaning because of the
other. This verse paraphrases and explains the idea expressed by
Sri Bhagavan in Who am I? when He said, “Enquiring ‘Who am I
that am in bondage?’, and [thereby] knowing one’s own real
nature, alone is liberation”.
1222. That which is the consciousness-filled peace [bodhamaya-
santa] which shines as that which remains
[when the thoughts of bondage and liberation are
thus removed by Self-enquiry], alone is Sada-sivam
[the eternal reality]. The egoless Silence [which
388 Sri Muruganar
shines] as [the true knowledge] ‘That [Sada-sivam],
which is the ever-existing Supreme, alone is “I”,’
alone is the finality of liberation.
Sadhu Om: Verse 40 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham should be
read and understood here.
1223. One’s giving up of everything [by one’s remaining
firmly] without being shaken from the state [of peaceful
Self-abidance] on account of slackness [or pramada]
in [that state of] peace, which surges because
of one’s enquiry into Self, which is the basic consciousness
on which everything [the world, soul and
God] appears – alone is liberation.
1224. Unless the objective knowledge [the mind which
knows second and third person objects] is completely
destroyed, the attachment to the world, which
is formed by the senses, which bind the soul, cannot
be severed. The destruction of that [objective] knowledge
by [one’s] remaining in the state of Self, which
is nishtha, alone is the nature of liberation which one
enjoys.
1225. Merely being [as ‘I am’] – having known the path
which destroys attachment, the enemy which is the
mother of the bondage of birth [and death], which
gives room for laughter [i.e. which is laughed at by
Sages], and having attained that non-attachment –
alone is liberation.
Sadhu Om: “The path which destroys attachment, the enemy” is
[as shown in the previous verse] to remain in Self, having given up
objective knowledge, in other words, to attend only to Self and not
to any second or third person objects. “Merely being” means
remaining still with the mere consciousness ‘I am’ and without
knowing any other thing.
1226. The saying, “The attainment of a life of pure Self-consciousness,
which shines merely as existence [‘I
am’], alone is the state of liberation, which is the light
of supreme knowledge [para-jnana]”, is the firm ver-
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 389
dict of the Seers of reality, which is the crown of the
Vedas.
58 The Supreme Truth
(Paramartha Tiran)
1227. There is no becoming [creation], and there is also no
destruction, the opposite [of creation]; there are no
people in bondage, and there are also no people at all
doing sadhana; there are no people who seek the
highest [i.e. liberation], and there are also no people
who have attained liberation. Know that this alone is
the supreme truth [paramartha]!
Sadhu Om: This verse is adapted from the Sanksrit sloka, “Na
nirodha na cha utpattih na baddhah na cha sadhakah, Na
mumukshuh na vai muktah iti esha paramarthata,” which Sri
Bhagavan often used to cite, and which is included in the
Amritabindu Upanishad [Verse 10], in the Atma Upanishad [verse
30], in the Mandukya Karikas [2.32] and in the Vivekachudamani
[verse 574]. After seeing this four-line verse composed by Sri
Muruganar, Sri Bhagavan expressed the same idea in the following
two-line verse.
B28. There is no becoming [creation], destruction, bondage,
desire to sever [bondage], effort [made for liberation]
for those who have attained [liberation]. Know
that this is the supreme truth [paramartha]!
Sadhu Om: Creation, destruction, bondage, the desire to sever
bondage, the one who seeks liberation and the one who has
attained liberation, all exist only in the outlook of the mind. Hence
they all have the same degree of reality [sama-satya] as the mind
which knows them. But as Sri Bhagavan reveals in verse 17 of
Upadesa Undiyar, when the form of the mind is vigilantly scrutinized
it will be found that there is no such thing as mind at all.
Therefore, when the mind is thus found to be non-existent, the
whole false appearance of creation, destruction, bondage, liberation
and so on, will also be found to be completely non-existent.
Hence, the absolute truth experienced by a Jnani, who has known
Self and who has thereby realized the non-existence of the mind, is
390 Sri Muruganar
only ajata – the truth that there was never was, is or will be any
creation, birth or becoming at all.
The five divine functions [panchakrityas], namely creation,
sustenance, destruction, veiling and Grace, are all things which are
concerned only with the world, soul and God, which [as revealed in
verse 1215] are mere playthings of maya. Therefore, whatever
appears as real within the range of these five functions, cannot be
the absolute truth. Since bondage, liberation, sadhaka, sadhana,
attainment and so on, pertain only to the world, soul and God, they
are all unreal. That is to say, since the world, soul and God are the
playthings of maya, all knowledges pertaining to them are unreal.
[See Ulladu Narpadu verse 13, “Knowledge of multiplicity is ignorance,
which is unreal”.] When it is so, only that knowledge which
shines transcending maya, and which is a knowledge not of
manyness but only of oneness, can be the supreme and absolute
truth [paramartha]. The exact nature of that supreme truth can be
known only by Jnanis, who firmly abide as that single, all-transcending
reality. Their experience alone can be taken to be the
absolute truth.
We should here recall that in verse 100 of this work it is
stated that though Sri Bhagavan taught various different doctrines
to suit the maturity of each one who came to Him, He revealed that
His own experience was only ajata. In order to show that His own
experience was also the experience of the ancient Rishis who gave
the Upanishads, Sri Bhagavan often used to cite the sloka of which
the present verse is a translation.
The literal meaning of the word ‘maya’ is ‘ma-ya’ [that which
is not], because when Self-knowledge dawns the activity [vritti] of
maya, namely its aforesaid play, will be found to be completely
non-existent. Just as the non-existent snake merges into and
becomes one with the ever-existing rope as soon as that rope is
seen as it is, so the non-existent maya will merge into and become
one with the ever-existing and Self-shining Self as soon as that
Self is known as it is. Therefore, though maya is not other than
Brahman or Self, and though it is said to be beginningless like
Brahman, it does have an end, since it is found to be non-existent
in the clear light of Self-knowledge. Hence, we [Self], who remain
shining even in the state in which maya is thus found to be
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 391
non-existent, alone are the supreme and absolute truth [paramartha].
Thus, as the final conclusion of this work, Guru Vachaka
Kovai, which is also known as ‘The Light of Supreme Truth’
[paramartha dipam], Sri Bhagavan reveals that Self – which always
shines without beginning or end and without any change as the
single, non-dual existence-consciousness-bliss [sat-chit-ananda] in
the form ‘I am’ – alone is the supreme truth [paramartha], and that
everything else is a mere play of maya and is therefore completely
unreal and non-existent.
However, this absolute truth cannot be understood by people
who are under the sway of maya and are therefore deluded by
the defect of ego. Hence, disregarding this supreme truth, they
imagine many different goals such as immortalizing the body,
heavenizing the earth, going to celestial worlds, attaining powers
[siddhis] and so on, and believing such goals to be the supreme
truth [paramartha], in the name of yoga or religion they chart out
different paths to attain those different goals, they write voluminous
books about their own goals and methods, and they become
entangled in elaborate arguments about them. However, all such
efforts are futile, since they are possible only within the range of
the unreal play of maya. Refer here to verse 34 of Ulladu Narpadu,
where Sri Bhagavan says that to argue about the nature of the
reality, instead of merging within and knowing it as it is, is only
ignorance born of maya.
1228. Since it is possible only in [the dim light of] unreality
[or ignorance] to make that which exists [appear to
be] non-existent and to make that which does not
exist [appear to be] that which exists, but impossible
[to do so] in the clear [light of] truth, in the certainty
which is the truth everything is consciousness [chit].
Michael James: A rope can appear to be a snake only in a dim
light, and not in complete darkness or in clear light. Likewise, the
ever-existing Self or Brahman can appear to be the non-existent
names and forms [the world, soul and God] only in the dim light of
ignorance [the mind-light], and not in the complete darkness of
sleep or in the clear light of Self-knowledge. Therefore, since that
which exists [Self or Brahman] cannot appear to be that which
does not exist [the many names and forms] in the clear light of
392 Sri Muruganar
truth, in that clear light it will be realized that whatever appeared to
be existent in the state of ignorance is truly nothing but consciousness,
which alone is that which truly exists. That is, just as the rope
alone ever exists both when it appears to be the non-existent
snake and when it is seen as it is, so consciousness alone ever
exists both when it appears to be the non-existent names and
forms and when it shines as it is.
1229. Know that all that is told about the soul and God –
[such as] that which is the soul that has the bondage
of attachment will become God when bondage is
removed, just as paddy becomes rice when the husk
is removed – is [merely] an imagination of the defective
mind [superimposed] on Self, the form of that
consciousness.
Michael James: Though scriptures at first say, “Just as paddy
becomes rice when its husk is removed, so the soul [or jivatma] will
become God [paramatma] when its bondage of attachment is
removed,” the supreme truth [paramartha] is that there is no soul,
God, bondage or liberation at all, and that these are all mere mental
imaginations superimposed on Self, which is the sole ever-existing
reality.
59 The Perfect Reality
(Semporul Tiran)
1230. Whatever by the mind you think [or know] to be that
which exists is in truth that which does not exist.
That one [Self] which you cannot have in your mind
[i.e. which you cannot think] either to be that which
exists or to be that which does not exist, alone is that
which exists [ulladu].
Sadhu Om: Since the mind is itself an unreal and non-existent
entity, everything which is known by the mind as real or existent, is
in fact unreal and non-existent. Hence, if Self were something
which could be known by the mind, it would also be unreal, would it
not? But since Self is declared by Sages to be that which cannot
be known by the mind, it alone is that which truly exists and is real.
1231. Say, is it possible by the imagination [the mind] to
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 393
deny the greatness [and reality] of the widely pervading
and transcendent Supreme, which completely
swallows within itself the defects and differences
caused by the crowd of all kinds of knowledge?
1232. Know that the consciousness which always shines in
the heart as the formless and nameless Self, ‘I’, [and
which is known] by [one’s] being still without thinking
[about anything] as existent or non-existent,
alone is the perfect reality.
1233. Among the six doctrines declared to be without
beginning, that non-duality [advaita] alone is without
end, whereas the other five doctrines have an end.
Bearing this in mind, know it clearly.
Sadhu Om: The six doctrines mentioned in this verse are the
shad-darsanas, the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy,
namely the Nyaya school of Gautama, the Vaiseshika school of
Kanada, the Sankhya school of Kapila, the Yoga school of
Patanjali, the Purva Mimamsa school of Jaimini, and the Vedanta
school of Vyasa. The doctrine referred to in this verse as Advaita is
the doctrine of Vedanta, whose final conclusion is that the non-dual
Self or Brahman, which transcends maya, alone is the ever-existing
reality, which has neither beginning or end. On the other hand,
the conclusions of the other five schools are all concerned with
what is within the range of maya’s play. Therefore, just as maya is
said to have no beginning but have an end, these five schools of
philosophy are also said to have no beginning but to have an end,
since they cannot remain when the truth [Self] is realized and when
maya thereby comes to an end. Since all doctrines other than
Advaita are thus invalidated when Self-knowledge dawns, Advaita
alone is the truth which exists and shines for ever without either
beginning or end.
1234. When known [correctly], that which is said to be real
is only one. Know that that firm, whole perfect reality
alone is that which is described in many ways by
Brahma-jnanis, who have known [it] by quietly entering
the heart with a very subtle intellect.
Michael James: Though the Sages who revealed the six doctrines
394 Sri Muruganar
(shad-darsanas) of Hinduism and who paved the various different
religions in the world, had all realized the non-dual perfect reality,
they described it in various ways according to the maturity of the
minds of those who came to them. However, mature aspirants
should understand that, though the reality is thus described by
Sages in many different ways, it is in truth one and non-dual.
1235. The truth of non-duality [advaita-tattva], which is the
highest of all religions, which are so very many,
alone is the silent reality, whose nature is the consciousness
devoid of the insubstantial and ghostly
ego, the seed of the different religions.
Michael James: Refer to verses 989 to 993, 1176 to 1179, and
1242.
1236. Those who know the perfect reality – which does not
have beginning or end, which is devoid of change,
cause or even object of comparison, and which is
that which cannot be known by the deceptive sense
of individuality [the ego] – [alone] will attain glory.
60 Transcendence of Thought
(Bhavanatita Tiran)
1237. The glory of Advaita will shine in the hearts of Jnanis
as the unaffected Self after the deceptive triads
[triputis] have disappeared, but cannot be attained by
those who think [of it] by mind like [they think of] the
imaginary, unreal, dual and petty sense objects.
1238. The thought-free Siva, who is Self, the real consciousness,
cannot be known by those who have a
mind which thinks, but only by the thought-free
heroes who have a mind which, due to inner consciousness
[or Self], has entered and abides in the
source of thought, [their thinking] mind having died.
1239. O you [highly mature aspirants] who have intense
madness for [the experience of] the greatness of
non-duality [advaita]! [The experience of] non-duality
is only for those who abide in the state of reality, having
attained perfect peace of mind [which results
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 395
from the complete subsidence of all the thoughts
which rise in the mind]. Say, what is the benefit for
backward people who do not seek direct abidance in
reality.
Michael James: The only true benefit to be attained is the experience
of non-duality, which can be attained only by those mature
aspirants who through Self-enquiry seek and attain perfect peace
of mind, which is the state of abidance in Self, the reality, and not
by those immature people who do not even desire to follow the
direct path of Self-enquiry and thereby attain the state of
Self-abidance.
61 Narration of the Experience
(Anubhavam Uraitta Tiran)
1240. When we recount the experience [attained on account]
of the sayings of the Guru [Sri Ramana], [it is
the experience that] all that was seen as a forest of
attachment [or bondage] is nothing but the ineffable
space of the Silence of true Knowledge [mey-jnanamauna]
and [that] all inferior knowledge is a dream.
Sadhu Om: In this chapter [verses 1240 to 1248] Sri Muruganar
describes the experience of Jnana which he attained by the Grace
of his Sadguru, Sri Ramana.
1241. I have known, I have known the state of supreme
truth, which is full of transcendent existence-consciousness
[and in which it is known] that in actual
truth there is not even the least acquiring of what is
called as bondage, liberation and so on, [which all
appears only due to one’s] having mistaken [oneself]
to be other [than Self].
Sadhu Om: When the state of supreme truth [paramartha sthiti] is
known, one realizes that one had in truth never mistaken oneself to
be other than Self, and that consequently one had never been in
bondage and had never attained any such thing as liberation.
Sri Muruganar: ‘Abiding in this state, having attained the supreme
bliss which is devoid of bondage and liberation...’ is a saying of Sri
396 Sri Muruganar
Bhagavan [in verse 29 of Upadesa Undiyar]. He has also said [in
verse 37 of Ulladu Narpadu], “Even the contention held that there
is duality during practice and non-duality after attainment, is not
true ...”. If the state of supreme truth is known as it is, know that
even the feeling of liberation will not exist there; since bondage is
ever non-existent, the nature of Self is that which is completely
devoid of even the knowledge ‘I am a Mukta’.
1242. Though we look at any religion and though we listen
to any doctrine [propounded by those religions], we
clearly see that all the doctrines of those religions
definitely proclaim only one goal, which shines
devoid of differences.
Michael James: In his experience of Jnana Sri Muruganar realized
that, though different religions seem to proclaim different goals, all
those seemingly different goals are in truth only one, namely the
state of Self-knowledge, which shines devoid of differences. However,
this true harmony and oneness among religions can prevail
only in the state of Silence, and cannot prevail merely due to the
intellect thinking ‘All religions are one’, because so long as the
intellect exists it cannot but see differences between one religion
and another. Refer here to verses 989 to 993, 1176 to 1179, and
1235.
Sri Muruganar: In truth, harmony [among religions] can exist only
in Silence [mauna], and cannot exist [merely] due to the subtlety of
the intellect. After attaining the experience of Silence [maunaanubhava],
it will be known as clearly as a fruit in the palm that all
religions and doctrines are having the goal of Self-attainment, without
any differences among themselves.
1243. When entering and abiding in the Whole [purna],
which is of the nature of consciousness [chinmaya],
which shines there in the unerring Vedas as the reality,
then it is impossible to see the three times [past,
present and future], the three places [the first, second
and third persons] and the triads [the knower,
the act of knowing and the object known].
Michael James: For an explanation about the meaning of ‘the
three places’, refer to the note to verse 447.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 397
1244. When known, the subtle truth revealed [in this work]
is [what I learnt through] the silent elucidation [maunavyakhyana]
which was joyfully bestowed [upon me]
by Jnana-Ramana-Guru-Nathan, who taught [me] having
come out in front of me as the foremost true
Brahmin.
Sri Muruganar: Since the subtle truth of the above verses [i.e. the
whole of this work] can be understood only in the experience of
Jnana, what the Jnana-Guru bestowed upon me was only the
essence of the experience of Silence [mauna-anubhava-sara]. The
words “having come out in front of me” denote that, though the
Jnana-Guru ever exists within [as Self], He took me as His own by
appearing in the play of maya with a human physical body like us.
Since the clarity [of understanding Sri Bhagavan’s teachings] is
strengthened only through Silence, it is said “the silent elucidation”
[mauna vyakhyana].
1245. In my [non-dual] outlook [in which I alone exist as the
reality], you do not exist but only I; in your [non-dual]
outlook [when you realize that you alone exist as the
reality], I do not exist but only you; in one’s own
[non-dual] outlook [when one has realized the truth],
others do not exist but only oneself. When [the truth
is thus] known, all of them [I, you, oneself and others]
are [nothing but] ‘I’ [the Self].
1246. Know that I am neither a possession nor am I a possessor;
I am neither a slave [a devotee] nor a master
[the Lord]; I do not have the dutiful sense of doership
[the sense of doership that makes one feel ‘I have a
duty to do such-and-such things’] and I do not have
the sense of experiencership; I am not at all a doer.
1247. Since Self took me as its own, appearing here as the
Guru [Sri Ramana] in front of my objective knowledge
[my mind], which was lamenting as if it were
bound by maya, [I pay] most worthy obeisance only
to my infinite Self, which blazes like the sun.
1248. Know that, in spite of [any amount of] miserable poverty
which may befall [him], [this] Murugan [Sri
Muruganar] will never yield to the power of illusion
398 Sri Muruganar
[maya-sakti] of the empty world but only to the power
of consciousness [chit-sakti] of Supreme Ramana,
who is Siva.
Michael James: In the outward life of Sri Muruganar we clearly
saw how perfectly he lived up to the truth which he expresses in
this verse. In spite of the countless untold miseries and hardships
which he had to undergo from the day he came to Sri Bhagavan to
the day he left his body, Sri Muruganar was never shaken by and
never yielded even in the least to the powerful threats and temptations
of the worldly maya which surrounded him.
62 The State of Equality
(Sama Nilai Tiran)
1249. For those who remain in Self-abidance [jnana-atmanishtha],
which is the foremost dharma, there is not
even in the least [any differences such as] caste, lineage
or religion. There are no differences [such as
these] in Self, but only for the worthless, unreal body.
Sadhu Om: The five verses in this concluding chapter all record
actual sayings of Sri Bhagavan.
Since Self-abidance is itself the foremost dharma and the
source of all dharmas, and since the various other dharmas or
duties enjoined according to the different castes, lineages and religions
exist only for the body and not for the Self, those who abide
as Self need not perform any other dharma.
1250. Know that the vision of seeing equality – which is
[the experience] that Self alone is the reality in all
that is known [through the senses] – alone is the
‘equal vision’ [sama-darsana] which is lucidly proclaimed
by Sages, [who have attained] true knowledge
[mey-jnana] which abounds in equality [samarasa].
Michael James: The words ‘sama-darsana’ [equal vision] and
‘sama-drishiti’ [equal outlook] are generally taken by people to
mean seeing all people, all creatures and all things as equal. But in
this verse Sri Bhagavan reveals that the true meaning of
‘sama-darsana’ or ‘sama-drishti’ is only the experience of the
Jnani, who knows that His own Self is the sole reality behind the
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 399
whole world-appearance. So long as manyness and diversity are
known, inequality will definitely remain; only in the state of perfect
non-dual oneness, in which is known that Self alone exists, can
true equality be experienced.
1251. He [the Jnani] who is full of perfect peace, which is
the experience of the motionless Self, which is
devoid of the ego, is one whose mind is not happily
pleased by praise and who is never displeased by
blame.
Michael James: Refer to verse 38 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham.
1252. For the knower of reality [mey-jnani] – who does not
wrongly imagine to be real a life of glory, which is
according to prarabdha, in the attractive world, which
appears only in the unmanifest void like the pleasure
of clear water [seen due to a mirage] in the scorching
sunshine [of a desert] – even a life of degradation
[poverty or misery] will be [experienced as] a great
joy.
1253. Know that all the tapas which the great divine Sages
naturally do without selfish desires, is beneficial to
[all] the people of [this] ancient world, providing
[them] with beautiful auspiciousness.
Michael James: Since Sri Bhagavan has said in verse 30 of
Upadesa Undiyar, “Knowing that which survives the destruction of
‘I’ [the ego]), alone is excellent tapas...” we should understand that
Jnanis are always by their very nature doing the most perfect
tapas. Refer to verse 303 of this work, where Sri Bhagavan says
that the mere existence of a Jnani on earth is sufficient to remove
all the sins of the world, and to Day to Day with Bhagavan,
9-3-1946, where Sri Bhagavan says, “If one Jnani exists in the
world, his influence will benefit all the people in the world”.
Praise
(Vazhttu)
1254. Glory to Arunagiri; glory to Ramana Guru; glory to
the devotees who live by the one [unequalled] word
[Sri Ramana’s teachings]; glory to this ‘Light of
400 Sri Muruganar
Supreme Truth’ [paramartha dipam], which is a fine
garland [Kovai] of the sayings [Vachaka] of the
Gurumurti [Sri Ramana], in giving [its] fruit [Selfknowledge]!
Sri Ramanarpanamastu
utu
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 401
APPENDIX
Michael James: In the appendix of Guru Vachaka Kovai – Urai, Sri
Sadhu Om’s Tamil prose rendering of Guru Vachaka Kovai, the following
eleven stray verses of Sri Bhagavan were added, since they
are verses containing instructions or upadesa. At the end of the
note to each verse, it is indicated where in the text of Guru
Vachaka Kovai it is to be incorporated.
1. Because of the outlook of seeing [this world] as an
effect [karya] which consists of female, male, neuter
and so on, a doer who creates [it] exists as the cause
[karana] of this world. He destroys and creates this
world. Know [that] doer to be Hara [Lord Siva].
Sadhu Om: This verse is an adaptation by Sri Bhagavan of the
Sanskrit verse, “Stri-pum-napumsaka-aditvat jagatah karya-darsanat,
Asti karta sah hritva-etat-srijati-asmat-prabhuh-harah”, which is the
first verse of Siva-Jnana-Bodham.
Cause and effect are a dyad [dvandva], since each one has
a meaning only because of the other. The purpose of this verse is
to teach that, since the world-appearance is seen as an effect,
there must exist a God as the cause of it. Refer also to the first
verse of Ulladu Narpadu.
So long as the world is considered to be an effect, it is necessary
to accept that it has a cause. But when Self-knowledge
dawns, the world-appearance will be known to be nothing but Self,
and the dyad of cause and effect will therefore cease to exist.
When the world is thus no longer seen as an effect but only as the
uncaused, uncreated and unchanging Self, God will no longer be
known as a cause or doer – a separate entity – but will shine as
that one undivided Self alone.
This verse is to be incorporated in the text after verse 114.
2. O son, the conjurer [indrajalikan] deludes the people
of this world without deluding himself, whereas the
siddha deludes the people of this world and [at the
same time] deludes himself. What a great wonder
this is!
Sadhu Om: This verse is an adaptation by Sri Bhagavan of a verse
402 Sri Muruganar
in the Rama Gita, “Aindrajalikakarta-api bhrantan-bhramayati
svayam, Abhrantak eva siddhastu svabhratah bhramayatyaho”.
The conjurer who entertains people by performing tricks in
the streets knows that his tricks are not real. The siddha, on the
other hand, believes that the occult powers [siddhis] which he displays
are real, and hence is deluded into thinking that he has really
become great. However, his siddhis are in truth no more real than
the conjurer’s tricks. Therefore, though the siddha and the conjurer
are equal in their art of deluding others, the siddha is inferior to the
conjurer because he does not even have the clarity of mind to
understand that his powers are unreal.
This verse is to be incorporated in the text after verse 224.
3. O my troublesome soul, you do not give rest to me,
the stomach, for [even] one nazhigai [twenty-four
minutes]; you do not stop eating for one nazhigai in a
day; you never know my suffering. It is difficult to live
with you.
Sadhu Om: On the day of Chitra-purnima in the Tamil year Sukla
[the full-moon day in April-May 1929], a sumptuous feast was
served in the Ashram, as a result of which many devotees complained
of uneasiness in the stomach. One devotee then quoted a
well-known Tamil verse sung by Saint Avaiyar, in which she
addresses the stomach and says, “O my troublesome stomach, if
you are asked to forgo food for one day, you do not forgo [it]; if you
are asked to take [food sufficient] for two days, you do not take [it];
you never know my suffering. It is difficult to live with you.”
Hearing this, Sri Bhagavan remarked that under the circumstances
it was unfair to blame the stomach by quoting Avaiyar’s
verse, since it was only the soul or ego which had, for its own satisfaction,
stuffed the stomach beyond its capacity. “On the contrary,”
said Sri Bhagavan, “it would now be fair for the stomach to complain
against the soul,” and so He composed the above stanza.
Because Avaiyar lived on alms and often had to starve for days
together, she could justly complain against the troubles which the
stomach caused her. But through his verse, Sri Bhagavan humorously
instructed His disciples that those people who pamper the
sense of taste by overeating have no right to complain against the
stomach.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 403
This verse is to be incorporated in the text after verse 492.
4. O you who make a great celebration [about a socalled
birthday], [do you know] what is the [real birthday]?
The [real] birthday is only that day when, by
scrutinizing ‘Where were we born?’ [that is, “Where
or from what did the ego, the false notion “I am this
body”, rise?], we are born in the reality [Self], which
ever shines without birth or death as the one.
Sadhu Om: In 1912, when devotees first began to celebrate His
birthday [Jayanti], Sri Bhagavan composed this verse and the following
one.
In verse 11 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham Sri Bhagavan
has given an answer to the question, “Who is really born?” Likewise,
in this verse He has given an answer to the question, “What
is the real birthday?” Identifying the body as ‘I’ due to attachment
[dehabhimana] is the birth of the jiva. But this is in fact a false birth,
for identifying the body as ‘I’ is the death of our true state. On the
other hand, since abiding as Self is the only true life, the attainment
of Self-knowledge – which is gained by scrutinizing Self, the source
of the ego – alone is our real birth.
This verse and the next one are to be included in the text
after verse 603.
5. Subsiding [and merging into Self] by knowing oneself
– [having discriminated] thus, “Conducting a birthday
celebration instead of weeping over [one’s] birth
[as ‘I am this body’] at least on [one’s] birthday, is
like decorating a corpse” – alone is [true] knowledge
[or wisdom].
Sadhu Om: After revealing in the previous verse that Self-realization
alone is the real birth, in this verse Sri Bhagavan teaches that
it is ignorance to celebrate one’s false birthday, the day on which
one was born in this world as a body. Even though on other days
one forgets to lament, “Alas, I am born in this world by identifying
this body as ‘I’,” at least on one’s birthday one should remember to
lament thus and to repent for that mistake. If instead one celebrates
one’s birthday with great pomp, it is like happily decorating a
corpse – this body – instead of discarding it with aversion as not ‘I’.
404 Sri Muruganar
This verse and the previous one are to be incorporated in
the text after 603.
Editor’s note: There are eleven verses in this appendix. In
Michael’s manuscript verses 6-11 have already been incorporated
into the text in the appropriate places. They can be found in the
notes to verses 1027, 1127,1141, 1147, 1172, 1173.
Michael James: The following verse was found among the manuscripts
of Sri Muruganar with a note “To be added in Guru Vachaka
Kovai”, and was therefore included at the end of the appendix of
Guru Vachaka Kovai – Urai. This verse is to be incorporated in the
text after verse 592.
592a. Since death [yama-tattva] comes in the form of forgetfulness
[of Self], for the minds of those who [seek
to] attain a life of immortality, the five sense objects,
whose nature is tamas and which function together,
it is more dangerous than [any] deadly, cruel poison.
Michael James: Knowing objects through any of the five senses,
causes one to lose one’s Self-attention, in other words, to forget
Self. Such forgetfulness (pramada) or loss of Self-attention is
declared by Sages to be death (see verse 394 of this work, and
verses 321 to 329 of Vivekachudamani). Therefore, those who are
practising Self-enquiry in order to attain the immortal state of Self,
should be careful not to allow even the least room in their heart for
desire for sense-objects.
End
(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Bhagavan Sree Ramana Maharshi
and also gratitude to great philosophers and others for the collection)
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