GURU VACHAKA KOVAI
The Light of Supreme Truth
or
THE COLLECTION
OF GURU’S SAYINGS
Sadhu Om: At times Sri Bhagavan used to reveal some information
which was not given by the scriptures and Puranas such as:
a) how, in the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna began His teachings
with the doctrines of Ajata and Advaita, but then condescendingly
came down to various stages of Dwaita, and how He carefully
used words which, though suited to Arjuna’s limited grasping
power, also gives room for well-ripened aspirants to discover, even
now, the motive behind those words.
b) how at first, Sri Dakshinamurti answered His disciples’
doubts with wise and convincing replies before he took to his
method of teaching through Silence.
c) the following variation on the story of Kannappa:
Kannappa was proud of his eyes, which were very beautiful, so,
according to the divine saying, “I will forcibly deprive my true devotee
of all his possessions so that his mind may always cling to me”,
Lord Shiva tested Kannappa by making him offer even his treasured
and enviable eyes to the Lord. Thus even his slight attachment
to his body was removed and he was absorbed in Shiva.
As this information about Kannappa’s attachment to his
beautiful eyes was not revealed by the Puranas, but only by Sri
Bhagavan Ramana, we can infer that He is none other than Shiva,
who faced Kannappa at that time.
This information about Kannappa, which continues in the
next verse also, was gathered by Sri Muruganar. The information
about Sri Krishna’s teaching was recorded in verse 101 of this
same work, and also in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, talk, nos.
264, 364 and 611. The information about Sri Dakshinamurti’s verbal
teaching has not been recorded elsewhere so the reader may
ask Sri Bhagavan’s early devotees for the full story.
Editor’s note: These words were written more than twenty years
ago. Since that time the story of Dakshinamurti has appeared in
The Mountain Path, 1982, pp. 11-12. It will also appear in a few
months in Padamalai, in the chapter of ‘The Guru’.
165. The real glory of Shiva Bhakti is the salvation of the
devotee from the damnation caused by the delusion
“I am this filthy body”. This is the reason why Shiva
accepted Kannappa’s eyes when he offered them.
50 Sri Muruganar
24 The Ego’s Play
166. When properly scrutinized, God’s ordinance amounts
to this: If the ego rises, all things rise; if it subsides,
they all subside.
Sadhu Om: Refer to the last paragraph of Who Am I?
167. The delusion-bound ego-life, led by all creatures in
the three worlds, is nothing but the dance of ghouls
who possess corpses in a cremation ground.
168. Listen, here is a great wonder; people who cannot
even think unless empowered to do so by the Supreme
Power [Chit-Shakti] are performing karmas with great
eagerness and zeal!
169. This is much like the zeal of the cripple who declared,
“If someone will only lift and support me, I will meet
the host of enemies single handed, lay them low, and
raise a pile of corpses here”.
Michael James: The above two verses are condensed and summarised
by Bhagavan in the following verse.
B2. The futile activities of those madmen who, not realising
that they themselves are activated by the
Supreme Power, make efforts thinking, “Let us
acquire all the siddhis”, are like [the efforts] of the
cripple in the story who boasted, “If anyone will help
me stand, what worth will my enemies have before
me?”
Michael James: This verse also appears as verse fifteen of Ulladu
Narpadu Anubandham.
170. If, of their own accord, even the Wind God could not
stir, nor could the Fire God burn a wisp straw, how
can an ordinary jiva do anything at all with its separate
ego-strength?
Michael James: These analogies are based upon a saying in the
Kenopanishad.
171. Having its Self-Knowledge veiled by illusion, being
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 51
bound by the fruits of sinful karmas, and suffering,
having lost sight of the Supreme, the ego’s play is a
mere mockery, like the sculpture of the Supreme
which appears to carry the temple tower.
172. Would passengers, if wise, carry their luggage on
their own heads, while travelling on a train which
hauls, under steam-power, the heaviest loads like
wisps of straw?
173. Similarly, since, by it’s very nature, the Supreme
Power alone sustains all things, it is wise for men to
leave the burdens [cares and anxiety] of their life on
that Supreme Power, and thus to feel free.
Michael James: Refer also to Who am I? for the above two sayings.
The above three verses were summarised in the following
verse by Bhagavan:
B3. Look! While God is bearing the responsibility of the
whole world, it is a mockery for the false jiva to think
that it shoulders these responsibilities, like the
sculpture which appears to carry the temple-tower.
Whose fault is it if a passenger in a train, which is
hauling a heavy load, suffers by keeping his luggage
on his head instead of placing it on the rack?
Michael James: This verse also appears as verse seventeen of
Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham.
Are there not among us some aspirants who, seeing the sufferings
in this world, make efforts to reform it or even to heavenize
it? But here Sri Bhagavan exposes the foolishness of such aspirants
and advises them to surrender to God all their cares, both for
themselves and for the world, and to remain quiet!
174. One’s fear and quaking of one’s body while one is
entering samadhi is due to the slight ego-consciousness
still remaining. But when this dies completely,
without leaving even a trace, one abides as the vast
space of mere consciousness where Bliss alone prevails,
and the quaking stops.
Sadhu Om: The annihilation of the ego is alone the realization of
52 Sri Muruganar
Self, so when an aspirant’s attachment to his body is being
removed through enquiry, he [i.e. the ego] will feel that he is going
to die, hence some aspirants experience during their sadhana a
fear of death and sometimes even a physical shaking or great
heat, and so in this verse Sri Bhagavan clears the aspirant’s
doubts and explains these phenomena.
175. The only worthy occupation is to thoroughly absorb
the ego by turning Selfward and, without allowing it
to rise, to thus abide quietly, like a waveless ocean,
in Self-Knowledge, having annihilated the delusive
mind-ghost, which had been wandering about
unobstructed.
176. The truly powerful tapas is that state in which, having
lost the sense of doership, and knowing well that all
is His Will, one is relieved from the delusion of the
foolish ego. Thus should you know.
Michael James: The last sentence may also mean, ‘Therefore,
acquire such tapas’.
25 Treason Against Self
177. To be deluded and without Self-knowledge, and to
thus see all the worlds and the jivas therein as different
from oneself, is truly doing treason against Self,
that vast Space of Consciousness in whose view
nothing is other than Itself, and which absorbs everything
into Itself.
Sadhu Om: The rising of an individual ‘I’ [ego or jiva] is the reason
why Self is seen as many things. Therefore, since it seems to spoil
the true Oneness of Self, the ego’s rising is considered to be treason
against Self.
26 Heaven and Hell
178. O men, do not argue and quarrel amongst yourselves
about the reality of heaven and hell. As long as and
as far as this present world is real, till then and to
that extent heaven and hell are also real.
Sadhu Om: Many of us take great interest in arguing about the
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 53
reality and existence of other worlds such as heaven and hell, and
whether or not they are mere mytho-poetic imaginations. Sri
Bhagavan, however, points out that all such arguments are based
on a false premise, namely the reality of our own existence. “As the
eye, so is the sight”: Hence, believing oneself, the seer, to be real
we conclude that the world, the seen, is also real. But only when,
through Self-Knowledge we find the seer to be unreal, can we truly
know that this and all other worlds are also unreal. Until then we
have no true premise on which to judge the reality of this or of
other worlds, and, therefore, it is right to concede the same degree
of reality to all worlds, whether seen or unseen, as we give to the
seer of them.
179 If those geniuses who assert, “Yes, this world and
body which we see do really exist,” would sit and
scrutinize [this matter] with me, I would certainly
point out to them, “Yes, not only does this world
really exist, but also do other worlds such as heaven
and hell!”
Sadhu Om: Even scientists have nowadays come to understand
that the things which we perceive through the five senses cannot
be said to exist objectively in the same manner as they appear to
us, and that, because the senses cannot reveal things as they
really are, it is wrong to believe the senses and to decide the world
exists as we see it.
In this verse, although those who assert the reality of this
world are ironically called geniuses by Sri Bhagavan, why, instead
of advising them that the world is unreal, does He join them in saying
that it is real? There are two reasons why even Jnanis, who
have realised the world-appearance to be illusory, say that the
world is real:
1) The Jnani never sees Himself as an unreal and insignificant
jiva, but only as the real, unlimited and pure Awareness. Since
His outlook is that of Brahman, He will say according to the saying
“As the eye, so is the sight” – that the universe is real.
2) If the truth were told that this world and the others, such
as heaven and hell, are all unreal, the ignorant, who do not know
the Absolute Truth [due to the power of their vasanas, in the form
of worldly desires], would lose all fear of doing evil actions and all
54 Sri Muruganar
interest in doing punya karmas [meritorious actions]. So, it is in the
best interest of the ignorant that they should be told that evil
actions done in this world will take them to hell and virtuous actions
will take them to heaven.
Therefore, while the modern mind takes the present world
and the incidents happening here to be real, it is definitely wrong
for anyone to believe that all the worlds and incidents mentioned in
the Puranas are unreal, or for anyone to say that we may regard
these things as mere ‘mytho-poetic’ imaginations.
Refer also to The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, verse 26.
27 The Terror of Hell
180. Only those who do not know the nature of misery are
terrified of the tortures of hell. But if one understands
what misery is, one will know the way to end it, and
will certainly attain one’s natural state of Bliss.
Michael James: A thorough scrutiny will reveal that the nature of
misery is the rising of ‘I’, the ego, since no misery is experienced in
deep sleep, where there is no rising of the ego. The way to eradicate
misery is therefore to not allow the rising of the ego, which can
only be prevented by vigilant Self-attention. Hence, the enquiry
“Who am I?” is the only means to end all misery.
28 The Conquest of Hell (Naraka)
181. The Puranas say that Lord Narayana has killed the
demon [of misery], Naraka Asura. This demon is
none other than the one who lives as “I am this body,
the source of misery”. One who seeks Naraka
Asura’s [i.e., the ego’s] source, and thus annihilates
him, is truly Lord Narayana Himself.
182. The Deepavali-bath, which is taken by all people on
the fourteenth moon in remembrance of the conquest
of Naraka, signifies the bath of Jnana, which is taken
after destroying the ego Naraka Asura, by searching
for his source.
Michael James: Deepavali or Naraka Chaturdasi is an annual festival
celebrated in India on the fourteenth day of the waning moon
in October or November. In this verse Sri Bhagavan explains the
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 55
significance of the oil bath which is customarily taken by people on
the morning of that day in remembrance of the conquest of
Naraka-Asura by Lord Narayana [Maha-Vishnu].
The above two verses were summarised in the following
verse by Sri Bhagavan:
B4. He who kills Narakasura (the ego) with the Wheel [i.e.
weapon] of Jnana, by enquiring, “Where is the
source of Narakasura who rules over Narakaloka,
this wretched body, as ‘I’?”, is Lord Narayana; and
that day [of the ego’s destruction] is the auspicious
day of the fourteenth moon.
183. Deepavali signifies the great Self-Effulgence which
shines after destroying the reflected light [i.e. the
ego], Narakasura, who was ruling this filthy body,
which is the form of hell, as ‘I’.
Michael James: Deepavali means the “Festival of Lights”. The
above verse which explains the significance of the “Lights” [i.e. the
firecrackers used on that day] was rewritten as follows by Sri
Bhagavan with only a slight change in the meaning, but in poetry
which was clearer and more beautiful because of the precision of
each syllable.
B5. Deepavali signified the shining of Self after the
destruction, through enquiry, of the greatest sinner,
Naraka [the ego], who took the abode of this filthy
body, which is the form of hell, as ‘I’.
28 The greatness of Aham-mukha (Self-Attention)
184. While Self, the Source and Reality of the ego – which
can only know objects other than itself through its
senses – alone should be clung to, all an aspirant’s
efforts to concentrate on other objects [which are all
second and third persons], are just like ignoring
something while trying to grasp its shadow.
Michael James: There are two possible translations of the next
verse:
185a. For the extroverted intellect – which suffers greatly,
56 Sri Muruganar
knowing through the senses only the objects of form
and quality before it – the means to abide in Self is to
begin enquiring inwardly, “Who am I?”
185b. For the extroverted intellect, the means to abide in
Self is to begin enquiring inwardly “Who am I, who
suffer greatly, knowing through the senses only the
objects of form and quality before me?”
186. O miserable and extroverted people, failing to see the
seer, you see only the seen! To dissolve duality by
turning inwards instead of outwards is alone Blissful.
Sadhu Om: The terms “inward” and “outward” can be used only in
reference to the body, but as the body is itself a mere imagination,
such terms should not be taken literally. The reason for the use of
these words is that the aspirant, in his ignorance, feels his body to
be ‘I’, so on being told to “turn inwards” he should understand that
the should “turn Selfwards,” that is he should turn his attention
towards what he feels as “I”. In truth, Self is neither inside nor outside
the body as it alone exists beyond all limitations such as time
and space.
187. O mind, it is not wise for you to come out [in the form
of thoughts]; it is best to go within. Hide yourself
deep within the Heart and escape from the tricks of
Maya, who tries to upset you by drawing you
outwards.
Sadhu Om: The beginning of the verse may also be translated as,
‘O mind, it is not wise for you to expose yourself to name and
fame…’
188. [O mind,] do not waste your life in roaming outside,
pursuing wonders and courting enjoyments; to know
Self through Grace [Self-enquiry], and to thus abide
firmly in the Heart, is alone worthwhile.
189. Since it is only the notion of duality that spoils Bliss
and causes misery, to avoid yielding to the attractions
of that notion and to thus arrest all chitta vrittis
is alone worthwhile.
190. O people, not knowing that Shiva is dwelling within
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 57
you, you fly about like birds from one holy place to
another [seeking His Darshan]. Consciousness, when
abiding still in the Heart, is the Supreme Shiva.
Sadhu Om: To seek Shiva Darshan outside of oneself requires
movement, but it is revealed here that to be still is the only true
means of seeking it.
191. The ship would be destroyed by the storm if its sails
were spread outside, but it is safe when its anchor is
sunk deep into the sea. Similarly, if the mind were
sunk deep in the Heart instead of being spread outside,
that would be Jnana.
192. To arrest the mind – which tries to rush outwards –
securely within, is the truly heroic act of the ripe
aspirant who wants to see the Supreme Lord in the
Heart.
Sadhu Om: The end of this verse may also be translated as, ‘to
see the Supreme, who is Lord of the Saints.’
193. When the mind [i.e., the ego’s attention] which wanders
outside, knowing only other objects [2nd and
3rd persons] – begins to attend to its own nature, all
other objects will disappear, and then, by experiencing
it’s own true nature [i.e. Self], the pseudo-‘I’ will
also die.
Sadhu Om: This verse clearly teaches that if the mind [i.e. the first
person, ‘I’] tries to attend to itself, not only will the 2nd and 3rd persons
disappear, but the mind itself will also die. We are thus given
here a complete description of the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ that is, we
are told the method, what happens during the practice, and what
result it will have.
30 The Kingdom of God
194. God does not reside in any place other than the
Heart. It is due to illusion, caused by the ego, the ‘I
am the body’ idea, that the Kingdom of God is conceived
to be elsewhere. Be sure that the Heart is the
kingdom of God.
58 Sri Muruganar
Sadhu Om: Because we limit Ourself, and believe the tiny, unworthy
body to be ‘I’, it becomes necessary to think that there is, apart
from ‘I’ some glorious and almighty God, living in a wonderful and
faraway Kingdom of His own, who creates this vast universe. In
truth, however, since soul, world and God all sprout out and appear
form ‘I’, the Source, both God and His Kingdom should be known
to be Self. Refer also to the saying of Christ, “The Kingdom of God
is within you”. [Luke 17:21]
195. Know that you are the perfect, Shining Light which
not only makes the existence of God’s Kingdom possible,
but also allows it to be seen as a wonderful
heaven. To know this alone is Jnana. Therefore, the
Kingdom of God is within you.
Sadhu Om: We are taught here that the worlds exist because ‘we’
exist, and that they are known because ‘we’ know our own existence
as ‘I am’. In short, our Sat-Chit [Existence-Consciousness] is
the cause for the existence of the worlds and for the knowledge
about them.
196. The unlimited Space of Turiyatita which shines suddenly,
in all its fullness, within the Heart of a highly
mature aspirant during the state of complete absorption
of mind, as if a fresh and previously unknown
experience, is the rarely attained and true Shiva-Loka
[i.e., Kingdom of God], which shines by the Light of
Self.
31 Siva (The Supreme)
197. Having eradicated the ego, which was wandering like
a ghost in delusion, and having destroyed the duality
of the sentient and the insentient, the soul which is
thus drowned and well soaked in the light of the pure
and blissful Sahaja Samadhi, is the Supreme Shiva.
198. When the ego, the feeling of being separate entity, is
removed, chittam remains as Shivam, the Supreme
Chit, having merged within the Heart as “I am Consciousness
Itself”, and having thus destroyed all the
false and dense mental conceptions.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 59
Sadhu Om: The syllable tam in chittam represents ignorance
[tamas or darkness]; so when this tam is removed, pure chit alone
remains. Refer also to verse 244.
199. That eternal and subtlest Being which pervades and
transcends all is God, the Supreme Shivam, which is
realised when the widely-scattered mind is resolved
into its Source, having had its impurities removed
and having been well refined.
32 The Oneness of Hara and Hari (Shiva and Vishnu)
200. It is generally said that He who gives Jnana to jivas is
Hara, and that He who gives them heavenly pleasure
is Hari. But since the unshakeable Jnana is itself God
and the Highest Bliss, know that Hara and Hari are
not two but One.
33 Shiva and Shakti
201. The primal and unique Self – the Source and Heart
without which Para-Shakti, who functions in the form
of mind, cannot have even the slightest existence –
is the pure Shiva who shines in Chidambaram.
202. The Eternal Bliss, after reaching which the mind will
cease wandering outwards, is Shiva, the mindenchanter
[mano-ranjitam] who is the Heart that
gives the ever-fresh experience of Jnana.
203. The chittams of well-ripened aspirants are themselves
the gopikas who were charmed with love.
Know that the Heart which removes the ego’s pride,
just as the flame destroys the moth, is the gopikas’
Beloved One [Sri Krishna].
Michael James: The gopikas are the girls who lived and played
with Sri Krishna on the banks of the Jamuna.
34 Shiva Puja (Worshipping Shiva)
204. A peaceful attitude, together with a ‘silent-flow’ of
mind towards undeviating abidance in Self, Sat-Chit,
is the best worship of Shiva.
Sadhu Om: When the mind wanders outwards, away from the
60 Sri Muruganar
Source it is actually disgracing Self, and so its undeviating abidance
in the Self [its ‘silent flow’] is here said to be the true worship
of Self.
205. Saint Markandeya survived death by conquering even
Yama, and lived beyond his destined time. Know,
therefore, that death can be overcome by worshipping
Shiva, the death-killer.
Michael James: In the story of Saint Markandeya, Shiva killed
Yama, the God of death, and it is therefore said that by worshipping
Shiva, death can be overcome. The true worship of Shiva is
Self-abidance, as stated in verse 204 above, and since Self [Shiva]
is beyond birth and death, by abiding as Self one conquers death
and attains immortality.
206. Having obtained the non-dual view that all the eight
forms of the universe, which are [mere] mental conceptions,
are forms of God, to worship them properly
is also a good Shiva-puja.
Sadhu Om: The eight forms of the universe are space, air, fire,
water, earth, the sun, moon and jivas.
The non-dual view is obtained only after realising the oneness
of Self, and until then an aspirant must rely upon his mental
imagination to try and see and worship the eight forms as the forms
of God. Such worship, relying upon the imagination, may be taken
as good Nishkama Karmas [i.e., desireless action], which helps to
purify the mind and to thus point the way to liberation, as taught by
Sri Bhagavan in verses 3 and 5 of Upadesa Saram. However,
since this worship is mere mental activity it cannot be counted as
the highest and true Shiva puja mentioned in verses 204 and 205
above. Only the Jnani truly sees that the eight forms are not other
than Self [God]. So, He alone can truly perform Nishkama Karmas
or Shiva-puja.
Refer to Maharshi’s Gospel, Part I, chapter 3, where Sri Bhagavan
states, “An Atma-Jnani alone can be a good karma-yogi”.
35 The Truth of Namaskaram
207. The significance of the imperfect jiva’s Namaskaram
[prostration], when he places his proud head beneath
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 61
the feet of the Guru or God, is that his ego-sense, “I
am the body”, is to be crushed by Self-Knowledge.
36 Idol Worship
208. O you that ridicule idol-worship, having not discovered
through heart-melting love its secret, how is
that you [daily] worship the filthy idol of your body as
‘I’?
Sadhu Om: It is generally believed that idol worship is to mistake
an idol as God and to treat it accordingly, offering it a bath, cloth,
food, and all hospitality; but to mistake a body as Self, and to treat
it accordingly, is also a form of idol worship. Indeed to treat and
love a body as ‘I’ is the primal mistake which leads to all other
forms of idol worship. So it is clear that we are all idol-worshippers,
even if we take pride in scorning those that worship temple idols.
As long as one takes one’s body as ‘I’, there is no wrong in also
worshipping an idol as God, and until one feels that it is wrong to
treat one’s body as ‘I’, one should not be scornful and criticize others
for treating an idol as God. If one first roots out and destroys
the ‘I am the body’ notion, one is then in a position to criticize idol
worship, if such criticism is necessary [in the light of Jnana such
criticism will of course be clearly seen as unnecessary].
37 Vibhuti (Holy Ash)
209. When the fictitious ego, who has accumulated tendencies
from the beginningless past, is burnt by the
Fire of Jnana, that Reality which alone remains within
is the Sacred Vibhuti. This you should know.
Sadhu Om: Vibhuti represents Self, which alone shines after the
ego’s destruction.
210. The Supreme Lord having taken the form of the Guru,
lights the Fire of Jnana through His Supreme Speech
[Para Vak], proclaiming without words the One Syllable,
and thus burns the ego within the pure heart of
His disciple. The Vibhuti He gives is the restoration
of Self.
Sadhu Om: Vibhuti is prepared by burning cowdung in an airtight
62 Sri Muruganar
oven. In Saiva Siddhanta the jiva is generally known as the ‘cow’,
so the cow-dung used here symbolises the jiva’s vasanas, which
when burnt to ashes, leave only Self.
211. Those who wear such Vibhuti are unequalled in all
respects in this world. Such Vibhuti, which is Reality,
the thought-free and wonderful Jnana, is eternal
divine wealth.
212. Those who love and worship this Vibhuti, which is
Reality, will become this Vibhuti itself. Therefore,
having destroyed the ego, ever remain as this
Vibhuti, which is Self.
213. When the insentient ego turns inwards through
Self-attention and dies, the Fire of Jnana burns in the
Heart and consumes all the three worlds in its blazing
red flame, which is the significance of the red
kumkum.
Michael James: The three worlds are heaven, earth and the
nether regions.
38 Shiva’s Divine Bull
214. The reason why the Puranas describe the bull taken
by Shiva as His vehicle and similar creatures [taken
by other Gods] is to gradually cultivate in us a habit
of viewing all manifest forms as God, their Substratum.
39 Shakti and Shanti (Power and Peace)
215. Nothing is impossible for Power of Self, which is the
power of the Almighty’s Grace. Some people say “It
is possible only through the power of sword and
shield”, because of the dirty nature of Maya, the
notion “I am the filthy body”.
Sadhu Om: This verse explains the success achieved through the
divine power of non-violence during India’s fight for freedom.
216. Those that say that Power and Peace are different do
not know them rightly. What prevails internally as
Peace is expressed externally as Power.
B6. What is experienced as Peace while [the mind is]
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 63
inward turned, is experienced as Power while [it is]
outward turned. Only Jnanis who have deeply
enquired and realised [the true nature of Self prevailing
during both introversion and extroversion] know
that Peace and Power are one and the same.
Sadhu Om: There is a saying, “Which is more difficult, to build a
dam and control the flood, or to breach the dam and release the
flood?” To arrest the mind, which by habit wanders outside with
great force, and to keep it peacefully within the Heart, the Supreme
Power of Grace is needed; but to release the mind, and so allow it
to create [i.e., to conceive] and see innumerable worlds externally,
only a slight allowance of that Supreme Power is needed. Therefore,
the powers of creation and sustenance are but a tiny reflection
of that Supreme Power of Peace within. If an aspirant can
understand this, he will surely no longer feel any delight or wonder
in acquiring the eightfold siddhis and the power to create and sustain
whole universes.
217. The power to punish others in many ways can be
found in one who has cultivated a noble character
and virtuous behaviour; but having the greatest forbearance
is the only true sign of having really
achieved Godhood.
Sadhu Om: Rather than possessing outward powers to punish others,
the true and greatest power is to be inwardly at Peace, and
thus to be able to bear with and forgive others. Thus this verse
confirms the ideas of the previous verse.
40 Mahat and Anu (The Greatest and the Smallest)
218. When the opposite poles of a large magnet and a
small one are joined, the small one, by gaining the
greater power of the large one, becomes one with it
and shares the same properties.
Sadhu Om: In this verse a simile is used, without it being
explained. The large magnet is a simile for Mahat [i.e., God or
Self], the small one is a simile for Anu [i.e., jiva or ego], and their
opposite poles are God’s feet and the jiva’s head. Joining their
opposite poles, therefore, means that the jiva bows down and
64 Sri Muruganar
places his head beneath the Feet of God, and thus loses his individuality
by merging in God, and becomes God Himself. That is,
when the petty ego merges with Self through self-surrender it
shines as the Supreme Self Itself.
41 Desire for Siddhis
219. To greedily beg for petty siddhis from God, who is
ready to give Himself, the All [Sarva], is just like begging
for stale gruel from a philanthropist who has the
heart to give everything that is asked for.
220. One who longs for siddhis after arriving in the world
of Atma-Siddhas, the unlimited Space of Self-Consciousness,
is just like the one who wants sour and
stale gruel after reaching Heaven, which provides
divine elixir, the food of immortality.
Sadhu Om: The phrase ‘Atma-Siddha-Loka’ [the world of Atma-
Siddhas] may be interpreted in a number of ways; its principle
meaning must be Self, as all Atma-Siddhas are Self and nothing
but Self, and in their view there is certainly no loka or world other
than Self.
It may also mean the physical presence of the Guru or
Atma-Jnani, in which case this verse is a reference to those unfortunate
souls who, despite being blessed with the company of
Bhagavan Ramana, left Him due to their greed for siddhis. “After
arriving in Atma-Siddha-Loka” may alternatively mean, “though the
ego dwells under the mercy of the ever-attained [Nitya-Siddha]
Self”.
221. In the heart in which the flame of Supreme Devotion
blazes forth, all siddhis unite together. But such a
Devotee, whose mind has completely become a prey
to the Lord, will never feel a liking for them.
222. If an aspirant treading on the path of Liberation develops
a liking for siddhis, his ego will wax and hence
his bondage will become denser.
B7. Absolute stillness of mind alone is the attainment of
Liberation. This being so, tell me how can those who
yoke their mind to siddhis which are unobtainable
without mental efforts, drown in the Bliss of Libera-
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 65
tion which is the complete cessation of mental
activities?
Michael James: Refer also to The Call Divine, vol. IV p. 401. This
verse is in Collected Works as verse sixteen of Ulladu Narpadu
Anubandham.
Sadhu Om: This verse reveals that without ‘chitta-chalana’ [i.e.,
mental activities] no siddhis can be performed. However, the
siddhis which are apparently performed by a Jnani, whose mind is
dead, are different because they are caused by the Will of God,
and the Jnani therefore feels no sense of doership [i.e., He does
not feel that He Himself performs them]. Hence, we should know
that a Jnani performs siddhis without any mental activities, and that
one who, on the other hand feels “I am doing, I will do, or I can do
siddhis” is certainly not a Jnani.
223. O man, the most wonderful siddhi is that you, who
are really pure formless Self-Consciousness, take the
body with its legs and hands as ‘I’ and go dancing
about as if real; [compared to this] even the eight
kinds of siddhis are no real wonders.
Michael James: “ …go dancing about as if real…” refers to the
ego thinking that it performs karmas and undergoes many births
and deaths.
Sadhu Om: By referring to man as “pure”, it is pointed out that he
is not any of the impure attributes such as mind; by referring to him
as “formless”, it is pointed out that he is not any form such as the
body; by referring to him as Self-Consciousness it is pointed out
that he is not some inert matter such as the corpse-like body. But
since We are able to apparently change ourselves into all these
things [i.e. ego] which are directly opposed to our true nature, this
is said by Sri Bhagavan to be the most wonderful of siddhis. This
siddhi is made still more wonderful since We, the motionless Self,
having become an ego then perform actions and undergo many
births and deaths. Thus, Sri Bhagavan points out that, more wonderful
than any of the eightfold siddhis, is this siddhi by which the
ever-flawless Self appears to become the defective ego.
224. The attainment of Self, which is the Primal Thing, and
66 Sri Muruganar
the Knowledge of Liberation, is alone the true
Jnana-Siddhi. All the other eight types of siddhis
belong merely to the wavering mind and its power of
imagination.
42 Immortality
225. Immortality is reserved only for those who have died
into their ego, the filthy empty sense “I am the body”,
which veils their immortal nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda,
the only beloved Thing.
Sadhu Om: Some misguided aspirants take to various kinds of
yogas to prevent the body’s death or at least to lengthen its life, in
the false belief that that is immortality. Taking pity on such people,
Sri Bhagavan here clearly defines true Immortality.
226. Because of the delusion that the alien body is ‘I’, birth
and death seem to befall us. Therefore, immortality,
our true nature, is achieved only when this delusion
is completely removed.
Sadhu Om: Birth and death only befall the body, but taking the
body to be ‘I’ we feel “I am born, and I will die”. If we wish to
become immortal we therefore merely have to cast off this illusory
identification with the body, and we will then realise that we are the
Ever-Unborn and Ever-Immortal Self.
227. Death is nothing but the delusion that “I am the alien
body”, and Immortality is nothing but the Bliss that is
gained when that delusion dies through the knowledge
of the non-dual Self.
228. Can immortality be obtained unless the one who
takes this body as ‘I’ dies as Self, having become
afraid of this body’s death and having, therefore,
enquired “Who is this I?” [No.]
229. Know and accept that Immortality is only the shining
of the true Clarity [i.e. pure Consciousness], without
the delusion of mental modifications. Death cannot
be overcome by anything other than that Pure
Consciousness.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 67
Sadhu Om: As death is the result of ignorance, it is said in this
verse that it can be overcome only by Knowledge, the Pure Consciousness
of Self.
43 Kaya and Kalpa
230. To name a transient and illusory thing which is born
to die, as Kaya is simply a polite mockery. Only
Self-Consciousness, which is found to be the Ultimate
Truth, is permanent [Kaya].
Michael James: Kaya literally means permanent, but it has come
to mean in common usage the body.
231. The real, unique Self-Knowledge, which is distilled
and obtained when the repeatedly rising ego merges
into its Source is the true Kalpa [medicine].
Michael James: Yogis generally use the word Kalpa to mean the
elixir for lengthening the body’s life, but Sri Bhagavan points out
with this verse that the true Kalpa is Self-Knowledge.
44 The Attainment of Bodily Immortality
232. Only those who do not know that the body is the
root-disease which gives birth to all other diseases
will perform tapas to achieve bodily immortality,
instead of trying to root out this disease; such people
are like one who toils hard to water mere weeds.
233. Only those worthless people whose form is the poisonous
and non-existent ego, which is the base of all
terrible diseases, will untiringly perform tapas to
immortalize the body, like one who takes a medicine
to aggravate his disease.
234. As a result of prolonged, worthy, and well-performed
tapas, desiring to stabilize one’s individuality instead
of ever-remaining in the Supreme Silence, is due to
dense ignorance, like achieving poverty with great
longing and struggling.
235. For those who see through perfect Jnana, this bodily
life is unreal and merely mental, and therefore know
68 Sri Muruganar
that there is only misery and no benefit in jiva’s prolonging
their jiva’s lifetime.
45 Vairagya (Dispassion)
236. Know that people who offer you praise and puja with
worldly ambitions, to make your heart swell with joy,
are only a golden bait offered by Maya to entice you,
who are doing tapas with great vairagya.
Sadhu Om: If the praise offered by others gives one even the
slightest joy, then like bait, it will cause one’s downfall. Such praise
does not, of course, bind a Jnana-Mukta, who has lost his individuality,
and so Sri Bhagavan clearly addresses this verse to “you who
are doing tapas”.
Many aspirants, even before reaching the goal of Egolessness,
are enchanted and deluded by the praise and worship of
others, and forgetting the goal, they run after name and fame, and
going from place to place, they give teachings, blessings, etc. To
save them from such self-ruin, Sri Bhagavan graciously gives
these instructions. Just as the bait, though golden, will kill its prey,
so also name and fame, though seemingly worth achieving, will
ruin the aspirant by strengthening his ego, and will hinder him from
reaching the Goal.
237. Supreme Jnana dawns with ease only for those fortunate
ones in whose hearts dispassion towards the
pleasures of this world and the next springs forth
naturally in this birth.
238. Know well that the experience of Bliss exists only in
Self and never in this life of delusion, and hence
achieve Self-Knowledge, which is the Space of Grace
and the final state of Supreme Silence.
Sadhu Om and Michael James: Since space is all-pervading,
vast, abundant, and subtle, Sri Bhagavan uses the word ‘Space’ –
as in ‘Space of Grace’, ‘Space of Consciousness’, ‘Space of Bliss’
etc., – to denote the idea of all-pervading vastness, abundance,
and subtlety, which are all qualities of Self.
239. O my dear friend Vairagya who is always enlightening
me with Knowledge by destroying the dense delu-
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 69
sion of desire, please do not abandon me who ever
claim your friendship.
Sadhu Om: To stress the instruction that we should never give up
vairagya, it is nicely expressed here in the form of a prayer
addressed to Vairagya, which is personified as a friend, asking it
never to forsake us.
240. O my virtuous friend Vairagya, when the proverb
says, “Friendship, even with a wicked ghost, is difficult
to break, once it is made”, if I break my friendship
with you who has been protecting me from evil
and leading me home during all my past lives, it
would be worse than meeting me with the hostility of
the whole world.
Sadhu Om: Since it is difficult to break a friendship, even when it is
found to be harmful, it is nearly impossible to break one which is
known to be beneficial. However, if a beneficial friendship were
broken, especially with such a friend as Vairagya, it would be the
worst calamity that could befall one.
241. Whatever thought may rise, not to let it live or grow,
but to destroy it then and there, without the least
slackness, by merging it back into its Source, is powerful
and intense Vairagya.
Sadhu Om: Formerly, we were taught by the Scriptures that
Vairagya is to feel aversion for our desires and to reject them, but
now Sri Bhagavan teaches us that true Vairagya is to maintain a
vigilant Self-attention by which every thought, instead of being
allowed to rise and develop, is turned back and merged into its
Source.
242. If, by the wonderful weapon of Self-enquiry, you
would continue destroying, one by one, all the innumerable
foes – the vasanas rising in the form of
thought – as and when each of them comes out of
the fort – chittam – the enemy’s fort will finally be in
your hands.
Sadhu Om: All the vasanas, which have the collective name of
70 Sri Muruganar
chittam, have their abode in the Heart [refer to Ulladu Narpadu
Anubandham verse 19, Arunachala Ashtakam, verse 7, and verse
249 of this work], so the enemy’s fort which we will capture is nothing
but our own home, the Heart. The destruction of the enemy is
nothing but Mano-Nasha, the destruction of our own mind.
The above two verses are both to be found in prose form in
Who am I?
46 Jnana and Vairagya
243. If the world that is seen is found to be not apart from
the seer, that is Jnana. Vairagya is clinging fast to
Self and rejecting this world with detachment viewing
it as merely void.
Sadhu Om: Though the world is seen both by the Jnani and the
ajnani, the Jnani does not see it as being other than Himself. If, on
the other hand, one sees the world as being apart from oneself,
one is an ajnani and one is only at the stage of practice, in which
case one should view the world as an illusory appearance to be
rejected. This practice is vairagya, which is necessary to gain
Jnana. Refer also to Who am I?
47 The Nature of Chittam
244. Just as a clear prism appears to be red when it is
near a red flower, so Chit appears to be the chittam
when it is near [but not truly associated with] the
dirty worldly tendencies. The chittam will remain and
shine as the Supreme Chit alone, if the syllable
‘-tam’, which represents the impurity, Maya, is
removed.
Sadhu Om: The prism remains ever colourless and its red colour is
only apparent. To remove the red colour, it is sufficient if the flower
is removed, because the prism will then be seen to be colourless
as before. Similarly, Chit truly remains ever pure and the impurity
of Maya is only apparent. This apparent association of the
ever-pure Chit with Maya is known as ‘chittam’ and to remove
‘-tam’ [i.e., Maya], which is merely attention wrongly focused on
2nd and 3rd persons, it is sufficient if attention is focused on the 1st
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 71
person, because the ‘chittam’ will then be known to be the
ever-shining Chit, Shiva.
48 Chitta Suddhi (Purity of Mind)
245. The beauty of external objects induces pleasure but
does great harm; inner purity, however, is not like
this, so it alone is the true beauty. [This is why] wise
men adore the One who is pure in heart and say with
wonder, “This is God in human form”.
246. Great disaster will result if, instead of seeking inward
beauty, ones seeks only outward beauty. Such [foolishness]
is just like the moth which loves the beauty
of the flame, or the cobra which loves the female
viriyan snake.
Sadhu Om: The viriyan is a very venomous snake, so if a male
cobra loves a female viriyan, he will be courting his own destruction.
49 Death
247. To stray from the immortal Self, which is the Primal
Thing, the Source of all, the Home of Love, the form
of Bliss, and the Space of Supreme Jnana, is Death.
Michael James: ‘To stray from the immortal Self’ means to rise as
an ego.
248. By approaching the Guru and serving Him faithfully,
one should learn through His Grace the cause for
one’s birth and for one’s suffering. Knowing then
that these are due to one’s straying form Self, it is
best to abide firmly as Self [since this is the means to
avoid such Death].
50 The Jiva’s Dwelling Place
249. The jiva dwells in the Heart, which is beyond mental
conception, and his vasanas also dwell there. If,
instead, the vasanas dwelt above, in the brain, would
they not be destroyed when the brain [i.e. head] is
cut off?
Sadhu Om: Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastri was once arguing with
72 Sri Muruganar
Sri Bhagavan, saying that vasanas dwell in the sahasrara [i.e. the
brain], but Sri Bhagavan replied that if that were so, the vasanas
would be destroyed and moksha would be attained when a person
was beheaded. Moreover, the vasanas must dwell with their possessor,
the jiva, whose home, the Heart, must be within the trunk of
his body and not within the head, since when a soldier’s head is cut
off in battle, his body may continue showing signs of life for some
time. Sri Bhagavan, thus concluded that the Life-Centre, which is
the dwelling place of the jiva and his vasanas, is the Heart and not
the brain.
250. Since the flame of Kundalini rises upwards [from the
base of the spine – the mooladhara] and the Nectar
flows downwards from the brain [the sahasrara], the
target is the Heart, the Life-Centre.
Michael James: In the waking state, when world and body-consciousness
are felt, the I-consciousness is spread throughout the
body, but when Self-attention is practised the I-consciousness
begins to withdraw itself. This withdrawal takes place through the
channel known as Sushumna Nadi, which stretches from the base
of the spine [the mooladhara chakra] to the brain [the sahasrara
chakra]. This rise of the I-consciousness through the Sushumna
Nadi is known as the rise of Kundalini which is described as a serpent
only for the dull beginners in yoga [see Vichara Sangraham,
The Compilation on Self-enquiry, Chapter 7]. The I-consciousness
having been withdrawn and gathered in the Sahasrara, will then
flow down towards its Source the Heart, and the thought-free vacuum
thus left in the Sahasrara is felt as bliss. This bliss is known by
Yogis as the Nectar and it is felt to be flowing downwards as the
I-consciousness descends towards the Heart.
251. Whoever contemplates upon whatever centre, as if
Self were dwelling there, it will appear to that person,
due to the mind’s power of concentration, that Self is
experienced in that centre. Yet, the true centre of Self
is only the Heart wherefrom the ‘I-thought’ rises and
where it sets as a place of refuge.
Michael James: The phrase ‘whatever centre’ may include any of
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 73
the six imaginary yogic centres or any other point in the body which
may be chosen for the practice of concentration.
252. Leaving aside Self, the Heart, with which one is connected
in all [the three] states, if one concentrates
upon any other centre [as if one were dwelling there],
one will only be absorbed in a delusive laya and one
cannot thereby know Self and be saved.
51 The Heart
253. The Heart is said to be of two different kinds, one to
be ignored and the other to be considered. The first
kind, which is perceptible through the senses, being
on the left side of the chest, is inert.
Sadhu Om: Since the pulsation which is the sign of life is caused
by the fleshly organ on the left side of the chest, people generally
conclude that it is the Heart which is the Life-Centre or Seat of Self
in the body. Sri Bhagavan here denies this opinion and teaches the
place of the true Heart.
254. The Heart which pervades both inside and outside
the body, shines on the right side of the chest,
according to the experience of Jnanis. Know that it is
only for fools that mistake the body for Self that the
heart is in the form of a fleshly organ on the left side
of the chest.
Sadhu Om: See also: “The wise man’s Heart is at his right, but a
fool’s heart is at his left” [Ecclesiastes X-2].
It is well known to those who understood Sri Bhagavan correctly
that, although He said that the Heart is on the right side of
the chest, He never advised anyone to meditate on that point in the
body. It is unfortunate therefore that some devotees of Sri Bhagavan,
having not reflected over verse 22 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham
– “That [Heart] is both inside and outside, yet it exists
beyond [the limitations of] both inside and outside” – used to meditate
upon the right side of the chest and also recommended others
to do so. Because the teaching in verse 261 and 262 of this work
have not been recorded in any of Sri Bhagavan’s other works, and
because these two verses have not been adequately translated
and made available in any language other than Tamil, such a
74 Sri Muruganar
wrong interpretation persists even now and people still continue
with this wrong practice. Verse 3 of The Five Verses on the Oneness
of Self, which also appears in this work as verse B8, should
be referred to and understood here.
255. If Self, the Lord of the soul, did not indisputably
reside on the right side of the chest, why do one and
all have the habit of touching only that place [to
denote their self], whenever they say ‘I’?
256. The indescribable Heart is the mirror in which all [i.e.,
the entire universe] appears. The One Single Consciousness,
the Space of mere Being, alone is the
Primal and Supreme Thing, the Silent Whole.
Michael James: “That One Single Consciousness, the Space of
mere Being” means the unalloyed and simple Consciousness “I
am”, and not “I know myself”, and, hence, it is called “mere Being”.
Refer to verse 26 of Upadesa Undiyar, “Knowing Self is being
Self”.
257. Heart, the Source, is the beginning, the middle, and
the end of all. Heart, the Supreme Space, is never a
form, It is the Light of Truth.
258. The death of the mind drowned in the Ocean of
Self-Consciousness is the eternal Silence. The real ‘I’
is the Supreme Heart-Space which is the great Ocean
of Bliss.
Sadhu Om: This verse says that the mind drowns in the Ocean of
Self-Consciousness [Chit], which is the real ‘I’ [Sat] and the Ocean
of Bliss [Ananda]. Hence, the subtle manner in which this verse is
phrased gives the implication that WE are the Ocean of Sat-Chit-
Ananda.
259. You [the mind] cannot cognize Self, which is the perfect
unbroken Existence and the One without a second.
The Heart, Sat-Chit-Ananda, which is the same
thought-free Self, is Annamalai.
Sadhu Om: Since even the gods Brahma and Vishnu were unable
to know the top or bottom of Arunachala [the blazing column of
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 75
Self-Consciousness], It is named, in Tamil, Annamalai, which
means “Unattainable Hill”. Thus, when even the gods cannot
cognize Self, the mind cannot do so either; that is to say neither the
gods nor the mind can know their Source unless first they merge
into it and lose their individuality [i.e., unless, by remaining as Self,
they cease to be gods or mind].
260. He who knows that Heart will never be ruined; having
lost the sense of bondage, He becomes the Supreme.
He is free from the thoughts of duality and He alone
enjoys, without delusion, the real Bliss.
261. Though the Heart is said to be both inside and outside,
it truly exists neither inside nor outside,
because the appearance of the body, which is the
base of the difference ‘inside’ and ‘outside’, is itself a
mental conception.
262. While the body is [in fact] in Self, one who thinks that
Self [or Heart] is within the insentient body is like one
who thinks that the screen – which is the substratum
of that cinema picture – is contained within the
picture.
Michael James: The translation of B8, which appears here in the
original Tamil text, is the same as the translation of verse 262
above, but in its Tamil original Bhagavan has improved upon the
style of the previous verse. This verse also appears as verse 3 of
Ekatma Panchakam (The Five Verses on the Oneness of Self).
The screen is the substratum on which all pictures appear
and disappear and in a similar way Self is the substratum in which
the picture of this whole universe including the body is contained. It
is, therefore, incorrect to say that Self is within the body. Sri
Bhagavan uses this simile to drive home the point that, just as the
screen is real and the pictures are unreal, Self is the Reality and
the pictures of the mind, body and universe are unreal. How, therefore,
can the Real be contained in the unreal?
Suppose a pot made of ice were immersed deep in the sea,
would it not be wrong to say that the water is contained only within
the pot? In fact, the water is both inside and outside, and even the
pot itself is only water. Similarly, the Realised One knows that Self
alone exists, and that there can be no question of It existing inside
76 Sri Muruganar
or outside the body, since the body and the whole universe are
nothing apart from Self. This undiluted truth exists even in the state
of ignorance, though the ignorant are unaware of it. ‘Inside’ and
‘outside’ are only in reference to the body, so when the body is
found to be unreal, how can the limitations of ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ be
applicable? Therefore, Self, the Reality, should not be conceived
as being in any way contained within the body.
263. Therefore, only the Jnani – who has seen the death of
the ego which is in the form of the notion ‘I am the
body’ – will, with His sharp, subtle, and divine outlook,
which is completely freed from delusion, see
the Heart everywhere and attain greatness.
264. The Heart, where the Supreme Silence of God’s Grace
is shining, is the only state of Kaivalyam, in the Presence
of which the rare pleasure of all the heavens are
revealed to be nothing.
Michael James: Kaivalyam is the state of Supreme Oneness.
Sadhu Om: Sri Bhagavan used to compare all the pleasures available
in the celestial worlds, including even Brahma Loka, to the tiny
specks of moonlight which fall on the ground through the dense
foliage of a large tree, whereas the Jnani’s experience of Bliss is
like the full moon-shine in an open space.
265. The Heart, which shines pure after the eradication of
wavering [tendencies] and veiling [delusion], and
which remains as the One Truth, is the Supreme
Atma-Loka for which even the gods of heaven are
longing.
Michael James: Atma-Loka simply means Self, and it is here
called a ‘loka’ (i.e., world) in order to compare the Bliss of Self with
the pleasures of celestial lokas. Since even the gods in the celestial
lokas (such as Swarga Loka and Brahma Loka), though they
are enjoying the greatest pleasures, are still longing for the Bliss of
Self, these celestial lokas are worthless.
52 The Guru
266. The Self-Consciousness which shines after the
destruction of the [root] thought – the identification
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 77
with any one of the [three] bodies as ‘I’ – is, the
Almighty Power [Akila Para Shakti] who resides as ‘I’
in the hearts of all created beings.
Michael James: It is generally supposed that Omnipotence (Akila
Para Shakti) is the power of God who creates and sustains the
whole universe and the individuals therein. However, this power of
creation and sustenance is merely able to limit ‘I’ to a particular
body, but since the true Self-Consciousness experienced by a
Jnani destroys this limitation, It is a greater Power. Therefore, Sri
Bhagavan points out that the Self-Consciousness of a Jnani is the
true Akila Para Shakti.
267. This natural Self-Consciousness of mere Existence,
without any sense of duality, is the Supreme Silence,
which is glorified [by the scriptures] as the perfection
of Jnana, and which cannot be known by the ego, the
foolish demon-nature.
Sadhu Om: The Self-Consciousness referred to here denotes
Sat-Chit, and it is described as natural because it is ever-attained,
and not something to be newly achieved.
The eight-fold siddhis depend upon the functioning of the
ego, which is here said to be a demon nature. These siddhis are,
therefore, demonic powers and not divine powers as people generally
believe.
In the above two verses no direct mention is made of the
guru, but they are given in the beginning of this chapter in order to
guide aspirants who are intent upon finding the true Guru. These
verses teach that the Omnipotence [Akila Para Shakti] of the Guru
lies in His Power to destroy the ego, and that Power is simply His
mere Self-Consciousness, and not the ability to perform and display
miraculous siddhis.
268. Know and discover that He alone who possesses
such Akila Para Shakti [i.e., the Power of Supreme
Silence which consumes all by remaining as mere
Existence-Self-Consciousness], is the Real Guru who
can by His unlimited Grace merge any soul who
comes to Him into the non-dual Self, the Jnana
beyond all speech.
78 Sri Muruganar
Sadhu Om: The words “any soul” are used to stress the point that
even non-human creatures will be given liberation by such a Powerful
Guru, as, for example, birds and beasts attained Liberation
through the Grace of Bhagavan Ramana. Considering this, even
immature human beings must be assured of uplift if they come to
such a Real Guru.
269. Truly, perfect discipleship – which is the steadfast
Supreme Devotion that flares up with the merging of
the ego into the Light of Supreme Stillness [i.e.
Self-Consciousness] – is alone the right Guruship.
Thus you should know.
270. He who turns you towards Self and reveals to you the
knowledge of Self, is the Guru. In truth He is Self and
He is God. Cling to Him.
Michael James: As the whole universe which we see is but a projection
of Self, Self alone is God, the real creator of the universe. It
is also Self alone that, after maturing the devotee through so many
births, takes the form of the human Guru in order to reveal Jnana
to him. Thus God, Guru and Self are one and the same.
271. He who gives ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ to those who come
to him is both Yama [Death] and Brahma [the Creator]
to them. But the truly divine Guru is the one
who proves to them that nothing is to be newly
accomplished by them.
Sadhu Om: The ‘would-be guru’, by ordering those who come to
him to perform many actions [Karmas] such as Japa or Dhyana, is
only loading a greater burden of new actions upon the aspirants,
who come to him for relief, because they are unable to bear the
fruits of the actions they have already accumulated in the past.
Instead of relieving them, the would-be guru plays the part of Yama
[Death] by crushing and killing them with a greater burden of
Karmas.
Since individuals have to reap the fruits of their actions
through innumerable births, the ‘would-be guru’ plays the part of
Brahma [creator], by making them perform more karmas and thus
making them take more births in order to reap the fruits of these
actions.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 79
However, as the Sadguru knows the truth that Self alone
exists without a second, He convinces those who approach Him
that they are none other than Self. When, through the power of His
Silence, they come to understand this truth, they feel that they
have nothing to do, but that they merely have to Be. As doing alone
is action [karma] but Being is not, and as it is only karma that
brings birth and death, they are relieved form both Brahma and
Yama.
Unlike other Gurus who instruct their disciples to do the four
yogas [Karma, Raja, Bhakti, or Jnana], Sri Bhagavan Ramana
makes us stop doing anything in order to discover, “Who does
these yogas?”, and thus He turns our attention towards ‘I’, which is
the right clue to keep us quiet. This is the nature of the Real Guru.
272. Since one does not love to listen to the teaching of
the Supreme Self, which is ever going on in the
Heart, one comes out with great enthusiastic delusion.
Because of this, one needs a Guru outside.
273. That Self-Consciousness [Sat-Chit] which shines in
all, as All, is the Guru.
Sadhu Om: Guru is That which exists and shines as ‘I’ in all, and is
the one common factor in all.
274. Those who do not understand that the Jnana-Guru is
the Formless Supreme Space, though He appears in
the human form, are the chief amongst all the vilest
sinners and criminals.
53 The Guru’s Grace
275. For those who are suffering here in samsara, which
has been created by the good and bad karmas that
are the result of dark delusion, the only medicine to
cure their mental anguish is the great enthusiasm
which they feel for the Guru’s Grace.
276. The Guru is the One, who removes the sufferings and
bestows the Bliss of Liberation upon those who,
when they come to Him, are swept away by the force
of various karmas done with the attachment of likes
and dislikes.
80 Sri Muruganar
277. The gracious look of the Guru, the philosophers’
stone, will transmute even the jiva’s impure nature,
the rusty iron, into pure Jnana, the gold. Therefore,
the worthiest thing to choose, seek and steadfastly
cling to is the Darshan of the Guru’s gracious look.
278. To jivas, who are deluded into taking the false to be
true, the Guru, who is Self, the Light to all the gross
lights of the universe, exposes the falseness of their
truth.
Sadhu Om: ‘The false’ in this verse denotes the whole universe,
including the ego which sees it. ‘Their truth’ means that which
appears to be true in their deluded outlook.
The gross lights of the universe [the sun, moon, fire etc.] are
seen by the eyes, the eyes are known by the mind, and the mind
borrows light from Self; therefore, the Guru who is Self is said to be
the Light to all the gross lights of the universe. Refer also to Ulladu
Narpadu Anubandham [The Supplement to the Forty Verses] verse 7
(Continued ...)
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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