GURU VACHAKA KOVAI
The Light of Supreme Truth
or
THE COLLECTION
OF GURU’S SAYINGS
Greatness of the Upanishads
(Upanisha Matchit Tiran)
509. Grace is the form of God, who has never known ignorance
[ajnana]. The true knowledge of Brahman
[brahma-jnana] is the dais on which the Lotus Feet of
God are placed. The Upanishads are the golden sandals
of those Feet. For the petty ego [modern man]
who is possessed by the madness of scientific
knowledge [vijnana], the only worthy duty is to hold
on his head the Upanishad-sandals.
Sadhu Om: The teaching imparted through this verse is that the
foremost and immediate duty of the modern mind, which is full of
scientific knowledge, is, instead of feeling proud of its petty knowledge,
to give up its pride and follow the path of Self-knowledge
shown by the Upanishads. Since it is a well-known fact that the
knowledge of worldly science, though it has developed more and
more, has never yet found an end, this verse instructs that, if it
wants to achieve a complete knowledge, the human intellect which
engages in science, which will never provide anything but an
incomplete knowledge, has to take refuge under the mercy of the
Upanishads, which alone teach Self-knowledge, the final and complete
knowledge. This is the only way for it to be saved, and this is
its foremost duty.
4 Chapter Concerning Upasana
(Upasanait Tiran)
Michael James: Upasana means worship, that is, clinging to God
through body (by doing puja), through speech (by doing japa or
reciting stotras) or through mind (by doing dhyana).
510. Those fortunate devotees who have seen the Lotus
Feet of God, which shine supremely pure in their
heart, will have all their evil and inauspicious tendencies
eradicated and will shine with the Light of Knowledge.
511. Devilish qualities [asura sambat] will bring only ruin
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 143
on you. Knowing this well, develop only divine qualities
[deyva sambat]. Upasana, which will cultivate
divine qualities in the heart, alone will save the soul.
Sadhu Om: Here, upasana should be understood to mean clinging
to Self, that is, attending to Self, which is Self-enquiry. For,
Self-enquiry alone bestows all the divine qualities [deyva sambat].
The word ‘sambat’ means ‘that which is earned’. Since all things
earned externally will bring only misery to the jiva, ‘deyva sambat’
alone is worthy to be earned, and is developed solely by Selfenquiry.
512. Though the non-dual knowledge [advaita jnana] is
difficult to attain, it becomes easy to attain when the
true love, bhakti, for the Feet of the Lord [Siva]
becomes intense, since His Grace, the revealing
Light which dispels ignorance, then begins to flow.
513. By firmly fixing with love the Feet of the Lord in the
Heart, one can sever the bondage of delusion, and by
so cutting the bondage; one can behold the true
Light of supreme knowledge, one’s Heart-lotus having
blossomed.
Michael James: Readers should here remember the teaching of
Sri Bhagavan that Self alone is denoted by the terms ‘the Feet of
God’, ‘Grace’, and so on.
514. If the head of the jiva is fixed at the Feet of Siva, the
jiva will shine as Siva Himself. Because, the petty
ego, losing its nature of moving, remains still in the
real state of Self, which is motionless.
Michael James: The nature of the wave is to move. The nature of
the ocean is to remain motionless. If the wandering wave loves the
ocean, that is, if it loves the nature of the ocean, namely, to remain
still, it will lose its wave-form, subside, drown into the ocean and
thereby become the ocean itself, that is, it will become motionless.
Likewise, if the jiva, the wandering mind, loves Siva, the Self, he
will lose his jiva-nature, that is, the nature of moving and standing
as a separate entity, dissolve in Siva and become Siva Himself.
515. In order to sever the strong, long-standing and false
144 Sri Muruganar
bondage and be saved, without wasting any time,
meditate always with rousing and intense love on the
golden Lotus Feet of the Lord.
Sadhu Om: “Ever practise meditation upon Self [atma-dhyana] and
achieve the supreme bliss of Liberation,” says Sri Bhagavan in the
concluding chapter of Vichara Sangraham. Thus, we should understand
that meditating upon Self is what is recommended in this
verse.
516. The true form [nature] of God [Self] cannot be understood
except by the mind which stands firmly still in
nishta [Self-abidance or samadhi]. Therefore, without
allowing the mind either to wander as a vagabond
[i.e. to undergo waking and dream – sakala] or to fall
into laya [i.e. to fall into sleep – kevala] due to tiredness,
train the mind to be conscious and still on one
target [Self].
Michael James: It is indicated in this verse that making the mind
still, that is, keeping it unaffected by sakala (the state of manyness)
and kevala (the state of nothingness), is what is called nishtha or
samadhi.
517. Give up all attachments towards the petty
sense-objects [vishayas], which are caused by the
delusion ‘I am this fleshy body’. The silent mind [thus
stilled by renouncing sense-objects] is the pure
mani-lingam [superior form of Siva-lingam]. If this is
adored [i.e. if this mental silence is carefully preserved
with great love, which is the real worship of
it], it will bestow unending bliss.
518. All days, all planets, all yogas and all orais are auspicious
days, auspicious planets, auspicious yogas
and auspicious orais for an aspirant to do this
upasana [spiritual practice].
Michael James: Yogas and orais are particular parts of time in a
day, as calculated in astrology.
Sri Muruganar: Since the days, planets, yogas and orais are
within the conception of the mind, some of them may be inauspi-
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 145
cious, but only for worldly activities. None of them can do any harm
to an aspirant who wants to do Self-attention [atma-dhyana], which
is the real worship of God, because it is concerned with Self, which
is beyond the mind. The ten verses sung by Sri Jnanasambandhar
in order to conquer the effects of planets and also some other
songs of Tamil saints assure us that none of these time factors can
create any obstacle for a devotee who comes under the power of
the Grace of God.
519. It is very rare to get full faith in One [God or Guru]. If
such a faith blossoms in the heart [due to past merits],
do protect and nourish it, since it is similar to a
new-born baby, without spoiling it by giving room to
any doubts or suspicion, just as, if one possessed
the Kamadenu, one would bring it up with great care
and love.
Michael James: The Kamadenu is a divine cow which will give
one whatever one desires. Likewise, complete faith in God or Guru
will bestow anything and everything upon a devotee. Such is the
wonderful power of faith.
5 Chapter Concerning Upasana through Silence
(Maunopasanait Tiran)
520. Installing the Lord on the heart-throne and fixing the
mind uninterruptedly in Self in such a manner that it
will become one with It, is the true and natural worship
through Silence [maunopasana].
521. The pure state of having very great attachment to Self
and having no attachment to any other thing is verily
one’s state of Silence. Learning to remain as ‘I am
that Silence’ and ever abiding as It is, is the true mental
worship [manasika puja].
Sadhu Om: Nowadays many among us are under the impression
that doing mental worship [manasika puja] means imagining that
one is collecting all the necessary things such as flowers, sandal-
paste, fruits, garlands and so on, and that one is offering them
to God.
However, this is only a mental activity [pravritti]. This verse
146 Sri Muruganar
teaches us that this is not the correct manasika puja, and that
Self-abidance, ‘worship through Silence’ [maunopasana] mentioned
above, alone is the real manasika puja.
6 Chapter Concerning the Delusion of Arguments
(Vada Mayal Tiran)
522. Only the ignorant who do not know even a little about
the nature of their own [the ego’s] rising and setting
will engage themselves in a heated war of words:
“Fate is more powerful than free-will [the effort of the
mind]”; “No, free-will is more powerful than fate”;
“Fate is superior to free-will”; “No, free-will is superior
to fate”.
Michael James: Verse 18 of Ulladu Narpadu is to be referred to
here.
523. Instead of enquiring and knowing through practical
experience the truly existing Thing, and thereby
attaining the clear state of supreme Silence, some
jump up with egoism, having fanaticism for a particular
religion and hatred towards other religions, and
make vain and noisy arguments and criticisms.
Michael James: Refer to verse 991.
524. The very nature of argument is to veil the truth. Since
it is nothing but an art of illusion and imagination, it
will delude and confuse the mind. Therefore, no one
who has fallen into the dark hole of arguments will
see the Sunlight, Self-knowledge.
525. Words [and thoughts] do not reveal Self. On the contrary,
they veil it completely. Therefore, be alert in
controlling both speech and thought so that Self,
which is hidden by them, will shine of Its own accord.
Sri Muruganar: ‘We’, Self, alone are real. Even thoughts [mind]
and speech, which is only a gross form of thoughts, are alien to us
and therefore unreal. So, the practice of Self-attention, which will
subside thoughts and speech, is the worthy undertaking.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 147
526. Do not lend your intellect [buddhi] as a slave to the
gymnastics of eloquence [in the form of speech and
poetry] and to the jugglery of arguments. Know the
truth, Self, by turning the pure sattvic mind within
and thereby destroying the illusion of otherness.
7 Chapter Concerning the Uselessness of Measurements
(Alavai Yavalat Tiran)
527. The measurer, the measure [i.e. the standard or scale
of measurement], the measured and the measuring –
all these seem to exist and shine because of the shining
of existence-consciousness [sat-chit] in the
heart. What measure is there to measure It [Self, the
existence-consciousness]?
Sadhu Om: Everything is measured by the mind, having the imaginary
measures [dimensions or standards of measurement] of time
and space. Those things which are thus measured [including time
and space], the act of measuring them, and the measurer [the
mind] – all these seem to have existence only because of and in
the presence of Self, the existence-consciousness. Other than this,
they have no real existence of their own. Therefore, how can Self
be measured by any of these – mind, time, space and so forth?
528. Only so long as the measurer [the mind] exists will
the measure and the measured also seem to exist as
real. But when the measurer [the mind] sees Self, the
really existing Thing, and is thereby lost in It, all
other things such as the measure, the measured and
the measuring will automatically become unreal.
8 Chapter Concerning Indirect Knowledge
(Paroksha Jnanat Tiran)
529. The fire of desires of the jivas will be extinguished
only by the direct [aparoksha] experience of the pure
Self-knowledge, in which all the vasanas of the ignorant
mind are dead. If the thirst and heat of the physical
body could be quenched and cooled by a mirage,
then the spiritual thirst [the desire for bliss –
148 Sri Muruganar
moksha] could also be quenched by indirect knowledge
[paroksha jnana].
Michael James: Paroksha jnana means mediated or indirect
knowledge, that is, the knowledge about Self gathered through
books (by sravana and manana) as opposed to immediate or direct
knowledge (aparoksha jnana), that is, the direct experience of Self
(gained through nididhyasana).
530. When thus the direct [aparoksha] experience of the
pure Supreme Self alone is the true, non-dual knowledge
[jnana], calling even that which is indirect
[paroksha] as a knowledge [jnana] is just like calling
demons [rakshasas] ‘meritorious persons’ [punya
janas].
Michael James: In literature, while referring to an unworthy thing,
it is a custom to use a worthy name to ridicule it indirectly. It is in
this manner that rakshasas, who are well known to be wicked sinners,
are sometimes referred to as ‘meritorious persons’ (punya
janas). Sri Bhagavan points out in this verse that indirect knowledge
(paroksha jnana) is termed as a ‘knowledge’ (jnana) only in
this spirit, for it is in truth nothing but ignorance (ajnana) itself.
531. The supreme Jnana [Self-knowledge], which destroys
deceptive delusion, will be born only out of a true
enquiry in the form of an attention towards that
which exists as the Reality [‘I am’] in the heart. But
know that mere book-knowledge about enquiry, even
though learnt from clear scriptures, will be like a picture-
gourd drawn on a sheet of paper, which is useless
for cooking.
532. Is it possible to appease one’s hunger by eating food
cooked by a painted picture of a blazing fire? Likewise,
an end to the miseries of life and the enjoyment
of the bliss of Self cannot be achieved by mere verbal
knowledge, but only by the practical knowledge of
Self, which is obtained by extinguishing the ego in
the heart. Thus should you know.
533. The bliss of the sphurana of the Supreme Self cannot
be obtained by intellectual arguments, but only by
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 149
the knowledge which shines in the heart as the form
of the Divine Lord who lends light to the mind.
9 Chapter Concerning the Oneness of Jiva
(Eka Jivat Tiran)
534. Let highly mature and courageous aspirants who
have a bright and sharp intellect, firmly accept that
soul [jiva] is only one [eka] and thereby be established
deep in the heart [by enquiring ‘Who am I, that
one jiva?’]. It is only to suit immature minds that
scriptures generally say that souls [jivas] are many
[nana].
Sadhu Om:
If the ego comes into existence, all will come into existence;
if the ego does not exist, nothing will exist; [therefore]
verily the ego is all. – Ulladu Narpadu verse 26.
If ‘I’ rises, all will rise. – Who am I?
If the thought ‘I’ does not exist, no other thing will exist –
Sri Arunachala Ashtakam, verse 7.
Since it is clear from the above three upadesas of Sri
Bhagavan that the rising of the ego, the feeling ‘I am so-and-so’,
alone is the cause for the rising and appearance of the whole universe
with innumerable jivas living in it, we should conclude without
any doubt that it is only in the ignorant outlook of the ego, the one
‘I’, the one jiva, alone, and that, by the destruction of this one ‘I’,
through the enquiry ‘Who am I?’, the existence of all other jivas will
come to an end. This is the import of the upadesa contained in this
verse.
535. Is there anyone who is born, or is there anyone who
has cut the bondage of birth [and death]? During the
time when the ‘I’-thought [the ego] does not rise [that
is, in deep sleep], is there anyone who is bound in
the body [that is, who identifies with the body] or
who is released from it? Enquire well, now, and tell
me!
Sadhu Om: In the absence of ‘I’, the one jiva, [either in sleep,
where the ‘I’-thought has subsided, or in Jnana, where it has been
150 Sri Muruganar
destroyed], no other jiva exists, either as a bound one [bandha] or
as a released one [mukta]. The oneness of jiva is thus further
stressed in this verse.
10 Chapter Concerning Knowledge and Ignorance
(Arivu-ariyamait Tiran)
536. O worldly people who more and more scrutinize one
thing after the other and run after each of them thinking
that each one is worthier than the other! To scrutinize
that one Thing [Self] by scrutinizing which
nothing more will remain [to be scrutinized], alone is
[true] knowledge.
Sadhu Om: The Tamil word used here is ‘nadum’, which may
mean either ‘scrutinize’ or ‘desire’. However, it is more fitting here
to take it in the sense of ‘scrutinize’ because in the second half of
the verse the Tamil word ‘aydal’, which means only ‘scrutinize’, is
used twice. Furthermore, the verse is in the ‘Chapter concerning
Knowledge and Ignorance’.
537. For those who can scrutinize [enquire into] and know
the subtlest thing [Self], what benefit is there by the
research on and knowledge of gross objects? Worthier
than the research done [by the mind] through
the eye and so on, is the indestructible research
done within [that is, Self-enquiry or Self-attention].
Sadhu Om: The import of this verse is that Self-enquiry, by which
Self is known, is far superior to scientific researches.
538 (a) To know Self clearly, rejecting all alien things [the
universe] as mere nothingness [sunya] is the supreme
knowledge [jnana] transcending time and
space, other than which there is no worthy [or superior]
knowledge.
538 (b) To know Self clearly, rejecting all alien things [the
universe] as mere nothingness [sunya] is the supreme
knowledge [jnana]. The knowing of all times
and places or the knowing of others’ minds is not
worthy knowledge.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 151
539. The truth is that any playful sport of Sakti [that is, any
glory seen in this universe] cannot be other than
Sakta, Self [the possessor of Sakti]. Hence, having
the outlook of thinking that the world, which is [in
truth mere] consciousness [chit], is different from it
[consciousness, ‘we’] and being deluded [by likes
and dislikes for the things in the world], is the false
maya, which causes wrong [i.e. all obstacles and
miseries].
540. The knowledge ‘I am the body’ is the delusive and
destructive ignorance. The correct knowledge [the
knowledge of Brahman], which is worthy to be
attained, is the knowledge that even the aforesaid
ignorance, which is false, does not exist apart from
Self, the unavoidable reality.
Sadhu Om: Though the snake that appears on a rope is false, it
cannot have such an appearance, as if existing, without the existence
of the rope. So also, though the ignorance ‘I am the body’ is
a false knowledge, even it cannot appear to exist without the existence
of the real Self. The teaching given in this verse is the same
as that given in verse 13 of Ulladu Narpadu.
541. Just as, on account of mere imagination, the one,
unbroken space is called by different names [such as
‘ghatakasa’, the whole, all-pervading space], so the
one, whole, unbroken Self is seen by the immature
people as many [that is, as diverse souls and
objects]. This is the result of the wonderful maya.
542. To see the one Self, the reality which is devoid of
anything false, as many and different is what is ignorance.
Therefore, whatever thing appears in whatever
name and form, to see it in its real nature [as Self] is
what is knowledge.
Sadhu Om: The last two lines of this verse are verse 355 of
Tirukkural. On reading the Tamil verse of Sri Muruganar, those
who know Tirukkural can understand how skillfully he has used this
verse of Tirukkural to explain the idea of Sri Bhagavan.
543. Though the worlds outside are with innumerable dif-
152 Sri Muruganar
ferences [that is, with different names and forms], the
inner reality of all of them is the one Self, just as,
though the sesame seeds put into the big whirling
oil-expeller are innumerable, the one substance in
them is the oil.
544. To know though the real clarity [chit] in the state
where immense bliss [ananda] and the non-dual
Self-existence [sat] are shining as one, that no such
duality as knowing and not knowing has ever existed
at all, is the true knowledge.
545. Knowledge and ignorance can exist only pertaining
to external, second person objects. But, since they
[knowledge and ignorance] do not exist in the real
state where Self alone shines, the true knowledge is
that one in which the duality of knowledge and ignorance
does not exist.
Sadhu Om: Refer to verse 12 of Ulladu Narpadu and verse 27 of
Upadesa Undiyar.
546. Some say, “Know thyself” [but] is there anyone who
does not know himself? Tell me, is it not equally
ignorant to say “I have realized Self” as to say “I
have not realized Self”?
Sadhu Om: It is worth reading verse 33 of Ulladu Narpadu here.
Jnanis, who have gained Self-Knowledge, never say “I have realized
my Self” or “I have not realized my Self”. Refer to Sri Bhagavan’s
saying in the 2nd line of the 2nd verse of Sri Arunachala
Ashtakam, “An ‘I’ does not rise to say ‘I have seen’; how then can
an ‘I’ rise to say ‘I have not seen’?” The state in which the ego does
not rise is the state beyond knowing and not knowing.
547. If one remains merely as consciousness [that is, as ‘I
am’, in other words, in Self-abidance, atma-nishtha],
ignorance [which is one of the dyad of ignorance and
knowledge] will not exist. Hence, ignorance is false;
Self-consciousness alone is real. When correctly
known, it is ignorance to say that there is ignorance.
Verily, pure consciousness is our nature. Thus should
you know.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 153
11 Chapter Concerning Delusion
(Marul Tiran)
548. It is only so long as one thinks ‘I know other things’
that the delusion ‘I do not know myself’ will remain.
When such a thought is removed by the experience
of the ever-existing Self-knowledge, that delusion will
become false [that is, will become non-existent].
Sadhu Om: Since whenever anything is known, our power of
attention takes the form of a thought [vritti] ‘I know other things’, a
false delusion ‘I do not know myself’ prevails. But when the discrimination
[viveka] ‘Whenever I know any other thing, it is known
because I exist there, and hence every knowledge of my own existence
is already there’ shines more and more through enquiry
[vichara], the truth ‘There is no time in which I do not know myself’
will dawn. This is the eternal, ever-attained state of Self-knowledge.
549. Since the nature of Self is the perfect whole, all, and
one without another, knowing all other things instead
of enquiring within ‘What is my real nature?’ [in other
words, ‘Who am I?’] is but mere delusion.
550. In the same manner as a dream appears in the mindspace
by mere mental imagination, the scene of this
world-picture [as our life] appears in this waking
state. Therefore, to abide in Self by firmly knowing
thus, by destroying all objective knowledge [the
knowledge of second and third persons in this waking
state] and by annihilating all the foolish desires
for the objective scenes here, alone is worthy.
551. Only those ignorant ones who do not enquire and
know Heart, the Supreme Thing, will be frightened
and deluded by the deceitful maya. But bright Jnanis,
who have experienced the supreme Self, the ocean of
bliss, will not be afraid of it [maya].
552. The crazy people who do not know the non-dual Reality
[Self], which exists and shines as one, and who
with the jaundiced eye of ignorance see Self as
many, are just like those who see many mirages in
the desert.
154 Sri Muruganar
Sri Muruganar: Through this verse, Sri Bhagavan indicates that it
is certain that those who have the dual outlook will be disappointed
and will suffer much in this life.
12 Chapter Concerning Waking and Dream
(Nana Kana Tiran)
553. Those who have the eye of Jnana [that is, Jnanis]
declare that both waking and dream are the same in
defectfulness. Because, does not even waking, a
state of great attachment, disappear just like dream?
554. All the karmas that one has seen that one has done in
dream, will not give fruit in the waking state. Likewise,
all the karmas done in this waking state by the
deluded ego-sense will not give fruit in the state of
Self-awakening.
Sadhu Om: This verse emphasizes that for a Jnani, none of the
three karmas [agamya, sanchita or prarabdha] remain to be
experienced.
555. Jnanis say that both dream and waking are the creations
of the deluded mind. Because, in both of them,
thoughts and names-and-forms exist in the same
manner.
Michael James: Refer to Who am I? where Sri Bhagavan says, “In
both waking and dream, thoughts and names-and-forms [the
objects] come into existence simultaneously”.
556. When the ego is half blossomed, dream appears.
When the ego is fully blossomed, waking, the worldappearance
which is the full bloom of ignorance,
comes into existence.
Michael James: Refer to verse 10 of Drik Drisya Viveka, a work of
Sri Adi Sankara which Sri Bhagavan translated into Tamil prose,
where it is said, “In deep sleep, where the body remains insentient
[jada], the ego is completely subsided [in laya]. Its half blossoming
is dream; its full blossoming is waking”.
557. When the experience of the fruits of karmas which
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 155
had caused the waking state to come to an end, and
when the fruits of the karmas to be experienced in
dream start, the mind, in the same manner as it had
taken a body as ‘I’ in the waking state, will identify
and take another body as ‘I’ in dream.
Michael James: Refer to Who am I? where Sri Bhagavan says, “In
dream, the mind [merely] assumes another body”.
558. If it is asked, ‘[When the dream-body and the waking-
body are thus different,] how does the semen in
the waking-body drip out when one sees in dream
that the dream-body has contacted a woman?’, the
answer will be that it is due to the speed of attachment
with which one springs from the dream-body to
the waking-body.
559. When the dream is thus found to be an appearance
caused by the wavering mind, waking is also the
same. As true as are the happenings in the waking
state, so true are also the happenings in dream during
the time of dreaming.
Michael James: Refer to Who am I? where Sri Bhagavan says,
“To the extent to which all the events which happen in dream
appear at that time to be real”.
560. The answer ‘Waking is long and dream is short’ was
given as a mere [consoling] reply to the questioner.
[In truth, however, no such difference exists, because,
since time itself is a mental conception,] the
concept of differences in time [such as ‘long’ and
‘short’] appears to be true only because of the deceitful
play of maya, the mind.
Sadhu Om: Sri Bhagavan refers here to the following answer He
gave in Who am I?, “Except that waking is long and dream is short,
there is no difference [between the two]”.
561. The glory of maya, the mind, which conceives all
things within the range of the false darkness of ignorance
and deludes, lies in showing and confusing
156 Sri Muruganar
one second as an aeon [kalpa] and an aeon as a
second.
Sadhu Om: Only within a dark room and only by means of a limited
light is it possible to project and see a cinema picture. It is
impossible to do so in a place where the bright sunlight is shining.
Similarly, only within the dark ignorance of forgetfulness of Self and
only by means of the mind-light is it possible to project the states of
waking and dream and to see world-pictures therein. It is impossible
to project and experience waking and dream when [in
jnana-samadhi] Self shines with all Its splendour. Hence, the
instruction contained in this verse is that it is only by means of
maya, the mind-light, that the differences concerning time and
space are seen in waking and dream.
562. By ever attending to Self, a basic existence, the perfect
whole, the eye of the light of knowledge, drive
away the two dreams [waking and dream] which are
experienced by the ego and which are mere illusory
imaginations of differences appearing in the darkness
[of Self-forgetfulness].
563. If the mind, which is full of ignorant delusion and
which sees the worlds in dreams [in the two dreams,
that is, in waking and dream] but which does not see
its own truth, enquires who it itself is [in other words,
‘Who am I?’] and thereby loses its mind-nature, it will
then shine as the Sun of true knowledge [jnana],
remaining at the Feet of the Lord.
564. Rightly knowing Self is just like one, on awakening
from a dream, knowing that all the whirl of sufferings
experienced in that dream have become false and
that one is really the same unaffected one who was
previously lying safe on the soft bed.
Sadhu Om: In this verse, only the example [upamanam] is clearly
described, while the ‘exampled’ [upameyam, that is, what is illustrated
by that example], namely the unaffected state of Self, is left
to the readers to expand and understand.
The jiva, who has forgotten his real nature, is compared to
the one who slept on his bed. The sufferings experienced by the
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 157
jiva due to the fruits of the karmas done during his innumerable
births and deaths, which appear and disappear as dreams in the
sleep of the aforesaid forgetfulness of Self, are compared to the
whirl of sufferings experienced in dream during one’s sleep. Then,
all the appearances of births and deaths of the jiva coming to an
end as false through the real awakening as Self, are compared to
all the dreams coming to an end as false through one’s awakening
from sleep. Even though Self, the non-dual one, seems to become
a jiva and suffer through many births and deaths, in reality Self is
unaffected by these false appearances. This is illustrated by the
example of a sleeper, who ever remains really the same, unaffected
person who was previously lying safe on the soft bed.
Sri Muruganar: When one comes to know through Self-awakening
that all the dyads and triads are false, they will all disappear, having
no base [no ego] to shine upon. The blissful consciousness
which then simply sleeps [or: The consciousness which then simply
sleeps blissfully], unassociated with the dyads and triads, is the
state of rightly knowing Self.
565. One’s attaining liberation after undergoing great sufferings
in samsara [the mundane state of activity] is
just like one’s awakening from sleep after seeing,
due to illusion, in a dream, oneself losing one’s way,
wandering in a desert, suffering much and then
reaching one’s town.
Sri Muruganar: This verse is a subtle indication by Sri Bhagavan
that even liberation is a mere mental conception [that is, it is false].
The truth is that the ever-unbound Self alone exists.
B9. Forgetting Self, mistaking the body for Self, taking
innumerable births, and at last knowing Self and
being Self is just like waking from a dream of wandering
all over the world. Know thus.
Michael James: This verse composed by Sri Bhagavan is verse
one of Ekatma Panchakam.
158 Sri Muruganar
13 Chapter Concerning the Different States
(Avasta Beda Tiran)
566. If it is possible for the other four elements [namely
earth, water, fire and air] to exist really apart from the
vast space [the fifth element], then the three states
such as waking [namely waking, dream and sleep]
can also have a real existence apart from the flawless
turiya [the state of Self].
Michael James: The instruction is that waking, dream and sleep
are unreal.
567. (a) The difference between the first three dense states
[waking, dream and sleep] and the fourth and fifth
states [turiya and turiyatita] are [accepted in sastras]
only for those who are not able to tear away the dark
ignorance of sleep and to immerse and abide firmly
in the effulgent turiya [the state of Self].
567. (b) The difference between the first three dense states
and the fourth and fifth states are only for those who
are not able to immerse and abide firmly in turiya,
which shines piercing through the dark ignorance of
sleep.
Sadhu Om: The import of this verse is that advanced aspirants
should know that all states other than turiya which are mentioned
in scriptures [i.e. sleep, waking, dream and turiyatita] are unreal. In
order to understand these two verses, 566 and 567, more clearly,
let the reader refer to verse 32 of Ulladu Narpadu – Anubandham
and also to the last pages of chapter eight of The Path of Sri
Ramana – Part One.
568. Only so long as the one who is attached to the states
[the avasta-abhimani, that is, the one who identifies
himself with a body and thereby feels ‘I am now in
the waking state; I was having dreams’] exists, will
the [aforesaid five] different states be known as if
existing. But when this attached one [abhimani], who
has risen in the form of an ego-consciousness, is
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 159
lost through Self-enquiry, all the differences that pertain
to the states will also end.
Sadhu Om: The Tamil word ‘arivay’ may be taken to mean ‘know
that’, instead of ‘in the form of an ego-consciousness’.
569. The one [the Jnani] who has by supreme devotion
[that is, by complete self-surrender] attained the
kingdom of the supreme state [para-avasta, that is,
Self], through his natural supreme state never sees
that any state other than that really exists.
Sadhu Om: Just as one big open space becomes three parts
when two partition walls are newly erected in the midst of it, so
when the two kinds of body-identification, namely the identification
with the waking-body and the identification with the dream-body,
imaginarily rise, our one unbroken Self-consciousness itself
appears to become three states, namely waking, dream and sleep.
We who experience and name our original state when the body in
waking is identified as ‘I’, and as the dream state when the body in
dream is identified as ‘I’, also experience and name our original,
adjunctless state of pure Self-consciousness, which then remains
as if our third state, as sleep.
When the two walls of waking and dream in the form of the
two body-identifications are destroyed through Self-enquiry, our
unlimited, natural and single Self-consciousness is experienced as
the one adjunctless clear state, like the one big open space. Since
this is experienced as a new state, completely different from those
three states [waking, dream and sleep] experienced till then, it is
named by scriptures as ‘the fourth’ [turiya]. But when the knowledge
‘This is nothing but our eternal, natural state’ dawns through
the well-established experience of the natural state of Self [sahaja
atma sthita] and when waking, dream and sleep are thereby known
to be unreal, the name ‘turiya’, the fourth, will also become meaningless,
since this state will have thus lost its newness. Hence,
since this natural, non-dual, eternal Self-consciousness thus cannot
be called ‘turiya’ [the fourth state]. The scriptures again named
it as ‘turiyatita’ [the state of transcending turiya, the fifth state]! But
all these classifications and differences of states are merely verbal,
and in reality they do not exist at all. These five kinds of states are
classified and told to aspirants during their period of ignorance and
160 Sri Muruganar
for their mental satisfaction. The Jnani’s experience is the one
mere consciousness of Self-existence, which is beyond all states.
14 Chapter Concerning the Two Karmas — Good and Bad
(Iru Vinai Tiran)
570. So long as one thinks ‘I, an individual, am existing’, it
is proper to accept the theory that – on account of
egoism, the attachment to the body – one certainly
has to do [with a sense of doership] the two kinds of
karma [good and bad] and to experience their fruits.
Sadhu Om: No one can deny the karma theory – the theory that
everyone has to do actions [karmas] and reap [experience] their
fruits – so long as there exists doership, which is the very nature of
the ego. Refer also to verse 38 of Ulladu Narpadu in which Sri
Bhagavan says, “Only if we are the doer of actions, will we have to
experience the resulting fruit...”.
571. God, the Lord of the soul, has appointed the ghost,
the ego, as a strange gaoler [or sentry] to protect the
body and extend its lifetime until the soul experiences,
without missing a bit, all the fruits of karma
allotted to it in prarabdha.
572. It is only the results of one’s good and bad actions
[karmas] done in the past that come in one’s present
life as one’s pleasures and pains, and also as one’s
friends and mighty foes, who are the instrumental
cause for them [one’s pleasures and pains].
573. Do not perform any good action [karma] through a
bad means, thinking ‘It is sufficient if it bears good
fruit’. Because, if the means is bad, even a good
action will turn out to be a bad one. Therefore, even
the means of doing good actions should be pure.
Michael James: From this verse, we have to understand that the
popular saying ‘The end justifies the means’ should not be taken
as a worthy principle to follow.
574. Those alone are good actions [karmas] which are
done lovingly and with a peaceful and pure mind. All
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 161
those actions which are done with an agitated, desirous
and impure mind are to be classed only as evil
actions.
15 Chapter Concerning Dyads and Triads
(Irattai Muppudi Tiran)
Michael James: Dyads (dwandwa in Sanskrit or irattai in Tamil)
means the pairs of opposites such as good and bad, pleasure and
pain, knowledge and ignorance, and so on. Triads (triputi in Sanskrit
or muppudi in Tamil) means the three factors of objective
knowledge such as knower, knowing and thing known, experiencer,
experiencing and thing experienced, seer, seeing and thing
seen, and so on.
575. The nature of the non-Self is to remain as the base of
the imaginary perception of dyads through the
senses by the mind, which has slipped down from
the real state of Self. There is no room for such
dyads [or triads] in Self.
Michael James: The nature of Self is oneness; the nature of the
non-Self is to have dyads and triads.
This verse makes clear that the word ‘one’ (ondru) used by
Sri Bhagavan in verse 9 of Ulladu Narpadu, where He says, “The
dyads and triads always depend for their existence upon the one
[ondru]... ”, does not denote Self, but only the ego, which is
non-Self. Refer to The Path of Sri Ramana – Part Two, appendix
4c.
576. ‘This is a thing’ – pointing out a limitation thus is the
indication that a thing is known. Only because of
such an indication [only because such an indication
is possible, in other words, only because it is possible
to point out a limitation for a thing], does it
become possible to define a thing. Thus, a definition
of a thing is possible only because that thing is
within a limitation. But Self, which transcends all, has
no limitation [and hence It cannot be known or
defined].
162 Sri Muruganar
Sadhu Om: Since Self is not, like dyads and triads, an object of
knowledge, It cannot be either pointed out within a limit or defined
as such-and-such.
577. Since the nature of Self is to shine as one without
another, attention to other things is impossible for it.
When the nature of the seer [the ego] is sought and
seen, ‘Who is it that sees all these [dyads and triads]?’,
the mind-knot will be severed and hence the
dyads and triads will cease to exist.
Michael James: Refer to verse 9 of Ulladu Narpadu.
578. Accept the ever-shining Self-knowledge to be the
only reality. Reject all the triads, deciding them to be
an imaginary dream.
579. Since Self is the eternal, non-dual Thing and since
there is no means to reach It other than Self-attention,
know that Self itself is the path, Self itself is the
goal, and that they [the path and the goal] are not
different.
Sadhu Om: The Sages’ saying, “I am the path and I am the goal”,
is to be recalled here.
580. When the delusive mind which sees differences
drowns and dies in the state of Self, the one existence-
consciousness [sat-chit], all the delusive differences
will also turn out to be nothing but the
consciousness [chit] of Brahman [Self], the existence
[sat].
581. Those who know the alien five sense-knowledges say
that knowledges are of different kinds. They are ignorant
people who cannot rid themselves of the delusion
of differences. When the firm true knowledge is
obtained by learning how to withdraw the mind from
the five senses, which cause the madness [of desire,
fear, and so on], the differences will cease to exist.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 163
16 Chapter Concerning the Enjoyment of Sense-pleasures
(Vidaya Bhaga Tiran)
582. The Sage Dadhyangatharvana, who had experienced
[the bliss of] Self, once said, “The pleasure that Indra
enjoys with his wife, Ayirani, is not better than the
pleasure enjoyed by a dog with its bitch”.
Sri Muruganar: Indra, the king of the heavens, was proudly thinking
that the pleasures he enjoyed in heaven were the highest of all.
Dadhyangatharvana, a great Sage, once advised Indra as above
so that the latter might gain desirelessness [vairagya].
583. For a ravenous hunger, even a gruel of broken rice or
a porridge of wild-rice flour will be the most delicious
food. [Therefore,] in this world, the cause of pleasure
lies not in the nature of the sense-objects, but only in
the intensity of desire for it.
Sadhu Om: The idea is well explained in The Path of Sri Ramana
– Part One, chapter two.
584. That which exists [sat] itself is consciousness [chit].
The consciousness itself is bliss [ananda]. Deriving
pleasure from other things is mere delusion [that is,
the pleasure we suppose we derive from other things
is illusory, false]. Tell me, except in the clear and real
Self-existence, can there be real happiness in the
imaginary sense-objects?
585. A foolish dog crunchingly munching a dry bone with
its teeth, making its mouth bleed with wounds and
enjoying its own blood, praises, “Nothing will be as
tasty as this bone”.
Sadhu Om: Just like the dog which does not know that the blood it
tastes is coming only from its own mouth, ignorant people who do
not know that happiness comes only from their own Self, seek and
amass sense-objects, thinking that happiness comes from them.
Refer also to The Path of Sri Ramana – Part One, chapter two [first
edition, pages 20 to 21; second edition, page 39].
586. Those interested in arguments [the mere scholars of
164 Sri Muruganar
scriptures], who have not experienced the happiness
of consciousness [the bliss of Self], who value only
the pleasures – which are other than Self – derived
from objects such as women, and who are confused,
will finally perish longing for them [the sense-pleasures]
even at the time of death.
587. The minds of ignorant people, having forgotten the
divine life which is flourishing in the heart and which
[alone] is worthy of being known and enjoyed, will
meltingly long for the taste of sense-pleasures,
which are insignificant fragments.
588. Mean-minded people, being objects of ridicule, will
dip only into the pit, the filthy spring of sex; they will
never reject it and lovingly take a bath, drowning in
the ocean of the supreme bliss of Siva.
589. For those aspirants who have great and intense
eagerness to enjoy the ripe fruit of unlimited supreme
bliss, the sense-pleasures, which are worthy
to be liked and enjoyed only by blind people [people
blinded by ignorance] who do not know how to save
themselves from ruin, are the lowest and fit only for
rejection.
590. When one indeed exists as food [that is, as the contentment
which is experienced while eating], not
knowing this, if one thinks that one eats food [in
order to obtain contentment, and thereby develops
the desire to eat more and more], the food [the desire
for food] will consume one and make one a slave to
an insatiable, great hunger [that is, to an insatiable,
great discontentment].
Sadhu Om: Here the word ‘food’ [annam] denotes not only the
food taken in through the mouth [and tasted through the tongue],
but also all the other four sense-pleasures taken in through the
eyes, ears, nose and skin. We think that the food gives us substantial
existence, whereas truly we ourself are the substance [vastu] or
existence [sat]. We do not know that our very nature is existence
[Sat]. Since we are happiness or contentment itself, it is foolish for
us to expect to derive contentment from food [sense-objects]. If we,
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 165
the existence [sat], the fullness of contentment [ananda], desire to
obtain sense-objects for our contentment, our nature of fullness of
contentment is made by that desire into a nature of deficiency; thus
it [the desire] swallows us [kills us] by creating an insatiable fire of
desire.
591. Those who do not know that, whenever they eat, the
food itself is eating away their life, thinking that they
are eating the enjoyments [bhogas], crave for and
run after them.
Sadhu Om: Since food and similar objects of enjoyment make the
jivas crave for them more and more as they are enjoyed more and
more, they take the jivas far away from the desire for Self. Since
death is nothing but being separated from life [in other words,
being separated from Self], food and other objects of enjoyment,
which separate us from Self, are here said to be eating away our
life or killing us [the jivas] as we enjoy them more and more.
592. Just as by [feeding it with] ghee, a fire will blaze forth
and will not be extinguished, so by satisfying desires,
the fire of desire will never subside.
Michael James: The word here in Tamil is ‘kama’, which denotes
desire in general and lust in particular.
Verse form:
Not put out, with flaming wrath
The flame by ghee just blazes forth;
The fire of desire ne’er subsides
As more and more ‘tis satisfied.
593. “Oh, is it only by touch [or bite]?” On scrutiny, [the
answer will be], “No, even by sight or mere thought
of it, the snake of the five-sense-desires kills the
soul!” Hence, we have never seen a more poisonous
snake then sense-desire.
17 Chapter Concerning Mind, the Maya
(Mana Mayai Tiran)
594. Maya proudly smiles over her own victory in completely
deluding even the most intelligent people in
166 Sri Muruganar
such a way that they feel that that which is in truth
unreal [namely the ego, world and so on] is the only
reality.
Sadhu Om: It is the play of maya which makes one feel ‘I am
so-and-so’ [I am a jiva, an individual soul], when in fact the ego is
non-existent. Even those who are well learned and who have a
sharp intellect, thinking that they are the body [that is, that they are
individual souls], crave to acquire occult powers [siddhis] and to
perform miracles, and thereby to gain glory for themselves, the
so-called individuals. Therefore, Sri Bhagavan points out that maya
has deluded, conquered and brought even them under her mighty,
vicious sway.
595. When the light of Self-knowledge [‘I am’] is experienced
within, what will it matter if a flood of darkness
[the appearance of the world] prevails outside? That
dense darkness can never veil the Self-light [‘I am’].
Sadhu Om: However long, dark and dense is a person’s shadow
on the ground, it cannot veil the sun in the sky. Similarly, however
innumerable are the worlds outside, which come into existence
only because of the Self-existence, their apparent existence cannot
veil the Self-existence, ‘I am’.
596. To say that the destructible, non-existent [asat] and
insentient [jada] maya had once bound under its
sway Self, the Light of knowledge [which is the only
sat and only chit, that is, the only real, sentient and
indestructible Thing], is more foolish and ridiculous
than to say that a small mosquito had swallowed the
vast sky and then vomited it.
Sadhu Om: The Sanksrit word ‘Maya’ means ‘that which is not’ (ya
= what; ma = is not).
597. When it is established [by the experience of the
Sages and by the words of the scriptures] that Heart
[Self], the form of perfect knowledge [jnana], is the
only existing and real Thing, is not this [so-called]
great maya a mere myth? Then how strange is the
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 167
opinion [held by some] that Self [or Brahman] is
deluded by the bite of this serpent, the mind-maya!
Sadhu Om: Since it is well established from all that has been said
in the above stanzas that ‘maya’ is non-existent, is it not clear that
the five functions [pancha-krityas], namely creation, sustenance,
destruction, veiling and Grace, which are said to be the play of
maya, are unreal and that ajata is the only correct conclusion
[siddhant]?
18 Chapter Concerning Ignorance
(Pedaimai Tiran)
598. Ignorant people who identify the body as ‘I’, seeing
Jnanis who experience Brahman as ‘I’, remark, as if
defining the supreme state of Jnana, “See, if these
people are in the state of advaita, how then do they
take food, do activities and so on?” Saying thus, they
expose their own ignorance – that of mistaking the
insentient body for ‘I’.
Sadhu Om: Since ignorant people experience only the feeling ‘I
am the body’, they can only see even Jnanis, who on the contrary
experience the Supreme Self to be ‘I’, as mere bodies. This is in
accordance with the rule ‘As is the eye [the seer], so is the sight
[the thing seen]’. Refer to verse 4 of Ulladu Narpadu, “Can the
sight be otherwise than the eye?”. Hence, Sri Bhagavan ridicules
such ignorant people who talk, taking the activities of the body, the
non-Self, to be the activities of the Jnani, the Self, and says that
they are thereby exposing their own ignorance – the ignorance of
taking the body to be Self.
599. A girl who has not attained the age of puberty feels
very happy, thinking the grandeur of the celebration
of her marriage to be conjugal union. Likewise, the
learned who have not enquired within and known
Self, feel very proud and happy about the verbal
Vedanta they prattle, thinking it to be the non-dual
knowledge [advaita jnana].
Michael James: The simile used in this verse refers to the ancient
custom of child marriage.
168 Sri Muruganar
600. Those who have learnt the supreme science of Self
[atma-para-tattva] only by reading and hearing from
scriptures, who rate themselves very highly because
of their power of intellect, yet who have not tested
themselves [enquired into themselves], the knowers
of the scriptures, thereby losing their individuality
and drowning in bliss, test [with the yardstick of their
scriptural knowledge] Jnanis, who are in Silence. Oh
tell me, what a great foolishness is this!
601. Those who do not have the ability to know even their
own Self, yet make great efforts [through tapas,
yoga, scientific or historical research, astrology and
so on] to know how was the past and how will be the
future, are just like a small child who jumps to catch
its own shadow.
Michael James: How was the past and how will be the future?
That is, how was the world in the past and how will it be in the
future, who were we in our past lives and who will we be in our
future lives, what will be our future in this present life, and so on
and so forth?
602. Those who, because of the faltering of their mind,
cannot know the state in which they are at present,
meditate deeply in order to find out their state in their
distant past and distant future.
603. Those who do not have even the least liking to know
‘How are we today?’ [‘What is our true existence
today?’], think and worry much about their truth
[their condition] before their present birth and after
their death. How strange is their attitude!
604. “Is it by Siva’s entering there that the mind [chittam]
becomes pure, or by the purification of the mind that
Siva enters there?” Since those who ask thus are so
ignorant as to take the one, non-different action as
two different ones, we have no answer to give them.
Sadhu Om: Is it not clear that those who ask this question think
that Siva’s entering the chittam and the purification of the chittam
are two different actions? Unless they really are two different
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 169
actions, we cannot say that one is the cause and the other is the
effect. In truth, however, they are not two but one and the same. In
other words, the pure condition of the chittam is itself Siva, and
Siva is nothing but the pure chittam, that is, chit [refer to verses 70
and 244]. Because the question is thus based upon a false premise,
it cannot be considered to be a meaningful question, and
hence no meaningful answer for it can be given. That is why Sri
Bhagavan says, “We have no answer to give them”.
19 Chapter Concerning Immaturity
(Apakva Tiran)
605. Why do these people of immature mind, who are
melting and weeping with the longing to obtain easily
the five sense-pleasures, come and associate with
Sadhus, who always live the aim of conquering and
completely destroying the five sense-pleasures?
Sadhu Om and Michael James: Do not people who, even though
they may hold degrees or high and powerful positions in society,
are immature, approach Sadhus with worldly offerings and wait in
their holy presence for the fulfilment of their desires? This is not
only foolish, but also improper. Since such worldly people are mad
after the five sense-pleasures, whereas Sadhus are totally destroying
the desire for the five sense-pleasures by the power of their
tapas, they have no business with Sadhus. The following incident
will throw more light on this point:
One evening at 4 pm during Sri Bhagavan’s stay at Virupaksha
Cave, an old brahmin came there with his daughter and
offered a big plateful of costly sweets. Sri Bhagavan accepted a little
of it, and the rest was distributed to all the devotees present,
who were immensely happy since in those days they were not getting
even enough ordinary food to satisfy their needs. The devotees
were very happy, but Sri Bhagavan did not seem to be so
pleased. On the third day when she came with her usual plate,
though all the devotees were very happy, Sri Bhagavan told her
with a look of displeasure, “What is this? Why do you bring today
also? I did not mind when you brought it once or twice, but why do
you daily bring such costly things? If there is any expectation
behind these offerings, it is wrong. This is not the place for the ful-
170 Sri Muruganar
filment of worldly desires. If you have any such desire, do not bring
these offerings from tomorrow onwards”.
Next day, to the great disappointment of many of the devotees,
she did not come. One of the devotees afterwards enquired
from her father and came to know that, in spite of having passed
the normal age, the girl had not yet attained maturity for her marriage,
and that someone had advised her father that if such offerings
were made to Sri Bhagavan, their desire would be fulfilled.
20 Chapter Concerning Pramada
(Pramada Tiran)
Michael James: Pramada means inadvertence, that is, giving up
an action that has been started. In the spiritual path, it means
non-vigilance in Self-attention, in other words, slipping down from
Self-abidance.
606. The jiva called vyavaharika [the soul in the waking
state] who comes into being [due to pramada] from
the wonderful, naturally existing state of Self-consciousness,
who remains in the waking state experiencing
the results of his own good and bad actions
[karmas], and who subsides, is also a swapnakalpita
[a soul in dream].
Michael James: This verse would fit well in the chapter concerning
the oneness of jiva (Eka Jiva Tiran – Part Two, chapter 9). To connect
it to this present chapter heading, however, the words ‘due to
pramada’ are added in brackets.
In scriptures, the soul (jiva) is described as having three
forms, namely (1) kutastha (the soul existing in sleep), (2) vyavaharika
(the soul existing in the waking state) and (3) swapnakalpita
(the soul imagined in the dream state), which are given importance
according to their reality. According to scriptures, kutastha is more
real than vyavaharika, and vyavaharika is more real than swapnakalpita,
since swapnakalpita is an imaginary being, that is, he is
the one who, through imagination, comes into existence in dream.
But in this verse Sri Bhagavan declares that not only swapnakalpita,
but even vyavaharika, is imaginary, that vyavaharika therefore
has no greater reality than swapnakalpita, and that vyavaharika
is merely another kind of swapnakalpita, because vyavharika’s
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 171
reality is the same as the reality of the world in which he lives and
acts. Since this world in the waking state is also nothing but an
imaginary, dream-like thing, Sri Bhagavan declares that even
vyavaharika is a swapnakalpita.
607. Because they have slipped down from the fearless
state of Self, the souls, feeling themselves to be low
and mean, undergo the sufferings of birth [and
death]. “People who slip down from their status are
like a hair which has dropped down from the head”.
Sadhu Om: In Tamil, the last two lines of this verse, given here
within quotation marks, are verse 964 of Tirukkural. Because of the
chapter heading, namely ‘Family Prestige’, under which this verse
appears in the Tirukkural, it is interpreted to mean that if one of
high birth behaves unbecomingly, he will immediately lose all his
worth, like a hair that has fallen from the head. However, by adding
two more lines at the beginning of this verse of the Tirukkural, Sri
Muruganar has given it a much deeper import, namely that by falling
from the state of Self [in other words, by rising as a jiva] we
lose our true glory and become a mean and worthless creature.
608. Instead of knowing the state of Self, which is eternally
clear like a mountain in an open plain, and abiding
firmly in it, one who wanders away [as a jiva] is
like one [the tenth man] who counts only the other
nine people and forgets to count himself.
Michael James: Refer to the story of the tenth man, given in
Maharshi’s Gospel, Book Two, chapter one.
609. Instead of keenly enquiring ‘Who am I?’ within the
Heart – the rising place of thought, where the divine
Thing, Siva, shines devoid of thought – and knowing
It [the divine Thing], merging into It and becoming
one with It as ‘I am That’, it is foolish to slip down
from the Self.
610. If we always remain as the perfect and foremost
Thing [Self], the Great, how can degradation be
caused by others [since there are no others in the
state of Self-perfection]? “People who slip down
172 Sri Muruganar
from their status are like a hair which has dropped
down from the head.”
Michael James: That is to say, only when one slips down from Self
does one become a mean and degraded jiva, just as the hair loses
its worth only when it falls from the head.
611. One who – believing the mental objects, which appear
in front of him on account of delusion, to be real
– slips down from Self [that is, gives up abiding as
Self], the wondrous, foremost and pure knowledge, is
a mad fool.
612. Undeluded by whatever [dyads and triads] appear or
disappear in front of you, always unwinkingly attend
to Self. For, even if the non-vigilance [pramada] that
disturbs Self-attention is very small, that evil that
results from it will be very great.
Sri Muruganar: To be ever attentively awakened in one’s own
state, Self, without being glamoured by the appearance of any
kinds of dyads and triads, is Jnana-samadhi. That is Liberation too.
If, on the other hand, one forgets Self, the consciousness, and
thinks even in the least that there are objects to be known, that
pramada – no matter how slight it may be – itself will cause great
evil, just as even a little drop of poison will do great harm.
21 Chapter Concerning Samsara
(Samsara Tiran)
Michael James: Samsara literally means ‘that which is well moving’,
and denotes the ego’s state of mundane activity, in which it
undergoes innumerable births and deaths.
613. The impure mind, which functions as thinking and
forgetting, itself is samsara, the sequence of births
and deaths. The pure Self-consciousness in which
the thinking and forgetting mind is dead, itself is the
perfect liberation [mukti], devoid of birth and death.
Sri Muruganar: The rising of thought (the rising of the first thought,
‘I am so-and-so’) itself is birth, and the forgetfulness of Self itself is
death. The mind’s phenomena of such thinking and forgetting is
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 173
called samsara. When the mind, freed from its impure state of
thinking and forgetting, stands ever holding on to Self, that is called
the destruction of the mind [mano-nasa], which itself is liberation.
614. The big, delusive samsara is [nothing but] the mind
which leaves its true nature of shining as existence
[Self], which mistakes the fleshy body to be Itself,
and which is thereby filled with the dense darkness
of ignorance and through that deluded outlook sees
the sense-objects as if real, like the blueness in the
sky.
615. In truth, no thing exists except Self. Yet, forsaking the
immense, non-dual bliss of immortality, the inner
delusion, the thought ‘I am the body’ [which is the
form of chit-jada-granthi, the knot between the sentient
Self and the insentient body], undergoes the
sequence of births and deaths [known as samsara].
616. One’s own chittam [the storehouse of tendencies,
vasanas] itself is samsara. Though those [the jivanmuktas]
who live without samsara [that is, without
chittam and its vasanas] are [apparently] sometimes,
due to body-karma [prarabdha karma] in samsara
[that is, involved in mundane activities], they are
truly ever strolling in the space of true knowledge
[mey-jnana].
22 Chapter Concerning Obstacles
(Pratibandha Tiran)
617. The many afflictions which occur with severity like
thunderbolts in the life of great devotees are only to
establish their pure mind more and more firmly [in
tapas, that is, in Self-abidance] and not to shake
them down [from it].
618. Discriminating and knowing well that all the sufferings
that come by prarabdha in his life are sent to
him by God’s Grace in order to make his mind stronger
and thereby save him, let an aspirant bear with
them patiently as tapas without being alarmed even
in the least.
174 Sri Muruganar
619. Just as a gem taken from the mine will not have full
lustre if it is not polished on the grindstone, so the
real tapas, the sadhana which one is doing, will not
shine well if it is not provided with trials and tribulations
on its way.
620. For a big temple-chariot to go along the streets and
safely reach its destination, not only the strong linchpins
but also the obstructing blocks, which prevent it
from dashing into anything by running to the sides of
the streets, are indispensable.
Sri Muruganar and Sadhu Om: In the whole of this verse, only an
example [upamana] is given and the ‘exampled’ [upameya] is left
to the reader to infer. It should be understood as follows: ‘Similarly,
for an aspirant to successfully complete his tapas or sadhana, not
only a blemishless character and mode of life but also the obstacles
that come through prarabdha are indispensable. Hence, an
aspirant should accept obstacles patiently, viewing them as being
due to Grace’. For instance, the harsh words, “Why all these for
one who is like this?”, uttered by the elder brother of young Venkataraman,
when patiently accepted, brought forth one great Bhagavan
Sri Ramana Maharshi to the world. Not only by unintentional
words like these, but even by the intentional troubles caused by
wicked people, will great good result in the life of an aspirant.
23 Chapter Concerning the Wonder of Maya
(Maya Vichitra Tiran)
621. Though that which ever exists is truly only one
[namely Self] and though Its nature is non-becoming,
what a wonder it is that It appears to have become
many jivas, to be doing many good and bad karmas
and reaping their results, and thereby, from time
immemorial till now, to be taking in four ways innumerable
births of the seven types, and finally to succeed
in attaining Liberation.
Sadhu Om: The four ways of taking birth are through seeds, perspiration,
eggs and womb, and the seven types of birth are the
devas, human beings, beasts, birds, legless creatures, creatures
living in water, and plants.
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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