GURU VACHAKA KOVAI
The Light of Supreme Truth
or
THE COLLECTION
OF GURU’S SAYINGS
7 Mind Control
(Mano-Nigraha Tiran)
913. For those who allow their mind to wander here and
there, everything will go wrong.
Sadhu Om: The mind should be controlled and made to subside,
and should not be allowed to be dragged here and there by its
vasanas.
914. To make the mind, which runs in all directions with
such a speed that even the wind is frightened, crippled
like a completely lame man who cannot move
anywhere, and thereby to destroy it, is to attain true
immortality.
Sri Muruganar: Since the samsara of birth and death is in truth
only for the mind and not for the Self, if, instead of moving alone
with the mind as if its form were one’s own form, one knows it to be
other than oneself and thereby destroys it, the state of immortality
will be clearly known as one’s own reality.
915. To root out the weed-like three desires [the desires
for women, wealth and fame] even before they sprout
out, and to make the mind subside and remain still
like an ocean without wind-created waves, is Jnana.
916. When the mind does not wander in the least through
any of the senses, which are the cause that throws
one into misery, and when the mind remains subsided
like a stormy ocean which has completely subsided
and become calm, that is Jnana.
917. Just as the sun cannot be seen in a densely clouded
sky, so one’s own Self cannot be seen in a mind-sky
which is darkened by a dense cloud of thoughts.
918. One who has destroyed the mind is the emperor who
rides on the neck of the elephant of supreme Jnana.
Know for certain that the turmoil of the mind is the
sole cause of the miserable bondage of the cruel and
fierce birth [and death].
Sri Muruganar: Since the turmoil of the mind [chitta-chalana] is the
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 271
root of the miseries of birth, thoughts alone are here said to be
bondage. Since one’s own nature [Self] shines forth as soon as
thoughts are destroyed, the one whose mind is thus destroyed is
glorified in a figurative manner as an emperor riding on the elephant
of Jnana.
919. The tranquil clarity devoid of mental turmoil is the
samadhi which is essential for Liberation. [Therefore]
try earnestly to experience the peaceful consciousness,
the clarity of heart, by destroying the deceptive
turmoil [of mind].
920. Without Self-realization [atma-darsanam], the ego will
not die. Likewise, without the glorious death of the
mind [or ego], this miserable dream world-scene will
not disappear. Know thus.
Sadhu Om: If all the miseries of life are to come to an end, the
mind must die. If the mind is to die, Self realization must be
attained. Therefore only Self-realization will remove all miseries.
921. [By confronting it] no one can destroy the [mind’s]
nature [of rising and jumping out through the
senses]. [The only way to destroy it is to] ignore it as
something non-existent [i.e. as a mere false appearance].
If you know and consciously abide in Self, the
base [for the rising and setting] of the [mind’s]
nature, the velocity of the [mind’s] nature [i.e. the
velocity with which it rises and jumps out through
the senses] will gradually come to an end [since
there will be no one to attend to it].
Sadhu Om: Vali had a boon whereby he gained half of the strength
of any opponent who faced him, and therefore Ram had to kill him
without confronting him face to face. Likewise, if one tries to kill the
mind-maya by confronting it directly [that is, by struggling to control
the thoughts, the rising and jumping nature of the mind], one will in
fact be giving fresh strength to it. Since the mind [i.e. the rising and
jumping nature of the mind] is an object known to us, we should
treat it as a second person and ignore it by turning our attention
towards the first person, the mere feeling ‘I’. The mind will then
lose the power of Grace [anugraha-sakti] and thus it will gradually
272 Sri Muruganar
subside and die of its own accord. For a fuller explanation of this,
refer to chapter 7 of The Path of Sri Ramana – Part One, 2nd edition,
pages 101 to 105.
922. O people who are longing and grieving so much, not
knowing in the least the means to destroy the mind
so that it will function no more, the means is to experience
clearly that the seen [the world-appearance]
and the seer [the jiva] are nothing but oneself [the
Self].
Michael James: So long as one experiences a difference between
the seer and the seen, the mind can in no way be brought under
control. And until one knows the true nature of oneself, one cannot
experience that the seer and the seen are nothing but oneself and
are hence non-different. Therefore, the only means to destroy the
mind and thereby to control it effectively is to know one’s own true
nature.
In some translations this verse has been interpreted to mean
that in order to end the restlessness of the mind one must “look
upon all things that are perceptible and the perceiver as the Self”
(see Guru Ramana Vachana Mala, v. 207). However, this interpretation
is wrong, because unless one knows the true nature of Self,
it is impossible to look upon all things as Self. Trying to imagine
that everything is Self would only be a mental bhavana, and hence
it would not be an effective means to make the restless nature of
the mind subside. True experience of Self-knowledge is the only
means to end the restlessness of the mind.
923. Like ornaments [seen] in gold, like water [seen] in a
mirage, and like a dream city with battlements, everything
that is seen is nothing but Self alone. To take
them as being other than Self is wrong.
Michael James: Just as on scrutiny the many kinds of ornaments
are found to be nothing but gold, the seeming water is found to be
nothing but shimmering heat, and the dream city is found to be
nothing but the sleeper’s imagination, so, when the truth is realized,
the false world appearance is found to be nothing but Self.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 273
8 The Dead Mind
(Mrita Mana Tiran)
924. I declare with certainty that even when the mind is
extinguished and is no more functioning in the form
of thoughts, there still exists a reality [‘I am’] as the
abode of Jnanananda [the bliss of true knowledge],
which was [previously] hiding [as ‘I am this body’] as
though it were limited by time and space.
Sadhu Om: Here Sri Bhagavan asserts that even after the annihilation
of the first thought which was shining all this time as ‘I am
this body’, there does exist a Self shining as sat-chit-ananda, ‘I am
I’. Some schools of Buddhism say, “Finally there will remain nothing
as Self; only a void [sunya] will be there”. But Sri Bhagavan
refutes this wrong belief and emphatically declares from His own
experience, “There certainly does exist a reality [sat-vastu], which
is Jnanananda; that state is not a void [sunya] but a perfect whole
[purna]”. Compare here verse 20 of Upadesa Undiyar, “Where ‘I’
[the ego-self] dies, that One [the real Self] shines forth spontaneously
as ‘I-I’; that alone is the whole [purna],” and verse 12 of
Ulladu Narpadu, “Self is true knowledge; it is not a void [though
devoid of all objective knowledge]”.
925. The one which is ever-attained [nitya-siddha] and
which shines pervading everywhere devoid of [the
differences such as] ‘now’ or ‘then’, ‘here’ or ‘there’,
‘existing’ or ‘not existing’, is the pure Siva.
9 Omniscience
(Mutrunarvu Tiran)
926. Only the absolute knowledge which shines undivided
because of its knowing no existing thing other than
Self, and not the objective knowledge which knows
even [everything that happens in all] the three times
[past, present and future], is the supreme omniscience.
Know thus.
Sadhu Om: The ability to know all other things such as the happenings
in the past, present and future, and the ability to master all
the sixty-four arts, are glorified by people as ‘Omniscience’ or
274 Sri Muruganar
‘sarvajnatvam’. However, since Sri Bhagavan says in verse 13 of
Ulladu Narpadu, “Knowledge of multiplicity is ignorance [ajnana],”
and since He says in verse 26 of Ulladu Narpadu, “Verily the ego is
all,” all these things which are glorified as ‘omniscience’ should in
fact be understood to be mere objective knowledge of the ego, and
hence to be nothing but ignorance. In verse 13 of Ulladu Narpadu
Sri Bhagavan says, “That which knows [multiplicity or otherness]
cannot be true knowledge,” because in truth no other thing exists
to know or to make known. Therefore the non-dual Self-knowledge
which shines by itself as the whole [purna] without knowing any
other thing, alone is true omniscience or sarvajnatvam.
927. Since even with their little knowledge so many evils
and miseries are already crowded in those whose
minds have not subsided, if they gain omniscience
they will derive no benefit at all but only an increase
in the dense darkness of delusion which is already
existing within them.
Sadhu Om: An aspirant whose mind has not subsided will already
be confused by all the objective knowledge he has gathered and
will thereby be suffocating, being unable to bear the heavy burden
of his wavering thoughts. Therefore, if he is able to acquire more
knowledge, such as knowledge of all the events happening in all
times and all places, will he not be still more confused and will he
not be burdened with still more waves of thoughts? Hence, will it
not be impossible for him to relieve himself from all thoughts and to
abide peacefully in Self? Therefore, such so-called omniscience
[the knowledge of all alien objects] is not only useless by also very
harmful.
928. Only for him who, instead of knowing himself to be
the one who merely exists, mistakes himself to be a
knower [of other things] and who thereby sees the
deceptive sight [of this world], omniscience consisting
of a flood [of relative knowledge] is real. But for a
Jnani, who does not have such delusion, omniscience
[consisting of so many knowledges] is nothing
but a lunatic knowledge.
929. Only when one is deluded [into thinking] that one is
the knower [the mind], one feels ‘I am one of little
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 275
knowledge’. But when the true knowledge dawns,
omniscience will also perish completely like the little
knowledge.
Sadhu Om: That which remains as the natural knowledge of our
mere being after the Jnana-pralaya, the great dissolution in which
all is destroyed, is the reality. Therefore, just like the little knowledge,
the various kinds of omniscience must also be destroyed at
that time. Thus in the supreme state of Self-knowledge, nothing will
remain except the sole real knowledge, the first person singular
feeling ‘I am’.
930. The Vedas glorify God as ‘omniscient’ only for the
sake of those who think themselves to be people of
little knowledge. [But] when keenly scrutinized, [it
will be understood that] since God is by nature the
real Whole [apart from which no ‘other’ can exist for
Him to know], He does not know anything.
931. “Since the experiences of seeing [hearing, tasting
and so on] are, when experienced, the same for
Muktas [as for others], and since they [the Muktas]
are thus experiencing the many differences which
appear as a result of seeing [hearing and so on], they
are experiencing non-difference [even while seeing
those differences]” – to say so is wrong.
Sadhu Om: People have many wrong conceptions about the state
of a Jnani or Jivanmukta, and one such misconception is refuted
here. “What people see as water, the Jivanmukta also sees as
water, and what they see as food, He also sees as food. Therefore,
in His experience of sense-objects, the Jivanmukta is the same as
other people. But even while the Jivanmukta thus sees these differences,
He sees the non-difference in them” – are there not many
pandits and lecturers who talk and write thus, even though they
themselves have no experience of Advaita but have only read
about it in books? But who is the proper authority to say what is the
actual experience of a Jivanmukta? Only a real Jivanmukta! Thus
Bhagavan Sri Ramana, who has actually experienced the reality
and who is the true Loka Maha Guru, declares in this verse that
such statements are wrong, and in the next verse He explains how
and why they are wrong. Refer also to verse 1180.
276 Sri Muruganar
932. The Mukta is seen as if He is also seeing the many
[different] forms only in the deluded outlook of
onlookers who see the many differences; but [in fact]
He is not the seer [or anything at all].
Sadhu Om: Verse 119 of this work should again be read here. So
long as one sees oneself as an individual who sees the world of
differences, one cannot but see the Jnani likewise as an individual
who sees differences [see Ulladu Narpadu verse 4, “Can the sight
be otherwise than the eye?”] But since the jnani is in fact nothing
but the bodiless and individuality-less Jnana Itself, to see Him as a
seer and to believe that even He is seeing differences like oneself,
is true only in the outlook of ajnanis. The absolute truth, however,
is that the Jnani is not a seer and that He never sees any differences,
for as Sri Bhagavan says in verse 13 of Ulladu Narpadu,
“Knowledge of multiplicity is only ignorance [ajnana]”.
Thus in the above two verses Sri Bhagavan clearly refutes
the wrong idea expressed in the note at the end of the introduction
[bhoomika] to Sat-Darshana-Bhashya, 6th ed. pp. 35 to 38, namely
the idea that a Jnani or liberated soul retains His individuality in
spite of the destruction of the ego, and that He “perceives diversity
in unity and experiences unity in diversity” [compare here pp. 160
to 164 of Maha Yoga, 7th ed.]. Regarding this erroneous theory of
bheda-abheda or unity in diversity, Sri Bhagavan used to say that if
the least difference or diversity is perceived, it means that the ego
or individuality is there, so if difference is experienced, non-difference
or unity would merely be a theoretical proposition and not an
actual experience [see The Golden Jubilee Souvenir, 2nd ed., p.
295, and The Mountain Path, October 1981, p. 224].
933. It is only due to the wrong habit of attending to second
persons that one is deluded [into thinking] that
one has little knowledge. When one gives up that
attention towards second persons and knows the
truth of one’s own Self through vichara, the little
knowledge will die and shine as the full one [i.e. as
the full knowledge or true omniscience].
934. Knowing directly the non-dual Self, which because of
one’s wrong outlook appears as all these many
[names and] forms, [the universe], and nothing else,
is [true] experience.
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 277
Sadhu Om: Are there not some deluded people who think that this
world has been wrongly created by God as a mixture of pain and
pleasure, and who therefore try through some kinds of yoga to
eradicate the pain and to establish pleasure and thereby to
heavenize the world? In order to point out that their way of thinking
is wrong and their aim is sheer foolishness, Sri Bhagavan begins
this verse with the words “Because of one’s wrong outlook,”
thereby implying as follows: “It is only because of your wrong outlook
that this world appears to you in such a way; God never created
it thus; the wrongs you see in the world are a result of
drishti-dosha [a defect in your outlook] and not of srishti-dosha [a
defect in God’s creation]”. Therefore Sri Bhagavan teaches that
true omniscience or sarvajnatvam is only the removal of one’s
wrong outlook [dosha-drishti] through the attainment of Jnanadrishti
[the outlook of Jnana].
935. If all one’s mental images [that appear] in dream were
not [already] dwelling within [one], they could not be
seen. Since it is so, to attain the experience of Self, in
which dwell all these [mental images that appear] in
the waking state, alone is [true] omniscience.
Michael James: All that one sees in dream is only a projection of
the vasanas already dwelling within one. Likewise, all that one
sees even in this waking state is only a projection of one’s own
vasanas (see verse 84). Therefore, in order to know all, one need
only know oneself. However, since oneself (the Self) alone truly
exists and since the so-called ‘all’ is truly non-existent and unreal,
there will be no ‘all’ to be known when oneself is known. As Sri
Bhagavan says in the second line of the third verse of Atmavidya
Kirtanam, “What [else] is there to know after oneself is known?”
936. If one does not take to the deluded life of modern civilization,
if one rejects the liking towards the useless
worldly knowledges [such as sciences, arts and languages],
and if one removes the sense of differentiation
[bheda-buddhi] between Siva [or Paramatma]
and the soul [or jivatma], then only will the true
import of Siva Jnana Bodham shine forth.
Michael James: The words ‘Siva Jnana Bodham’ here give two
278 Sri Muruganar
meanings; either they can be taken to denote an Advaitic text by
that name, or they can be taken to mean the knowledge of Siva,
the supreme reality.
10 The State Transcending the Fourth
(Turiyatita Tiran)
937. In Jnanis, who have destroyed the ego, the three
states [waking, dream and sleep], which were seen
previously, will disappear, and the noble state of
turiya [the ‘fourth’] will itself shine gloriously in them
as turiyatita [the state transcending the ‘fourth’].
938. The state of turiya, which is Self, pure sat-chit, is
itself the non-dual turiyatita. Know that the three
states are mere [false] appearances, and that Self is
the supporting base for them [i.e. the base on which
they appear and disappear].
939. Is it not only if the other three states [waking, dream
and sleep] were real that wakeful sleep [jagratsushupti],
the pure Jnana, would be the fourth?
Since those three states are [found to be] unreal in
front of turiya, that [turiya] is the only state; know
[therefore] that it [turiya] is itself turiyatita.
Michael James: The ideas expressed in the above three verses
were summarized by Sri Bhagavan in the following verse, which is
also verse 32 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham.
B18. It is only for those who experience waking, dream
and sleep that the state of wakeful sleep, which is
beyond [those three states] is called turiya [the
‘fourth’]. Since that turiya alone really exists and
since the seeming three states do not exist, it [turiya]
is itself turiyatita.
Sadhu Om: The word ‘turiya’ literally means the ‘fourth’. Since only
the three states of waking, dream and sleep are under the experience
of all people, the state of Jnana or wakeful sleep [jagratsushupti],
which is none of these three states, is called the ‘fourth’
by sastras. But Sri Bhagavan asks here, “Why should this state be
called the fourth or turiya when, at the time of experience of this
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 279
state, which is the eternal state of Self-awakening, the other three
states [waking, dream and sleep] are found to be truly non-existent?”
Then should not this state be considered as the very first?
No, it would be wrong even to consider it as the first, because no
second state will exist to be experienced after this state, the only
real state, is experienced. Therefore, instead of calling it either as
the first or as the fourth, it should really be called only ‘atita’ [the
all-transcending state, turiyatita] – such is the upadesa given in this
verse.
Even the jiva’s three states of waking, dream and sleep, are
not really three; they are only two, namely sakala [the state of functioning
of the mind] and kevala [the state of non-functioning of the
mind]. Even these two have only relative reality [vyavakarika satya].
In truth, sleep alone is the nature of turiya or turiyatita. For a fuller
explanation of this point, read pages 144 to 145 of The Path of Sri
Ramana – Part One, 2nd ed. Refer also to verses 460 and 567 of
this work, and to the answer to question 9 of chapter 4 of Upadesa
Manjari.
940. Whether it is called a grand sleep devoid of waking,
or a single waking untouched by in-slipping sleep, it
will aptly fit the venerable Jnana-turiya.
Sadhu Om: This real state may aptly be described in so many different
ways such as wakeful sleep, sleepful waking, unwaking
sleep, unsleeping waking, birthless death or deathless birth.
11 Akhanda Vritti
(Akhanda Vritti Tiran)
941. Since every vritti [movement of the mind] is a fragment
[khanda], the great Akhanda [the unfragmented
or unbroken reality] is only a state of nivritti [a state
devoid of movement]. [Therefore] to say that in the
supreme state there is Akhandakara-vritti [movement
in an unbroken form] is like talking of a river in the
form of an ocean.
Sadhu Om: In order to suit the poor power of understanding of
immature minds, many unfitting terms are used in the scriptures.
Sri Bhagavan sometimes used to point out how inapt are some
such scriptural terms, including the term ‘Akhandakara-vritti’, which
280 Sri Muruganar
literally means ‘movement [vritti] in an unfragmented or unbroken
form’. This term is sometimes used to denote the final state of perfect
Self-abidance, and is also sometimes used to denote certain
practices such as meditation upon the Mahavakya ‘I am Brahman’.
However, Sri Bhagavan reveals in this verse that this term is fitting
neither to the state of practice nor to the state of attainment, for the
state of practice is a state of khanda [fragmentation], while the
state of attainment is a state of nivritti. In the supreme state of
Akhanda [non-fragmentation], there can be no room for any movement
or vritti. When a river merges in the ocean, it loses its separate
identity or individuality as a river and becomes one with the
ocean; therefore it would be unfitting to call it a ‘river in the form of
an ocean’ [samudrakara-nadi]. Likewise, when all vrittis [movements
of the mind] including the first vritti, the aham-vritti or
‘I’-thought, have merged into the unbroken state of Self-knowledge,
they lose their separate identity as vrittis and become one with that
unbroken state; therefore, instead of calling that unbroken state as
mere ‘Akhanda’, it is unfitting to try to retain the term ‘vritti’ and to
call that state a ‘vritti in an unbroken form’ [akhandakara-vritti].
12 Severance of the Knot
(Granthi-Bheda Tiran)
942. The state in which the mind does not become heartbroken
in pain, in which the mind does not become
immersed in pleasure, and in which it remains
equally indifferent and peaceful [both in pain and in
pleasure], is the sign of granthi-bheda [the severance
of the knot of identification with the body].
943. Not thinking about what has happened in the past
and not thinking about what is to come [in the
future], but remaining as an unattached witness even
to all that is happening [in the present] and being
blissful because of abundant peace, is the sign of
granthi-bheda.
944. Whatever thoughts may come, their nature is such
that they cannot exist without the indispensable Self;
therefore, not succumbing to inattentiveness [pramada]
such as [will make one feel], “Alas, the state of
Self [Self-abidance or Self-attention] has been lost on
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 281
the way”, is also that [i.e. is also the sign of
granthi-bheda].
Michael James: Even if thoughts should rise, the Jnani, (the one
in whom the knot or granthi has been severed) will know through
His unshakeable Self-experience that they cannot exist without
Self, and hence any amount of thoughts will not make Him feel that
He has lost His hold on Self-attention or Self-abidance. A person
who thinks that the waves are different from the ocean will feel on
seeing the waves that they are veiling the ocean, whereas a person
who knows that the waves are not other than the ocean will
never feel so. Similarly, the ajnani, who feels thoughts to be other
than himself, will feel that thoughts distract his attention from Self,
whereas the Jnani, who knows that thoughts are not other than
Himself (i.e. who knows that thoughts have no independent existence
but appear to exist only by depending upon His own existence),
will never feel that thoughts have distracted His attention
from Self.
13 Having Done What is to be Done
(Krita-Kritya Tiran)
945. Whoever has whatever experiences, wherever and
through whatever things, all those experiences are
on scrutiny [found to be] nothing but a [reflected]
part of Self-experience.
Sadhu Om: All objective experiences are nothing but a false
reflection of the one true Self-experience, ‘I am’. Refer here to
verse 1074 of this work, to the sixth answer in chapter 2 of
Upadesa Manjari, and to pages 19 to 21 of The Path of Sri
Ramana – Part Two, 1st ed.
946. Since Self pulls inwards the first thought [the mind],
the experiencer [of happiness], drowns it in the heart
and does not allow its head to rise. Its form is pure
sukhatita [that which transcends happiness]; to call
It sukha-swarupa [the form of happiness] is wrong.
Sadhu Om: That which knows the dyad ‘happiness and misery’
[sukha-duhkha] is only the mind. Self transcends all dyads and is
unaffected by them. Since at the time of Self-realization the mind,
282 Sri Muruganar
which rises to classify ‘this is happiness’ or ‘this is misery’, is not
allowed to raise its head even in the least but is dragged within and
drowned in the ocean of Self-knowledge [in the absolute consciousness,
which is mere existence], it would be more fitting to
call Self as ‘that which transcends happiness’ [sukhatita] rather
than ‘the form of happiness’ [sukha-swarupa].
947. After enquiring and thus knowing that Self as ‘I am
that [Self which transcends even happiness]’, desiring
which dual pleasure for whom would that true
and great Jnani get mental craving?
Sri Muruganar: Since He [the Jnani] is truly Self, the unbroken
bliss [akhanda-ananda], and since neither any happiness nor any
jiva exists apart from Himself, it is said “desiring which dual pleasure
for whom”, and since no pain will appear without desire, it is
said “desiring what would He get mental craving”.
948. Vedic injunctions which say, “You have to do this”,
are not applicable to true Jnanis, in whom the dark
delusion of doership is dead. The reason why it is
said [in the ‘Karma Kanda’ of the Vedas] that even
Jnanis have to perform so many karmas, is only to
protect the vaidika dharma [and not to compel Jnanis
to perform karmas].
Michael James: Some schools of thought believe that even Jnanis
have to do some good actions (karmas), for example, that they
should perform sacrifices (yajnas) for the welfare of the world, or
that they should assist God in governing the universe. Such things
are also said in the ‘Karma Kanda’ (that portion of the Vedas which
teaches ritualistic actions for the fulfilment of desires), but they are
said only in order to pacify the minds of ignorant people and to
encourage them to follow the path of karmas so that indiscipline
will not flourish in society. However, since a Jnani is devoid of any
sense of doership, it is only in the outlook of ajnanis that He may
sometimes appear to be performing such good karmas. When Sri
Bhagavan was asked by immature devotees whether Jnanis have
to choose to do some kind of work or karma, even He sometimes
used to reply, “Yes, some Jnanis may take up work [karma], but
not all” (see Maharshi’s Gospel, Book One, ch.7, p. 39); however,
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 283
He gave such replies only to suit the immature understanding of
such devotees and to pacify their minds.
949. Since there is nothing to be attained beyond what
they have already attained, for the egoless Sukhatitars
[those who have transcended happiness] there
is nothing further to do. Since such is their nature,
they alone are those who have reached the goal, having
done [all that is to be done].
Sadhu Om: Compare here verse 15 of Upadesa Undiyar, “For the
great Yogi who has attained the reality, having destroyed his
mind-form, there is no single action [remaining to be done] ...,” and
verse 31 of Ulladu Narpadu, “What single thing remains for Him to
do who thus enjoys the bliss of Self, which has risen on the
destruction of himself [the mind or ego]...”.
Sri Muruganar: The state of egolessness alone is pure silence; it
alone is what is called ‘that which transcends happiness’ [anandatita]
and ‘that which transcends the fourth’ [turiyatita]. Since for
those who have attained that state, which is paratpara [the highest
of the high], there is no further state which can be attained by
effort, they alone are called ‘those who have done what is to be
done’ [krita-krityars]. “Can a full pot contain any more water? [Similarly]
how and for what can those who have attained the
well-established Silence make effort?” sings Tayumanuvar.
950. If one subsides without one’s own effort in Sadasiva,
one’s own Self, as Self itself, then one will remain in
peaceful bliss as one who has already done everything
and who has nothing further to do.
951. Will those Jnanis, who have gained the plenitude of
Self-experience, know anything other [than Self]?
How can the deluded and limited mind imagine their
supreme bliss, which transcends the seeming duality
[of happiness and misery]?
Sadhu Om: Compare here verse 31 of Ulladu Narpadu, “... Since
He [the Jnani] does not know anything other than Self, who can
and how to conceive what His state is?” It is impossible to determine
the state of a Jnani, and it is wrong to try to do so. Their expe-
284 Sri Muruganar
rience of supreme bliss, which is sukhatita [transcending even
happiness], cannot be measured even by people having very sharp
intellects, because, how is it possible for the mind to judge a state
of bliss which will shine only after the destruction of the mind?
14 The Non-Existence of Misery
(Dukha-Abhava Tiran)
952. One’s own reality [Self], which shines within everyone
as Heart, is the ocean of unalloyed bliss. Therefore
misery, which is unreal like the blueness of the
sky, truly does not exist except in mere imagination.
Sadhu Om: In this chapter the truth proclaimed by the Sage
Appar, namely, “Bliss alone exists, misery is ever non-existent”, is
well expounded. That which really exists is only bliss, our real
nature. In the past, present and future there never has been and
there never will be such thing as ‘misery’ at all. The dyad ‘pleasure
and pain’ is an illusion or imagination which seems to exist only
because of the defective outlook of the ego, the rising of which is
itself unreal. Therefore misery can only be as real as the ego.
Since the ego or jiva is a false appearance which has no real existence,
the miseries which appear in the defective outlook of the
ego are also a false appearance, like the appearance of the blue
colour seen in the colourless sky.
953. Since one’s own reality, the sun of Jnana which has
never seen the darkness of delusion, itself shines as
happiness, the confusion of misery appears only
because of the unreal sense of individuality
[jiva-bodha]; but in truth no one has [ever] undergone
any such thing [as ‘misery’].
Sadhu Om: Suppose a man who is sleeping happily, having taken
a full meal, dreams that he is a wandering about suffering from
hunger. When he wakes up, will he not realize that the hunger and
misery which he experienced in dream are in truth unreal and
non-existent? Likewise, when one wakes up from the sleep of
Self-forgetfulness, in which the dream of one’s present life is occurring,
one will realize that all the miseries that one experienced as a
jiva are in truth unreal and non-existent [see verse 1 of Ekatma
Panchakam]. Refer also to the example given by Sri Bhagavan in
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 285
verse 30 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham, “... though lying motionless
here [on his bed], [a man in dream] climbs up a hill and falls
into a precipice”. The teaching of Sri Bhagavan is that misery is
unreal, being merely mental.
Throughout this chapter Sri Bhagavan expounds the truth
that misery is non-existent in order to strengthen the titiksha [the
forbearance or ability to endure misery] in aspirants, lest they
should become disheartened and give up their sadhana on
account of the various miseries which occur in their life.
954. If [through the enquiry ‘Who am I?’] one scrutinizes
[and knows] one’s own Self, which is auspicious
bliss, there will be no misery at all in one’s life. It is
due to one’s having a wicked delusion that one suffers
through the notion that the body, which is never
oneself, is ‘I’.
955. Those who do not know themselves to be the one
[non-dual] Self will perish daily, vainly suffering in
fear [because of seeing the world as something other
than themselves]. [Therefore] destroying the notion ‘I
am the body’, the root [of all misery], by gaining
[through the enquiry ‘Who am I?’] the firm knowledge
of your real Self, attain the state of non-duality
[advaita].
956. If one clings only to the knowledge [of one’s own
Self] as the real refuge, then the misery of birth [or
the birth of misery], which is caused by ignorance,
will come to an end.
15 The Pervasiveness of Sleep
(Sushupti Vyapaka Tiran)
957. Do not be disheartened and lose your mental vigour
thinking that [the state of experiencing] sleep in
dream has not yet been obtained. If the strength of
[experiencing] sleep in the present waking state is
obtained, then [the state of experiencing] sleep in
dream will also be obtained.
Sadhu Om: The words ‘sleep in the present waking state’ [anavum
nanavil sushupti] denote the state of wakeful sleep [jagrat-sushupti]
286 Sri Muruganar
or turiya, the state of experiencing no differences during waking. In
order to attain this state, aspirants have to make efforts in the waking
state. However, some aspirants used to ask Sri Bhagavan, “Do
we also have to make such efforts in dream, so that we may attain
the state of experiencing no differences even during dream?” This
doubt is answered by Sri Bhagavan in this verse.
The feeling ‘I am this body’ [dehatma-buddhi] rises in the
subtle body during dream only because of the habit of identifying
the gross body as ‘I’ during waking. Hence, if one practices
Self-enquiry in the waking state and thereby eradicates the
dehatma-buddhi [the habit of thus identifying a body as ‘I’] in this
state, that itself will be sufficient to eradicate the dehatma-buddhi in
dream also. Therefore Sri Bhagavan advises in the next verse that,
until the dehatma-buddhi is completely eradicated even in dream,
one should not give up Self-enquiry in the waking state. Refer here
to the fourth paragraph of the first chapter of Vichara Sangraham
where Sri Bhagavan says, “All the three bodies [gross, subtle and
causal] consisting of the five sheaths are included in the feeling ‘I
am the body’. If that one [i.e. the identification with the gross body]
is removed, all [i.e. the identification with the other two bodies] will
automatically be removed. Since [the identification with] the other
bodies [the subtle and causal] survive only by depending upon this
[the identification with the gross body], there is no need to remove
them one by one.”
The words ‘kanavil sushupti’ [sleep in dream], which are
used in the first and last lines of this verse, may also be taken to
mean ‘sleep without dream’, in which case the following alternative
meaning can be given: “Do not be disheartened and lose your
mental vigour thinking that sleep without dream has not yet been
obtained. If the strength of [experiencing] sleep in the present
waking state is obtained, then sleep without dream will also be
obtained.”
958. Until the state of sleep in waking [i.e. the state of
wakeful sleep or jagrat-sushupti] is attained, Selfenquiry
should not be given up. Moreover until sleep
in dream is also attained, it is essential to persist in
that enquiry [i.e. to continue trying to cling to the
mere feeling ‘I’].
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 287
Michael James: The ideas in the above two verses were summarized
by Sri Bhagavan in the following verse.
B19. The state of sleep in waking [or jagrat-sushupti] will
result by constant scrutinizing enquiry into oneself.
Until sleep pervades and shines in waking and in
dream, do that enquiry continuously.
16 Conscious Sleep
(Arituyil Tiran)
959. O men who, caught by the dangerous snares of the
world and struck by the sharp arrows of cruel miseries,
are suffering greatly and are wandering in search
of the attainment of supreme bliss, the sleep in which
there is no loss of consciousness [i.e. wakeful sleep
or jagrat-sushupti] alone is the imperishable happiness.
Sadhu Om: ‘The sleep in which there is no loss of consciousness’
[arivu-azhiya tukkam] means only the state of Self-knowledge.
Here consciousness [arivu] means prajna or the knowledge of
one’s own existence, and not the knowledge of other things. That
which knows other things is not true knowledge [see Ulladu
Narpadu verse 12]. The state we call sleep is the state in which we
know no other things, not even the body. The state we call waking
is the state in which, along with the knowledge of one’s own existence
[‘I am’], there is also knowledge of other things. The state in
which we remain conscious merely of our own existence, like in
waking, but in which the mind [the knower of other things] does not
rise, like in sleep, is called the state of conscious sleep or wakeful
sleep. Since no other thing is known in this state, it is a sleep; and
since one’s own existence is shining clearly there, it is a state of
consciousness or waking.
960. Those who are sleeping, having given up the habit of
[going out through] the deceitful senses and having
become established in the heart-lotus, are those who
are awake in the abode of real knowledge [meyjnana].
Others are those who are asleep, being
immersed in the dense darkness of this unreal world
[poy-jnala].
288 Sri Muruganar
17 Non-Dual Knowledge
(Advaita Jnana Tiran)
961. When the ‘I’ has died by Sivaya Namah [complete
obeisance to Lord Siva] and is burning in the fire of
unobstructed and blazing devotion [bhakti], then in
the flame of Self-experience will shine the true clarity
of the unfailing Sivoham [the experience ‘I am Siva’].
Sadhu Om: ‘Sivoham’ is the final state of experience which results
from the death of the ego. But the ego will never die by merely
doing japa of or meditating ‘Sivoham, Sivoham’ [I am Siva, I am
Siva]. In order to make the ego die, the practice of ‘Sivaya Namah’
[complete obeisance to Lord Siva, the Supreme Reality] is necessary.
And in order to make the ego do obeisance [i.e. surrender
itself] to Lord Siva, one must attend to its source and thereby prevent
it from rising [see Ulladu Narpadu verse 27, “The state in
which ‘I’ does not rise, is the state ‘We are That’. Unless one scrutinizes
the source whence ‘I’ rises, how to attain the state of
egolessness, in which ‘I’ does not rise?...”]. Therefore Self-enquiry,
the true practice of ‘Sivaya Namah’, alone is the sadhana which
will destroy the ego and thereby bring about the true experience of
‘Sivoham’.
962. Know that the bright light of fire that rises within, kindled
by more and more inwardly grinding the mind,
which has been made free from impurities, on the
stone of heart through [the enquiry] ‘Who am I?’, is
the true knowledge “Ana’l-Haq” [I am the reality].
Sadhu Om: The idea expressed in verse 341 of this work should
be noted here. If a religion is a true one, at least one sacred utterance
of Mahavakya which reveals the transcendent nature of Self,
should be found in its scriptures. If such a Mahavakya were not
found in its scriptures, it would not be a true religion. For example,
Sri Bhagavan used to point out the peerless Mahavakya ‘I am that I
am’ which is revealed in the Holy Bible. In the same manner, He
also used to point out the sacred utterance ‘Ana’l-Haq’ in the
Islamic Religion al-Haq is one of the 99 names of Allah, and means
‘the reality’ or ‘the truth’; “Ana’l-Haq” means ‘I am the reality’, and is
a sacred utterance made by Hallaj, a famous Sufi Sage]. Sri
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 289
Bhagavan used to explain that the final aim of all these religions is
to make one know the Self. [Refer also to verse 663.]
963. Only steadfastness in non-dual knowledge [advaita
jnana] is heroism. On the other hand, even conquest
over [one’s] enemies is, on scrutiny, [found to be due
not to heroism but only to] great fear possessing the
mind, which is shaken by the hubbub of the unreal
world of duality. Know thus.
Sadhu Om: Only when a thing is felt to be other than oneself, will a
fear of it or a desire for it arise in one. Since no other thing exists in
the non-dual state of Self-knowledge, there can arise no fear or
desire in that state, and hence it alone is the state of true fearlessness
or heroism. Even if by one’s own strength one is able to conquer
and subdue all one’s powerful enemies, one cannot be said to
possess real heroism, for one tries to conquer them only because
of the fear that they may do harm to one. Fear is the sole cause
which impels one to conquer one’s enemies, and knowledge of
duality is the sole cause for fear. Only the Jnani, who has the experience
of non-duality, has no fear, because nothing whatsoever
exists as other than Himself, and thus He alone is truly the great
hero [maha-dhira].
964. Only that [state] which is devoid of the differences
created by the ego, the dense and great delusion, is
the realization of Oneness [Kaivalya-darsanam]. That
piercing, all-transcendent, silent and divine supreme
consciousness is the Supreme Abode [param-dhana]
experienced by the great Sages.
18 Divine Grace
(Tiruvarul Tiran)
965. If you, thinking of Him [God or Guru], take one step
[towards Him], in response to that, more [graciously]
than even a mother, that Lord, thinking of you, will
Himself come nine steps [towards you] and receive
[you]. See, such is His Grace!
966. When divine Grace is only the reality which shines [in
the heart of every jiva] as ‘am’ [ullam], the blame of
disregarding [or being ungracious towards] the real-
290 Sri Muruganar
ity will be fitting only to the jivas who do not think of
it [i.e. who do not attend to that reality which shines
as ‘I am’] melting inwardly [with love]; how, on the
contrary, can the blame of not bestowing sweet
Grace be fitting to that reality?
Sadhu Om: The first person consciousness ‘am’ is the experience
of everyone. This consciousness of our existence exists in us only
because God resides within us as Self due to His unaccountable
Grace. Thus God is always bestowing His Grace on everyone in
the form of the consciousness ‘am’. Since the shining of this consciousness
‘am’ is the greatest aid enabling jivas to attain God and
thus be saved, this consciousness itself is here said to be the
divine Grace of God. Therefore, it is wrong for jivas to accuse God
of being ungracious towards them. On the contrary, since jivas
never attend to Self, the existence-consciousness which shines as
‘I am’, but always attend only to second and third persons, it is not
God by only the jivas who are to be accused of being ungracious.
Sri Muruganar: Since, in order that jivas should not have even the
least difficulty in knowing and attaining Him, God exists and shines
due to His infinite Grace in each and every jiva, not as another but
only as Self, the reality of those jivas, it is said, “Divine Grace is
only the reality which shines as ‘am’”; since God is unceasingly
bestowing Grace by always shining in the hearts of all jivas day
and night in the form of the continuous shining of ‘I-I’, it is said,
“How can the blame of not bestowing sweet Grace be fitting to that
reality?”; since, unless the jivas turn within towards Him and attend
to Him, they cannot understand the truth that God is ever bestowing
Grace upon them, and since it is thus a great wrong for jivas
who do not attend to Him, whose very nature is Grace, to accuse
Him of not at all bestowing Grace upon them, it is said, “The blame
of disregarding the reality will be fitting only to the jivas who do not
think of it, melting inwardly”. Since, just as the one reality, the Self,
which exists and shines as one without a second in the heart, itself
[seemingly] exists as many, so in all jivas, who are [seemingly]
many because of the adjuncts [upadhis], it [seemingly] shines individually
as ‘I-I’, know that the first person plural verb ‘ullam’ [a contracted
form of ‘ullom’] is fittingly used here. Since the heart
[hridayam] is called ‘ullam’ in Tamil because it is the place where
that [Self] thus exists and shines, this word ‘ullam’ is used here with
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 291
a double meaning [namely ‘am’ and ‘heart’], and hence both meanings
can be taken here.
967. Although the existence-consciousness [sat-chit] that
shines abundantly in the [state of] abidance – in
which the mind has turned inwards [through the
enquiry ‘Who am I?’] and the ego has [thereby] subsided
– is devoid of characteristics and qualities and
is beyond the mind, it appears as Guru, [having characteristics
such as name and form]. [Such is] the
Grace of God, who is Self.
Sadhu Om: In this verse it is clearly taught that Self alone is the
Guru, Self alone is God and Self alone is Grace. Although Self,
which is God, has no characteristic [kuri] or quality [guna], because
of Its abundant Grace towards the devotees, It assumes characteristics
and qualities and appears in the form of a Guru in order to
save them. Thus Grace, God, Guru and Self are one and the
same.
968. The ‘I’ of [those] true devotees who have seen the
form [or nature] of Grace, will shine as the form of
the supreme reality, since the ego, the unreal chitjada-
granthi [the knot between the conscious Self
and the insentient body] which creates the delusive
mental agonies, has died and no longer rises in the
heart.
Sadhu Om: The phrase ‘the true devotees who have seen the
form [or nature] of Grace’ [arul vannam kanda mey anbar] may be
taken to mean either (1) those true devotees who have seen the
Sadguru, who is the embodiment of Grace [as explained in the previous
verse], or (2) those true devotees who have realized Self, the
true nature of Grace, through Self-enquiry.
969. [Since, as explained in verse 966, the Lord is always
and everywhere bestowing His Grace upon everyone
by shining in them as ‘I am’] jivas stand immersed in
the ambrosial flood of Grace; [when it is so, their]
being deluded and suffering through illusion is foolishness,
[just like one’s] dying [because of] not
knowing how to quench [one’s] thirst [even though
292 Sri Muruganar
one is] standing in the midst of the flood of water of
the rushing river Ganga.
Michael James: One who is standing neck-deep in the flooding
water of the Ganga need only bend down in order to drink and
quench his thirst. Likewise, since God or Guru is always bestowing
His Grace upon us by shining within us as ‘I am’, we need only turn
our attention within towards that ‘I am’ in order to drink and quench
our thirst for His Grace.
970. Why does the impartial God, who bestows [His] gracious
glance upon one and all, discard wicked people?
The [divine] eye which surges as everything,
does not discard anyone; [it is only because of] the
delusion of their dim, defective outlook [that it seems
to reject some people].
Sadhu Om: The Tamil word ‘kan’, which means ‘eye’, is also
sometimes used to mean ‘true knowledge’ or ‘jnana’. Therefore the
words ‘the eye that surges as everything’ [ellamay pongum kan]
also mean the knowledge ‘I am’ which shines as everything. Since
the knowledge ‘I am’ is shining in everyone as the true form of
Grace, it can never be said that the Eye of Grace is rejecting anyone.
If we are to say, “So-and-so has not seen me,” can we not
do so only after looking for that person? Similarly, if we are to
accuse God of not bestowing His gracious glance upon us, can we
not do so only after we have turned within and looked at Him, the
Self-consciousness which shines within us as ‘I am’? Therefore,
when we never attend to Self but always remain extroverted, we
cannot justly accuse God of not bestowing His Grace upon us.
“Turning inwards, daily see yourself with an introverted look and it
will be known [that He is ever bestowing His Grace] ... ,” sings Sri
Bhagavan in verse 44 of Sri Arunachala Aksharamanamalai. The
extroverted look of ignorant people who never turn inwards, is
describe in the present verse as “the delusion of their dim defective
outlook” [avar mangun kan malai mayakku].
Sri Muruganar: When God resides within every jiva as Self and
unceasingly always knows all of them as Himself, unless the jivas
know Him they cannot know the fact that God is bestowing His
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 293
Grace upon them; therefore it is said “the delusion of their dim,
defective outlook”.
19 Existence-Consciousness-Bliss
(Sat-Chit-Ananda Tiran)
971. When, by changing [its direction, i.e. by turning
Selfwards], the deluded knowledge, the intellect
[buddhi] which knows other things, reaches [and
merges in] the Heart [Self], which is pure existence,
that existence-consciousness-bliss [mey-arivu-ananda]
will be attained.
972. When [all its] mischiefs [or movements] subside, the
mind [chittam], which is [in its real nature] consciousness
[chit], will itself see itself as the reality
[sat]. [When thus] the chit-sakti [the power of consciousness
or power of knowing] becomes one with
the reality [sat], what is the [resulting] dense supreme
bliss [paramananda], the remaining one [of
the three aspects of Brahman], other than that Self?
Sadhu Om: Knowing [chit] oneself to be the reality [sat] is bliss
[ananda]. Knowing oneself, the Self, to be the body is the deluded
knowledge which is called ‘mind’ [chittam]. It is only because of this
wrong knowledge that such a thing as ‘misery’ appears to come
into existence. However, when one knows oneself to be Self
[atman], since the chittam then loses its nature of movement and
attains the nature of consciousness [chit-rupa], it knows itself to be
the reality [sat]. Since this union of sat and chit is the fullness of
ananda, misery will be known to be ever non-existent and the truth
that Self alone is sat, chit and ananda will shine forth. The state of
supreme bliss [paramananda] which is experienced when the
power of consciousness [chit-sakti] and the Lord [Siva] whose
nature is existence [sat] thus become one, is the true significance
of the form of Ardhanariswara [the Lord who is both Siva and
Sakti].
973. When the insentient ego, the jiva which is chit-jada [a
combination of consciousness and the insentient],
dies, he will shine as the nature of consciousness
[chit-swarupa]. Since the nature of consciousness
294 Sri Muruganar
remains there [in that state] as existence [sat] alone,
the bliss [experienced there] is ever Self alone.
Sadhu Om: The ego or jiva is a wrong knowledge which acts as a
false knot linking together Self, which is consciousness [Chit], and
the body, which is insentient [jada]. When this ego dies, i.e. when
its wrong identification with the insentient body is destroyed
through Self-enquiry, its nature of insentience [jada-swarupa] alone
is removed and thus it remains shining as the very nature of consciousness
[chit-swarupa]. Since there can be no existence other
than this consciousness, this consciousness [chit] itself remains as
the single mere existence [sat], which is Self. Since that state is a
state of non-duality, the bliss experience there is also nothing but
Self itself. Thus the knowledge [chit] of Self, one’s own existence
[sat], is itself bliss [ananda].
Sri Muruganar: The death of the insentient ego is the severing of
the chit-jada-granthi [the knot between consciousness and the
insentient body]. Severing the chit-jada-granthi means separating
through Self-enquiry the body and Self, which were joined together
through ignorance [avidya]. “The Lord of the Mount danced and
[thereby] separated the body and Self,” sings Sri Sundaramurti
Nayanar. Here [in the present verse], the fruit of the severance of
the knot [granthi-bheda] is described as “the bliss [which is] Self
alone” [tan-mattira-inbam], and the nature of consciousness, which
results from that [the severance of the knot], is described as “existence
alone” [sat-mattiram].
974. Not forgetting consciousness [i.e. not forgetting
one’s own Self-consciousness due to pramada or
inattentiveness] is the path of devotion [bhakti], the
relationship of unfading real love, because the real
consciousness of Self, which shines as the undivided
[non-dual] supreme bliss itself, surges as the
nature of love [or bhakti].
Sadhu Om: The true knowledge of Self, which always shines naturally,
is the fullness of non-dual bliss [ananda], because it shines
as the truth of love. Existence [sat], consciousness [chit] and bliss
[ananda] are not really three, but one and the same. We should
know that being conscious [chit] of our own existence [sat] is itself
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 295
bliss [ananda]. Verse 979 should be referred to here. The love for
oneself shines in all jivas because self-love is the very nature of
Self. Therefore, since love is the nature of Self, and since Self is
the very form of supreme happiness, it is wrong to regard happiness
as being the result of love; instead of thus regarding love and
happiness as being cause and effect, we should understand that
love is itself happiness. Since by loving Self one knows Self and by
knowing Self one loves Self, we should also understand that love is
itself happiness. Since by loving Self one knows Self and by knowing
Self one loves Self, we should also understand that knowledge
itself is love, which is happiness. Since Self is one’s own existence
or being, it can never become an object to be known, and hence
knowing Self is nothing but being Self; thus we should understand
that being [Sat] itself is knowledge [Chit], which is both happiness
[ananda] and love [priyam]. Therefore, the true knowledge ‘We, the
form of love or happiness, alone exist’ is the state of perfect,
non-dual bliss [ananda].
975. When the fleshy ego-defect, the efficient cause [of the
seeming existence of the world-appearance], which
is [itself] non-existent, has been destroyed, that state
[of Self] is the one existence [sat] which was lying [as
a supporting base] for all the worlds that appeared to
exist, being dependent on It [for their apparent
existence].
Sadhu Om: The ego is here described as impermanent, unreal
and fleshy because it identifies the impermanent, unreal and fleshy
body as ‘I’. Since the ego is unreal [asat], the names and forms of
the world, which are seen only by the ego, are also unreal. However,
the ego seems to be real because it is a mixture of the unreal
name and form of the body and the real consciousness of Self.
Therefore it is Self, the real aspect of the ego, which makes the
unreal names and forms of the world appear to be real. Thus Self
is the sole reality of this seeming world-appearance.
976. When the mad ego-delusion, the one jiva, which is
[itself] insentient has been cast off, that state [of Self]
is the one consciousness [chit] which was lying [as a
supporting base] for all the jivas, which appeared as
296 Sri Muruganar
if having sentience, to know [i.e. to be seemingly
sentient and to know other objects].
977. When the miserable ego-pride, which is the one
cause [of all suffering] and which is [itself] unhappiness,
has been destroyed, that state [of Self] is the
bliss [ananda] which was lying [as a supporting
base] for all objective pleasures, which appeared as
if having happiness, to be experienced [as seemingly
pleasurable].
Sadhu Om: The ego is here described as the pride which causes
all misery because it proudly identifies the body, which is completely
devoid of happiness, as ‘I’
The above three verses, 975 to 977, should all be read and
reflected over together. Does not this world appear as if it were an
ever-existing reality [sat], do not all jivas in the world appear as if
they were sentient [chit], and do not all the objects in the world
appear as if they were giving happiness [ananda] to us? The secret
behind all this is revealed in these verses.
The body is impermanent [and hence unreal or asat], insentient
[jada] and the source of all miseries such as disease and so
on, whereas the consciousness ‘I’ is the shining of sat-chit-ananda.
The wrong knowledge which identifies this body as ‘I’ is the ego. It
is only during the time of the ego’s functioning and only in the outlook
of the ego, which thus mistakes the unreal, insentient and miserable
body as being real, sentient and a source of happiness [that
is, as being sat-chit-ananda], that this world appears to be real
[sat], the living beings in it appear to be sentient [chit] and the
objects in it appear to be a source of happiness [ananda]. These
three verses thus clearly assert that the ego is the sole cause
which makes the names and forms [nama-rupa, the two unreal
aspects of Brahman] appear as if they were real, sentient and a
source of happiness [sat-chit-ananda, the three real aspects of
Brahman]. To impose existence [sat], consciousness [chit] and
happiness [ananda], which are real, upon the names and forms,
which are unreal, and thereby to see those names and forms as
real, is the wrong outlook [dosha-drishti] of the ego. When this ego
is destroyed through Self-enquiry, the apparent sat-chit-ananda
imposed upon the world will disappear, and the real sat-chit-ananda,
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 297
which is Self, the base or support of the world-appearance, alone
will shine. Only when the ego is thus destroyed, will the truth be
known that it was only because of the existence [sat] of Self that
the names and forms of the world appeared as if they were really
having existence, that it was only because of the consciousness
[chit] of Self that the names and forms of the world appeared as if
they were really having consciousness, and that it was only
became of the happiness [ananda] of Self that the names and
forms of the world appeared as if they were really giving happiness.
Not only do these verses reveal this profound truth, but they
do so in a very beautiful manner. The first and last words of each
verse denote respectively sat, chit and ananda. In the first verse
the ego is described as being unreal, defective and fleshy [in contrast
to reality or sat], in the second verse it is described as being
insentient, deluded and mad [in contrast to consciousness or Chit],
and in the third verse it is described as being miserable, proud and
devoid of happiness [in contrast to bliss or ananda]. Many other
points of literary and linguistic beauty can be pointed out in these
three verses, all of which help to emphasise the profound truth
revealed in them.
978. Those who say, “If they abide as the supreme reality,
the form of bliss [sukha-swarupa], for them there can
be no experience of bliss,” are those who [thereby]
argue and assert that the form of bliss [i.e. the
supreme reality, which is sat-chit-ananda] is merely
an insentient object like sugar.
Sadhu Om: In the intoxication of dualistic devotion some people
used to say, “I do not like to become sugar itself; I prefer to remain
like an ant sitting by the side of the sugar to taste its sweetness”.
That is to say, there is a wrong belief among some devotees that
the state of non-duality [advaita] in which one merges in and
becomes one with Brahman will be a dry and empty state devoid of
bliss [ananda]. Only those who have not achieved the experience
of perfect devotion [sampurna-bhakti] can believe or speak like
this. Refer to page 152 of The Path of Sri Ramana – Part Two,
where it is explained that the perfect devotee [sampurnabhaktiman]
is only he who has ‘otherless love’ [ananya-priti].
Sugar is an insentient object [jada-vastu], while an ant is
298 Sri Muruganar
sentient and is thereby able to enjoy the sweetness of sugar. But
Brahman is not like this; It is not an insentient object like sugar.
Brahman, which is the reality [sat], is also consciousness [chit] and
is thereby able to know itself. Since Brahman is also bliss [ananda],
which is the very nature of consciousness [chit-swabhava], no other
sentient object [chit-vastu] is needed to experience the bliss of
Brahman. Therefore it is foolish to compare Self, which is not only
bliss but also the consciousness which knows bliss, to an insentient
object like sugar.
It is completely wrong to say, as some people do, that this
comparison was taught by Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna, who
had the perfect experience of sat-chit-ananda, would never have
thus compared Brahman to an insentient object like sugar. When
people say that Sri Ramakrishna thus used to compare Brahman
to sugar, we have to doubt the accuracy of the recording of His
teachings.
979. Though existence [sat], consciousness [chit] and
bliss [ananda] are spoken of as [though they were]
different, when actually experienced these three are
[found to be] one [namely ‘I’, the Self] just as the harmonious
three qualities, liquidity, sweetness and
coolness, are [in substance] only the one water.
20 The Greatness of the Reality
(Unmai Matchi Tiran)
980. Existence [literally, to be that which exists] is the
nature of Self. All things other than that one [the Self]
are a multitude of false imaginations [kalpanas] and
cannot [really] exist. All of them will go away from
Self, but this one [the Self] will never go away [i.e.
will never become non-existent].
Sadhu Om: The word ‘existence’ [uladadal] here denotes our true
existence-consciousness [the feeling of our being] which is devoid
of body and mind. Though the mind, body and world, being unreal,
disappear during sleep, death and dissolution, we [Self or Brahman]
alone are that which shines as the indestructible existenceconsciousness.
981. He [i.e. Self] who exists as the form of conscious-
GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 299
ness, will not become non-existent. If one remains
devoid of other knowledges, [that is] if the deceptive,
unreal and dual imaginations [superimposed] on
consciousness are removed, for oneself who [thus]
exists as [mere] consciousness there will be no
destruction.
Sadhu Om: Only those things which are known by the mind as
objects are liable to be destroyed, whereas we, who are existence-
consciousness, can never be destroyed. Since the pure consciousness
‘I am’ shines even after the ego, the knower of objects,
has been destroyed, there can never be destruction for us.
982. Self, the Whole [paripurnam], will appear as if completely
non-existent [sunya] to those who have pramada
[inattentiveness to Self], which murders Self
[and which comes into existence] when the ‘I’ rises
[even] a little due to superimposition [of adjuncts or
upadhis] upon one’s own supreme Self, which is the
supreme Reality.
Michael James: Pramada or inattentiveness to Self, one’s own
being, comes into existence only when the ego, the unreal feeling ‘I
am so-and-so’, rises due to superimposition of the adjunct [upadhi]
‘so-and-so’ upon the pure consciousness ‘I am’. Since the superimposition
of this adjunct veils the true nature of Self, the pure ‘I am’,
and makes it appear as if non-existent, pramada is said to murder
Self.
Sri Muruganar: Since the thought ‘I’ alone is the ego, when it rises
[even] a little, bondage comes into existence due to the ‘I am the
body’ feeling [dehatma-buddhi], and hence the ignorance [ajnana]
known as pramada, which is a slipping down from [abidance as]
Self, is born. Know that in truth this alone is the sin of murdering
Brahman [brahma-hatja dosha]. For those bound jivas who are
thus under the sway of pramada, the Whole will seem to be a state
which cannot be known, and [thus] it will appear as if non-existent
[sunya].
983. He who knows himself to be the great one, the real
state [of Self], instead of wrongly knowing himself to
be the one who sees objects outside, will attain the
300
(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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