Daily Archives: February 4, 2015

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                                24^nd pAsuram

thamizh:

“வண்டு படி துளப மார்பினிடைச் செய்த பிழை
உண்டு பல என்று உளம் தளரேல் – தொண்டர் செய்யும்
பல்லாயிரம் பிழைகள் பார்த்திருந்தும் காணும் கண்
இல்லாதவன் கான் இறை.”

English:

“vaNdu padi thuLaba mArbinidaich seydha pizhai
uNdu pala enRu uLam thaLarEl – thoNdar seyum
pallAyiram pizhaigaL pArththirundhum kANum kaN
illAdhavan kAN iRai”

Synopsis:

When sAsthras talk about the types of karmas, it classifies them into three types namely; past karmas, present karmas and future karmas. In the previous pAsuram (#23), svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr focused on past karmas. In this pAsuram though,he talks about the present karmas. He tries to console the heart that is saddened due to the thought of committing a lot of karmas. He goes ahead and says that srIman nArAyaNan would not pay any heed to the karmas that HIS true devotees perform without their conscience. He will see those karmas of them but would just dismiss as if HE did not see anything.

 Phrasal Meanings:

vaNdu padi thuLaba mArbinidai – The karmas we do against, perumAL who has a thiruthuzhAi garland adorned in his chest, which is full of honey bees that are crowding the thiruthuzhAi buds,

cheydha pizhai uNdu pala enRu uLam thaLarEl – are innumerable and we may be frightened of the same, but fear not

thoNdar seyum pallAyiram pizhaigaL pArththirundhum  – as srIman nArAyaNa does not pay heed to the karmas that HIS true devotees perform unknowingly

kANum kaN illAdhavan kAN iRai – and ignores them as if He saw nothing, similar to a person who cannot see

Explanation:

vaNdu padi thuLaba mArbinidaich seydha pizhai: The bad karmas that are done towards perumAL srIman nArAyaNan who adorns a beautiful thiruthuzhAi garland that attracts a number of honeybees that come to drink the nectar in it. We may get a question here as to why does svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr describe perumAL as the ONE who has the beautiful thiruthuzhAi garland. The reason is that HE always shows HIMSELF as beautiful to those who had taken refuge at HIS lotus feet. They will want to be immersed in HIS beauty always. Once they have surrendered unto HIM, they will never commit anything that is deemed “bad”. Even if they had committed them unknowingly, HE would not pay any heed to them. HE would want them to enjoy HIS beauty once they have surrendered unto HIM. It is to illustrate this fact that HE adorns HIMSELF beautifully with a thiruthuzhAi garland.

uNdu pala enRu –  Even when one had done total surrender unto srIman nArAyaNan, because of his body that is being controlled by the five senses, there are umpteen chances to commit mistakes. It is said in thirukuRaL that “uran endRum thOtiyAl Or aindhum kAppAn”. This is a comparison wherein the five senses are compared to an elephant and the mind as the controlling stick. It is extremely difficult to control the senses. svAmi thirumangai AzhvAr says, “aivar aRuthu thindRida anji nin adaindhEn”. svAmi nammAzhvAr says “uNNilAviya aivarAl kumaithItRi”. Hence we can understand that because of these five senses thare are innumerable opportunities for one to commit mistakes even after performing saraNAgathi, due to the association of those senses with the body. When this happens, the person’s mind starts to tremble at the grave mistakes he had committed.

 uLam thaLarEl: To such a mind, this phrase offers consolation in the form of “Hey mind! Do not worry and do not tremble!!! The word “uLam” is a shrunken version of “uLLamE” as per thamizh grammatical format of “makara Iru viLi vEtRumai”.

thoNdar seyum: thoNdar refers to srIman nArAyaNan’s devotees.  Here it also means those who are controlled and triggered by senses yet who  are always are at the lotus feet of srIman nArAyaNan. It can also mean those who are servants of srIman nArAyaNan. Hence, the phrase “thoNdar seyum” would point to all those devotees of srIman nArAyaNan who consider themselves as servants to their eternal master srIman nArAyaNan.

pallAyiram pizhaigaL: This would mean “innumerable mistakes”. If we were to identify the reason for these mistakes, we can see that it is due to the body that is always constrained by three types of guNams viz., “sathva guNam”, “rajO guNam” and “thamO guNam”. These three trigger pure, anger/activities and sleep characters in a person. Due to the influence and interaction of these one commits innumerable mistakes daily without his conscience. “pizhai” would mean “pApam” or mistake. When a person commits a mistake within a split second, it would take thousands and thousands of brahmA years to wipe out the sin. It may be good to recall that 1 brahmA year is several trillion human years. Thus we can see that it is almost impossible to wipe out the effect of any small mistake of ours. The mistakes that are being referred here are : doing things that are condemned by sAsthras that includes torturing others, praising others, desiring someone else’s wife, usurping someone else’s wealth, telling lies and eating that are not supposed to be eaten. The other category of mistakes are not doing things that are prescribed by sAsthras that includes commiting apachAram (sins) towards perumAL which is comparing perumAL srIman nArAyaNan to inferior demi gods, finding unfounded faults in HIS incarnations, researching upon the items with which perumAL’s deity statue is being made, incomplete worships, stealing the items required for worship, either deliberately or stealthily, assisting someone who is stealing, getting those stolen products via either begging or by authoritativeness etc. When a person develops hatred towards fellow devotees because of materialistic pursuits, it is also counted towards these sins.

iRai pArththirundhum kANum kaN: srIman nArAyaNan is the ONE who is present in everything and thus knows what is happening always. Such a supreme god srIman nArAyaNan, even though He does see these innumerable sins commited by HIS true devotees after their complete saraNAgathi, HE will act as if HE did not see anything. Here “kaN” would metaphorically mean knowledge.

illAdhavan kAN: As we saw earlier that “kaN” denote knowledge, this would mean “ONE who does not have knowledge”. So perumAL srIman nArAyaNan would be in-cognizant of HIS devotee’s actions. The word “iRai” in the previous paragraph can also mean “a small amount”. So, when it is used in such a usage, it would mean that HE would not even know HIS devotees action not even a small amount or a single bit. This goes ahead to establish that HE will ignore their unconscious mistakes completely. This is also being reinforced in srI vishNu sahasra nAma sthOthram as “avigyAtha”.

Hence the overall meaning of this pAsuram is that one does not have to fear for his actions, after saraNAgathi. The eternal master srIman nArAyaNan would not take cognizance of these actions/mistake as He would just ignore them.

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                        23^nd pAsuram

thamizh:

“ஊழி வினைக் குறும்பர் ஓட்டருவர் என்றஞ்சி
ஏழை மனமே! இனித் தளரேள் – ஆழி வண்ணன்
தன்னடிக் கீழ் வீழ்ந்து சரண் என்று இறந்தொருகால்
சொன்னதர் பின்  உண்டோ? துயர்”

English:

“Uzhi vinaik kuRumbar Ottaruvar enRanjchi
Ezhai manamE! inith thaLarEl – Azhi vaNNan
thannadik kIzh vIzhndhu saraN enRu iranthorukAl
sonnadhaR pin uNdO? thuyar”

 Synopsis: 

 This pAsuram consoles all those who are afraid with the thought that their karmic actions would continue to follow them and haunt them forever. This pAsuram stresses the fact that after total surrender (saraNAgathi), there is no sufferings due to our karma in the past. This is the crux of this pAsuram.

 Verbatim Meanings:

Uzhi vinaik kuRumbar Ottaruvar enRanjchi – Past karmA will haunt and scare you

Ezhai manamE! inith thaLarEl -– but, the heart without knowledge, do not fret
Azhi vaNNan thannadik kIzh vIzhndhu saraN enRu iranthorukAl – because you can fall at the feet of the one with the color of the ocean and tell HIM that HE alone is your savior.
sonnadhaR pin uNdO? Thuyar – After saying that HE is your savior, can you really worry about karmA or any associated suffering? No!

 Explanation:

 Uzhi vinaik kuRumbar:  Past karma is being given a form and shape here. It is being personified as a wicked person and called “kuRumbar”.

“Uzh” refers to old and so “Uzh vina” is old (past) karma. The reason past karmas is personified here is because of the level of bad influence it exerts on a person, like how they say “azhukARu ena oru pAvi”. They say “kayamai ennum paNbuchol” where the atrocities of material things is being personified into a living person. The atrocities are so high that it can be compared to a group of person. Likewise, there are a group of people (kayavar) who are very strong. Using their strength, they would make a whole country slave of themselves and rule them as per their whims and fancies. Similarly, this person called “kurubmbar” who are big group of past karmas take a person according to however they want. There is also one more evidence to this personification application in “kangul kuRumbar”. Here kangul (night) plays the role of kuRumbar. Yet another phrase would be “aivar” where the five sense is being personified.

 Ottaruvar enRanjchi: kuRumbar would keep running behind one’s back to haunt them. The use of the word “Ottaruvar” is to signify that these past karmas come back faster than one would think.

Ezhai manamE!: Oh my foolish heart!!! svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr says the heart is foolish because it does not know that a) perumAL is the ONE who never relinquishes those who had done total surrender to HIS lotus feet (HE shows through HIS hand that “let you don’t fear”) b) the greatness of the wonderful path of saraNAgathi that leads to the impeccable srivaikuntam c) the benefits to the person who had done saraNAgathi. Looking at this foolish and pitiable heart, some consolation is being offered in the subsequent lines of this pAsuram.

 inith thaLarEl: Even one has a lot of jitters before doing saraNAgathi, there is absolutely no need of any such jitters or fear after saraNAgathi. Since the greatness of sharanaAgathi is such that, svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr consols his heart.  This is similar to how krishna consoled arjuna by saying “do not fear. I am there for you”. The word “ini” that means here afterwards refers to the time after saraNAgathi was performed.

 Azhi vaNNan: The ONE who is like an ocean. HE is like an ocean with greater depths of character. HE is the ONE who is like an blue hued ocean that removes any sorrows of those who look at it.

thannadik kIzh vIzhndhu: This phrase would mean “to fall at the lotus feet of the ocean hued perumAL”, akin to how thirumangai AzhvAr exclaimed “Azhi vaNNan nin adiyiNai adaindhEn”.

 saraN enRu iranthu orukAl sonnadhaR pin: After saraNAgathi is performed by saying, “YOU should be the sole refuge”, there is no fear. This statement should be said only once. There is absolutely no need to do saraNAgathi more than once. It defeats its very purpose and theme. Hence it behooves oneself to be cognizant of the fact that saraNAgathi needs to be performed once and exactly once wherein the person request perumAL that let HIS lotus feet be the sole refuge for him.

 uNdO? thuyar: Hence, after saraNAgathi is done, will there be any way for the past karmas to follow and haunt us? Never. Right when the person falls at the lotus feet ot perumAL, all his past karmas and his future karmas would  be destroyed as described in the shAsthrams (Andal says “pOya pizhayum pugudharuvAn nindRanavum). Thus the essence of the pasuram is that for all those who had performed saraNAgathi, all the past karmas get destroyed like how cotton is destroyed in fire. Hence, the past karmas would not cease to exist in order to haunt that person. So there is no need to fear of one’s past karmas anymore after saraNAgathi.

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                   22^nd pAsuram

thamizh:

“உடைமை நான் என்றும் உடையான் உயிரை
வடமதுரை வந்துதித்தான் என்றும் – திடமாக
அறிந்தவன் தன் தாளில் அடைந்தவர்க்கும் உண்டோ?
பிறந்து படு நீள் துயரம் பின்.”

English:

“udaimai nAn enRum udaiyAn uyirai
vadamadhurai vandhuthiththAn enRum – thidamAga
aRindhavan than thALil adaindhavarkkum uNdO?
piRandhu padu nIL thuyaram pin.”

Synopsis: 

 One should undergo the effects of karma, be it good or bad. No one can escape it. nIdhi nUl said, “uraRpAla nIkkal uRuvarkum AgA”. This means that devAs as well cannot stop bad karmas. Similarly, the good karma also cannot be stopped. If there is no rain, no one can give rain. Similarly, if it rains excessively, no one can stop the rain from pouring. Hence one can understand the karmic effects of a person, be it good or bad, has to be suffered / enjoyed by the person. This is an universal rule that sriman nArAyaNan had established us always. Actions done in previous births may reap risks and rewards in the current birth. Actions done in this birth may reap risk and reward in future births. This keeps on going like a swirl. Is there a liberaton for this jIvAthma who is constantly caught up in this swirl of karmic actions? This particular pAsuram answers this question. If there is no karma anymore , can there be subsequent births and will there be a need to go through any risk and reward of any karma anymore? No. All these aforementioned karma will be destroyed like a cotton ball being destroyed by a fire, says thamizh vEdham. There will not be subsequent births.

 Verbatim Meanings:

udaimai nAn enRum udaiyAn uyirai – sriman nArAyaNA, is the owner of the soul

vadamadhurai vandhuthiththAn enRum – and incarnated in the northern Madurai.

thidamAga aRindhavan – One who knows for sure

than thALil adaindhavarkkum uNdO? – about sriman nArAyaNa being the owner and fall at HIS lotus feet as their sole refuge would not have any concerns at all about the risks and rewards of karmA
piRandhu padu nIL thuyaram pin – as their karmA will be destroyed in this birth, like a cotton ball in fire

 Explanation:

udaimai nAn enRum: One should know that the soul is a property of sriman nArayaNan. Scriptures like vEdAs clearly tell that soul is a property of sriman nArayaNan. All of us are supposed to realize this from scriptures. It does not stop once a person realizes. He has to live by that.

 udaiyAn uyirai vadamadhurai vandhuthiththAn enRum:  We should know that such a sriman nArayaNan,who is the owner of our soul with which we identify ourselves as us. We should know HIM as one who incarnated as Krishna at vatamathurai. We should know that HE, Krishna who gave bhagavad gItha to us told that HE is the Supreme being, He is the owner of everything in the entire universe. We should know that Krishna was the person who told that there is no rebirth for a person and consequently no sufferings from karmic effects, if that person takes refuge at HIS lotus feet. HE will free him from eternal bondage.

 thidamAga aRindhu:  This phrase would mean “to know it very clearly / concretely”. If we dwell upon sAsthras, we can see for ourselves that the ability of being a property is reserved for all the souls and the ability of being an owner is reserved only for sriman nArayaNan. Hence in this pAsuram, the name “udamai” is the name give to the soul and “udaiyAn” is the name given to sriman nArayaNan, as per the sAsthram. So, the owner will come to the place where HIS property is and would subsequently take it unto HIMSELF. HE is the one who comes and reaches the soul, serves as the means to reach HIM, and upon reaching, HE is the ONE who gets enjoyment out of the fact that HE has got his property. This relationship, i.e, “owner-owned” has to be understood by us very clearly in our mind (thidamAga) without scope for an iota of confusion in it.

 avan than thALil adaindhavarkkum: This phrase includes all those who realize that they are the owned and fall at the lotus feet of their owner, sriman nArayaNan, via HIS consort “pirAtti”. In other words, they are the people who does saraNAgathi as per how it is described in the first half of “dwaya” manthram.

 uNdO? piRandhu padu nIL thuyaram pin:  “nIL thuyaram” includes all those karmas that have been following us for eons together. The karmas are the reasons for future births. However, if one does saraNAgathi, will there be any more births? There will not be any births because there will not be any karmas in the first place. They will be destroyed completely.

svAmi nammAzvAr says in his periya thiruvaNdhAdhi (54)

“vAnO marikadalO mArudhamO, thIyagamO,
kAno orungiRRum kaNdilamAl – AninRa
kanRuyara thAmeRindhu kAyudhithAr thAL paNinNdhOm
vanthuyarai avA marungu” 

 This would mean that these karmas would just get lost in such a fashion that one would not even recognize where did they go all of a sudden. Hence, if a person had done saraNAgathi, will there be any subsequent birth filled with the need to undergo the effects of our karmic actions? Those who want to be liberated at once after doing saraNAgathi, will be liberated at once. However, there are a lot of people who wants to liberated at the end of their life in which they did saraNAgathi. Their wish will also be true. Hence it goes to prove that there is no birth anyways after sharanaAgathi. This is not a possibility. This is an absolute certainty, says svAmi “aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr.”

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                       21^th pAsuram

thamizh:

“ஆரப்பெருந்துயரே செய்திடினும் அன்பர்கள் பால்
வேரிச்சரோருகை கோன் மேய்ந்நலமாம் – தேரில்
பொறுத்தற்கு அரிது எனினும் மைந்தன் உடற் புண்ணை
அறுத்தற்கு இசை தாதை அற்று.”

English:

“Arap perunthuyarE seythidinum anbargaL pAl
vErichcharOrugai kOn meynnalamAm – thEril
poRuththaRku aridhu eninum maindhan udaR puNNai
aRuththaRku isai thAdhai aRRu.”

Synopsis:  sriman nArAyaNan, the consort of periya pirAtti may give a lot of sufferings to HIS devotees. However, “the real reason for HIM to give those sufferings to HIS devotees is out of pure love.” This is being illustrated with an example in this pAsuram.

Verbatim Meanings:

Arap perunthuyarE seythidinum anbargaL pAl – It may seem like a devotee is being given lots of great suffering by

vErichcharOrugai kOn– sriman nArAyaNan, the husband of periya pirAtti

meynnalamAm thEril poRuththaRku aridhu eninum – but on further reasoning, it would be clear that these sufferings are due to emperumAn’s immense love, just like a

maindhan udaR puNNai isai thAdhai  aRRu – a father approves a painful surgery for his son, as a means of treatment for his injury

Explanation:

 Arap perunthuyar: “thuyar” is suffering or sorrow; perunthuyar – greater suffering; “Arap perunthuyar” – greatest suffering. svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr used “E” (evakAram) in the word “thuyar” to mean that this suffering is made up of only pain. It does not have an iota of happiness in it and it would mean “pain and pain only”.

 seythidinum: The word “seythidinum” would refer to the condition that even if perumAL gives the greatest suffering. perumAL gives the phalan of all the karmas a soul accumulates over time immemorial. Karmas cab classified into three types based on time. The past karma known as “pOya pizhai”, the future karma known as “pugutharuVAn” and the present karma that is being accrued when a soul is being present in the body currently. All these three karmas can be destroyed only by perumAL. Hence it is not impossible for HIM to destroy any greatest suffering that a soul has to undergo. If HE wishes, HE can do that as well. However, for the greater benefit of HIS true devotees, HE ensures that they undergo the phalam of their karmas, i.e., by means of greatest sufferings that they undergo. The reason is that HE wants his devotees to be cut off from this wordly mundane ties.This fact is being reflected in “kittadhAyin vettena maRa”.

The following is one of thirukuRaL:

“iyalbAgavum nOnbiRku onRu inmai udamai
mayalAgam maRRUM peyarthu”

The meaning of the aforementioned thirukuRaL is that one should leave everything that he originally clung on to as material ties, if he needs grow in his spiritualistic pursuit in attaining the lotus feet of sriman nArAyaNan. If a person relinquishes almost everything but for one small thing, then that can be very dangerous because that one small thing could slowly and gradually bring on all the other things that person had left inorder to focus. So, it behooves one to leave everything. This explanation is being told by parimEl azhagar.

 vErichcharOrugai kOn: vEri would mean fragrance and “charOrugam” is a lotus. So the phrase “vErichcharOrugam” would refer to a lotus that is full of fragrance in it. Hence, the phrase “vErichcharOrugai” would mean the one who sits on such a fragrant lotus.

 “charOrugai kOn”: “kOn” means king generally. Here it would mean “consort”. It rides with “charOrugai” and so refers to sriman nArayaNan who is the consort of periya pirAtti. The reason pirAtti is also being mentioned here is that when perumAL gives the greatest suffering to HIS devotees, it is not that HE does it alone. pirAtti is also cognizant of this and is a part of it.  Since we saw that what perumAL gives as suffering is only going to prove beneficial with time, anything beneficial cannot happen without pirAtti’s presence. Hence, pirAtti is also present when perumAl gives greatest suffering to a devotee.

 meynnalamAm – This means true love / true concern

 thEril – This refers to the act of investigating the reason why perumAL gave sorrows to a person in the first place.

anbargaL pAl. So the ordering of words in the pAsuram should be vErichcharOrugai kOn  anbargaL pAl Arap perunthuyarE seythidinum thEril
meynnalamAm”. This is being illustrated using an example.

poRuththaRku aridhu eninum maindhan udaR puNNai aRuththaRku isai thAdhai aRRu: A child had suffered a wound in his body. His father admits him in a hospital where doctors are going to operate on the boy. This would involve a lot of pain for the child as they are going to do some cutting probably. His father gladly accepts for the operation because the end result of operation is good.  Father in this example is like perumAL who gives greatest sufferings to devotees to burn of their karma. This is an act of true love on the part of perumAL. In this act, HIS consort periya pirAtti also abides by to create overall good for THEIR devotee in the long run.

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                      20^th pAsuram

thamizh:

“விருப்புறினும் தொண்டர்க்கு வேண்டும் இதம் அல்லால்
திருப்பொலிந்த மார்பன் அருள் செய்யான் – நெருப்பை
விடாதே குழவி விழ வருந்தினாலும்
தடாதே  ஒழியுமோ  தாய்?”

English:

“viruppuRinum thoNdarkku vENdum idham allAl
thiruppolindha mArban aruL seyyAn – neruppai
vidAdhE kuzhavi vizha varundhinAlum
thadAdhE ozhiyumO thAy?”

Verbatim Meanings:

viruppuRinum thoNdarkku vENdum idham allAl – Even though a devotee desires non meaningful things, in the lieu of their well-being,
thiruppolindha mArban – the one who has the shining periya pirAtti on HIS chest

aruL seyyAn – will not grant these unnecessary things similar to

neruppai vidAdhE kuzhavi vizha varundhinAlum – a child that wants to touch the fire due to its brightness, not knowing the bad effects of touching fire and cries that it is unable to touch the fire, because

thadAdhE ozhiyumO thAy?- a mother (similar to emperumAn) would only push the child away from the fire, wouldn’t she?
Synopsis: In this pAsuram, svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr illustrates a fact with an example. He says that sriman nArAyaNan would not give all the things that HIS devotees ask for. HE would never give those things to HIS devotees who does not know then that it would be harmful for them. They would develop desire on those things and think that it is good. However, sriman nArAyaNan, who knows the real impact of those things to HIS devotees, would not give those things to them. This fact is supported with an example in this pAsuram.

Explanation:

viruppuRinum: The devotees of sriman nArAyaNan, desire to have a few things in life that are regarded as silly / trivial. They ask perumAL those things with a lot of effort, knowing that if HE does not give those, then it would be very painful for them. The word “viruppuRinum” describes the maximum extent to which HIS devotees might go in pleading HIM.

thoNdarkku: The group of people who are true devotees of sriman nArAyaNan. The word “thoNdu” can mean both “servant” and “interest to serve”. Here it refers to those who have the interest to serve. Those who have the interest to serve are said to be “bhaktas”. Hence, those who have the interest to serve sriman nArAyaNan are called as “thoNDar”

vENdum idham allAl: “idham” is the thamizh equivalent of the sanskrit word “hitham”. This means all that is necessary for the devotees mentioned above. The likes of devotees can be classified into two types namely all that they like and all that are necessary. “idham” refers to the latter. Hence the phrase “vENdum idham allAl” would refer to all those that is not necessary for their good living. “allAl” is a negation and hence it would point to all those that is not needed for the better living of devotees.

thiruppolindha mArban: This refers to the One who has a resplendent and shining chest because periya pirAtti sits there. HIS chest gets the brightness / shine because of association with pirAtti.  AzhvArs say “karumANikka kundRathu thAmarai pOl thirumArbu, kAl, kan, kai, chevAi undhiyAne” and “karumANikka malai mEl, maNi thadanthAmarai kAdugal pOl, thirumArbu vAi kaN kai undhi kAl udayAdaigal seyyapirAn”. In these pAsurams, it can be seen that like other parts of perumAL’s body, HIS chest is also bright and shiny. It is good to note that HIS chest (thirumArbu) was mentioned first in that list. svAmi nammAzhvAr says “alar mEl mangai uRayum mArbu” , i.e., since periya pirAtti seats on HIS chest, her divine resplendence is spread throughout HIS chest and so it looks beautiful and shining.

“maiyAr karungaNNI kamala malar mEl
cheyyAl, thirumArvinil sEr thirumAle
veyyAr chudarAzhi suri sangamEndhum
kaiyya! unnai kANa karudhum en kaNNe!!!”                                                         – (thiruvAimozhi 9,4,1)

In this pAsuram, HIS chest is being described as one that gets the source of its brightness from pirAtti’s association. Hence, “thiruvAl polindha mArban” describes HIS chest’s beauty. It also describes the association of pirAtti. Hence, the underlying fact that is being implied here is that they both (perumAl and pirAtti) are together always and so they would be ready to bless their devotees always.

aruL seyyAn: The devotees how much ever they plead certain things to HIM, HE will not give those things to them. The reason is that HE knows that these things will not do any good to them. However, the devotees because of their limited capabilities does not the long term impacts of those and would ask certain things that they think is good for them. It is perumAL who because of HIS truly wishful thinking that HE rejects their requests at that time and consequentially denies them the things that they asked for.

 aruLudhal: This means to give. HIS devotees how much ever request HIM to give something, HE will not yield to their request as HE knows the real impact. This fact is being supported by an example in the following paragraph:

neruppai vidAdhE kuzhavi vizha varundhinAlum thadAdhE ozhiyumO thAy?: There is a child that is playing. It sees a fire at some distance and is amazed by the fire’s super shine and effulgence. It does not know that the fire would hurt its body. However, attracted by the fire’s brightness, it goes towards it and wants to have it in his hands and play with it. The child’s mother is nearby and is keeping a watchful eye at the child. Will the mother allow the child to go near the fire and play with it, even though the child makes steps to go near the fire? She would certainly prevent the child from going to the fire. Similarly, perumAL who knows the real impact of everything would not yield something that HIS devotees ask HIM without knowing the ramifications of their request. How much ever they plead and turn upside down, the answer from HIM would be an strong “no”.

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                        19^th pAsuram

thamizh:

“நல்ல புதல்வர் மனையாள் நவையில் கிளை
இல்லம் நிலம் மாடு இவை அனைத்தும் – அல்லல் எனத்
தோற்றி எரி தீயிற் சுடு மேல் அவர்க்கு எளிதாம்
ஏற்றரும் வைகுந்தத்து இருப்பு”

English:

“nalla pudhalvar manaiyAL navaiyil kiLai
illam nilam mAdu ivai anaiththum – allal enath
thORRi eri thIyiR sudu mEl avarkku eLidhAm
ERRarum vaigunthaththu iruppu”

Synopsis: svAmi aruLALa perumaAL emberumAnAr says in this pasuram that for those who feel good children, wife, relatives, house, land are akin to a burning sensation, they will find it easy to attain the highest abode of paramapadham.

Verbatim Meanings:

nalla pudhalvar – One who has a great son

manaiyAL navaiyil kiLai – wife, faultless relatives,

illam – a perfect home,

nilam – land that is rich and fertile,

mAdu  – cows that yield copious amounts of milk

ivai anaiththum allal enath thORRi – but has no ego or attachment with all these things and understands that they are a source of pain and sufferings, from the innermost parts of his heart

eri thIyiR sudu mEl avarkku eLidhAm – and discards all of these in the blazing fire,

ERRarum vaigunthaththu iruppu – is the one suited for attaining the timeless paramapadham, to be with other devotees of sriman nArAyaNA, very easily, as this is a task that is impossible to achieve by one’s own efforts.

Explanation:

nalla pudhalvar: There are some children who are being praised by everybody because they are full of good qualities. They are in stark contrast to children who are respite with bad habits and serve as continuous source of trouble for their parents at all times. Here, “nalla pudhalvar” refer to the former group of children with faultless qualities in them.

 manaiyAL: The adjective “nalla” is to be added to this word “manaiyAL” here. This would point to a wife with good qualities.  thiruvaLLuvar says “manaithakka mANbudayaLAgi thaRkondAn vaLathakkAL vAzhkaithuNai”. silapadhigAram says “aRavOrku aLithalum, andhaNar Ombalum, thuRandhOrku edhirthalum, tholvOr marabil virundhedhir kOdalum” It talks about some of the good qualities a woman should possess that includes the likes of respecting the noble souls, being a good host for all, helping and offering the needy. In addition to these, a woman should know to find what is good for leading a good life. It does not stop there but to follow what she learnt, in addition to culinary skills, offering alms to the needy people and to behave knowing the purport of her husband’s mind and speech.

 navaiyil kiLai:  “navai” refers to faults. “il” would be lack of. “kilai” refers to relations. Hence “navaiyil kiLai” would mean all those relations that we have who are impeccable and without any faults. These relatives are not like regular relatives who are relatives just for the sake of it but in reality they behave like enemies. svAmi aruLALa perumaAL emberumAnAr uses “navayil kiLai” to refer to those relatives with whom everyone wants to mingle and wants to be in touch and behave well forever.

 illam: As mentioned above, the adjective “nalla” has to be added before all the nouns and so “nalla illam” would mean a house that is very good. A house that is not a dilapidated and an uninabitable house. Instead it would mean a beautiful home that has lot of levels , many layers and balconies etc.

 nilam: There are some land that has lot of weeds. They are infertile and no vegetation could grow there. “nalla nilam” would mean the opposite of it and so would refer to land in which crops grow even without any fertilizer. Crops grow in such quantities that the yield is 10 times higher than what was fed into it. If one were to sow a seed in the morning, when that person returns in the evening, he would have to holds his hands together towards his eye and look up to see the tall plants. One batch of plants would grow and prosper in such a fashion that it would grow and occupy the entire field. Such fields can be a “nansei” or a “punsei” fields in which the paddy fields grow as tall as a sugarcane.

 mAdu: “nalla mAdu” would mean really good cows. They are unlike the cows that are cruel, cannot be held nor controlled. These bad cows wreck havoc in the neighboring homes and fields by destroying anything that comes in their way. svAmi aruLALa perumaAL emberumAnAr does not mean these types of cows but refers to really good cows that even a bunch of small kids  can tie them. The cow would yield itself to these kids and would be obedient and behave nicely to even the kids. They yield copious amounts of milk.

ivai anaiththum: All the aforementioned, just by themselves yield lot of happiness to everyone. Even if atleast one of them is present in someone, he gets a lot of happiness.

 allal enath thORRi: svAmi aruLALa perumaAL emberumAnAr now says that all of these aforementioned luxuries should be regarded as something that would bring pain or sorrows. Though the word “allal” would typically mean pain or sorrow, in this context it is to be construed as something that is not painful by itself but would bring about pain / sorrow. They are an indirect source of them.

eri thIyiR sudu mEl:  A blazing fire that burns splendidly. If these luxuries makes a person so hot as if he is experiencing the pangs of heat caused in a blazing fire, then that person is eligible for something that is described in the ensuing paragraph.

 avarkku eLidhAm ERRarum vaigunthaththu iruppu: If a person is able to feel these luxuries of a world as painfully hot, then he is a well matured person. For such a person, perumAL offers something that cannot be gotten by one’s own effort. perumAL offers this person HIS paramapadham wherein he can mingle with the rest of perumAL’s devotees and continue to serve them forever.

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                         18^th pAsuram

thamizh:

“ஈனமிலா அன்பர் என்றாலும் எய்திலா
மானிடரை எல்லா வண்ணத்தாலும் – தான் அறிய
விட்டார்க்கு எளியன் விடாதார்க்கு அறிவரியான்
மாட்டார்  துழாய் அலங்கல் மால்”

English:

“InamilA anbar enRAlum eydhilA
mAnidarai ellAvaNNaththAlum – thAn aRiya
vittArkku eLiyan vidAdhArkku aRivariyan
mattAr thuzhAy alangkal mAl”

Phrasal Meanings:

InamilA anbar enRAlum eydhilA – The impeccable devotees at the lotus feet of sriman nArAyaNan, with a lot of bhakthi, should be such that

mAnidarai ellAvaNNaththAlum – they do not interact in any way or continue the association, including speaking with mundane, worldly people,

thAn aRiya – with perumAL knowing about the fact that they no longer associate.

vittArkku eLiyan vidAdhArkku aRivariyan mattAr thuzhAy alangkal mAl – To such people who have renounced worldly associations, the one with the holy thiruthuzhAi leaves that is oozing with honey, is easily accessible, but difficult to access for those who have not renounced.

Explanation:

InamilA anbar enRAlum: “Inam” refers to wickedness (pollAthanmai). This is usually connotated with the likes of rAvaNan when they say “pollA arakanai”. svAmi thirumangai AzhvAr uses the phrase “munpolA rAvaNan”. svAmi periyAzhvAr refers to kamsan as “theeya pundhi kanjan” while describing kamsan’s wickedness.Hence, the acts of people like rAvaNan and kamsan are described as acts of “pollAngu”. So, “Inam il” would be “without such wickednes”. Such people are characterized by untainted bhakti towards the lotus feet of sriman nArAyaNan. In bhagavad geethai, krishNa says that HE is the ultimate goal for all those who has nothing else apart from HIM. Hence, those devotees who has such a bhakti are being described as “InamilA anbar”.

 eydhilA mAnidarai: People who had never had an inclination towards sriman nArAyaNan. Human birth is something where the sole purpose is to realize spiritual path and be in spiritual company with sriman nArAyaNan always. People who does not do this are just walking animals as per “vilangodu makkaL anayar”. This point is being told by few azhwars. svAmi thirumangai AzhvAr says ” An vidaiyEzh anRu adarthArku ALAnAr allAdhAr mAnidavar allar”. svAmi bhUdathAzhvAr says “cheNgaN mAl nAmam maRandhArai mAnidamAvayEn”. The point that evolves out of this is that those who forget the supreme lord “sriman nArAyaNan” are not at all humans in the first place. AzhvArs who had been bestowed with highest intelligence and bhakti by  sriman nArAyaNan HIMSELF, even they criticize these kind of people and shun away from them. Such people disrespect  sriman nArAyaNan and go away from HIM. These kind of people is what is being referred here in “eydhilA mAnidar”. They are so low, sinful and hapless people.

svAmi nammAzhvAr says “yAdhAnum paRRi nIngum viradhamudayAr” towards the foolish people.  If we were to use the word “eydhilarAm” instead of “eydhilA” based on two different schools of learning, it would mean those people who are enemies of sriman nArAyaNan. thiruvaLLuvar says about this in his “yEdhilAr kuRRam pOla”. “yEdhilAr” are enemies.

 ellAvaNNaththAlum: This means all forms of relationships including living / staying with them, exchanging things, talking with them and other worldly habbits.

 thAn aRiya vittArkku eLiyan: One should leave all of the aforementioned relationships with those people who are being referred as “yEdhilA mAnidar”. One should leave in such a manner that not just he knows about it or the people around him knows about it. He should leave it in such a manner that perumAL inside him knows that he has truly left all forms of relationships with them. For such a person who had renounced such a relationship, perumAL would be easily accessible. HE is one who is being described as “uLLuvAr uLLithellAm udanirundhu”, i.e., “HE is the one who is within each and everyone of us, not only just that but HE is inside even in the deepest of the thoughts that is present within us. So, this act of renouncing should be known till that perumAL acknowledges it as “truly left”. At this juncture, svAmi maNavALa mAmunigaL says that srivaishnavam is one that is not confined to just what a person knows, nor what the world knows. What matters is what sriman nArAyaNan knows. svAmi AchchAn piLLAi would say this in thamizh “thAn aRindha vaiNavathvamum vaiNavathvam alla, nAdaRindha  vaiNavathvamum vaiNavathvam alla, nArAyaNan aRindha vaiNavathvamE vaiNavathvam”

 vidAdhArkku aRivariyan: To those who had not left such “yEdhilA mAnidar”, perumAL would never be reachable and attainable. svAmi nammAzhvAr says “adiyArku eLiyavan, piRargaLuku aRiya vithagan”. So, bhaktas are not supposed to have any kind of relationship with mundane people who fall under the category of “yEdhilA mAnidar”.

 mattAr thuzhAy alangkal mAl: bhagavAn sriman nArAyaNan is ONE who is adorned with tulasi garland on HIS shoulders and on HIS head. Since the tulasi garland rubs against HIS divine body, it gets beauty and oozes out honey. “mAl” refers to perumAL who has such a tulasi garland on HIM. Tulasi garland is something that is being used to describe HIS superiority. Overall, in terms of meanings, the pasuram should be read as “mattAr thuzhAy alangkal mAl , InamilA anbar enRAlum eydhilA mAnidarai ellAvaNNaththAlum” – thAn aRiya vittArkku eLiyan vidAdhArkku aRivariyan.

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                   18^th pAsuram

thamizh:

“ஒன்றிடுக விண்ணவர் கோண் செலவமொழிந்திடுக
என்றும் இரவாதிருந்திடுக – இன்றே
இறக்கக் களிப்பும் கவர்வும் இவற்றால்
பிறக்குமோ? தற்று எளிந்த பின்”

English:

“onRiduga viNNavar kOn selva mozhinthiduga
enRum iRavAdhirunthiduga – inRE
iRakkak kaLippum kavarvum ivaRRAl
piRakkumO? thaRReLindha pin”

Synopsis: In the last pAsuram, svAmi aruLaLa perumAL emberumAnAr talked about a person who realized the true nature of a soul (jivAthma). He described him as one who knew the true nature of a soul as  “always subservient to paramAthma sriman nArAyANan and no one else”. svAmi aruLaLa perumAL emberumAnAr went ahead and described the way in which a surrendered soul thinks about its true nature by giving an example as well. In this pAsruam, he describes a person who does not realize the true nature of soul. For these people, the copious influx of wealth, its decrease thereupon, ability to live a longer life or the inability to live a longer life, are all set to bring about happiness and sadness. However, for a person who has truly surrendered to paramAthma sriman nArAyANan only and no one else, there is no such fluctuations in emotions in terms of temporal happiness and sadness because of influx, outflux, longer and shorter lives. This high thought is what is being explained in this pAsuram.

Phrasal Meanings:

onRiduga viNNavar kOn selvam ozhinthiduga – There is a lot of wealth in this world, like

that of the devas (Indiran, etc), which keep coming and going at any point in time and is not

the same always

enRum iRavAdhirunthiduga inRE iRakka – and life is similar, as it is not forever and one

may die suddenly.

kaLippum kavarvum ivaRRAl piRakkumO thaRReLindha pin – But, after realizing the true nature of a soul and knowing

Explanation:

To a prapannan who has realized the true nature of jivAthma, there will not be any happiness or sadness associated with wealth coming to him or leaving him, or longevity come unto him or does not come to him

onRiduga viNNavar kOn selvam “selvam” refers to the copious wealth of indiran, the leader of all devAs. The wealth with which one can rule over the entire three worlds including bhU lOkam, bhuvar lOkam and suvar lOkam. Such wealth, even when a person does not want it, can come unto him.

ozhinthiduga Such wealth can get destroyed from that person in such a way that it would never  be possible to earn it or get it by luck.

enRum iRavAdhirunthiduga  Let that person live forever without death at any point of time.

inRE iRakka Let that person die instantly without having such a longevity described earlier

kaLippum kavarvum ivaRRAl piRakkumO?  Worldly people experience happiness because they either get wealth or long life. They experience sadness by the subsequent loss of wealth or lack of long life that manifests itself in sudden death.

thaRReLindha pin This refers to the condition whereby one know himself, meaning, the true nature of his soul which is nothing but that the soul is eternally subservient to its eternal master sriman nArAyANan and no one else.

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                         16^th pAsuram

thamizh:

“தேவர் மனிசர் திரியக்குத் தாவரமாம்
யாவையும் அல்லன் இலகும் உயிர் – பூவின் மிசை
ஆரணங்கின் கேள்வன் அமலன் அறிவே வடிவாம்
நாரணன் தாட்கே அடிமை நான்”

English:

“dhEvar manisar thiriyakkuth thAvaramAm
yAvaiyum allan ilagum uyir – pUvin misai
AraNangkin kELvan amalan aRivE vadivAm
nAraNan thAtkE adimai nAn”

Synopsis: svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr explains how those realized souls, who happened to know the true nature of a soul, would think about their permanent state of nature. All souls are subservient to sriman nArAyANan and this subservience is the very nature of these souls. This is being explained in this pasuram

Phrasal Meanings:

dhEvar manisar thiriyakku thAvaramAm = dhEvAs including the likes of indhiran, people like brAhmaNar or Kings, cows, birds, trees, herbs or shrubs

yAvaiyum allan ilagum uyir = or any other things in this world cannot have a name that is forever and cannot be identified with any such name.

pUvin misai AraNangin kELvan =  Instead, every thing and everyone is the servant of the husband of srI mahA lakshmi, sitting on the lotus flower

amalan = without any blemishes and

aRivE vadivAm nAraNan thAtkE adimai nAn = the realized souls have this knowledge about being subservient to sriman nArAyaNA

Explanation:

dhEvar manisar thiriyakkuth thAvaramAm: The soul does not have any particular name like dhEvan, man, animals, herbs, shrubs, trees etc. The soul is not of any of these types. A soul goes into a body that takes birth as a man, animal, bird, tree etc based on the good and bad deeds accrued over innumerable births earlier. This can be found in thirukural etc. They are as follows:

 “Urva padhinonRAm, Onbadhu mAnidam, nIr, paRavai nAlkAl, Or pappathu, sIriya bandhamAndhEvar padhinAlu, ayan padaitha andhamil sIr thAvaram nAlaidhu. makkal, vilangu paRavai, Oorvana, nIrunthirivana, parupadhama enavivai yezhu piRapAgumenba”. The births of bodies in which soul go into based on the deeds is being explained. It is because soul manifests itself in countless bodies for eons, when that soul is present in a particular body at a particular time, the soul thinks that “I am a dhEvan”, “i am a man, “i am an animal”, “i am a plant”. It gets a pride associated with “I” prefix above.However, this condition of a soul is only before it realizes its true nature. To realize the true nature of a soul is to realize that for sriman nArAyANan, the soul is neither a tree, nor a plant nor an animal nor a dhEvan and for that anything else. The soul would only think that it is a servant of sriman nArAyANan alone and to no one else.

 ilagum uyir nAn:  The “nAn” at the end of the pAsuram should be associated here. This “nAn” means the soul which is always living and never can be destroyed. The preceding adjective “ilagum” for “uyir” behooves us to understand the characteristics of it as laid out by sAshthrAs. “uyir” (soul) is knowledge personified, happiness personified and resplendence personified. This also differentiates a soul from non-living entities because it possess knowledge that the non- living entities does not possess at any time. We should take note of what svAmi piLLai lOkAchAriyAr told in his “thathva thrayam” (chith prakaraNam). “Athma svarOpam senRu senRu paramparamAi engiRapadiyE dhEhEndRiya manaha prAna budhdhi  vilakshaNamAi, ajadamAi, Aanandha rUpamAi, nithyamAi, aNuvAi, avyakthamAi, achinthyamAi, niravayamAi, nirvikAramAi, gyAnAshrayamAi, Ishwaranuku niyAmyamAi, dhAryamAi,seshamAyirukum”.

 pUvin misai: As per svAmi nammAzhvAr’s thiruvAimozhi 4.5.2, “malar mEl uRaivAL”, it means that ONE who is the husband of the beautiful one who sits on top of a beautiful lotus flower. aNangu refers to periya pirAttiyAr who is full of godly characters including one who has the highest form of beauty. “kELvan” refers to husband and in this context refers to perumAL sriman nArAyANan.

 amalan: ONE who is the exact opposite of all bad characters.

 aRivE vadivAm nAraNan: sriman nArAyANan who is characterized by “knowledge personified” and “happiness personified”.

 thAtkE adimai : The jivAthmA is subservient to those divine feet of sriman nArAyANan only and to no one else.

The name “nArAyANan” means ONE who  has everything other than HIMSELF as his body and ONE who is the place for all these parts to live in. Such a “nArAyANan” is the life (uyir) for everything except HIM.  These other things are the body parts of HIM who houses them in HIS body.

 Message: 

The “jIvAthmA” who is defined as one who is full of knowledge, full of happiness, is neither a dhEvan, nor a human, nor an animal, nor a herb, nor a shrub, nor a plant. jIvAthmA can be defined as one who is subservient to sriman nArAyANan, the husband of beautiful periya pirAttiyAr who sits on top of a beautiful lotus flower. Such a sriman nArAyANan is diametrically opposite to all bad characters, is the life line of all living and non-living things in the universe.