மங்களம்
உள்ளதல துள்ளவுணர் வுள்ளதோ வுள்ளபொரு
ளுள்ளலற வுள்ளத்தே யுள்ளதா-- லுள்ளமெனு
முள்ளபொரு ளுள்ளலெவ னுள்ளத்தே யுள்ளபடி
யுள்ளதே யுள்ள லுணர் வாயே...
Benedictory Verses
Mangalam
If the Reality 'I' did not exist, could there exist the consciousness 'am' (the consciousness of one's own existence)?" Since ( that ) Reality exists in the heart devoid of thought, how to ( or who can) meditate upon (that) Reality, which is called the Heart?
Know that abiding in the Heart as it is ( that is, without thought, as ' I am'), alone is meditating (upon the Reality).
"Rephrase thus: If the reality( one's own existence, 'I') did not exist, could there exist the consciousness of Being ( the consciousness of one's existence ' am ')?.
Note: The last two lines of this verse, " How to ( or who can) meditate upon the Reality? Know that abiding in the Heart as it is , alone is meditating ( upon the Reality)", were composed by Sri Bhagavan on 7th August 1928, and the first two lines were composed and added by Him four days later. Therefore the first two lines should be understood to be an explanation of the question and statement made in the mast two lines. Since the Reality is that which exists within one devoid of thought , it is beyond the range of mental conception. Therefore , how can anyone meditate or form a correct mental conception of that thought-transcending Reality, But since everyone experiences the consciousness ' am' it is clear that there does exist a Reality of oneself and that, the Reality is within the range of one's knowledge, though beyond the range of conceptual knowledge of thought. Since it is we alone who know our own existence or Reality as ' I am', we are not only the Reality (
sat) but also the consciousness
(chit) which known our Reality ( verse 23 of
Upadesa Undiyar) . Therefore if , instead of rising in the form of a thought 'I am this ' or ' I am that', we remain as we really are-that is as the thought-free existence-consciousness ' I am '-, that alone is truly the state of Knowing or meditating upon the Reality (verse 26 of
Upadesa Undiyar).
The opening words of this verse"
Ulladu aladu ulla unarvu ulladu" ( If the reality did not exist, could there exist the consciousness 'am' ? may also be taken to mean either (1) " Can the consciousness (chit) of (one's own) existence (
sat) be other than (that) existence?" or (2) " Other than the Reality (sat) can there exist a consciousness (
chit) to meditate ( upon the reality)?".
In 1929 a devotee named K. Lakshmana Sharma ('who') attempted to translate some of the verses of
Ulladu Narpadu into Sanskrit in the same
venba metre in which the Tamil original was composed, but he was unable to translate even a single verse in that metre. Seeing this, Sri Bhagavan himself translated this first benedictory verse into Sanskrit in
venba metre as follows:-
Withought reality (
sat) could there by knowledge of reality (
sat-jnana)? The Reality shines in the heart( devoid of thought. Therefore, how is one to meditate upon it ( that Reality), the heart? Abuidance in the Heart as it is ? Is Meditation (
Dhyana) upon the Reality (
sat-vastu).
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