Ozhivil Odukkam - A third serial post. - 2015 onwards.

[Subramanian.R]

Explanation for Verse 160 continues...

TCS describes in detail how, in the realized sage, each of the five avasthas - statesof the soul -- has been purified and transcended, being performed into what he calls Sutta Avasthai - Sanskrit Shuddha Avasthai - pure Avasthas.  The five avasthas - states of the soul are Chakkiram, Sanskrit Jagrat, - the waking state; Swapnam, Sanskrit Svapna, - the dreaming state; Sushupti, Sanskrit, Sushupti - the state of deep sleep, complete unconsciousness; Turiyam, Sanskrit Turiya - the fourth state, and Turiyatitam, Sanskrit Turiyatitia - the state beyond the fourth state.  (See also note to Verse 33 for information on the latter two states.)

In the purified soul these are called Chutha Avasthai, Sanskrit Shuddha Avastha,
and are termed Ninmala Sagram - pure waking state, Ninmala Swapnam - pure
dreaming state, and so on.  The individual soul, or the Jiva, acquires this purity by freeing itself from the Tattvas which limit it in each of the these states of being, at which point it merges with Sivam, the Self the universal consciousness.

Just as no shadow is cast when the sun is directly overhead, the consciousness of the Jiva which is established in the heart center, fully illuminated by the light of the Self,'
does not become caught up in the illusory nature of the 'shadow' states of consciousness, waking, dream and deep sleep.

Verse  161:

The false appears to be real, but if one inquires into it, it will disappear, as when what
appears to be a snake turns out to be just an image painted on a wall.  Otherwise,
Sir, if you perform rituals and austerities (to discover the real) it will be as if you
mistook a post for a thief, and beat a drum to scare it away.  (161)         

Verse  162.

On being informed that the world and the body, which are of the nature of Maya, are
unreal like a mirage, you should try to comprehend their true nature.  Rather than that, do you expect to be able to eliminate them, shaking them off and obliterating
them completely?  Similarly the way to escape from a fire that surrounds you in a dream, is simply to wake up.               

Verse 163:

You say that it is the incontrovertible truth that the world is false.  (If you fully
realize the truth of your words), is it necessary still to go for looking for 'the real'?
Why do you cast doubt upon this, repeatedly looking at the sun (of true knowledge)
that banished the black darkness (of ignorance), then blinking and turning away?

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.     

[Subramanian.R]

Explanation for verses 162 and 163:

Here it is being stated that the aspirant must validate the fact that the world is unreal
in itself from his own experience. TCS notes in his summary of the verses' meaning:
Jnana is the true realization that all the faculties (of body and mind) are unreal.

The image evoked in the latter part of the verses is that of the someone who is not satisfied that the absence of darkness and the full illumination of his surroundings is sufficient proof of the existence of the sun, but insists on trying to look directly at it,
to make sure that it is there.  Unable to see it by looking directly at it, he nevertheless perseveres in his attempts to do so, repeatedly turning his head to look at it, then blinking and turning away, and so forth.  In the same way the ignorant person is unable to seek assurance of the existence of the Self in the blissful serenity of his own being, but is driven to continually seek objective proof of its existence through the mind and senses.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                 

[Subramanian.R]

Verse 164:

(True Jnanis and false Jnanis alike) proclaim that birth is to be abhorred.  However
will you not recognize those who subside inwardly as their external attachments subside, knowing that the body is an unnecessary affliction, and the true penance is the absence of all attachment, by the simple fact that they demonstrate their lack of attachment to the body (and senses) in their actual conduct? This is the trait by which you will know them.   

Many go about preaching that attachment to the body is the source of suffering, and that they possess the means to remove it, but those ma be only words.  The author
therefore advises us to scrutinize the conduct of those who profess to be teachers of the truth, to ascertain that the words are borne out by their actual behavior.  To clarify the point made, TCS adds the words true Jnanis and false Jnanis in his gloss.

Those who subside inwardly as their external attachments subside - the less one identifies with external things, thinking in terms of 'I' and 'mine', the more one can subside into the inner peace of the Self, and the more one subsides into that peace, the less one is tempted to identify with those external things.

The word mikai, here translated as affliction, means abundance, excess, that which is unnecessary, superfluous and hence arrogance, evil, fault, affliction, error, defect and so on.In the non dual continuous  of the Self there is no body, therefore it is superfluous and unnecessary, and since it causes suffering to those who identify with its illusory existence, it is also an affliction.  Compare Tiruk Kural 345:  To those who have taken up severing of the ties of birth, the body itself is an afflcition. What then of the other attachments?

The phrase onru illamaiye nonpu - true penance is the absence of all attachment is an echo of Tiruk Kural 344:  The nature of penance is to be free of possessions.  Possessions bring back delusion once more.

TCS notes that since the body and the senses are united as one, the word mey - body,
is used figuratively to signify the senses, a figure of speech which is called aakupeyar
in Tamizh, metonymy in English.  The use of word body also reinforces the overall meaning of the verse, in emphasizing the fact that we should pay attention to what the body (mey) does, as well as the words (vaartai) it speaks. This verse forms a link to the following chapter as, having dealt with the topic of non attachment, the author now moves onto the topic of practical physical renunciation.

concluded.

(Further verses will be written when the future issues of MP are received.

Arunachala Siva.
                     

[Subramanian.R]

Chapter 7:

Renunciation:

The subject of this chapter is Turavu - renunciation, in the sense of giving up the world entirely, including marriage and social life, to wander as a homeless ascetic, depending entirely on the charity of others.  In contrast, the subject of the previous chapter was Viratti (Sanskrit Virakti) - indifference to worldly objects, in the sense of being free of attachment to the things of the world, whether they are abandoned entirely in the physical sense, or not.     

Verse 165:

Those who are caught up in delusion, thriftily hiding away their accumulated wealth,
vainly waste the days of a life which cannot be extended by a single minute, even if they expand ten million gold coins in the attempt.  Those who are free of delusion will renounce those things, knowing them to be unreal.

Verse 166:

Having observed (the way in which the friendship of) a brood of sparrows and a litter of kittens, reared in the same house, (soon turns to enmity), it is a wonder that we remain so attached (to our wife, children, family, and so on).  What fools we are!  Will those who reflect that even the lives of Vishnu, Brahma, and Indra do not last forever,
and question whether their own existence amounts to anything at all, fail (to renounce the world)? 

Verse 167:

Even though they praise Pattinattu Pillaiyar and Bhadragiri, those poor fools will not renounce (their family and possessions).  Need we cite the case the dog who was gnawing on an old dry bone, growled at the king on seeing him pass by?

Pattinattu Pillaiyar was a famous Tamizh saint and poet of Kavirippum Pattinam whose poems are well known and much loved in Tamizh Nadu.  He gave up great riches to renounce the world.  At one time, he was falsely accused of stealing a necklace belonging to King Patrakiri (Sanskrit Bhatragiri) and was sentenced to be impaled.  However, as the sentence was about to be carried out, the stake burst into flames, whereupon the king became the saint's devotee and eventually renounced the world also to follow him.  These laudable devotees are contrasted with those who, whilst paying lip service to them, are unwilling to follow them and renounce the world, even though they have much less to give up than these two, who were formerly a rich merchant and a king respectively.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                           
     

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  168:

For those who here and now contrive to be free of their entanglement with the nest and nooses which bind them -- country, town, home, wife, mother, friends and relatives, cattle, caste, wealth and the attachments of the body -- what birth can there be henceforth?

Verse 169:

If someone consume poison whilst in an altered state of mind, the effects will take hold of him, run their course and eventually subside. But the mere thought of gold will not admit of any cure. It is a great evil which, (if one succumbs to it) cannot thereafter be dispelled by medicines or the recitations of mantras.  It is a greater evil, than the desire for women.

Tirupporur Chidambara Swamigal (TCS) prefaces this verse, with a note at the end of Verse 168, in which he says that the current verse is in answer to the question of what would happen if someone renounced his household and everything else apart from gold and money.  The answer of course is that the need to take care of the gold would inevitably lead to the ruin of his austerities and he would end up losing the benefits both of renunciation and of leading the life of the householder which he had previously enjoyed.

The words 'unbalanced state of mind' translate the Tamizh word 'timir'. The basic meaning of 'timir' is numbness, stiffness, paralysis, palsy.  In Sanskrit it means darkness.  According to Winslow's dictionary, it has the sense of 'partial suspension of the bodily and mental powers from consternation, taking sweets to excess, etc.,'  It therefore indicates, in this context, a state in which the balance of the mind is disturbed through intense emotions, such as anger and grief.

If one takes poison, assuming one survives it, it will run its course and eventually subside with or without the aid of medicines or other aids.  The desire for gold, however, is a much more dangerous poison, which does not need to be touched or swallowed, but will take effect merely upon the subject thinking about it, and cannot be easily cured once it takes hold.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                         

                   

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  170:

What need is there to point out that wealth, youth, the body itself, are a mere mirage?
It is plain for all to see (that they are impermanent).  Those who are swift to renounce the world, as their discriminating awareness falls away, will not return to the round of birth and death.  Or if they do return, will (those attachments) affect (those who are as) Siva?  No, they will not affect them.

The last sentence, literally translated, says, if they return will (those attachments) touch Siva?  No, They will not touch Him. TCS explains, if they do return to some defect of Jnana, they will remain in a state of transcendence over those attachments on account of the pure Vasana resulting from the past renunciation and austerities.  Will they (those attachments) take hold of and affect them?  No.  They will not....Since, like Siva, they are free from attachment to anything at all, since they will not be affected.

Arunachala Siva.
         

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  171:

Do we not know, from the way in which the trifling pleasures arise, and then just as quickly fade away, the supreme bliss is simply the eradication of desire?  If we inquire
into it and clearly understand that it is like the bamboo container into which insects enter, get struck and die, desire for the pleasures of the five senses will end.

According to TCS, the word 'nalikai' is a 'ticai-c-cool - provincial word, in other words,
a word peculiar to one of the Tamizh provinces, a dialect word.  The 'naikai' is a bamboo tube, used for dispensing liquids like oil, ghee or honey.  It is blocked up at both ends, leaving just a small hole through which insects, such as the maravattai -- millipede, might enter.  Stuck in this sticky substance and unable to find the way out,
the insects are unable to escape.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.       

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  172:

For those who perform worship to the rising sun, the sun's light shines, effacing all that is within and all that is without.  Similarly, is not renunciation to remain free of all association, as when one sees a devoted wife offer herself up on the funeral pyre?

Verse 173:

(The most ripe devotees) are like a bell without a clapper, which makes no sound even when you shake it.  It will be hard indeed (for those of lesser attainment) to remain in that state.  (For them) it will be like measuring with a grain measure, and throwing out, so that they are destroyed, all those unreal movements of consciousness that have (in the past) manifested and grown up (within them).

The commentary by TCS makes it clear that two grades of seekers are being referred to in this verse.  In the first part, those who possess the highest level of ripeness, Tivirataram, are compared to a bell without a clapper.  Their practice is effortless, since discriminating awareness cannot arise in a consciousness that is entirely still,
there being no trace of desire to cause movement in it, just as no sound can come from a bell without a clapper.  The consciousness of a renunciant who is unaffected by
desire will not be disturbed, however much it is assailed by the mind and senses.  It is therefore compared to an 'umai mani' - a dumb bell, a bell which can make no noise even when it is shaken because it does not have a clapper inside it.

The other grades of seeker, in whom the discriminating state, but they may on occasion do so, employing various forms of spiritual practice, in which they recognize the false with the aid of the divine grace, earned through the practice and reject it each time it arises. A 'marakkal' is a grain measure equivalent to eight 'padi' 400 cubic inches.  The point being made seems to be that, whilst, for advanced seeker, no effort
will be required to abide as the Self, those of lesser attainment will need to be extremely vigilant, rejecting the onslaught of the world on the mind and sense repeatedly as it arises, just as, when measuring a heap of grain, the same measure is filled emptied out, then filled again many, many times.

Contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                                 

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  174:

Can there be any attachment to house and home if one remains at rest with no thoughts
whatsoever arising, free of attachment to the body and all the rest (sensory pleasures, the external world, and the physical, sensory and mental faculties?  (This state is (one of stillness), like an iron needle placed inside a magnetized pot, or a lighted lamp in a windless place.  All the tattvas will be alien to such a one.

According to the commentary what is meant by 'all the rest' are, in addition to the body itself, Bhogam - enjoyment, pleasure, Bhuvanam - the world and Karanam - the organs of sense and action and the mental faculties, which are all to be rejected as Nan andru - It is not 'I'.

In the magnetic pot, metaphor, a needle made out of a magnetic metal such as iron or steel is clearly meant.  It is not clear what is meant by a magnetized or magnetic pot.
However the main idea is clear: a metal needle on the outside of such a pot would be attracted towards it just as consciousness, when it is outward turned, is drawn to the world of the mind and senses.  Placed inside such a pot, however, it would not be subject to attraction by any outer object at all, just as the inward turned consciousness is not attracted by the objects of sense.

Once the impure tattvas, the organs of sense and action, the mental faculties etc., cease to function, their cause, the pure-impure tattvas will cease to operate, along with their own cause, the pure tattvas.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.
                       

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  175:

To enjoy the body of a woman is akin to a dog greedily licking ghee smeared on a sharp blade, or someone drinking sweet Payasam mixed with poison.  It is like trying to quench a thirst with water of an entirely unreal mirage. Who would not renounce the world, having seen the evidence provided by the Asuna  bird, elephant, moth, fish and flying insect, (each being lured to death by one or other senses)?

The author gives five examples of creatures, each of which is undone by one of the five senses: the Asunam bird by sound, the elephant by touch, being lured into the hunters' pit by desire for union with a female elephant which has been set up as a lure; the moth by sight, being lured into a flame by its bright form; the fish by taste,
being unable to resist the bait on the fisherman's hook, and the flying insect by smell,
being eaten by a predator after alighting on a flower, attracted by its scent.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.     
 
           

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  176:

The life of the family is a boat laden with misery, which as its reward transports its occupants, who are blinded by the defect of the ego, to the seven hells. Will the wise not tremble with fear at the sight of it?  When the one source of the five senses performs the six kinds of labor, reality itself is transformed into unreality.

Through attachment to wife and family not only will all kinds of mental and physical   
sufferings be incurred, but also, through the actions performed with attachment in that birth, a never ending cycle of births will follow, leading the householder into the seven hells.  Ironically the Kalam - ship to which he entrusted his salvation will be undoing.

In order to maintain his household, the house holder will need to exert himself from in some form of work, an endeavor which will keep him from the practice of Siva Yoga, which alone can lead him to the Real.  The six forms of labor appropriate to the land of India are given as Uzhavu - agriculture, Tozhil - manufacture, Vanigam - trade, Varaivu - marriage, Vicchai, Vittai -arts and sciences, literature, and sciences, literature, and Chirpam, sculpture, architecture.

Verse 177:

Will the wise find family life acceptable?  To them it will be like a bear coupling with its mate on a great heap of dirt, surrounded by a tribe of quarrelsome monkeys.  Like
the Lord of death (trapping him in a noose, like fire (surrounding him on all sides),
like the ocean (to shipwrecked sailor) or like a great mountain (heaped on his shoulders), it will consign him to the hell of future births.

TCS says that Kalan - Lord of Death is like the family because just as Death snare his victims with his Pasam - rope or noose, the family of a would - be renunciant will follow him, grabbing onto his hands and feet and weeping and wailing until he gives in and returns to them. 

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  178:


The renunciant will leave (his home and family) without any warning, just as cuckoo,
which has been reared with crows, will suddenly fly off.  Like Karna (who was unaware
of his true parentage), will he have any awareness of his social identity?  Know that such a one will also be the teacher for others who strive to cut off birth.

The Tamizh word for cuckoo here is kuyil, the Indian cuckoo, Cuculus Micropterus.
Like the other members of the cuckoo family it is a broad parasite, laying its single egg mostly in the nests of drongos and crows.  The sense here is that the fledgling cuckoo will leave the host nest before other crows or dongos hear its distinctive call and attack it, just as the earnest renunciant will leave the family home without speaking to anyone, for fear of his family members may attempt to prevent him from leaving.

Karna is an important character in the Mahabharata.  He was the divinely born son of the solar deity Surya and Kunti, before her marriage to Pandu. She abandoned him, setting him afloat in a basket on a tributary of the river Ganga, and he was found and raised by Adiratha, the chief charioteer of King Dhritasasthra, and he was thus came to fight against the Pandavas in the battle of Kurukshetra.  The key point here is that he was raised not knowing his true parentage, just as the renunciant, on realizing the illusory nature of the world and renouncing it, loses all attachment to parents, family,
caste etc.,  See also verse 78, where the disciples's willingness to abandon the ego is compared to Karna's legendary generosity.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                     

[Subramanian.R]

Verse  179:

Were someone to wake up in the night, find himself surrounded by fire, or under attack from a great army, and make a dash for the courtyard of his house, would he hesitate for a second, even if someone shouted 'stop'?  That would be the action of a madman. The nature of those who do not renounce household life is not other than this.

One who sees the world as it truly is will not give up on his decision to renounce, even if members of his household and others beg him to do so, just as no one in his right mind would stop in the act if fleeing a burning house, simply because someone told him to do so,.     

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.

[Subramanian.R]

Verse 180:

Those who renounce will leave swiftly, like a thief whom someone has released from his bonds and set free, like people who run away in fear from a ghost in the dark, or from a battlefield, or like those who escape with their lives from a pursuing army which is trying to kill them.

Verse 181:

Will those who are not even aware of what they are wearing know the difference between the town and the forest?  Possessed by the demon of the Self, will they know
anyone, whether relatives and friends, or complete strangers?  For those who have let go of everything, just as people will immediately drop anything red hot placed in their hands, is there any point in their continuing to live where they lived formerly?

To someone living in society and conforming to its rules, the outlandish appearance and behavior of the renunciant may make him seem like a demon.  In other words,
he will seem mad, or possessed, but this only the misconception of those who fail to realize that the 'madness' which possess him is only his true realization of the illusory nature of the world.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.     

[Subramanian.R]

Verse 182:

For those who are free of discriminating awareness, in which pain ever alternates with pleasure, is any place different from any other?  Everywhere is the temple of Lord Siva.
To appease their hunger, there are alms.  (To provide shelter and quench their thirst),
there are public places and water sources. It will not even occur to them to speak of such things.  Their only desire is to dwell in total solitude.   

tikku unto means literally - are there any directions?  tikku means region, quarter; point of compass, direction.  Here it is used in the general sense of any one place, as opposed to any other, as reflected in the translation. 

The word akkini, Sanskrit agni - fire used to mean hunger.  As noted previously, in relation to Verse 124, in Indian medicinal systems such as Ayurveda, the element fire,
personified in the god Agni, is seen as the force at work in the process of digestion,
causing food to be broken down and consumed.  Here akkini - fire is used as a synonym for hunger.

Contd.,

Arunachala Siva.