Guru Vācaka-k Kōvai contains twenty-eight verses composed by Bhagavan, of which twelve are included in Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham, one in Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu and two in Ēkāṉma Pañcakam, whereas the remaining thirteen of them were previously not included in any of his main works, but are now included in Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ as verses 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 25.

In addition to these thirteen verses, there were other miscellaneous verses of instruction (upadēśa) that Bhagavan had composed from time to time that were not included in any of his main works, so in 1979, when the printing of the first edition of Sadhu Om’s Guru Vācaka Kōvai Urai (his Tamil prose paraphrases and explanations of Guru Vācaka Kōvai) was nearing completion, I suggested to him that, since they were not at that time available in print in any other book, all such miscellaneous verses of instruction should be included in Guru Vācaka Kōvai. He agreed and accordingly added an appendix in Guru Vācaka Kōvai Urai containing eleven such verses with notes indicating where in Guru Vācaka Kōvai each of them could be included.

Shortly after this, as one of their special publications to celebrate Bhagavan’s birth centenary in 1980, Sri Ramanasramam published a small book called மணிமொழிகளும் தனிப்பாக்களும் (Maṇimoṙigaḷum Taṉippākkaḷum), ‘Precious Words and Solitary Verses’, which was a collection of miscellaneous verses and other writings of Bhagavan that for one reason or another were not included in his Tamil collected works, ஸ்ரீ ரமண நூற்றிரட்டு (Śrī Ramaṇa Nūṯṟiraṭṭu), and that included most of his miscellaneous verses of instruction, but in no particular order. In 2002 Sri Ramanasramam published an enlarged edition of Śrī Ramaṇa Nūṯṟiraṭṭu, in which most of the contents of Maṇimoṙigaḷum Taṉippākkaḷum along some additional verses were added as an appendix, which included all the miscellaneous verses of instruction that by that time were part of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, but once again these verses were not arranged there in a systematic order.

A year or two after the first publication of Guru Vācaka Kōvai Urai and Maṇimoṙigaḷum Taṉippākkaḷum, I happened to be looking carefully at everything written in a notebook that we used to refer to as ‘Muruganar’s black notebook’ (because of its black cover), which was written mostly in Muruganar’s handwriting but also partly in Bhagavan’s own handwriting. Among many other interesting things, this notebook contained almost all the verses of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu written as and when Bhagavan composed them together with a note of the date of composition of each one, and while looking at these I noticed that Bhagavan had originally composed verses 13 and 16 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu somewhat differently but had later revised them. At about the same time I also found that in July 1948, when Bhagavan composed his Tamil translation or adaptation of Adi Sankara’s Ātma-Bōdha, he translated the final verse first in viruttam metre, but then rewrote it as a six-line paḵṟoḍai veṇbā to match the four-line veṇbā metre in which he had translated all the other verses. I think I probably found the original viruttam version of this verse in the same black notebook, but I cannot now remember for sure, so I may have found it in one of Muruganar’s other notebooks. Since at that time these three verses, namely the original versions of verses 13 and 16 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu and verse 68 of Āṉma-Bōdham, had never been printed, I suggested to Sadhu Om that they should also be included in Guru Vācaka Kōvai and asked him where in it they would fit most suitably. He considered this and said that they could be included respectively after verses 420, 603 and 227, but then added that whereas the twenty-eight verses by Bhagavan that were included in the second edition of Guru Vācaka Kōvai (published in 1971) were actually composed by him as a part of it, these three verses and the other eleven that he had added as an appendix in Guru Vācaka Kōvai Urai did not really belong to it, so it would be more appropriate to compile all of them as a separate work. He accordingly compiled a work consisting of all the miscellaneous verses of upadēśa (spiritual teaching or instruction) composed by Bhagavan that were not already included in any of his main works, namely the thirteen from Guru Vācaka Kōvai and these fourteen other ones, making a total of twenty-seven verses, which he named உபதேசத் தனிப்பாக்கள் (Upadēśa-t-Taṉippākkaḷ), ‘Solitary Verses of Spiritual Teaching’.

The eleven verses that he had included as an appendix in Guru Vācaka Kōvai Urai are now verses 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 18, 20, 22, 26 and 27 of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, and the three verses we found later are verses 12, 13 and 17. All these fourteen verses were included in the third edition of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, published in 1998, in the places that Sadhu Om had originally chosen for them, but after he compiled Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ in 1981 or 82 he told me that these fourteen verses should not be included in any future editions of Guru Vācaka Kōvai or Guru Vācaka Kōvai Urai, because unlike Bhagavan’s twenty-eight verses included in the second edition of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, these fourteen were not actually composed with the intention that they should be part of it. The only reason he had earlier agreed provisionally to include them in Guru Vācaka Kōvai was because at that time they were not available in print or included in any of Bhagavan’s other works.

Whereas most of the forty-one verses of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham are ones that Bhagavan translated or adapted from older verses composed by others, and only fifteen were either wholly or partly original verses composed by him, eighteen of the verses of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ are his own original compositions, and only nine of them are ones that he translated or adapted from other sources, namely verses 1, 8, 11, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25.

When Sadhu Om compiled Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, he not only arranged them in a suitable order but also grouped them together under thirteen suitable headings.

I am currently revising my translations of these verses, so the ones that I have completed are given below, and I will add more as and when I complete them.

காரண காரியம் (kāraṇa-kāryam): Cause and Effect

(வெண்பா: veṇbā)

Verse 1:

பெண்ணா ணலிமுதலாம் பெற்றியாற் காரியமாங்
கண்ணோக்கா லிவ்வுலகின் காரணனாப் — பண்ணோர்
கருத்த னுளனவனிக் காசினிமாய்த் தாக்குங்
கருத்த னரனாக் கருது.

peṇṇā ṇalimudalām peṯṟiyāṟ kāriyamāṅ
kaṇṇōkkā livvulahiṉ kāraṇaṉāp — paṇṇōr
karutta ṉuḷaṉavaṉik kāśiṉimāyt tākkuṅ
karutta ṉaraṉāk karudu.

பதச்சேதம்: பெண் ஆண் அலி முதல் ஆம் பெற்றியால் காரியம் ஆம் கண்ணோக்கால், இவ் உலகின் காரணன் ஆ பண் ஓர் கருத்தன் உளன். அவன் இக் காசினி மாய்த்து ஆக்கும். கருத்தன் அரன் ஆ கருது.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): peṇ āṇ ali mudal ām peṯṟiyāl kāriyam ām kaṇṇōkkāl, i-vv-ulahiṉ kāraṇaṉ-ā paṇ ōr karuttaṉ uḷaṉ. avaṉ i-k-kāśiṉi māyttu ākkum. karuttaṉ araṉ-ā karudu.

English translation: Because of the view in which it is by nature an effect, which is beginning with male, female and those who are neither, one doer who produces exists as the cause of this world. Having destroyed, he creates this world. Consider the doer to be Hara.

Explanatory paraphrase: Because of the view in which it is [seen to be] by nature a kārya [effect], which is [composed of a multitude of diverse forms] beginning with male, female and those who are neither [wholly male nor wholly female], one doer who produces [it] exists as the kāraṇa [cause] of this world. He destroys and creates this world. Consider [this] doer to be Hara [Lord Siva].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): பெண் (peṇ): female, woman, girl | ஆண் (āṇ): male, man | அலி (ali): one who is neither [wholly male nor wholly female] | முதல் (mudal): first, beginning with | ஆம் (ām): being, which is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | பெற்றியால் (peṯṟiyāl): by nature {instrumental (third case) form of peṯṟi, ‘nature’, ‘character’ or ‘quality’} | காரியம் (kāriyam): effect | ஆம் (ām): being, in which it is {adjectival participle, as explained above} | கண்ணோக்கால் (kaṇṇōkkāl): by the view, because of the view {instrumental (third case) form of kaṇṇōkku, ‘look’, ‘gaze’, ‘view’ or ‘seeing’} >>> so this clause, ‘பெண் ஆண் அலி முதல் ஆம் பெற்றியால் காரியம் ஆம் கண்ணோக்கால்’ (peṇ āṇ ali mudal ām peṯṟiyāl kāriyam ām kaṇṇōkkāl), means ‘Because of the view in which it is by nature an effect, which is beginning with male, female and those who are neither’, which implies ‘Because of the view in which it [this world] is [seen to be] by nature a kārya [effect], which is [composed of a multitude of diverse forms] beginning with male, female and those who are neither [wholly male nor wholly female]’ <<< இவ்வுலகின் (i-vv-ulahiṉ): of this world {compound of the proximal demonstrative prefix i, ‘this’, and ulahiṉ, a genitive (sixth case) form of ulahu, a Tamil form of the Sanskrit lōka, ‘world’} | காரணன் (kāraṇaṉ): cause | ஆ (ā): being, as {root of this verb, meaning ‘be’, used here as an adverbial suffix} | பண் (paṇ): who produces {an abbreviated form of paṇṇu, the root of a verb that means ‘make’, ‘produce’, ‘accomplish’ or ‘create’} | ஓர் (ōr): one, a | கருத்தன் (karuttaṉ): doer {Tamil form of the Sanskrit kartṛ, ‘doer’, ‘maker’ or ‘agent’} | உளன் (uḷaṉ): is, exists {third person masculine form of the tenseless verb uḷ, ‘be’ or ‘exist’} >>> so this clause, ‘இவ்வுலகின் காரணன் ஆ பண் ஓர் கருத்தன் உளன்’ (i-vv-ulahiṉ kāraṇaṉ-ā paṇ ōr karuttaṉ uḷaṉ), means ‘one doer who produces exists as the cause of this world’, and hence this first sentence, ‘பெண் ஆண் அலி முதல் ஆம் பெற்றியால் காரியம் ஆம் கண்ணோக்கால், இவ்வுலகின் காரணன் ஆ பண் ஓர் கருத்தன் உளன்’ (peṇ āṇ ali mudal ām peṯṟiyāl kāriyam ām kaṇṇōkkāl, i-vv-ulahiṉ kāraṇaṉ-ā paṇ ōr karuttaṉ uḷaṉ), means ‘Because of the view in which it is by nature an effect, which is beginning with male, female and those who are neither, one doer who produces exists as the cause of this world’, which implies:

Because of the view in which it is [seen to be] by nature a kārya [effect], which is [composed of a multitude of diverse forms] beginning with male, female and those who are neither [wholly male nor wholly female], one doer who produces [it] exists as the kāraṇa [cause] of this world.

<<< அவன் (avaṉ): he {nominative form of the third person singular pronoun} | இக்காசினி (i-k-kāśiṉi): this world {compound of the proximal demonstrative prefix i, ‘this’, and kāśiṉi, ‘Earth’ or ‘world’} | மாய்த்து (māyttu): destroying, having destroyed {adverbial participle} | ஆக்கும் (ākkum): creates {neuter third person future (but used generically as a continuous present) form of ākku, ‘cause to be’, ‘creat’ or ‘make’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘அவன் இக் காசினி மாய்த்து ஆக்கும்’ (avaṉ i-k-kāśiṉi māyttu ākkum), means ‘Having destroyed, he creates this world’, which implies:

He destroys and creates this world.

<<< கருத்தன் (karuttaṉ): doer {as explained above} | அரன் (araṉ): Hara {Tamil form of the Sanskrit hara, a name of Lord Siva, derived from the verb hṛ, ‘take’, ‘carry’, ‘take away’, ‘carry off’, ‘remove’ or ‘destroy’, so this name implies ‘one who takes away, removes or destroys’} | ஆ (ā): be, being, as, to be {adverbial suffix, as explained above} | கருது (karudu): consider {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} >>> so this second sentence, ‘கருத்தன் அரன் ஆ கருது’ (karuttaṉ araṉ-ā karudu), means ‘Consider the doer to be Hara’, which implies:

Consider [this] doer to be Hara [Lord Siva].

Explanatory note: This verse is Bhagavan’s adaptation of verse 1 of Śiva-Jñāna-Bodhaḥ (a poem of twelve verses, one of the foundational texts of Śaiva Siddhānta):

स्त्रीपुंनपुंसकादित्वाजगतः कार्यदर्शनात् ।
अस्ति कर्ता स हृत्वैतत् सृजत्यस्मात् प्रभुर्हरः ॥

strīpuṁnapuṁsakāditvājagataḥ kāryadarśanāt ।
asti kartā sa hṛtvaitat sṛjatyasmāt prabhurharaḥ ॥

This verse provides an argument for the existence of God based on the principle that every effect (kārya) must have a cause (kāraṇa). However, cause and effect are a dvaṁdva (pair of opposites), and as Bhagavan points out in verse 9 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, all pairs of opposites depend for their seeming existence upon ego, in whose view alone they seem to exist, so if we investigate and know the reality of ego, namely ātma-svarūpa (ourself as we actually are), ego will be found to be ever non-existent, and hence all pairs of opposites will cease to exist along with it. Therefore the teaching given in this verse is suitable for us so long as we view the world as being a real mind-independent effect, because a real effect must have a real cause. This is why most religions begin by teaching that the world is a creation of God.

However, whatever comes into being must eventually cease to be, so if God is the cause that has created this world, he must also be the cause that will eventually destroy it, as pointed out in the second sentence of this verse. For those who consider this or any other world to be a source of joy, the role of God as the creator will be considered most important, whereas for those who by his grace come to understand that any world is a source of suffering, his role as the destroyer will be considered most important. This is why God in the form of Lord Siva is called Hara, the ‘remover’ or ‘destroyer’, because he removes the root of all suffering by destroying ego, the ‘I’ that rises as ‘I am this body’ and that consequently experiences the illusory appearance of a world with all its seeming joys and sorrows.

Since our real nature is infinite happiness, when ego is eradicated by the grace of Lord Arunachala Siva, who appeared in human form as Bhagavan Ramana, what will then remain is only beginningless (anādi), infinite (ananta) and undivided (akhaṇḍa) being-awareness-joy (sat-cit-ānanda), which is what we always actually are, as he teaches us in verse 28 of Upadēśa Undiyār:

தனாதியல் யாதெனத் தான்றெரி கிற்பின்
னனாதி யனந்தசத் துந்தீபற
வகண்ட சிதானந்த முந்தீபற.

taṉādiyal yādeṉat tāṉḏṟeri hiṟpiṉ
ṉaṉādi yaṉantasat tundīpaṟa
vakhaṇḍa cidāṉanda mundīpaṟa.

பதச்சேதம்: தனாது இயல் யாது என தான் தெரிகில், பின் அனாதி அனந்த சத்து அகண்ட சித் ஆனந்தம்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): taṉādu iyal yādu eṉa tāṉ terihil, piṉ aṉādi aṉanta sattu akhaṇḍa cit āṉandam.

English translation: If one knows what the nature of oneself is, then anādi ananta akhaṇḍa sat-cit-ānanda [beginningless, infinite and unbroken being-awareness-happiness].

So long as we rise as ego, the world seems to be real, and God, the power that seems to have created it and to be sustaining it, seems to be something other than ourself, but when by his grace we turn our mind within to seek him with intense love in the depths of our own heart, we will find him to be our own very being, and hence all appearance of separation and otherness will be dissolved forever in the infinite light of sat-cit-ānanda, which is the very being of both God and ourself.

தீபாவளித் தத்துவம் (dīpāvali-t-tattuvam): The Reality of Deepavali

(கலிவிருத்தம்: kaliviruttam)

Verse 2:

நரகுட னானா நரகுல காளும்
நரகனெங் கென்றுசாஅய் ஞானத் திகிரியால்
நரகனைக் கொன்றவ னாரண னன்றே
நரக சதுர்த்தசி நற்றின மாமே.

narakuḍa ṉāṉā narakula hāḷum
narakaṉeṅ geṉḏṟusāay ñāṉat tikiriyāl
narakaṉaik koṉḏṟava ṉāraṇa ṉaṉḏṟē
naraka caturttaci naṯṟiṉa māmē.

பதச்சேதம்: ‘நரகு உடல் நான்’ ஆ நரகு உலகு ஆளும் நரகன் எங்கு என்று உசாய் ஞான திகிரியால் நரகனை கொன்றவன் நாரணன். அன்றே நரக சதுர்த்தசி நல் தினம் ஆமே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ‘naraku uḍal nāṉ’ ā naraku ulahu āḷum narakaṉ eṅgu eṉḏṟu usāy ñāṉa tikiriyāl narakaṉai koṉḏṟavaṉ nāraṇaṉ. aṉḏṟē naraka caturddaśi nal diṉam āmē.

English translation: He who killed Narakan with the discus of knowledge, investigating where is Narakan, who reigns over the hell-world as ‘the hell-body is I’, is Naranan. That day is the holy day of Naraka Caturdaśi.

Explanatory paraphrase: He who killed Narakan [the demon Narakasura, a personification of ego] with the discus of jñāna [knowledge in the sense of pure awareness] [by] investigating where is Narakan, who reigns over the world of naraka [hell] as ‘[this] hellish body is I’, is Naranan [Narayana, Lord Vishnu, in the form of Sri Krishna]. That day [when he killed him] is the holy day of Naraka Caturdaśi [the fourteenth day of the waning moon between mid-October and mid-November, the day on which Dīpāvali is celebrated in Tamil Nadu].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): நரகுடல் (narakuḍal): hell-body, hellish body, hell-like body {compound of naraku, ‘hell’, and uḍal, ‘body’} | நான் (nāṉ): I {nominative (first case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | ஆ (ā): being, as {root of this verb, meaning ‘be’, used here as an adverbial suffix} | நரகுலகு (narakulahu): hell-world, world of hell {compound of naraku, ‘hell’, and ulahu, ‘world’} | ஆளும் (āḷum): ruling, reigning over, who reigns over {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | நரகன் (narakaṉ): Narakan [the demon Narakasura, a personification of ego] | எங்கு (eṅgu): where | என்று (eṉḏṟu): saying {adverbial participle implying ‘that’, ‘thus’ or ‘as’} | உசாய் (usāy): investigating {adverbial participle} | ஞானத்திகிரியால் (ñāṉa-t-tikiriyāl): by the discuss of knowledge, with the discus of knowledge {instrumental (third case) form of ñāṉa-t-tikiri, a compound of ñāṉa (Tamil form of the Sanskrit jñāna), ‘knowledge’ or ‘awareness’, and tikiri, ‘circle’, ‘wheel’ or ‘discus’} | நரகனை (narakaṉai): Narakan {accusative (second case) form of narakaṉ} | கொன்றவன் (koṉḏṟavaṉ): he who killed {masculine third person singular pronominal noun formed from koṉḏṟa, the past adjectival participle of kol, ‘kill’, ‘slay’, ‘cut down’ or ‘destroy’} | நாரணன் (nāraṇaṉ): Naranan [Narayana, Lord Vishnu] >>> so this first sentence, ‘நரகு உடல் நான் ஆ நரகு உலகு ஆளும் நரகன் எங்கு என்று உசாய் ஞான திகிரியால் நரகனை கொன்றவன் நாரணன்’ (‘naraku uḍal nāṉ’ ā naraku ulahu āḷum narakaṉ eṅgu eṉḏṟu usāy ñāṉa tikiriyāl narakaṉai koṉḏṟavaṉ nāraṇaṉ), means “He who killed Narakan with the discus of knowledge, investigating where is Narakan, who reigns over the hell-world as ‘the hell-body is I’, is Naranan”, which implies:

He who killed Narakan [the demon Narakasura, a personification of ego] with the discus of jñāna [knowledge in the sense of pure awareness] [by] investigating where is Narakan, who reigns over the world of naraka [hell] as ‘[this] hellish body is I’, is Naranan [Narayana, Lord Vishnu, in the form of Sri Krishna].

<<< அன்றே (aṉḏṟē): that day | நரகசதுர்த்தசி (naraka-caturddaśi): Naraka-Caturdasi {Tamil form of the Sanskrit naraka-caturdaśi, the fourteenth waning moon (caturdaśi) in the month of āśvina (or aippasi in Tamil, between mid-October and mid-November), which is celebrated as the day when Sri Krishna killed Narakasura, and which in Tamil Nadu is the same day as Deepavali, whereas in other parts of India Deepavali (or Diwali) is celebrated on the next day} | நல் (nal): good, auspicious, holy | தினம் (diṉam): day | ஆமே (āmē): is {intensified form of ām, future (but used generically as a continuous present) third person neuter form of ā, ‘be’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘அன்றே நரக சதுர்த்தசி நல் தினம் ஆமே’ (aṉḏṟē naraka caturddaśi nal diṉam āmē), means ‘That day is the holy day of Naraka Caturdaśi’, which implies:

That day [when Narayanan killed Narakasura] is the holy day of Naraka Caturdaśi [the fourteenth day of the waning moon between mid-October and mid-November, the day on which Dīpāvali is celebrated in Tamil Nadu].

Note: Bhagavan composed this verse as a summary of verses 181 and 182 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, in which it is verse Bhagavan-4.

Explanations and discussions:
2020-11-14: Dīpāvali Tattva: the reality of Deepavali

(வெண்பா: veṇbā)

Verse 3:

நரக வுருவா நடலை யுடல
கிரக மகமெனவே கெட்ட — நரகனாம்
மாபா வியைநாடி மாய்த்துத்தா னாயொளிர்தல்
தீபா வளியாந் தெளி.

naraka vuruvā naḍalai yuḍala
giraha mahameṉavē keṭṭa — narakaṉām
māpā viyaināḍi māyttuttā ṉāyoḷirdal
dīpā vaḷiyān teḷi.

பதச்சேதம்: ‘நரக உரு ஆம் நடலை உடல கிரகம் அகம்’ எனவே கெட்ட நரகன் ஆம் மா பாவியை நாடி மாய்த்து, தானாய் ஒளிர்தல் தீபாவளி ஆம். தெளி.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ‘naraka uru ām naḍalai uḍala giraham aham’ eṉavē keṭṭa narakaṉ ām mā pāviyai nāḍi māyttu, tāṉāy oḷirdal dīpāvaḷi ām. teḷi.

English translation: Shining as oneself, having investigated and killed the great sinner who is Narakan, who had degenerated as ‘the illusory body-abode, which is the form of hell, is I’, is Dīpāvaḷi. Be clear.

Explanatory paraphrase: Shining as oneself [namely as ātma-svarūpa, ourself as we actually are], having investigated and killed the great sinner who is Narakan [namely ego], who had degenerated as ‘the illusory [or miserable] body-abode, which is the form of naraka [hell] , is I’, is [what is signified by] Dīpāvaḷi. Be clear [that is, consider, investigate and know this clearly].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): நரகவுரு (naraka-v-uru): hell-form, form of hell {compound of narakam, ‘hell’, and uru, ‘form’} | ஆம் (ām): being, which is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | நடலை (naḍalai): cunning, deception, illusion, pretence, misery, suffering, distress | உடலகிரகம் (uḍala-giraham): body-house, body-abode {compound of uḍalam, ‘body’, and giraham, Tamil form of the Sanskrit gṛha, ‘house’, ‘dwelling’ or ‘abode’} | அகம் (aham): I {nominative (first case) form of the Sanskrit first person singular pronoun} | எனவே (eṉavē): thus, as {intensified form of eṉa, infinitive form of eṉ, ‘say’, used here in an adverbial sense} | கெட்ட (keṭṭa): degenerated, who had degenerated {past adjectival participle of keḍu, ‘perish’, ‘be destroyed’, ‘decay’, ‘rot’, ‘degenerate’, ‘deteriorate’, ‘be degraded’ or ‘be deformed’} | நரகன் (narakaṉ): Narakan | ஆம் (ām): being, who is {adjectival participle, as explained above} | மா (mā): great | பாவியை (pāviyai): sinner {accusative (second case) form of pāvi, Tamil form of the Sanskrit pāpi, ‘sinner’} | நாடி (nāḍi): investigating, having investigated {adverbial participle} | மாய்த்து (māyttu): killing, having killed {adverbial participle} >>> so ‘நரக உரு ஆம் நடலை உடல கிரகம் அகம் எனவே கெட்ட நரகன் ஆம் மா பாவியை நாடி மாய்த்து’ (‘naraka uru ām naḍalai uḍala giraham aham’ eṉavē keṭṭa narakaṉ ām mā pāviyai nāḍi māyttu) is an adverbial clause that means “having investigated and killed the great sinner who is Narakan, who had degenerated as ‘the illusory body-abode, which is the form of hell, is I’” <<< தானாய் (tāṉāy): as oneself {compound of tāṉ, ‘oneself’ (in this context implying ātma-svarūpa, ourself as we actually are), and āy, an adverbial suffix meaning ‘as’} | ஒளிர்தல் (oḷirdal): shining {verbal noun} | தீபாவளி (dīpāvaḷi): Deepavali | ஆம் (ām): is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) third person neuter form of ā, ‘be’} >>> so this main clause, ‘தானாய் ஒளிர்தல் தீபாவளி ஆம்’ (tāṉāy oḷirdal dīpāvaḷi ām), means ‘Shining as oneself is Dīpāvaḷi’, and hence this first sentence, ‘நரக உரு ஆம் நடலை உடல கிரகம் அகம் எனவே கெட்ட நரகன் ஆம் மா பாவியை நாடி மாய்த்து, தானாய் ஒளிர்தல் தீபாவளி ஆம்’ (‘naraka uru ām naḍalai uḍala giraham aham’ eṉavē keṭṭa narakaṉ ām mā pāviyai nāḍi māyttu, tāṉāy oḷirdal dīpāvaḷi ām), means “Shining as oneself, having investigated and killed the great sinner who is Narakan, who had degenerated as ‘the illusory body-abode, which is the form of hell, is I’, is Dīpāvaḷi”, which implies:

Shining as oneself [namely as ātma-svarūpa, ourself as we actually are], having investigated and killed the great sinner who is Narakan [namely ego], who had degenerated as ‘the illusory [or miserable] body-abode, which is the form of naraka [hell] , is I’, is [what is signified by] Dīpāvaḷi.

<<< தெளி (teḷi): be clear {root of this verb, used here in an imperative sense} >>> so this final word, ‘தெளி’ (teḷi), means ‘Be clear’, which in this context implies:

Be clear [that is, consider, investigate and know this clearly].

Note: Bhagavan composed this verse as a simpler and clearer expression of what Muruganar recorded in verse 183 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, in which it is verse Bhagavan-5.

Explanations and discussions:
2020-11-14: Dīpāvali Tattva: the reality of Deepavali

பிறந்தநாட் பாக்கள் (piṟandanāṭ pākkaḷ): Birthday Verses

Verse 4:

பிறந்தநா ளேதோ பெருவிழாச் செய்வீர்
பிறந்ததெவ ணாமென்று பேணிப் — பிறந்திறந்த
லின்றென்று மொன்றா யிலகுபொரு ளிற்பிறந்த
வன்றே பிறந்தநா ளாம்.

piṟandanā ḷēdō peruviṙāc ceyvīr
piṟandadeva ṇāmeṉḏṟu pēṇip — piṟandiṟatta
liṉḏṟeṉḏṟu moṉḏṟā yilahuporu ḷiṟpiṟanda
vaṉḏṟē piṟandanā ḷām.

பதச்சேதம்: பிறந்த நாள் ஏதோ? பெரு விழா செய்வீர், பிறந்தது எவண் நாம் என்று பேணி, பிறந்து இறத்தல் இன்று என்றும் ஒன்றாய் இலகு பொருளில் பிறந்த அன்றே பிறந்த நாள் ஆம்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): piṟanda nāḷ ēdō? peru viṙā seyvīr, piṟandadu evaṇ nām eṉḏṟu pēṇi, piṟandu iṟattal iṉḏṟu eṉḏṟum oṉḏṟāy ilahu poruḷil piṟanda aṉḏṟē piṟanda nāḷ ām.

அன்வயம்: பெரு விழா செய்வீர்! பிறந்த நாள் ஏதோ? நாம் பிறந்தது எவண் என்று பேணி, பிறந்து இறத்தல் இன்று என்றும் ஒன்றாய் இலகு பொருளில் பிறந்த அன்றே பிறந்த நாள் ஆம்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): peru viṙā seyvīr, piṟanda nāḷ ēdō? ‘nām piṟandadu evaṇ?’ eṉḏṟu pēṇi, piṟandu iṟattal iṉḏṟu eṉḏṟum oṉḏṟāy ilahu poruḷil piṟanda aṉḏṟē piṟanda nāḷ ām

English translation: Whatever is birthday? You who make a great celebration, only that day when, carefully attending to where we were born, we are born in the substance, which always shines as one without being born and dying, is birthday.

Explanatory paraphrase: What is [the real] birthday? You who make a great celebration [about a so-called birthday], only that day when, [by] carefully attending to [ourself, the source] from which we were born [as ego, the false awareness ‘I am this body’], we are born in poruḷ [the real substance or vastu], which without [ever] being born or dying always shines as one [namely the one infinite and immutable real awareness, ‘I am’], is [the real] birthday.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): பிறந்த (piṟanda): born {past adjectival participle} | நாள் (nāḷ): day | ஏதோ (ēdō): whatever {compound of ēdu, an interrogative pronoun meaning ‘what’, ‘which’, ‘why’, ‘whence’ or ‘how’, and ō, an interrogative suffix, which here conveys the same sense as the suffix ‘ever’ in ‘whatever’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘பிறந்த நாள் ஏதோ?’ (piṟanda nāḷ ēdō?), is a question that means ‘Whatever is birthday?’, which in this context implies:

What is [the real] birthday?

<<< பெரு (peru): big, large, great, excessive | விழா (viṙā): festival, celebration | செய்வீர் (seyvīr): you who do, you who make {second person plural pronominal noun, used in a vocative (eighth case) sense} >>> so ‘பெரு விழா செய்வீர்’ (peru viṙā seyvīr) is a vocative phrase that means ‘you who make a great celebration’ <<< பிறந்தது (piṟandadu): being born {past tense verbal noun} | எவண் (evaṇ): where, how {interrogative adverb} | நாம் (nām): we {inclusive first person plural pronoun} >>> so ‘பிறந்தது எவண் நாம்’ (piṟandadu evaṇ nām) is a phrase that means ‘where we were born’ <<< என்று (eṉḏṟu): saying {adverbial participle implying ‘that’, ‘thus’ or ‘as’} | பேணி (pēṇi): attending carefully to {adverbial participle of pēṇu, ‘cherish’, ‘nurture’, ‘care for’, ‘protect’, ‘treat tenderly’, ‘adore’, ‘worship’, ‘attend carefully’ or ‘know’} | பிறந்து (piṟandu): being born, having been born {adverbial participle} | இறத்தல் (iṟattal): dying {verbal noun} | இன்று (iṉḏṟu): without | என்றும் (eṉḏṟum): always, ever | ஒன்றாய் (oṉḏṟāy): being one, as one {compound of oṉḏṟu, a noun that means ‘one’ or ‘the one’, and āy, an adverbial suffix that means ‘being’ or ‘as’} | (ilahu): shine {the root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle} | பொருளில் (poruḷil): in the substance {locative (seventh case) form of poruḷ, ‘substance’ (in the sense of the one real and ultimate substance, the substance of all substances, namely sat-cit, pure being-awareness)} | பிறந்த (piṟanda): born {past adjectival participle} | அன்றே (aṉḏṟē): that day alone, only that day {intensified form of aṉḏṟu, ‘that day’ or ‘then’} | பிறந்த (piṟanda): born {past adjectival participle} | நாள் (nāḷ): day | ஆம் (ām): is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) third person neuter form of ā, ‘be’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘பெரு விழா செய்வீர், பிறந்தது எவண் நாம் என்று பேணி, பிறந்து இறத்தல் இன்று என்றும் ஒன்றாய் இலகு பொருளில் பிறந்த அன்றே பிறந்த நாள் ஆம்’ (peru viṙā seyvīr, piṟandadu evaṇ nām eṉḏṟu pēṇi, piṟandu iṟattal iṉḏṟu eṉḏṟum oṉḏṟāy ilahu poruḷil piṟanda aṉḏṟē piṟanda nāḷ ām), means ‘You who make a great celebration, only that day when, carefully attending to where we were born, we are born in the substance, which always shines as one without being born and dying, is birthday’, which implies:

You who make a great celebration [about a so-called birthday], only that day when, [by] carefully attending to [ourself, the source] from which we were born [as ego, the false awareness ‘I am this body’], we are born in poruḷ [the real substance or vastu], which without [ever] being born or dying always shines as one [namely the one infinite and immutable real awareness, ‘I am’], is [the real] birthday.

Explanations and discussions:
2020-12-31: Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ verse 4: the real birthday is only the day when we are born in our own real substance, the one birthless and deathless awareness ‘I am’

Verse 5:

பிறந்தநா ளெனும் பிறப்புக் கழாது
பிறந்தநா ளுற்சவமே பேணல் — இறந்த
பிணத்திற் கலங்கரிக்கும் பெட்பென்றே தன்னை
யுணர்ந்தொடுங்கல் தானே யுணர்வு.

piṟandanā ḷeṉum piṟappuk kaṙādu
piṟantanā ḷuṯsavamē pēṇal — iṟanda
piṇattiṟ kalaṅkarikkum peṭpeṉḏṟē taṉṉai
yuṇarndoḍuṅgal tāṉē yuṇarvu.

பதச்சேதம்: ‘பிறந்த நாள் ஏனும் பிறப்புக்கு அழாது, பிறந்த நாள் உற்சவமே பேணல் இறந்த பிணத்திற்கு அலங்கரிக்கும் பெட்பு’ என்றே தன்னை உணர்ந்து ஒடுங்கல் தானே உணர்வு.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ‘piṟanda nāḷ ēṉum piṟappukku aṙādu, piṟanda nāḷ uṯsavamē pēṇal iṟanda piṇattiṟku alaṅkarikkum peṭpu’ eṉḏṟē taṉṉai uṇarndu oḍuṅgal tāṉē uṇarvu.

English translation: Saying ‘Not weeping for birth even on birthday, cherishing birthday as a festival is infatuation that adorns a dead corpse’, only subsiding being aware of oneself is awareness.

Explanatory paraphrase: Understanding ‘Instead of weeping [or lamenting] for [one’s] birth at least on [one’s] birthday, cherishing [one’s] birthday as a festival is [like] the infatuation [of someone] who adorns [or decorates] a dead corpse’, only subsiding [and dissolving forever in one’s real nature] [by investigating and thereby] being aware of oneself [as one actually is] is [real] awareness.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): பிறந்த (piṟanda): born {past adjectival participle} | நாள் (nāḷ): day | ஏனும் (ēṉum): even, at least | பிறப்புக்கு (piṟappukku): for birth {dative (fourth case) form of piṟappu, ‘birth’} | அழாது (aṙādu): not weeping, not lamenting {negative adverbial participle} >>> so ‘பிறந்த நாள் ஏனும் பிறப்புக்கு அழாது’ (piṟanda nāḷ ēṉum piṟappukku aṙādu) is an adverbial clause that means ‘not weeping for birth even on birthday’, which implies:

not [or instead of] weeping [or lamenting] for [one’s] birth at least on [one’s] birthday

<<< பிறந்த (piṟanda): born | நாள் (nāḷ): day | உற்சவமே (uṯsavamē): festival {intensified form of uṯsavam, ‘festival’} | பேணல் (pēṇal): cherishing {verbal noun} | இறந்த (iṟanda): dead, that has died {past adjectival participle} | பிணத்திற்கு (piṇattiṟku): for a corpse {dative (fourth case) form of piṇam, ‘corpse’ or ‘carcass’} | அலங்கரிக்கும் (alaṅkarikkum): adorning, decorating, that adorns, that decorates {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | பெட்பு (peṭpu): desire, cherishing, infatuation >>> so this clause, ‘பிறந்த நாள் உற்சவமே பேணல் இறந்த பிணத்திற்கு அலங்கரிக்கும் பெட்பு’ (piṟanda nāḷ uṯsavamē pēṇal iṟanda piṇattiṟku alaṅkarikkum peṭpu), means ‘cherishing birthday [as] a festival is infatuation that adorns a dead corpse’, which implies:

cherishing [one’s] birthday as a festival is [like] the infatuation [of someone] who adorns [or decorates] a dead corpse

<<< என்றே (eṉḏṟē): saying {intensified form of eṉḏṟu, an adverbial participle that literally means ‘saying’, but that is often used in the sense ‘thus’, ‘that’ or ‘as’, and that here implies ‘understanding’} | தன்னை (taṉṉai): oneself {accusative (second case) form of tāṉ, ‘oneself’} | உணர்ந்து (uṇarndu): knowing, being aware of {adverbial participle} | ஒடுங்கல் (oḍuṅgal): subsiding, dissolving, ceasing {verbal noun} | தானே (tāṉē): itself, only, alone {intensified form of tāṉ, ‘itself’, used here as an intensifying suffix implying ‘only’ or ‘alone’} | உணர்வு (uṇarvu): awareness, knowledge, wisdom >>> so this clause, ‘தன்னை உணர்ந்து ஒடுங்கல் தானே உணர்வு’ (taṉṉai uṇarndu oḍuṅgal tāṉē uṇarvu), means ‘only subsiding being aware of oneself is awareness’, and hence the entire sentence, ‘பிறந்த நாள் ஏனும் பிறப்புக்கு அழாது, பிறந்த நாள் உற்சவமே பேணல் இறந்த பிணத்திற்கு அலங்கரிக்கும் பெட்பு என்றே தன்னை உணர்ந்து ஒடுங்கல் தானே உணர்வு’ (‘piṟanda nāḷ ēṉum piṟappukku aṙādu, piṟanda nāḷ uṯsavamē pēṇal iṟanda piṇattiṟku alaṅkarikkum peṭpu’ eṉḏṟē taṉṉai uṇarndu oḍuṅgal tāṉē uṇarvu), means “Saying ‘Not weeping for birth even on birthday, cherishing birthday as a festival is infatuation that adorns a dead corpse’, only subsiding being aware of oneself is awareness”, which implies:

Understanding ‘Instead of weeping [or lamenting] for [one’s] birth at least on [one’s] birthday, cherishing [one’s] birthday as a festival is [like] the infatuation [of someone] who adorns [or decorates] a dead corpse’, only subsiding [and dissolving forever in one’s real nature] [by investigating and thereby] being aware of oneself [as one actually is] is [real] awareness.

Explanations and discussions:
2020-12-31: Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ verse 5: real awareness is only being aware of ourself as we actually are and thereby ceasing to rise as ego

வயிற்றின் புகார் (vayiṯṟiṉ pukār): Complaint of the Stomach

Verse 6:

ஒருநா ழிகைவயிறெற் கோய்வீயாய் நாளு
மொருநா ழிகையுண்ப தோயா — யொருநாளு
மென்னோ வறியா யிடும்பைகூ ரென்னுயிரே
யுன்னோடு வாழ்த லரிது.

orunā ṙigaivayiṟeṯ kōyvīyāy nāḷu
morunā ṙigaiyuṇba dōyā — yorunāḷu
meṉṉō vaṟiyā yiḍumbaikū reṉṉuyirē
yuṉṉōḍu vāṙda laridu.

பதச்சேதம்: ஒரு நாழிகை வயிறு எற்கு ஓய்வு ஈயாய்; நாளும் ஒரு நாழிகை உண்பது ஓயாய்; ஒரு நாளும் என் நோவு அறியாய்; இடும்பை கூர் என் உயிரே, உன்னோடு வாழ்தல் அரிது.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): oru nāṙigai vayiṟu eṯku ōyvu īyāy; nāḷum oru nāṙigai uṇbadu ōyāy; oru nāḷum eṉ nōvu aṟiyāy; iḍumbai kūr eṉ uyirē, uṉṉōḍu vāṙdal aridu.

அன்வயம்: இடும்பை கூர் என் உயிரே! வயிறு எற்கு ஒரு நாழிகை ஓய்வு ஈயாய்; நாளும் ஒரு நாழிகை உண்பது ஓயாய்; ஒரு நாளும் என் நோவு அறியாய்; உன்னோடு வாழ்தல் அரிது.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): iḍumbai kūr eṉ uyirē, vayiṟu eṯku oru nāṙigai ōyvu īyāy; nāḷum oru nāṙigai uṇbadu ōyāy; oru nāḷum eṉ nōvu aṟiyāy; uṉṉōḍu vāṙdal aridu.

English translation: My soul, which is acute misery, for one nāḍikā you do not give rest to me, the stomach; for one nāḍikā you do not ever cease eating; even for one day you do not know my suffering; living with you is difficult.

Explanatory paraphrase: My soul, which is [causing me] acute misery, [even] for one nāḍikā [twenty-four minutes] you do not give rest to me, [your] stomach; you do not ever [or on any day] [even] for one nāḍikā cease eating; even for one day [or on any day] you do not know my suffering; living with you is [extremely] difficult.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): ஒரு (oru): one {adjective} | நாழிகை (nāṙikai): a measure of time, one sixtieth of a day, twenty-four minutes {Tamil form of the Sanskrit nāḍikā, one sixtieth of a day} | வயிறு (vayiṟu): stomach | எற்கு (eṯku): to me {a dative (fourth case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | ஓய்வு (ōyvu): rest | ஈயாய் (īyāy): you give not, you do not give {second person singular tenseless negative form of ī, ‘give’, ‘bestow’ or ‘grant’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘ஒரு நாழிகை வயிறு எற்கு ஓய்வு ஈயாய்’ (oru nāṙigai vayiṟu eṯku ōyvu īyāy), means ‘for one nāḍikā you do not give rest to me, the stomach’, which implies:

[Even] for one nāḍikā [twenty-four minutes] you do not give rest to me, [your] stomach.

<<< நாளும் (nāḷum): every day, daily, always. ever | ஒரு (oru): one | நாழிகை (nāṙikai): nāḍikā, twenty-four minutes | உண்பது (uṇbadu): eating {verbal noun} | ஓயாய் (ōyāy): you cease not, you do not cease {second person singular tenseless negative form of ōy, ‘cease’, ‘stop’ or ‘rest’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘நாளும் ஒரு நாழிகை உண்பது ஓயாய்’ (nāḷum oru nāṙigai uṇbadu ōyāy), means ‘for one nāḍikā you do not ever cease eating’, which implies:

You do not ever [or on any day] [even] for one nāḍikā [twenty-four minutes] cease eating.

<<< ஒரு (oru): one, any | நாளும் (nāḷum): even [one] day | என் (eṉ): my {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | நோவு (nōvu): pain, suffering, anguish | அறியாய் (aṟiyāy): you know not, you do not know {second person singular tenseless negative form of aṟi, ‘know’ or ‘be aware of’} >>> so this third sentence, ‘ஒரு நாளும் என் நோவு அறியாய்’ (oru nāḷum eṉ nōvu aṟiyāy), means ‘even for one day you do not know my suffering’, which implies:

Even for one day [or on any day] you do not know my suffering

<<< இடும்பை (iḍumbai): suffering, affliction, distress, misery, evil, harm, injury, disease | கூர் (kūr): sharp, keen, acute, abundant, intense {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘being acute’ or ‘which is acute’} | என் (eṉ): my {as explained above} | உயிரே (uyirē): soul {vocative (eighth case) form of uyir, ‘soul’ or ‘life’} >>> so ‘இடும்பை கூர் என் உயிரே’ (iḍumbai kūr eṉ uyirē) is a vocative phrase that means ‘my soul, which is acute misery’, which implies:

My soul, which is [causing me] acute misery

<<< உன்னோடு (uṉṉōḍu): with you {sociative (third case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | வாழ்தல் (vāṙdal): living {verbal noun} | அரிது (aridu): what is difficult, rare, unattainable >>> so this final clause, ‘உன்னோடு வாழ்தல் அரிது’ (uṉṉōḍu vāṙdal aridu), means ‘living with you is difficult’.

Note: After a big feast in Ramanasramam on citrā-paurṇami (the full moon day between mid-April and mid-May) in 1929, many devotees felt discomfort because of eating too much, and one of them quoted a well-known verse by Auvaiyar (an ancient saint and poetess) in which she sang:

ஒருநா ளுணவை யொழியென்றா லொழியாய்
இருநாளைக் கேலென்றா லேலாய் — ஒருநாளும்
என்னோ வறியா யிடும்பைகூ ரென்வயிறே
உன்னோடு வாழ்த லரிது.

orunā ḷuṇavai yoṙiyeṉḏṟā loṙiyāy
irunāḷaik kēleṉṟā lēlāy — orunāḷum
eṉṉō vaṟiyā yiḍumbaikū reṉvayiṟē
uṉṉōḍu vāṙda laridu.

My stomach, which is [causing me] acute misery, if it is said ‘Give up food for one day’, you do not give up; if it is said ‘Accept [enough food to last] for two days’, you do not accept; even for one day you do not know my suffering; living with you is [extremely] difficult.

Since Auvaiyar was a mendicant, she often had to go without any food for one or more days, so it was reasonable for her to complain to her stomach about its daily need for food, but if someone overeats because of greed, they have no right to complain against their stomach when they consequently feel discomfort. Therefore, when Bhagavan heard that devotee quoting this verse of Auvaiyar after overeating, he adapted her verse as this verse of his, in which he took the side of the stomach complaining against ego, the soul, for greedily overeating.

தற்செயலான தவறுக்கும் இரங்கல் (taṯceyalāṉa tavaṟukkum iraṅgal): Repenting even for an Accidental Mistake

(கொச்சகக் கலிப்பா: koccaka-k-kalippā)

Verse 7:

பச்சிலைகட் கூடே படர்ந்ததங் கூடுலைய
வைச்சிடுகால் வீங்க வரிக்கதண்டு கொட்டிடினும்
தற்செயலாய் நேர்ந்த தவறேனுந் தானிரங்கும்
அச்செயலு மின்றே லவன்மனதின் றன்மையென்னே.

paccilaigaṭ kūḍē paḍarndataṅ kūḍulaiya
vaicciḍukāl vīṅga varikkadaṇḍu koṭṭiḍiṉum
taṯceyalāy nērnda tavaṟēṉun tāṉiraṅgum
acceyalu miṉḏṟē lavaṉmaṉadiṉ ṟaṉmaiyeṉṉē.

பதச்சேதம்: பச்சிலைகட்கு ஊடே படர்ந்த தம் கூடு உலைய வைச்சிடு கால் வீங்க வரிக் கதண்டு கொட்டிடினும், தற்செயலாய் நேர்ந்த தவறு ஏனும், தான் இரங்கும் அச் செயலும் இன்றேல், அவன் மனதின் தன்மை என்னே?

Padacchēdam (word-separation): paccilaigaṭku ūḍē paḍarnda tam kūḍu ulaiya vaicciḍu kāl vīṅga vari-k-kadaṇḍu koṭṭiḍiṉum, taṯceyalāy nērnda tavaṟu ēṉum, tāṉ iraṅgum a-c-ceyalum iṉḏṟēl, avaṉ maṉadiṉ taṉmai eṉṉē?

English translation: Though the swarming hornets stung the leg, which was placed against their nest spread in the midst of green leaves so that it was disturbed, so that it became swollen, though a mistake that happened accidentally, if one did not even feel sorry, what indeed would be the nature of his mind?

Explanatory paraphrase: Though the swarming hornets stung the leg, which was placed against their nest spread [and concealed] in the midst of green leaves so that it [the nest] was disturbed, so that it [the leg] became [inflamed and] swollen, [and] though [disturbing their nest was] a mistake that happened accidentally, if one did not even feel sorry [pity for the hornets and repentant for the trouble caused to them], what indeed would be the nature of his mind [that is, how thoroughly heartless it would be]?

Free paraphrase: Though the swarming hornets stung the leg so that it became inflamed and swollen when it was placed against their nest spread and concealed in the midst of green leaves so that the nest was disturbed, and though disturbing it was a mistake that happened accidentally, if one did not even feel sorry for doing so, what indeed would be the nature of his mind? [How thoroughly heartless it would be?]

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): பச்சிலைகட்கு (paccilaigaṭku): to green leaves {dative (fourth case) form of paccilaigaḷ, plural form of paccilai, ‘green leaf’, ‘tender leaf’ or ‘fresh leaf’, compound of pasu, ‘green’, ‘tender’ or ‘fresh’, and ilai, ‘leaf’} | ஊடே (ūḍē): in the midst {intensified form of ūḍu, ‘middle’, ‘midst’ or ‘what is between’} | படர்ந்த (paḍarnda): spread, which was spread {past adjectival participle} | தம் (tam): their {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of the plural generic pronoun tām, ‘they’} | கூடு (kūḍu): nest, hive | உலைய (ulaiya): to be disturbed, so that it was disturbed {infinitive of ulai, ‘be disordered’, ‘be disturbed’, ‘be dispersed’ or ‘be ruined’} | வைச்சிடு (vaicciḍu): put, place, hit against {root of this verb, a compound of the adverbial participle vaiccu, ‘putting’, ‘placing’ or ‘keeping’, and the intensifying verb iḍu, ‘put’, ‘keep’ or ‘hit against’, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘placed against’ or ‘which was placed against’} >>> so ‘பச்சிலைகட்கு ஊடே படர்ந்த தம் கூடு உலைய வைச்சிடு’ (paccilaigaṭku ūḍē paḍarnda tam kūḍu ulaiya vaicciḍu) is an adjectival (or relative) clause that means ‘which was placed against their nest spread in the midst of green leaves so that it was disturbed’ <<< கால் (kāl): leg | வீங்க (vīṅga): to swell, to become inflamed and swollen, so that it became swollen {infinitive of vīṅgu, ‘swell’ or ‘become inflamed and swollen’} | வரி (vari): swarm {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘swarming’} | கதண்டு (kadaṇḍu): hornets | கொட்டிடினும் (koṭṭiḍiṉum): though [they] stung >>> so ‘கால் வீங்க வரிக்கதண்டு கொட்டிடினும்’ (kāl vīṅga vari-k-kadaṇḍu koṭṭiḍiṉum) means ‘Though the swarming hornets stung the leg so that it became inflamed and swollen’, and hence these first two lines, ‘பச்சிலைகட்கு ஊடே படர்ந்த தம் கூடு உலைய வைச்சிடு கால் வீங்க வரிக்கதண்டு கொட்டிடினும்’ (paccilaigaṭku ūḍē paḍarnda tam kūḍu ulaiya vaicciḍu kāl vīṅga vari-k-kadaṇḍu koṭṭiḍiṉum), are a clause that means ‘Though the swarming hornets stung the leg, which was placed against their nest spread in the midst of green leaves so that it was disturbed, so that it became inflamed and swollen’, which implies:

Though the swarming hornets stung the leg, which was placed against their nest spread [and concealed] in the midst of green leaves so that it [the nest] was disturbed, so that it [the leg] became inflamed and swollen,

<<< தற்செயலாய் (taṯceyalāy): self-doingly, of its own accord, accidentally {adverb, compound of taṉ, ‘self-’, seyal, ‘doing’, and the adverbial suffix āy, ‘-ly’} | நேர்ந்த (nērnda): that happened {past adjectival participle} | தவறு (tavaṟu): mistake, error, fault, wrong | ஏனும் (ēṉum): though >>> so ‘தற்செயலாய் நேர்ந்த தவறு ஏனும்’ (taṯceyalāy nērnda tavaṟu ēṉum) means ‘though a mistake that happened accidentally’ <<< தான் (tāṉ): oneself, one, he {generic pronoun} | இரங்கும் (iraṅgum): feeling pity, feeling sorry, lamenting, repenting {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | அச்செயலும் (a-c-ceyalum): even that doing {so ‘iraṅgum a-c-ceyalum’ refers to the act of feeling sorry and means ‘even feel sorry’} | இன்றேல் (iṉḏṟēl): if not >>> so ‘தான் இரங்கும் அச் செயலும் இன்றேல்’ (tāṉ iraṅgum a-c-ceyalum iṉḏṟēl) means ‘if one does not even feel sorry’ or ‘if one did not even feel sorry’ <<< அவன் (avaṉ): he, his {nominative (first case) form and inflectional base of the third person masculine pronoun, used here in a genitive (sixth case) sense} | மனதின் (maṉadiṉ): of mind {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of maṉadu, a Tamil form of the Sanskrit manas, ‘mind’} | தன்மை (taṉmai): nature | என்னே (eṉṉē): what indeed {intensified form of eṉ, ‘what’} >>> so ‘அவன் மனதின் தன்மை என்னே’ (avaṉ maṉadiṉ taṉmai eṉṉē) is a question that means ‘what indeed is the nature of his mind?’ or ‘what indeed would be the nature of his mind?’, and hence ‘தற்செயலாய் நேர்ந்த தவறு ஏனும், தான் இரங்கும் அச் செயலும் இன்றேல், அவன் மனதின் தன்மை என்னே’ (taṯceyalāy nērnda tavaṟu ēṉum, tāṉ iraṅgum a-c-ceyalum iṉḏṟēl, avaṉ maṉadiṉ taṉmai eṉṉē) means ‘though a mistake that happened accidentally, if one did not even feel sorry, what indeed would be the nature of his mind?’, which implies:

though [disturbing their nest was] a mistake that happened accidentally, if one did not even feel sorry [pity for the hornets and repentant for the trouble caused to them], what indeed would be the nature of his mind [that is, how thoroughly heartless it would be]?

Explanatory note: One day in about 1906 when Bhagavan was wandering alone high up on the northern slopes of Arunachala, he saw in the distance a very large banyan tree. While climbing higher to see it more closely, he walked up for some distance along the bed of a dry stream, and as he climbed out of that streambed his left thigh brushed against the dense foliage of a bush, in which some hornets had made their nest, and thus he accidentally damaged it. A swarm of angry hornets immediately emerged from it and began to sting him repeatedly and ferociously, but only on the thigh that had disturbed their nest. Seeing that he had unknowingly disturbed them and feeling pity for them, he calmly stood still and patiently allowed them to vent their anger on his thigh, thinking ‘For doing such harm, this is necessary, so let them do so’.

Regarding this, many years later Muruganar composed the following verse:

பச்சையிலைத் தூறு படர்ந்தபுத ரென்றெண்ணி
வைச்சிடுகால் வீங்க வரிக்கதண்டு கொட்டலுமே
நிச்சயமாய் வேங்கடநின் னெஞ்சொப்பிச் செய்தாற்போற்
றற்செயலாய் நேர்ந்த தவற்றுக் கிரங்கலென்னே.

paccaiyilait tūṟu paḍarndapuda reṉḏṟeṇṇi
vaicciḍukāl vīṅga varikkadaṇḍu koṭṭalumē
niccayamāy vēṅkaṭaniṉ ṉeñjoppic ceydāṯpōṯ
ṟaṯceyalāy nērnda tavaṯṟuk kiraṅgaleṉṉē.

பதச்சேதம்: பச்சை இலைத் தூறு படர்ந்த புதர் என்று எண்ணி வைச்சிடு கால் வீங்க வரிக் கதண்டு கொட்டலுமே. நிச்சயமாய் வேங்கட நின் நெஞ்சு ஒப்பிச் செய்தால்போல் தற்செயலாய் நேர்ந்த தவற்றுக்கு இரங்கல் என்னே?

Padacchēdam (word-separation): paccai ilia-t tūṟu paḍarnda pudar eṉḏṟu eṇṇi vaicciḍu kāl vīṅga vari-k-kadaṇḍu koṭṭalumē. niccayamāy vēṅkaṭa niṉ neñju oppi-c ceydālpōl taṯceyalāy nērnda tavaṯṟukku iraṅgal eṉṉē?

English translation: The swarming hornets stung the leg, which was placed thinking ‘a bush spread in a thicket of green leaves’, so that it became swollen. Venkata, why was your heart repenting for the mistake that happened accidentally, accepting as if done deliberately?

Explanatory paraphrase: The swarming hornets stung [your] leg, which was placed [against the bush] thinking [it to be just] a bush spread in a thicket of green leaves [not knowing that those leaves concealed a hornet nest], so that it [your leg] became [inflamed and] swollen. Venkata [Bhagavan Ramana], why was your heart repenting for the mistake that happened accidentally, accepting as if [you had] done [it] deliberately?

In answer to this question, which is now verse 815 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, Bhagavan composed this verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, which is also verse Bhagavan-16 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Thus through this verse, as well as through the example that he set us, Bhagavan teaches us that if we do any wrong accidentally, particularly if we thereby inadvertently cause any kind of harm to any sentient beings, we should feel sorry for doing so and pity for those we have harmed, and should therefore wholeheartedly accept and experience the consequences of our actions, whatever they may be, and should not try to escape those consequences by making excuses, saying that it happened accidentally and was not done knowingly or deliberately.

பேதைமை (pēdaimai): Folly

(வெண்பா: veṇbā)

Verse 8:

இந்திர ஜாலிகனுந் தான்மயக்க மெய்தாம
லிந்தவுல கர்க்குமய லேய்விப்பான் — மைந்தனே
சித்தனோ தான்மயங்கிச் சேர்க்குமய லிவ்வுலகர்க்
கெத்தனை விந்தை யிது.

indira jālikaṉun tāṉmayakka meydāma
lindavula harkkumaya lēyvippāṉ — maindaṉē
siddhaṉō tāṉmayaṅgic cērkkumaya livvulahark
kettaṉai vindai yidu.

பதச்சேதம்: இந்திரஜாலிகனும் தான் மயக்கம் எய்தாமல், இந்த உலகர்க்கு மயல் ஏய்விப்பான்; மைந்தனே, சித்தனோ தான் மயங்கி சேர்க்கும் மயல் இவ் உலகர்க்கு. எத்தனை விந்தை இது!

Padacchēdam (word-separation): indirajālikaṉum tāṉ mayakkam eydāmal, inda ulaharkku mayal ēyvippāṉ; maindaṉē, siddhaṉō tāṉ mayaṅgi sērkkum mayal i-vv-ulaharkku. ettaṉai vindai idu!

அன்வயம்: இந்திரஜாலிகனும் தான் மயக்கம் எய்தாமல், இந்த உலகர்க்கு மயல் ஏய்விப்பான்; மைந்தனே, சித்தனோ தான் மயங்கி இவ் உலகர்க்கு மயல் சேர்க்கும். இது எத்தனை விந்தை!

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): indirajālikaṉum tāṉ mayakkam eydāmal, inda ulaharkku mayal ēyvippāṉ; maindaṉē, siddhaṉō tāṉ mayaṅgi i-vv-ulaharkku mayal sērkkum. idu ettaṉai vindai!

English translation: Even a conjurer will delude these people of the world without himself being deluded, son, whereas a siddha will delude these people of the world, being himself deluded. How much wonder this is!

Explanatory paraphrase: Even an indrajālika [a conjurer, street magician or illusionist who performs tricks for public entertainment] will delude these people of the world without himself being deluded [by his own tricks], [my] son, whereas a siddha [who uses supernatural powers] will delude these people of the world, [while also] being himself deluded [believing such powers and their effects to be real]. What a great wonder this is!

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): இந்திரஜாலிகனும் (indirajālikaṉum): even a conjurer {indirajālikaṉ is a Tamil form of the Sanskrit indrajālika, ‘conjurer’, ‘magician’ or ‘illusionist’, and in this context the suffix um means ‘even’} | தான் (tāṉ): himself {generic pronoun} | மயக்கம் (mayakkam): delusion | எய்தாமல் (eydāmal): not acquiring, without acquiring {negative adverbial participle} | இந்த (inda): this, these {proximal demonstrative pronoun} | உலகர்க்கு (ulaharkku): to people of the world {dative (fourth case) form of ulahar, ‘world-people’, ‘people of the world’ or ‘worldly people’ (plural personal noun formed from ulaham, ‘world’)} | மயல் (mayal): delusion | ஏய்விப்பான் (ēyvippāṉ): will cause to be suited {masculine third person singular future form of ēyvi, ‘cause to be suited’ (causative form of ēy, ‘be suited’ or ‘be fit’)} >>> since ‘தான் மயக்கம் எய்தாமல்’ (tāṉ mayakkam eydāmal), ‘without himself acquiring delusion’, implies ‘without himself being deluded’, and since ‘இந்த உலகர்க்கு மயல் ஏய்விப்பான்’ (inda ulaharkku mayal ēyvippāṉ), ‘will cause delusion to be suited to these people of the world’, implies ‘will delude these people of the world’, this first sentence, ‘இந்திரஜாலிகனும் தான் மயக்கம் எய்தாமல், இந்த உலகர்க்கு மயல் ஏய்விப்பான்’ (indirajālikaṉum tāṉ mayakkam eydāmal, inda ulaharkku mayal ēyvippāṉ), means ‘Even a conjurer will delude these people of the world without himself being deluded’, which implies:

Even an indrajālika [a conjurer, street magician or illusionist who performs tricks for public entertainment] will delude these people of the world without himself being deluded [by his own tricks].

<<< மைந்தனே (maindaṉē): son, O son {vocative (eighth case) form of maindaṉ, ‘son’, ‘young man’, ‘disciple’ or ‘student’} | சித்தனோ (siddhaṉō): whereas a siddha {compound of siddhaṉ, Tamil form of the Sanskrit siddha, ‘one who has accomplished’ (which in this context implies a person who has acquired supernatural powers), and the contrastive suffix ō, ‘whereas’} | தான் (tāṉ): himself {generic pronoun} | மயங்கி (mayaṅgi): being deluded {adverbial participle} | சேர்க்கும் (sērkkum): will join {neuter third person future form of sēr, ‘join’, ‘attach’, ‘tie’, ‘construct’ or ‘make’} | மயல் (mayal): delusion | இவ்வுலகர்க்கு (i-vv-ulaharkku): to these people of the world {compound of the proximal demonstrative suffix i, ‘this’ or ‘these’, and ulaharkku, dative (fourth case) form of ulahar, as explained above} >>> since ‘சேர்க்கும் மயல் இவ்வுலகர்க்கு’ (sērkkum mayal i-vv-ulaharkku), ‘will join delusion to these people of the world’, implies ‘will delude these people of the world’, this second sentence, ‘மைந்தனே, சித்தனோ தான் மயங்கி சேர்க்கும் மயல் இவ்வுலகர்க்கு’ (maindaṉē, siddhaṉō tāṉ mayaṅgi sērkkum mayal i-vv-ulaharkku), means ‘son, whereas a siddha will delude these people of the world, being himself deluded’, which implies:

[my] son, whereas a siddha [who uses supernatural powers] will delude these people of the world, [while also] being himself deluded [believing such powers and their effects to be real].

<<< எத்தனை (ettaṉai): what quantity, what measure, what extent, how much {compound of the interrogative suffix e, ‘what’ or ‘which’, and taṉai, a particle denoting quantity or extent} | விந்தை (vindai): wonder | இது (idu): this {proximal demonstrative pronoun} >>> so this final sentence, ‘எத்தனை விந்தை இது’ (ettaṉai vindai idu), is an exclamation that means ‘How much wonder this is’, which implies:

What a great wonder this is!

Note: This verse is Bhagavan’s adaptation of the following verse of Rāma Gītā:

ऐन्द्रजालिककर्ताऽपि भ्रान्तान्भ्रमयति स्वयम् ।
अभ्रान्त एव सिद्धस्तु स्वभ्रान्तो भ्रमयन्यहो ॥

aindrajālikakartā’pi bhrāntānbhramayati svayam ।
abhrānta ēva siddhastu svabhrāntō bhramayanyahō ॥

(குறள்: kuṟaḷ)

Verse 9:

தின்றமல மாக்குமல தேகோகர் பவ்வீதின்
பன்றியினுங் கேடாப் பகர்.

tiṉḏṟamala mākkumala dēhōhar pavvītiṉ
paṉḏṟiyiṉuṅ kēḍāp pahar.

பதச்சேதம்: தின்று அமலம் ஆக்கும் மல[ம்] தேகோகர் பவ்வீ தின் பன்றியினும் கேடா பகர்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): tiṉḏṟu amalam ākkum mala[m] dēhōhar pavvī tiṉ paṉḏṟiyiṉum kēḍā pahar.

அன்வயம்: அமலம் தின்று மல[ம்] ஆக்கும் தேகோகர் பவ்வீ தின் பன்றியினும் கேடா பகர்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): amalam tiṉḏṟu mala[m] ākkum dēhōhar pavvī tiṉ paṉḏṟiyiṉum kēḍā pahar.

English translation: Declare those who take as ‘I’ a body, which eating what is pure produces filth, to be worse than a pig that eats faeces.

Explanatory paraphrase: Declare that those who take as ‘I’ a [human] body, which eating what is pure [but then transforming it] produces filth, are worse than a pig that eats faeces.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): தின்று (tiṉḏṟu): eating, consuming, having eaten {adverbial participle} | அமலம் (amalam): the pure, what is pure {noun, Tamil form of the Sanskrit amala, ‘spotless’, ‘immaculate’ or ‘purity’, antonym of mala (see below)} | ஆக்கும் (ākkum): making, producing, creating, changing, converting, which produces {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | மலம் (malam): filth {noun, Tamil form of the Sanskrit mala, ‘filth’, ‘dirt’, ‘faeces’ or ‘impurity’} | தேகோகர் (dēhōhar): those who take a body to be ‘I’ {Tamil plural personal form of dēhōham, ‘the body is I’, a Sanskrit compound of dēham, ‘body’, and aham, ‘I’} >>> so ‘தின்று அமலம் ஆக்கும் மல[ம்] தேகோகர்’ (tiṉḏṟu amalam ākkum mala[m] dēhōhar), which in natural prose order would be ‘அமலம் தின்று மல[ம்] ஆக்கும் தேகோகர்’ (amalam tiṉḏṟu mala[m] ākkum dēhōhar), is a noun phrace that means ‘those who take as ‘I’ a body, which eating what is pure produces filth’, which implies:

those who take as ‘I’ a [human] body, which eating what is pure [but then transforming it] produces filth

<<< பவ்வீ (pavvī): faeces | தின் (tiṉ): eat, consume {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘which eats’} | பன்றியினும் (paṉḏṟiyiṉum): than a pig {paṉḏṟiyiṉ is the inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of paṉḏṟi, ‘pig’, and when the suffix um is appended to it, it becomes a comparative form, ‘than a pig’} | கேடா (kēḍā): to be worse {compound of kēḍu, ‘ruin’, ‘destruction’, ‘destitution’, ‘evil’ or ‘badness’, and the adverbial suffix ā, ‘being’, ‘as’ or ‘to be’} | பகர் (pahar): say, declare {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} >>> so ‘தேகோகர் பவ்வீ தின் பன்றியினும் கேடா பகர்’ (dēhōhar pavvī tiṉ paṉḏṟiyiṉum kēḍā pahar) means ‘declare those who take a body to be ‘I’ to be worse than a pig, which eats faeces’, and hence the entire verse, ‘தின்று அமலம் ஆக்கும் மல[ம்] தேகோகர் பவ்வீ தின் பன்றியினும் கேடா பகர்’ (tiṉḏṟu amalam ākkum mala[m] dēhōhar pavvī tiṉ paṉḏṟiyiṉum kēḍā pahar), means ‘Declare those who take as ‘I’ a body, which eating what is pure produces filth, to be worse than a pig that eats faeces’, which implies:

Declare that those who take as ‘I’ a [human] body, which eating what is pure [but then transforming it] produces filth, are worse than a pig that eats faeces.

Note: In this verse, which is also verse Bhagavan-10 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai, he expresses in a more succinct manner the same teaching of his that Muruganar had recorded in verse 682 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Verse 10:

உய்ந்தான்றான் மன்னுயிர்க ளுய்விப்பா னன்னியனோ
அந்தனுக்கந் தன்றுணையா மாறு.

uyndāṉḏṟāṉ maṉṉuyirga ḷuyvippā ṉaṉṉiyaṉō
andhaṉukkan dhaṉḏṟuṇaiyā māṟu.

பதச்சேதம்: உய்ந்தான் தான் மன்னுயிர்கள் உய்விப்பான்; அன்னியனோ அந்தனுக்கு அந்தன் துணை ஆம் ஆறு.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): uyndāṉ-tāṉ maṉṉuyirgaḷ uyvippāṉ; aṉṉiyaṉō andhaṉukku andhaṉ tuṇai ām āṟu.

அன்வயம்: உய்ந்தான் தான் மன்னுயிர்கள் உய்விப்பான்; அன்னியனோ அந்தனுக்கு அந்தன் துணை ஆறு ஆம்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): uyndāṉ-tāṉ maṉṉuyirgaḷ uyvippāṉ; aṉṉiyaṉō andhaṉukku andhaṉ tuṇai āṟu ām.

English translation: Only one who has been saved will save souls, whereas anyone else will be like the guidance of a blind person for a blind person.

Explanatory paraphrase: Only one who has been saved [by subsiding and dissolving forever back into the infinite silence of pure being-awareness] will [be able to] save souls, whereas anyone else will be like the guidance [help or assistance] a blind person [tries to give] to [another] blind person [in other words, they will be like the blind leading the blind].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): உய்ந்தான்றான் (uyndāṉḏṟāṉ): only he who is saved {compound of uyndāṉ, ‘he who has been saved’ (masculine third person singular pronominal noun formed from uynda [past adjectival participle of uy, ‘be saved’], but since the masculine form is used here generically in a gender-neutral sense, it implies ‘one who has been saved’), and the intensifying suffix tāṉ, which here means ‘alone’ or ‘only’} | மன்னுயிர்கள் (maṉṉuyirgaḷ): souls, living beings {plural of maṉṉuyir, ‘soul’, ‘living being’ or ‘humanity’, compound of maṉṉu, a verb that means ‘endure’, and uyir, ‘life’ or ‘soul’} | உய்விப்பான் (uyvippāṉ): will save, will cause to be saved {masculine (but used generically in a gender-neutral sense) third person singular future form of uyvi, ‘save’, causative form of uy, ‘be saved’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘உய்ந்தான் தான் மன்னுயிர்கள் உய்விப்பான்’ (uyndāṉ-tāṉ maṉṉuyirgaḷ uyvippāṉ), means ‘Only one who has been saved will save souls’, which implies:

Only one who has been saved [by subsiding and dissolving forever back into the infinite silence of pure being-awareness] will [be able to] save souls.

<<< அன்னியனோ (aṉṉiyaṉō): whereas anyone else {compound of aṉṉiyaṉ, ‘another’ or ‘someone else’ (personal form of aṉṉiyam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit anya, ‘other’), and the contrastive suffix ō, ‘whereas’} | அந்தனுக்கு (andhaṉukku): to a blind person, for a blind person {dative (fourth case) form of andhaṉ, Tamil personal form of the Sanskrit andha, ‘blind’ (used both literally and metaphorically, so in the latter sense implying spiritually, morally or intellectually blind, ignorant or foolish)} | அந்தன் (andhaṉ): blind person | துணை (tuṇai): help, assistance, guidance | ஆம் (ām): will be, is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) third person neuter form of ā, ‘be’} | ஆறு (āṟu): river, road, way, means, manner, mode, nature (used here in the sense of ‘like’) >>> so this second sentence, ‘அன்னியனோ அந்தனுக்கு அந்தன் துணை ஆம் ஆறு’ (aṉṉiyaṉō andhaṉukku andhaṉ tuṇai ām āṟu), means ‘whereas anyone else will be like the guidance of a blind person for a blind person’, which implies:

whereas anyone else will be like the guidance [help or assistance] a blind person [tries to give] to [another] blind person.

Note: In this verse, which is also verse Bhagavan-15 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai, he expresses in a more succinct manner the same teaching of his that Muruganar had recorded in verse 802 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

சற்சங்கம் (sat-saṅgam): Association with Being

Verse 11:

சாதுறவா லுட்டெளிவாய்ச் சாருளவிற் சார்பதமில்
போதகனூற் புண்ணியத்தாற் போ.

sādhuṟavā luṭṭeḷivāyc cāruḷaviṯ cārpadamil
bōdhakaṉūṯ puṇṇiyattāṯ pō.

பதச்சேதம்: சாது உறவால் உள் தெளிவாய் சார் உளவில் சார் பதம் இல் போதகன், நூல், புண்ணியத்தால். போ.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): sādhu uṟavāl uḷ teḷivāy sār uḷavil sār padam il bōdhakaṉ, nūl, puṇṇiyattāl. pō.

அன்வயம்: சாது உறவால் உள் தெளிவாய் சார் உளவில் சார் பதம் போதகன், நூல், புண்ணியத்தால் இல். போ.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): sādhu uṟavāl uḷ teḷivāy sār uḷavil sār padam bōdhakaṉ, nūl, puṇṇiyattāl il. pō.

English translation: The state that is reached in the inward-looking means, which clearly arises within by sādhu-association, is not by teachers, texts or good deeds. Go.

Explanatory paraphrase: The state [of knowing and being what one actually is], which is reached [or achieved] in the inward-looking means [namely self-investigation], which clearly arises within by [because of or as a result of] sādhu-association, is not [reached or achieved] by [any other means such as] teachers, [sacred] texts or good deeds. [Understanding this to be the case, stop looking outside, and instead] go [back within].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): சாது (sādhu): sādhu [benevolent person, implying in this context jñāni, one who knows and abides as sat, pure being] | உறவால் (uṟavāl): by relationship, by friendship, by association {instrumental (third case) form of uṟavu, ‘relationship’, ‘friendship’, ‘intimacy’ or ‘love’} | உள் (uḷ): inside, within | தெளிவாய் (teḷivāy): being clear, as clear, clearly {compound of teḷivu, ‘clarity’, and the adverbial suffix āy, which as an adverbial participle means ‘being’ or ‘as’, but which is often appended to nouns to form adverbs in the same way that adverbs are formed from adjectives in English by appending the suffix ‘-ly’} | சார் (sār): reach, achieve {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle meaning ‘which is reached’, ‘which is achieved’ or ‘which arises’} >>> so ‘சாது உறவால் உள் தெளிவாய் சார்’ (sādhu uṟavāl uḷ teḷivāy sār) is a relative clause that means ‘which clearly arises within by sādhu-association’, which implies:

which clearly arises within by [because of or as a result of] sādhu-association

<<< உளவில் (uḷavil): in the inward-looking means {locative (seventh case) form of uḷavu (a noun derived from uḷ, ‘inside’), which means ‘what is internal’, ‘what is secret’, ‘what is private’, ‘espionage’, ‘spying’, ‘prying’, ‘looking inside’, ‘internal or secret means’} | சார் (sār): reach, achieve {as explained above} | பதம் (padam): state >>> so ‘உளவில் சார் பதம்’ (uḷavil sār padam) is a noun phrase (the subject of this sentence) that means ‘the state that is reached in the inward-looking means’, which implies:

the state [of knowing and being what one actually is], which is reached [or achieved] in the inward-looking means [namely self-investigation]

<<< இல் (il): is not | போதகனூற்புண்ணியத்தால் (bōdhakaṉūṯpuṇṇiyattāl): by teachers, texts or good deeds {instrumental (third case) form of bōdhakaṉūṯpuṇṇiyam (which when split becomes bōdhakaṉ-nūl-puṇṇiyam), a compound of bōdhaka, ‘teacher’ or ‘religious preceptor’, nūl, ‘text’, ‘treatise’ or ‘book’, and puṇṇiyam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit puṇya, ‘purity’, ‘virtue’, ‘virtuous actions’, ‘good deeds’ or ‘karmic merit’ (merit earned by doing good actions)} >>> so ‘இல் போதகன் நூல் புண்ணியத்தால்’ (il bōdhakaṉ-nūl-puṇṇiyattāl) is the predicate of this sentence and means ‘is not by teachers, texts or good deeds’, which implies:

is not [reached or achieved] by [any other means such as] teachers, [sacred] texts or good deeds.

<<< போ (pō): go {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} >>> so ‘போ’ (pō) is an order that means ‘go’, which in this context implies:

[Understanding this to be the case, stop looking outside, and instead] go [back within].

Note: In this verse Bhagavan expresses in a more succinct manner the same idea that he expressed in verse 2 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham, and he adapted both these verses from Yōga Vāsiṣṭham 5.12.17:

न तद्गुरोर्न शास्त्रार्थान्न पुण्यात्प्राप्यते पदम् ।
यत्साधुसङ्गाभ्युदितात् विचार विशदा धृतः ॥

na tadgurōrna śāstrārthānna puṇyātprāpyatē padam ।
yatsādhusaṅgābhyuditāt vicāra viśadā dhṛtaḥ ॥

Explanations and discussions:
2024-05-27: The inward-looking practice of self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) clearly arises within by sādhu-association

அறிவறியாமை (aṟivaṟiyāmai): Knowledge and Ignorance

(வெண்பா: veṇbā)

Verse 12:

ஞானமொன் றேயுண்மை நானாவாய்க் காண்கின்ற
ஞானமன்றி யின்றாமஞ் ஞானந்தான் — ஞானமாந்
தன்னையன்றி யின்றணிக டாம்பலவும் பொய்மெய்யாம்
பொன்னையன்றி யுண்டோ புகல்.

ñāṉamoṉ ḏṟēyuṇmai nāṉāvāyk kāṇgiṉḏṟa
ñāṉamaṉḏṟi yiṉḏṟāmañ ñāṉandāṉ — ñāṉamān
daṉṉaiyaṉḏṟi yiṉḏṟaṇiga ḍāmbalavum boymeyyām
poṉṉaiyaṉḏṟi yuṇḍō puhal.

பதச்சேதம்: ஞானம் ஒன்றே உண்மை. நானாவாய் காண்கின்ற ஞானம் அன்றி இன்று ஆம் அஞ்ஞானம் தான் ஞானம் ஆம் தன்னை அன்றி இன்று. அணிகள் தாம் பலவும் பொய்; மெய் ஆம் பொன்னை அன்றி உண்டோ? புகல்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ñāṉam oṉḏṟē uṇmai. nāṉā-v-āy kāṇgiṉḏṟa ñāṉam aṉḏṟi iṉḏṟu ām aññāṉam-tāṉ ñāṉam ām taṉṉai aṉḏṟi iṉḏṟu. aṇigaḷ-tām palavum poy; mey ām poṉṉai aṉḏṟi uṇḍō? puhal.

English translation: Awareness alone is real. Ignorance, which is not other than awareness that sees as many, itself is not other than oneself, who is awareness. All the many ornaments are unreal; are they other than gold, which is real? Say.

Explanatory paraphrase: Jñāna [pure awareness] alone is real. Ajñāna [ignorance], which is not other than [or does not exist besides or except as] jñāna [awareness] that sees [the one real jñāna] as nānā [manifold or diverse], itself is not other than [or does not exist besides or except as] oneself, who is [real] awareness. All the many ornaments are unreal; are they other than [or do they exist besides or except as] gold, which is real? Say.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): ஞானம் (ñāṉam): awareness {Tamil form of the Sanskrit jñāna, ‘knowledge’ or ‘awareness’, used here in the sense of pure awareness} | ஒன்றே (oṉḏṟē): alone, only {intensified form of oṉḏṟu, ‘one’, an emphatic term meaning ‘only’ or ‘alone’} | உண்மை (uṇmai): real, true {etymologically a compound of uḷ, the root of a verb meaning ‘be’, and the suffix mai, ‘-ness’, so uṇmai means ‘be-ness’, thereby implying what actually is, and hence meaning what is real or true} >>> so this first sentence, ‘ஞானம் ஒன்றே உண்மை’ (ñāṉam oṉḏṟē uṇmai), means ‘Awareness alone is real’, which implies:

Jñāna [pure awareness] alone is real.

<<< நானாவாய் (nāṉā-v-āy): as many {compound of nāṉā, ‘many’ or ‘diverse’, Tamil form of the Sanskrit nānā, ‘manifold’, ‘various’, ‘different’ or ‘diverse’, and the adverbial suffix āy, ‘being’ or ‘as’} | காண்கின்ற (kāṇgiṉḏṟa): which sees {present adjectival participle} | ஞானம் (ñāṉam): awareness | அன்றி (aṉḏṟi): besides, except, other than, except as, apart from, but for, without | இன்றாம் (iṉḏṟām): which is not, which does not exist {compound of iṉḏṟu, ‘not being’ (adverbial participle of il, a symbolic verb that denies existence), and ām, ‘which is’ (adjectival participle)} | அஞ்ஞானந்தான் (aññāṉan-dāṉ): ignorance itself {compound of aññāṉam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit ajñāna, ‘ignorance’, and the intensifying suffix tāṉ, which in this case means ‘itself’} | ஞானம் (ñāṉam): awareness | ஆம் (ām): being, which is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | தன்னை (taṉṉai): oneself {accusative (second case) form of the generic pronoun tāṉ, ‘oneself’} | அன்றி (aṉḏṟi): besides, other than, except as | இன்று (iṉḏṟu): is not, does not exist {neuter third person singular form of il, a symbolic verb that denies existence (as opposed to al, which denies identity)} >>> so this second sentence, ‘நானாவாய் காண்கின்ற ஞானம் அன்றி இன்று ஆம் அஞ்ஞானம் தான் ஞானம் ஆம் தன்னை அன்றி இன்று’ (nāṉā-v-āy kāṇgiṉḏṟa ñāṉam aṉḏṟi iṉḏṟu ām aññāṉam-tāṉ ñāṉam ām taṉṉai aṉḏṟi iṉḏṟu), means ‘Ignorance, which is not other than awareness that sees as many, itself is not other than oneself, who is awareness’, which implies:

Ajñāna [ignorance], which is not other than [or does not exist besides or except as] jñāna [awareness] that sees [the one real jñāna] as nānā [manifold or diverse], itself is not other than [or does not exist besides or except as] oneself, who is [real] awareness.

<<< அணிகடாம் (aṇigaḍām): ornaments {compound of aṇigaḷ, ‘ornaments’ (plural of aṇi, ‘decoration’, ‘ornament’ or ‘jewellery’, but here referring to ornaments made only of gold), and tām, ‘they’, third person plural pronoun, used here as a poetic filler and therefore having no separate syntactic function} | பலவும் (palavum): all the many {compound of pala, ‘many’, and the suffix um, which here implies completeness, wholeness, universality, totality or entirety} | பொய் (poy): unreal {antonym of mey, ‘real’} >>> so this third sentence, ‘அணிகள் தாம் பலவும் பொய்’ (aṇigaḷ-tām palavum poy), means:

All the many ornaments are unreal.

<<< மெய் (mey): real | ஆம் (ām): being, which is {adjectival participle, as explained above} | பொன்னை (poṉṉai): gold | அன்றி (aṉḏṟi): besides, other than, except as, but for, without | உண்டோ (uṇḍō): are there {interrogative form of uṇḍu, ‘there are’, used here in the sense ‘are they’ or ‘do they exist’} >>> so this fourth sentence, ‘மெய் ஆம் பொன்னை அன்றி உண்டோ?’ (mey ām poṉṉai aṉḏṟi uṇḍō?), is a rhetorical question that means ‘are they other than gold, which is real?’, which implies:

are they other than [or do they exist besides or except as] gold, which is real?

<<< புகல் (puhal): say {root of this verb, used here as an imperative}

Note: Bhagavan composed this verse on the 30th July 1928, and later the same day he modified it to form what is now verse 13 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu. When we read these two verses together, it is clear that in the second sentence of that verse, ‘நானாவாம் ஞானம் அஞ்ஞானம் ஆம்’ (nāṉā-v-ām ñāṉam aññāṉam ām), ‘jñāna [knowledge or awareness] that is manifold is ajñāna [ignorance]’, what he meant by ‘நானாவாம் ஞானம்’ (nāṉā-v-ām ñāṉam), ‘jñāna that is manifold’, is what he described in this verse as ‘நானாவாய் காண்கின்ற ஞானம்’ (nāṉā-v-āy kāṇgiṉḏṟa ñāṉam), ‘jñāna [awareness] that sees as nānā [manifold or diverse]’, namely ego, which is the false awareness that sees the one real awareness as all the manifold phenomena that constitute the mind and world.

Explanations and discussions:
2023-07-27: Since what actually exists is only one, namely ourself as pure awareness, knowing, seeing or being aware of this one as many is ignorance
2020-03-09: Awareness of multiplicity is ignorance, and though it is unreal, in substance it is not other than oneself, who is real awareness
2019-03-31: So long as we see many people we are seeing from the perspective of ajñāna, so regarding some people as jñānis and others as ajñānis is itself ajñāna, because from the perspective of jñāna, there are no jñānis or ajñānis but only jñāna
2019-02-20: The awareness that sees as many is ego, and what it sees as many is the one thing that actually exists, namely ‘ஞானமாம் தான்’ (ñāṉam-ām tāṉ), ‘oneself, who is awareness’, which is its own real nature (ātma-svarūpa)
2018-11-08: What Bhagavan refers to in both these phrases, ‘நானாவாம் ஞானம்’ (nāṉā-v-ām ñāṉam), ‘awareness that is manifold’, and ‘நானாவாய் காண்கின்ற ஞானம்’ (nāṉā-v-āy kāṇgiṉḏṟa ñāṉam), ‘awareness that sees as manifold’, is ego, because it is the awareness that sees the one real awareness as both itself, the perceiver, and all the many phenomena perceived by it
2015-09-22: Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ verse 12: being aware of multiplicity is ignorance

காலம் (kālam): Time

Verse 13:

நாமன்றி நாளேது நாநம்மை நாடாது
நாமுடலென் றெண்ணினமை நாளுண்ணு — நாமுடம்போ
நாமின்று சென்றவரு நாளென்று மொன்றதனா
னாமுண்டு நாளுண்ட நாம்.

nāmaṉḏṟi nāḷēdu nānammai nāḍādu
nāmuḍaleṉ ḏṟeṇṇiṉamai nāḷuṇṇu — nāmuḍambō
nāmiṉḏṟu seṉḏṟavaru nāḷeṉḏṟu moṉḏṟadaṉā
ṉāmuṇḍu nāḷuṇḍa nām.

பதச்சேதம்: நாம் அன்றி நாள் ஏது? நாம் நம்மை நாடாது ‘நாம் உடல்’ என்று எண்ணில், நமை நாள் உண்ணும். நாம் உடம்போ? நாம் இன்று, சென்ற, வரு நாள் என்றும் ஒன்று. அதனால் நாம் உண்டு, நாள் உண்ட நாம்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): nām aṉḏṟi nāḷ ēdu? nām nammai nāḍādu ‘nām uḍal’ eṉḏṟu eṇṇil, namai nāḷ uṇṇum. nām uḍambō? nām iṉḏṟu, seṉḏṟa, varu nāḷ eṉḏṟum oṉḏṟu. adaṉāl nām uṇḍu, nāḷ uṇḍa nām.

அன்வயம்: நாம் அன்றி நாள் ஏது? நாம் நம்மை நாடாது ‘நாம் உடல்’ என்று எண்ணில், நமை நாள் உண்ணும். நாம் உடம்போ? இன்று, சென்ற, வரு நாள் என்றும் நாம் ஒன்று. அதனால், நாள் உண்ட நாம், நாம் உண்டு.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): nām aṉḏṟi nāḷ ēdu? nām nammai nāḍādu ‘nām uḍal’ eṉḏṟu eṇṇil, namai nāḷ uṇṇum. nām uḍambō? iṉḏṟu, seṉḏṟa, varu nāḷ eṉḏṟum nām oṉḏṟu. adaṉāl, nāḷ uṇḍa nām, nām uṇḍu.

English translation: Except we, where is time? If, not investigating ourself, we think that we are a body, time will swallow us. Are we a body? Now, past and future time, always we are one. Therefore there is we, we who have swallowed time.

Explanatory paraphrase: Except we [as the one infinite and immutable being-awareness (sat-cit) that we actually are], where is time? [That is, there is no time but only we.] If, [because of] not investigating ourself, we think that we are a body, time [in the form of death] will swallow us. [But] are we a body? Now [and in every] past and future time, always we are [the same] one [namely pure being-awareness, the only one thing that never changes and endures forever]. Therefore there is [only] we, we who [by knowing and being the one infinite being-awareness that we always actually are] have swallowed time.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): நாம் (nām): we {nominative (first case) form of one of the two kinds of first person plural pronouns, the other being nāṅgaḷ, the difference between them being that nām includes whoever is being addressed whereas nāṅgaḷ excludes them} | அன்றி (aṉḏṟi): besides, except, other than, except as, apart from, but for, without | நாள் (nāḷ): day, time | ஏது (ēdu): what, where is it {interrogative pronoun, which in the sense ‘where is it?’ implies that it is not} >>> so this first sentence, ‘நாம் அன்றி நாள் ஏது?’ (nām aṉḏṟi nāḷ ēdu?), is a rhetorical question that means ‘Except we, where is time?’, which implies:

Except we [as the one infinite and immutable being-awareness (sat-cit) that we actually are], where is time? [That is, there is no time but only we.]

<<< நாம் (nām): we | நம்மை (nammai): us, ourself {accusative (second case) form of nām} | நாடாது (nāḍādu): not investigating {negative adverbial participle} | நாம் (nām): we | உடல் (uḍal): body | என்று (eṉḏṟu): saying {adverbial participle of eṉ, ‘say’, used in the same sense as इति (iti) in Sanskrit and as ‘thus’, ‘that’ or inverted commas in English} | எண்ணில் (eṇṇil): if thinking, if [we] think {conditional form of eṇṇu, ‘think’} | நமை (namai): us, ourself {poetic abbreviation of nammai, accusative (second case) form of nām} | நாள் (nāḷ): time | உண்ணும் (uṇṇum): will swallow {neuter third person singular future form of uṇ, ‘eat’, ‘swallow’ or ‘devour’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘நாம் நம்மை நாடாது ‘நாம் உடல்’ என்று எண்ணில், நமை நாள் உண்ணும்’ (nām nammai nāḍādu ‘nām uḍal’ eṉḏṟu eṇṇil, namai nāḷ uṇṇum), means ‘If, not investigating ourself, we think that we are a body, time will swallow us’, which implies:

If, [because of] not investigating ourself, we think that we are a body, time [in the form of death] will swallow us.

<<< நாம் (nām): we | உடம்போ (uḍambō): are [we] a body {interrogative form of uḍambu, ‘body’, the suffix ō signifying in this case a question} >>> so this third sentence, ‘நாம் உடம்போ?’ (nām uḍambō?), is a rhetorical question that means ‘Are we a body?’, which implies:

[But] are we a body?

<<< நாம் (nām): we | இன்று (iṉḏṟu): today, now | சென்ற (seṉḏṟa): gone, past {past adjectival participle of sel, ‘go’ or ‘pass’} | வரு (varu): coming {alternative root of the verb vā, ‘come’, used here in the sense of the future adjectival participle varum, ‘coming’ or ‘which will come’} | சென்றவருநாள் (seṉḏṟa-varu-nāḷ): past and coming time, in past and future times {compound of seṉḏṟa, ‘gone’ or ‘past’ (past adjectival participle of sel, ‘go’ or ‘pass’), varu, ‘coming’ (alternative root of the verb vā, ‘come’, used here in the sense of the future adjectival participle varum, ‘coming’ or ‘which will come’), and nāḷ, ‘time’} | என்றும் (eṉḏṟum): always | ஒன்று (oṉḏṟu): one, the one {noun} >>> so this fourth sentence, ‘நாம் இன்று, சென்ற, வரு நாள் என்றும் ஒன்று’ (nām iṉḏṟu, seṉḏṟa, varu nāḷ eṉḏṟum oṉḏṟu), means ‘Now, past and future time, always we are one’, which implies:

Now [and in every] past and future time, always we are [the same] one [namely pure being-awareness, the only one thing that never changes and endures forever].

<<< அதனால் (adaṉāl): by that, because of that, therefore {instrumental (third case) form of adu, ‘that’} | நாம் (nām): we | உண்டு (uṇḍu): there is | நாள் (nāḷ): time | உண்ட (uṇḍa): swallowed, who have swallowed {past adjectival participle of uṇ, ‘eat’, ‘swallow’ or ‘devour’} | நாம் (nām): we >>> so this final sentence, ‘அதனால் நாம் உண்டு, நாள் உண்ட நாம்’ (adaṉāl nām uṇḍu, nāḷ uṇḍa nām), means ‘Therefore there is we, we who have swallowed time’, which implies:

Therefore there is [only] we, we who [by knowing and being the one infinite being-awareness that we always actually are] have swallowed time.

Note: Bhagavan composed this verse during the second week of August 1927, and a year later, in late July or early August 1928, he modified it to form verse 16 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu.

Explanations and discussions:
2014-04-25: If we do not investigate ourself, time (death) will swallow us, but if we do investigate ourself, we will find that we alone exist, and thus we will have swallowed time
2014-01-25: We never actually experience time as such, but only experience change (against the static background of the ever-present and unchanging ‘I am’), and our experience of change creates the appearance of time, so as long as we experience change we will be entangled in time, and hence the only way to transcend and become free of time is to attend only to ‘I am’

அப்பியாசம் (abhyāsa): Practice

(குறள்: kuṟaḷ)

Verse 14:

ஞானத்து ணானாருந் தானமுறார் வாக்பரையார்
தானந்தேர் தல்சபத்திற் சால்பு.

ñāṉattu ṇāṉārun thāṉamuṟār vākparaiyār
thāṉandēr taljapattiṯ cālpu.

பதச்சேதம்: ஞானத்துள் ‘நான்’ ஆரும் தானம் உறார் வாக் பரை ஆர் தானம் தேர்தல் சபத்தில் சால்பு.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ñāṉattuḷ ‘nāṉ’ ārum thāṉam uṟār vāk-parai ār thāṉam tērdal japattil sālbu.

அன்வயம்: ‘நான்’ ஆரும் தானம் ஞானத்துள் உறார் சபத்தில் வாக் பரை ஆர் தானம் தேர்தல் சால்பு.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): ‘nāṉ’ ārum thāṉam ñāṉattuḷ uṟār japattil vāk-parai ār thāṉam tērdal sālbu.

English translation: Those who within jñāna do not reach the place where ‘I’ pervades, in japa investigating the place where parāvāk pervades is appropriate.

Explanatory paraphrase: Those who within [the path of] jñāna [namely the practice of self-investigation] cannot reach [and remain firmly fixed as] the place where ‘I’ pervades [namely sat-cit, pure being-awareness], in [or during] japa investigating [and knowing] the place where parāvāk [the supreme word, namely the infinite silence of pure being] pervades [which is the source from which the sound of the mantra arises] is appropriate.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): ஞானத்துள் (ñāṉattuḷ): within jñāna {locative (seventh case) form of ñāṉam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit jñāna, ‘knowledge’ or ‘awareness’, referring here to the path of jñāna, which is the practice of self-investigation (ātma-vicāra); the locative case-ending used here, uḷ, means ‘inside’ or ‘within’} | நான் (nāṉ): I {first person pronoun} | ஆரும் (ārum): pervading, where [I] pervades {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of ār, ‘become full’, ‘spread throughout’, ‘pervade’, ‘abide’ or ‘stay’} | தானம் (thāṉam): place {Tamil form of the Sanskrit sthāna, ‘place’, ‘location’, ‘state’, ‘home’ or ‘abode’, used here metaphorically to refer to our being, ‘I am’, which is the ‘place’ or source from which we have risen as ego} | உறார் (uṟār): those who are not, those who do not remain, those who do not reach {negative third person plural pronominal noun} >>> so this noun phrase, ‘ஞானத்துள் நான் ஆரும் தானம் உறார்’ (ñāṉattuḷ ‘nāṉ’ ārum thāṉam uṟār), which is the subject of the verbal noun தேர்தல் (tērdal), ‘investigating’ or ‘knowing’, which is the subject of the entire sentence that constitutes this verse, means ‘those who within jñāna do not reach the place where I pervades’, which implies:

Those who within [the path of] jñāna [namely the practice of self-investigation] cannot reach [and remain firmly fixed as] the place where ‘I’ pervades [namely sat-cit, pure being-awareness]

<<< வாக்பரை (vāk-parai): supreme word, supreme speech, supreme sound {Tamil form of the Sanskrit parā-vāk, ‘supreme word’ or ‘supreme speech’, which in the context of Bhagavan’s teachings refers to brahman, the infinite silence of pure being} | ஆர் (ār): pervade {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle meaning ‘pervading’ or ‘where [it] pervades’} | தானம் (thāṉam): place {as explained above} | தேர்தல் (tērdal): investigating, knowing {verbal noun, the subject of the entire sentence, as explained above} | சபத்தில் (japattil): in japa, during japa {locative (seventh case) form of japam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit japa, ‘muttering’ or ‘repeating’, meaning the practice of repeating a mantra or name of God} | சால்பு (sālbu): suitable, appropriate, excellent, good >>> so ‘வாக்பரை ஆர் தானம் தேர்தல் சபத்தில் சால்பு’ (vāk-parai ār thāṉam tērdal japattil sālbu) means ‘in japa investigating the place where parāvāk pervades is appropriate’, which implies:

in [or during] japa investigating [and knowing] the place where parāvāk [the supreme word, namely the infinite silence of pure being] pervades [which is the source from which the sound of the mantra arises] is appropriate.

Explanatory note: On 18th November 1907 Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastri was feeling dejected, because in spite of practising mantra-japa (repetition of sacred words) and other forms of tapas (religious austerity or spiritual practice) for many years he had not achieved any of his ambitions, but remembering that there was a young sādhu called Brahmana Swami, as Bhagavan was then known, living in a cave on Arunachala, he suddenly felt inspired to approach him and ask for guidance. Finding him sitting alone outside Virupaksha cave, Kavyakantha prostrated to him and said something to the effect: ‘I have studied all the Vedas and numerous other books; I have done countless crores of mantra-japa; I have fasted and eaten very little; yet what is actually meant by ‘tapas’ is still not clear to me. Graciously explain to me what tapas really is’.

At first Bhagavan just kept quiet and silently gazed at him, but after about fifteen minutes Kavyakantha said: ‘I have read in books about such cakṣu-dīkṣā [initiation by sight] but I cannot grasp the truth that is taught thereby, so graciously explain verbally’. Bhagavan then said:

நான் நான் என்பது எங்கேயிருந்து புறப்படுகிறதோ அதைக் கவனித்தால், மனம் அங்கே லீனமாகும்; அதுவே தபஸ்.

nāṉ nāṉ eṉbadu eṅgēyirundu puṟappaḍugiṟadō adai-k gavaṉittāl, maṉam aṅgē līṉam-āhum; adu-v-ē tapas.

From where what says ‘I, I’ goes out, if one attentively observes that, there the mind will be dissolved; that alone is tapas.

Thus in these few words Bhagavan summarised the very essence of his teachings, namely that if we keenly attend to our own being, our fundamental awareness, ‘I am’, which is the source from which we have risen as ego, which is what says ‘I, I’ (‘I have studied all the Vedas and numerous other books; I have done countless crores of mantra-japa; I have fasted and eaten very little’ and such like), the mind (the essence of which is ego) will thereby subside and eventually dissolve forever back into its source. However, since Kavyakantha was bewildered by the novelty of this teaching, he asked, ‘Is it not possible to attain that state even by mantra-japa [repetition of a mantra]?’, to which Bhagavan replied:

ஒரு மந்திரத்தை ஜபம் பண்ணினால் அந்த மந்திரத்வனி எங்கேயிருந்து புறப்படுகிறது என்று கவனித்தால், மனம் அங்கே லீனமாகிறது; அதுதான் தபஸ்.

oru mantirattai japam paṇṇiṉāl anda mantira-dhvaṉi eṅgēyirundu puṟappaḍugiṟadu eṉḏṟu gavaṉittāl, maṉam aṅgē līṉam-āgiṟadu; adu-dāṉ tapas.

If one does japa [repetition] of a mantra, if one attentively observes from where that mantra-sound goes out, there the mind is dissolved; that itself is tapas.

Since a mantra-dhvani (the sound of a mantra) emerges only from the mind that repeats it, and since the mind arises only from our being, what Bhagavan implied by saying ‘அந்த மந்திரத்வனி எங்கேயிருந்து புறப்படுகிறது என்று கவனித்தால்’ (anda mantira-dhvaṉi eṅgēyirundu puṟappaḍugiṟadu eṉḏṟu gavaṉittāl), ‘if one attentively observes from where that mantra-sound goes out’, is that even if we feel inclined to do mantra-japa, while doing so what we should attend to is only our own being, which is the one ultimate source from which ego and everything else arises or emerges. Therefore what he taught Kavyakantha in this second reply of his is exactly the same practice of self-attentiveness that he had taught him in his first reply. It is only when we thus keenly attend to our own being, ‘I am’, that we as ego will thereby subside and dissolve forever back into and as our own being.

Many years later, after hearing Bhagavan explain the inner meaning and implication of the second of these two replies, Muruganar summarised his explanation in verse 706 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai:

யானென் றெழுமிடமே தென்னத்தந் நுண்ணறிவாம்
மோனத்தா லுண்மூழ்க மாட்டாதார் — மானதத்தாற்
பண்ணுஞ் செபத்திற் பராவாக்கு யாண்டிருந்து
நண்ணுமென் றாய்த னலம்.

yāṉeṉ ḏṟeṙumiḍamē deṉṉattan nuṇṇaṟivām
mōṉattā luṇmūṙka māṭṭādār — māṉadattāṟ
paṇṇuñ jepattiṯ parāvākku yāṇḍirundu
naṇṇumeṉ ḏṟāyda ṉalam.

பதச்சேதம்: யான் என்று எழும் இடம் ஏது என்ன தம் நுண் அறிவு ஆம் மோனத்தால் உள் மூழ்க மாட்டாதர் மானதத்தால் பண்ணும் செபத்தில் பராவாக்கு யாண்டு இருந்து நண்ணும் என்று ஆய்தல் நலம்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): yāṉ eṉḏṟu eṙum iḍam ēdu eṉṉa tam nuṇ aṟivu ām mōṉattāl uḷ mūṙka māṭṭādar māṉadattāl paṇṇum jepattil parāvākku yāṇḍu-irundu naṇṇum eṉḏṟu āydal nalam.

English translation: Those who are not able to sink within by silence, which is their sharp awareness, what the place is from which it rises as ‘I’, in japa done by mind investigating from where the supreme word approaches is good.

Explanatory paraphrase: Those who are not able to sink [or submerge] within by silence, in which their sharp [acute, refined or subtle] awareness [keenly investigates] what the place is from which it [ego] rises as ‘I’, in [or during] japa done by mind investigating from where parāvāk [the supreme word, speech or sound] approaches [begins to shine forth] is good.

When Muruganar showed this verse to Bhagavan, he expressed the same idea in a more succinct manner by composing this fourteenth verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, which is also verse Bhagavan-12 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

What Bhagavan means by பராவாக்கு (parāvākku) or வாக்பரை (vāk-parai), both of which are Tamil forms of the Sanskrit परावाक् (parāvāk), the ‘supreme word’, ‘supreme speech’ or ‘supreme sound’, is the infinite silence of pure being, which shines in the heart eternally and immutably as the clear awareness ‘I am I’, as he explains in verse 715 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai:

அகமுகநாட் டத்தோர்க் கறிபடும்யா வற்றும்
அகமகமென் றாண்டான் பெயரே — அகந்தையழி
வானவித யாகாயத் தார்ந்து முழங்குமே
மோனபரா வாக்காய் முனைந்து.

ahamukhanāṭ ṭattōrk kaṟipaḍumyā vaṯṟum
ahamahameṉ ḏṟāṇḍāṉ peyarē — ahandaiyaṙi
vāṉavida yākāyat tārndu muṙaṅgumē
mōṉaparā vākkāy muṉaindu.

பதச்சேதம்: அகமுக நாட்டத்தோர்க்கு அறிபடும் யாவற்றும் ‘அகம் அகம்’ என்று ஆண்டான் பெயரே அகந்தை அழிவு ஆன இதய ஆகாயத்து ஆர்ந்து முழங்குமே மோன பரா வாக்காய் முனைந்து.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ahamukha-nāṭṭattōrkku aṟipaḍum yāvaṯṟum ‘aham aham’ eṉḏṟu āṇḍāṉ peyarē ahandai aṙivu-āṉa idaya-ākāyattu ārndu muṙaṅgumē mōṉa parā-vākkāy muṉaindu.

அன்வயம்: அறிபடும் யாவற்றும் அகமுக நாட்டத்தோர்க்கு ஆண்டான் பெயரே அகந்தை அழிவு ஆன இதய ஆகாயத்து ஆர்ந்து ‘அகம் அகம்’ என்று மோன-பரா வாக்காய் முனைந்து முழங்குமே.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): aṟipaḍum yāvaṯṟum ahamukha-nāṭṭattōrkku āṇḍāṉ peyarē ahandai aṙivu-āṉa idaya-ākāyattu ārndu ‘aham aham’ eṉḏṟu mōṉa-parā-vākkāy muṉaindu muṙaṅgumē.

English translation: Among all that are known, for those whose attention is inward-facing the very name of God thunders vigorously as the silent parāvāk as ‘I am I’ pervading entirely in the heart-space in which ego has been destroyed.

Explanatory paraphrase: Among all [the names of God] that are known, for those whose attention is inward-facing the very name of God thunders vigorously as the mauna-parāvāk [silent supreme word] [shining clearly] as ‘aham aham’ [I am I] pervading entirely in the hṛdaya-ākāśa [heart-space] in which ego has been destroyed.

and also in verse 1197 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai:

தள்ளரிய சங்கற்ப ஜாலங் களையெல்லாம்
தள்ளியகங் காரமுளஞ் சாருங்கால் — உள்ளொளிரும்
பூன்றசொரூ பாகார போதமா மோனமே
ஆன்றபரா வாக்கென் றறி.

taḷḷariya saṅkaṯpa jālaṅ gaḷaiyellām
taḷḷiyahaṅ kāramuḷañ sāruṅgāl — uḷḷoḷirum
pūṉḏṟasorū pākāra bōdhamā mōṉamē
āṉḏṟaparā vākkeṉ ḏṟaṟi.

பதச்சேதம்: தள் அரிய சங்கற்ப ஜாலங்களை எல்லாம் தள்ளி அகங்காரம் உளம் சாருங்கால் உள் ஒளிரும் பூன்ற சொரூபாகார போதமாம் மோனமே ஆன்ற பராவாக்கு என்று அறி.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): taḷ-ariya saṅkaṯpa-jālaṅgaḷai ellām taḷḷi ahaṅkāram uḷam sāruṅgāl uḷ oḷirum pūṉḏṟa sorūpākāra-bōdham-ām mōṉamē āṉḏṟa parāvākku eṉḏṟu aṟi.

English translation: Know that silence, which is infinite awareness in the form of svarūpa, which shines within when ego merges in the heart rejecting all the snares of desire, which are rare to reject, alone is the sublime parāvāk.

Explanatory paraphrase: Know that mauna [silence], which is pūrṇa svarūpākāra-bōdha [complete or infinite awareness in the form of svarūpa (our own essential nature or being)], which shines within when ego merges in the heart rejecting all the saṁkalpa-jālas [nets, snares, webs, illusions or deceptions of desire], which are rare to reject, alone is the sublime parāvāk.

Therefore ‘parāvāk’ is a synonym for brahman, which is our own very being, so what Bhagavan implies in this fourteenth verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ by the phrase ‘வாக்பரை ஆர் தானம் தேர்தல்’ (vāk-parai ār thāṉam tērdal), ‘investigating the place where parāvāk pervades’, is investigating or keenly attending to our own being, ‘I am’, which is the source from which we have risen as ego, and hence the ultimate source from which everything else, including the sound of any mantra, emerges. That is, since ego is the immediate source from which all other things arise, and since ego itself rises only from the silence of pure being, which is pūrṇa svarūpākāra-bōdha, infinite awareness in the form of svarūpa, this silence, which alone is the sublime parāvāk, is the ultimate source from which everything arises.

Explanations and discussions:
2015-08-22: ‘That alone is tapas’: the first teachings that Sri Ramana gave to Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastri
2015-08-22: Though in this verse Bhagavan mentions doing japa as an optional extra, he makes it clear that whether or not we do japa, what is essential is only that we should try as much as possible to be self-attentive

Verse 15:

ஆன்மாநு சந்தான மஃதுபர மீசபத்தி
ஆன்மாவா யீசனுள னால்.

āṉmānu sandhāṉa maḵdupara mīśabhatti
āṉmāvā yīśaṉuḷa ṉāl.

பதச்சேதம்: ஆன்ம அநுசந்தானம் அஃது பரம் ஈச பத்தி, ஆன்மாவாய் ஈசன் உளனால்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): āṉma-anusandhāṉam-aḵdu param īśa-bhatti, āṉmā-v-āy īśaṉ uḷaṉāl..

அன்வயம்: ஈசன் ஆன்மாவாய் உளனால், ஆன்ம அநுசந்தானம் அஃது பரம் ஈச பத்தி.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): īśaṉ āṉmā-v-āy uḷaṉāl, āṉma-anusandhāṉam-aḵdu param īśa-bhatti.

English translation: Self-investigation is devotion to God, the ultimate, because God is oneself.

Explanatory paraphrase: Ātma-anusaṁdhāna [self-investigation] is [supreme] bhakti [devotion] to God, the ultimate [reality], because God is ātman [oneself, in the sense of ourself as we actually are].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): ஆன்மாநுசந்தானமஃது (āṉmānusandhāṉam-aḵdu): self-investigation {compound of āṉma, ‘self’ (Tamil form of the Sanskrit ātma, the form that ātman takes as a non-final part of a compound), anusandhāṉam, ‘investigation’ (Tamil form of the Sanskrit anusaṁdhāna, ‘investigation’ or ‘close inspection’), and aḵdu, ‘that’ (distal demonstrative pronoun, used here as a poetic filler and therefore having no separate syntactic function)} | பரம் (param): ultimate, supreme {Tamil form of the Sanskrit para, a noun that here stands in apposition to īśa, ‘God’} | ஈசபத்தி (īśa-bhatti): God-devotion, devotion to God {Tamil form of the Sanskrit īśa-bhakti, compound of īśa, ‘God’, and bhakti, ‘devotion’} >>> so ‘ஆன்மாநுசந்தானமஃது பரம் ஈச பத்தி’ (āṉmānusandhāṉam-aḵdu param īśa-bhatti), which is the main clause of this sentence, means ‘self-investigation is devotion to God, the ultimate’, which implies:

Ātma-anusaṁdhāna [self-investigation] is [supreme] bhakti [devotion] to God, the ultimate [reality]

<<< ஆன்மாவாய் (āṉmā-v-āy): being oneself, as oneself {compound of āṉmā, Tamil form of the Sanskrit ātmā, nominative (first case) singular form of ātman, ‘oneself’, which in this context refers to ourself as we actually are, and the adverbial participle āy, ‘being’ or ‘as’; however, when āy is linked to a verb that means ‘be’ or ‘exist’, the combination of the two expresses an identity, so it is sufficient to translate them into English as ‘is’ rather than ‘is as’ or ‘exists as’} | ஈசன் (īśaṉ): God {Tamil form of the Sanskrit īśa, ‘God’} | உளனால் (uḷaṉāl): since [he] is, because [he] is >>> so ‘ஆன்மாவாய் ஈசன் உளனால்’ (āṉmā-v-āy īśaṉ uḷaṉāl), which is the main clause of this sentence, means ‘because God is oneself’ (or more literally, ‘because God is as oneself’ or ‘because God exists as oneself’), which implies:

because God is ātman [oneself, in the sense of ourself as we actually are].

Note: In this verse, which is also verse Bhagavan-13 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai, he expresses in a more succinct manner the same teaching of his that Muruganar had recorded in verse 730 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Adi Sankara also gave a similar teaching in verse 31 of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi:

मोक्षकारणसामग्र्यां भक्तिरेव गरीयसी ।
स्वस्वरूपानुसन्धानं भक्तिरित्यभिधीयते ॥

mōkṣakāraṇasāmagryāṁ bhaktirēva garīyasī ।
svasvarūpānusandhānaṁ bhaktirityabhidhīyatē ॥

Among the means that cause mōkṣa [liberation], bhakti [devotion] alone is the most important. Sva-svarūpānusandhāna [investigation of one’s own svarūpa (essential nature)] is named as bhakti.

Bhagavan’s Tamil translation of this verse of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi is:

மோக்ஷமடைதற் கேதுவா யுள்ள சாமக்கிரி (சாதனங்)களில் பக்தியே மிகவும் சிரேஷ்டம். ஸ்வ (ஆத்ம) ஸ்வரூபத்தின் அனுசந்தானமே பக்தி என்று மகாத்மாக்கள் சொல்லுகின்றனர்.

mōkṣam-aḍaidaṯ kētuvāy uḷḷa sāmaggiri (sādhaṉaṅ)gaḷil bhaktiyē mihavum śirēṣṭham. sva (ātma) svarūpattiṉ aṉusandhāṉamē bhakti eṉḏṟu mahātmākkaḷ sollugiṉḏṟaṉar.

Among the means (sādhanas) that are cause for achieving mōkṣa [liberation], bhakti alone is very much śrēṣṭha [the most excellent]. Mahātmās [great souls] say that anusandhāna [investigation] of one’s own (ātma) svarūpa [essential nature (of oneself)] alone is bhakti.

Explanations and discussions:
2016-02-08: Not only does the practice of self-attentiveness complement and reinforce our love for God, but it is also the purest expression of such love, as Bhagavan states unequivocally in this verse
2015-07-18: Bhagavan often used to say that self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) is supreme devotion (parabhakti) and is the ultimate practice to which all other devotional practices must eventually lead
2015-03-10: In verse 31 of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi Adi Sankara defines bhakti as svasvarūpānusaṁdhānam, which literally means ‘investigation of one’s own own form [or one’s own very nature]’, and Bhagavan uses this same term anusaṁdhānam (which means investigation, examination, scrutiny or close inspection) to define bhakti in both verse 730 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai and this verse

(வெண்பா: veṇbā)

Verse 16:

நனவிற் சுழுத்தி நடையென்றுந் தன்னை
வினவு முசாவால் விளையும் — நனவிற்
கனவிற் சுழுத்தி கலந்தொளிருங் காறும்
அனவரத மவ்வுசா வாற்று.

naṉaviṯ cuṙutti naḍaiyeṉḏṟun taṉṉai
viṉavu musāvāl viḷaiyum — naṉaviṟ
kaṉaviṯ cuṙutti kalandoḷiruṅ gāṟum
aṉavarata mavvusā vāṯṟu.

பதச்சேதம்: நனவில் சுழுத்தி நடை என்றும் தன்னை வினவும் உசாவால் விளையும். நனவில் கனவில் சுழுத்தி கலந்து ஒளிரும் காறும், அனவரதம் அவ் உசா ஆற்று.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): naṉavil suṙutti naḍai eṉḏṟum taṉṉai viṉavum usāvāl viḷaiyum. naṉavil kaṉavil suṙutti kalandu oḷirum kāṟum, aṉavaratam a-vv-usā āṯṟu.

அன்வயம்: என்றும் தன்னை வினவும் உசாவால் நனவில் சுழுத்தி நடை விளையும். நனவில் கனவில் சுழுத்தி கலந்து ஒளிரும் காறும், அனவரதம் அவ் உசா ஆற்று.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): eṉḏṟum taṉṉai viṉavum usāvāl naṉavil suṙutti naḍai viḷaiyum. naṉavil kaṉavil suṙutti kalandu oḷirum kāṟum, aṉavaratam a-vv-usā āṯṟu.

English translation: The state of sleep in waking will result by subtle investigation, in which one always examines oneself. Until sleep shines blending in waking and in dream, do that subtle investigation incessantly.

Explanatory paraphrase: The state of sleep in waking [known in Sanskrit as jāgrat-suṣupti, ‘wakeful sleep’, namely our natural state of pure being-awareness (sat-cit), in which we are awake to svarūpa (our own essential nature or reality) but asleep to the illusory appearance of all other things] will result by subtle investigation, in which one always examines [or keenly attends to] oneself. Until sleep shines blending [or pervading] in waking and in dream, do that subtle investigation incessantly.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): நனவில் (naṉavil): in waking {locative (seventh case) form naṉavu, ‘waking’ or ‘wakefulness’} | சுழுத்தி (suṙutti): sleep {Tamil form of the Sanskrit suṣupti, ‘sleep’ (namely dreamless sleep)} | நடை (naḍai): state {literally walk, gait, motion, journey, way, path, mode or manner, but used here in the sense of ‘state’} | என்றும் (eṉḏṟum): always | தன்னை (taṉṉai): oneself {accusative (second case) form of tāṉ, ‘oneself’} | வினவும் (viṉavum): examining, in which one examines {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of viṉavu, ‘investigate’, ‘examine’, ‘attend to’ or ‘bear in mind’} | உசாவால் (usāvāl): by subtle investigation {instrumental (third case) form of usā, ‘subtle investigation’ or ‘close examination’} | விளையும் (viḷaiyum): will result {neuter third person singular or plural future form of viḷai, ‘be produced’, ‘result’, ‘ripen’ or ‘occur’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘நனவில் சுழுத்தி நடை என்றும் தன்னை வினவும் உசாவால் விளையும்’ (naṉavil suṙutti naḍai eṉḏṟum taṉṉai viṉavum usāvāl viḷaiyum), means ‘The state of sleep in waking will result by subtle investigation, in which one always examines oneself’, which implies:

The state of sleep in waking [known in Sanskrit as jāgrat-suṣupti, ‘wakeful sleep’, namely our natural state of pure being-awareness (sat-cit), in which we are awake to svarūpa (our own essential nature or reality) but asleep to the illusory appearance of all other things] will result by subtle investigation, in which one always examines [or keenly attends to] oneself.

<<< நனவில் (naṉavil): in waking {as explained above} | கனவில் (kaṉavil): in dream {locative (seventh case) form kaṉavu, ‘dream’} | சுழுத்தி (suṙutti): sleep {as explained above} | கலந்து (kalandu): blending, pervading {adverbial participle of kala, ‘mix’, ‘blend’, ‘unite’, ‘join’, ‘combine’, ‘be absorbed’ or ‘spread’} | ஒளிருங்காறும் (oḷiruṅgāṟum): until shining, until [it] shines {compound of oḷirum, ‘shining’ or ‘which shines’ (future adjectival participle), and kāṟum, ‘until’ (adverbial suffix denoting limit or extent)} | அனவரதம் (aṉavaratam): incessantly, continuously, uninterruptedly {adverb, Tamil form of the Sanskrit anavaratam, ‘incessantly’} | அவ்வுசா (a-vv-usā): that subtle investigation {compound of the distal demonstrative prefix a, ‘that’, and usā, ‘subtle investigation’} | ஆற்று (āṯṟu): do {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} >>> so this second sentence, ‘நனவில் கனவில் சுழுத்தி கலந்து ஒளிரும் காறும், அனவரதம் அவ் உசா ஆற்று’ (naṉavil kaṉavil suṙutti kalandu oḷirum kāṟum, aṉavaratam a-vv-usā āṯṟu), means ‘Until sleep shines blending in waking and in dream, incessantly do that subtle investigation’, which implies:

Until sleep shines blending [or pervading] in waking and in dream, incessantly do that subtle investigation.

Note: In this verse, which is also verse Bhagavan-19 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai, he expresses in a more succinct manner the same teaching of his that Muruganar had recorded in verses 957 and 958 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Explanations and discussions:
2020-06-02: Though we may not yet have sufficient love to be uninterruptedly self-attentive throughout all states of waking or dream, that should be our aim, so we should try to be self-attentive as much as we can be both at this present moment and at every other moment
2016-03-16: Since what we experience in sleep is our real state of pure self-awareness, which is perfectly intransitive (unlike the self-awareness of our ego, which is partially transitive, since it is mixed and confused with awareness of adjuncts), what we are trying to experience while practising self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) is exactly the same intransitive self-awareness (that is, self-awareness uncontaminated by even the slightest trace of any adjunct-awareness) that we experience in sleep
2015-08-25: Though we can try to be self-attentive in any other dream just as much as we can try in this dream we now call ‘waking’, as a general rule trying to be self-attentive in this dream is more efficacious than trying to be self-attentive in other less stable dreams, but this does not mean, of course, that it is not worth trying to be self-attentive in any less stable dream, because it is necessary for us to try to investigate ourself whenever we experience ourself as this ego
2014-06-05: We cannot make any effort to be self-attentive while we are asleep, but if we try to be self-attentive now while we are awake we will eventually be able to experience sleep in this waking state, as Bhagavan says in this verse

சாத்திய நிலை (sādhya nilai): The State to be Accomplished

(விருத்தம்: viruttam)

Verse 17:

திக்குகா றேய மாதி தேடாதெங் கும்ப ரந்தே
யக்குளி ராதி போக்கு மகளங்க நித்யா னந்த
மிக்கொளி ரான்ம தீர்த்தம் வினையறப் படிவன் யாவ
னக்கரன் விபுவா யெல்லா மறிந்தவ னமுத னாவான்.

dikkukā ṟēya mādi tēḍādeṅ gumpa randē
yakkuḷi rādi pōkku makaḷaṅka nityā ṉanda
mikkoḷi rāṉma tīrttham viṉaiyaṟap paḍivaṉ yāva
ṉakkharaṉ vibhuvā yellā maṟindava ṉamuda ṉāvāṉ.

பதச்சேதம்: திக்கு, கால், தேயம் ஆதி தேடாது, எங்கும் பரந்தே, அக் குளிர் ஆதி போக்கும் அகளங்க நித்யானந்தம் மிக்கு ஒளிர் ஆன்ம தீர்த்தம் வினை அற படிவன் யாவன், அக் கரன் விபுவாய், எல்லாம் அறிந்து, அவன் அமுதன் ஆவான்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): dikku, kāl, dēyam ādi tēḍādu, eṅgum parandē, a-k-kuḷir ādi pōkkum akaḷaṅka nityāṉandam mikku oḷir āṉma-tīrttham viṉai aṟa paḍivaṉ yāvaṉ, a-k-kharaṉ vibhuvāy, ellām aṟindu, avaṉ amudaṉ āvāṉ.

English translation: Whoever immerses without action in the sacred bathing place of self, which shines abundantly as blemishless eternal happiness, which, extending everywhere, not regarding direction, time, place and so on, dispels that cold and so on, that firmly established one, being omnipresent and knowing all, is immortal.

Explanatory paraphrase: Whoever bathes [or immerses] without action in ātma-tīrtha [the sacred bathing place or holy water of ātman (oneself, here used in the sense of ātma-svarūpa, ourself as we actually are)], which shines abundantly as blemishless eternal happiness, which, extending [or pervading] everywhere, without regarding [regardless or irrespective of] direction, time, place and so on, dispels that cold and so on [implying all painful or unpleasant experiences such as excessive cold and heat], that firmly established one [one who firmly abides as sat-cit, pure being-awareness], being omnipresent and knowing all, is immortal.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): திக்கு (dikku): direction {Tamil form of the Sanskrit dik} | கால் (kāl): time {Tamil form of the Sanskrit kāla} | தேயம் (dēyam): place, country {Tamil form of the Sanskrit dēśa} | ஆதி (ādi): first, beginning, beginning with, and so on {Sanskrit loanword} | தேடாது (tēḍādu): not seeking, not cherishing, not caring for, not regarding {negative adverbial participle, which in this context implies ‘regardless of’ or ‘irrespective of’} >>> so ‘திக்கு கால் தேயம் ஆதி தேடாது’ (dikku kāl dēyam ādi tēḍādu) is an adverbial clause that means ‘not regarding direction, time, place and so on’, which implies:

without regarding [regardless or irrespective of] direction, time, place and so on

<<< எங்கும் (eṅgum): everything | பரந்தே (parandē): spreading, extending, pervading {intensified form of parandu, adverbial participle} | அக்குளிர் (a-k-kuḷir): that cold {compound of the distal demonstrative prefix a, ‘that’, and kuḷir, ‘cold’} | ஆதி (ādi): and so on {as above} | போக்கும் (pōkkum): dispelling, which dispels {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of pōkku, ‘cause to go’, ‘drive away’ or ‘dispel’} >>> so ‘எங்கும் பரந்தே, அக்குளிர் ஆதி போக்கும்’ (eṅgum parandē, a-k-kuḷir ādi pōkkum) is a relative clause that means ‘which, extending everywhere, dispels that cold and so on’, which implies:

which, extending [or pervading] everywhere, dispels that cold and so on [implying all painful or unpleasant experiences such as excessive cold and heat]

<<< அகளங்க (akaḷaṅka): spotless, stainless, blemishless {Tamil form of the Sanskrit akalaṅka, ‘spotless’, privative of kalaṅka, ‘spot’, ‘stain’, ‘fault’ or ‘defect’} | நித்யானந்தம் (nityāṉandam): eternal happiness {Tamil form of the Sanskrit nityānanda, compound of nitya, ‘perpetual’, ‘permanent’ or ‘eternal’, and ānanda, ‘happiness’, ‘joy’ or ‘bliss’} | மிக்கு (mikku): abundantly {adverb} | ஒளிர் (oḷir): shine {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle meaning ‘shining’ or ‘which shines’} >>> so ‘அகளங்க நித்யானந்தம் மிக்கு ஒளிர்’ (akaḷaṅka nityāṉandam mikku oḷir) is a relative clause that means:

which shines abundantly as blemishless eternal happiness

<<< ஆன்மதீர்த்தம் (āṉma-tīrttham): sacred bathing place of self {Tamil form of the Sanskrit ātma-tīrtha, compound of ātman, ‘oneself’ or ‘self’, and tīrtha, ‘sacred bathing place’ or ‘holy water’} | வினை (viṉai): action, karma | அற (aṟa): without | படிவன் (paḍivaṉ): he who bathes {masculine third person singular pronominal noun formed from paḍi, ‘bathe’, ‘sink’ or ‘immerse’, but since the masculine form is used here generically in a gender-neutral sense, it implies ‘one who bathes’} | யாவன் (yāvaṉ): who, whoever {interrogative pronoun, used here as the referent of a, ‘that’, in a-k-kharaṉ, ‘that firmly established one’} >>> so ‘ஆன்ம தீர்த்தம் வினை அற படிவன் யாவன்’ (āṉma-tīrttham viṉai aṟa paḍivaṉ yāvaṉ) means ‘whoever immerses without action in the sacred bathing place of self’, which implies:

whoever bathes [or immerses] without action in ātma-tīrtha [the sacred bathing place or holy water of ātman (oneself, here used in the sense of ātma-svarūpa, ourself as we actually are)]

<<< அக்கரன் (a-k-kharaṉ): that firmly established one {compound of the distal demonstrative prefix a, ‘that’, and kharaṉ, ‘firm one’, ‘steady one’ or ‘fixed one’ (Tamil personal noun formed from the Sanskrit khara, ‘hard’, ‘solid’ or ‘dense’)} | விபுவாய் (vibhuvāy): being omnipresent {compound of vibhu, a Sanskrit loanword that means ‘omnipresent’ or ‘all-pervading’, and āy, an adverbial participle and suffix that means ‘being’ or ‘as’} | எல்லாம் (ellām): all, everything | அறிந்து (aṟindu): knowing {adverbial participle} | அவன் (avaṉ): he {masculine third person singular pronoun, referring to a-k-kharaṉ, ‘that firmly established one’, but used here as a poetic filler and therefore having no separate syntactic function} | அமுதன் (amudaṉ): he who is immortal, immortal one {masculine (but used generically in a gender-neutral sense) singular personal form of amudam, ‘immortality’, Tamil form of the Sanskrit amṛta, ‘immortal’ or ‘deathless’} | ஆவான் (āvāṉ): will be, is {masculine (but used generically in a gender-neutral sense) third person singular future (but used generically as a continuous present) form of ā, ‘be’} >>> so ‘அக்கரன் விபுவாய், எல்லாம் அறிந்து, அவன் அமுதன் ஆவான்’ (a-k-kharaṉ vibhuvāy, ellām aṟindu, avaṉ amudaṉ āvāṉ), which is the main clause of this sentence, means ‘that firmly established one, being omnipresent and knowing all, is immortal’, which implies:

that firmly established one [one who firmly abides as sat-cit, pure being-awareness], being omnipresent and knowing all, is immortal.

Note: This verse is one of Bhagavan’s two translations of verse 68 of Adi Sankara’s Ātma-Bōdha:

दिग्देशकालाद्यनपेक्ष्य सर्वगं
      शीतादिहृन्नित्यसुखं निरंजनम् ।
यः स्वात्मतीर्थं भजते विनिष्क्रियः
      स सर्ववित्सर्वगतोऽमृतो भवेत् ॥

digdēśakālādyanapēkṣya sarvagaṁ
      śītādihṛnnityasukhaṁ niraṁjanam ।
yaḥ svātmatīrthaṁ bhajatē viniṣkriyaḥ
      sa sarvavitsarvagatō’mṛtō bhavēt ॥

In July 1948, when Bhagavan composed his Tamil translation or adaptation of Ātma-Bōdha, he composed each of the first sixty-seven verses in veṇbā, which is the same four-line metre in which he had composed many of his other works such as Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, but since Sankara had composed this final verse, namely verse 68, in a longer metre than all the other verses, Bhagavan initially composed his translation of it in viruttam metre as the above verse. However, in order to make it easier for devotees to remember the sequence of verses while reciting them, he had converted each of his other works in veṇbā metre (except Śrī Aruṇācala Pañcaratnam) into a single kaliveṇbā by extending the fourth line of each verse, thereby linking it to the next one, so he decided to do the same for Āṉma-Bōdham, his Tamil translation of Ātma-Bōdha, and in order to be able to do so, he composed another translation of this final verse as a six-line paḵṟoḍai veṇbā. Consequently this viruttam version of the final verse was never printed until Sadhu Om decided to include it here in Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ.

(குறள்: kuṟaḷ)

Verse 18:

தன்மெய் யுருவுளத்துத் தானுணரி னாதிமுடி
வின்றிநிறை வாஞ்சச்சித் தின்பு.

taṉmey yuruvuḷattut tāṉuṇari ṉādimuḍi
viṉḏṟiniṟai vāñcaccit tiṉbu.

பதச்சேதம்: தன் மெய் உரு உளத்து தான் உணரின், ஆதி முடிவு இன்றி நிறைவு ஆம் சத் சித்து இன்பு.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): taṉ mey uru uḷattu tāṉ uṇariṉ, ādi muḍivu iṉḏṟi niṟaivu ām sat-cittu-iṉbu

English translation: If one knows the real form of oneself in the heart, being-awareness-happiness, which is fullness without beginning or end.

Explanatory paraphrase: If one knows the real form of oneself [namely ātma-svarūpa, the essential nature of oneself, meaning ourself as we actually are] in the heart, [then what will remain existing and shining is only] being-awareness-happiness, which is fullness [completeness or infinitude] without beginning or end [or limit].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): தன் (taṉ): of oneself, oneself’s, one’s {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of tāṉ, ‘oneself’} | மெய் (mey): real | உரு (uru): form | உளத்து (uḷattu): in the heart {inflectional base of uḷam, ‘heart’, used here in a locative (seventh case) sense} | தான் (tāṉ): oneself, one {generic pronoun that means ‘oneself’, ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’} | உணரின் (uṇariṉ): if knowing, if [one] knows {conditional form of uṇar, ‘know’ or ‘be aware’} >>> so ‘தன் மெய் உரு உளத்து தான் உணரின்’ (taṉ mey uru uḷattu tāṉ uṇariṉ) is a conditional clause that means ‘If one knows the real form of oneself in the heart’, which implies:

If one knows the real form of oneself [namely ātma-svarūpa, the essential nature or being of oneself, meaning ourself as we actually are] in the heart

<<< ஆதி (ādi): beginning {Sanskrit loanword} | முடிவு (muḍivu): end, limit | இன்றி (iṉḏṟi): without | நிறைவு (niṟaivu): fullness, completeness, abundance [implying infinitude in this context, because anything that in not infinite is not complete] | ஆம் (ām): being, which is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | சச்சித்தின்பு (saccittiṉbu): sat-cit-ānanda, being-awareness-happiness {compound of sat, ‘being’ (Sanskrit loanword), cittu, ‘awareness’ (Tamil form of the Sanskrit cit), and iṉbu, ‘happiness’, ‘joy’ or ‘bliss’} >>> so ‘ஆதி முடிவு இன்றி நிறைவு ஆம் சத் சித்து இன்பு’ (ādi muḍivu iṉḏṟi niṟaivu ām sat-cittu-iṉbu) means ‘being-awareness-happiness, which is fullness without beginning or end’, which implies:

[then what will remain existing and shining is only] being-awareness-happiness, which is fullness [completeness or infinitude] without beginning or end [or limit].

Note: In the form of a kuṟaḷ veṇbā (a two-line form of the veṇbā metre) Bhagavan expresses in this verse the same teaching that he gave in verse 28 of Upadēśa Undiyār:

தனாதியல் யாதெனத் தான்றெரி கிற்பின்
னனாதி யனந்தசத் துந்தீபற
வகண்ட சிதானந்த முந்தீபற.

taṉādiyal yādeṉat tāṉḏṟeri hiṟpiṉ
ṉaṉādi yaṉantasat tundīpaṟa
vakhaṇḍa cidāṉanda mundīpaṟa.

பதச்சேதம்: தனாது இயல் யாது என தான் தெரிகில், பின் அனாதி அனந்த சத்து அகண்ட சித் ஆனந்தம்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): taṉādu iyal yādu eṉa tāṉ terihil, piṉ aṉādi aṉanta sattu akhaṇḍa cit-āṉandam.

அன்வயம்: தான் தனாது இயல் யாது என தெரிகில், பின் அனாதி அனந்த அகண்ட சத்து சித் ஆனந்தம்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): tāṉ taṉādu iyal yādu eṉa terihil, piṉ aṉādi aṉanta akhaṇḍa sattu-cit-āṉandam.

English translation: If one knows what the nature of oneself is, then beginningless, endless and unbroken existence-awareness-happiness.

Explanatory paraphrase: If one knows what the [real] nature of oneself is, then [what will remain existing and shining is only the real nature of oneself (ātma-svarūpa), which is] anādi [beginningless], ananta [endless, limitless or infinite] and akhaṇḍa [unbroken, undivided or unfragmented] sat-cit-ānanda [being-awareness-happiness].

Verse 19:

சாந்தியதே யுண்ணோக்கிற் சத்தி புறநோக்கால்
ஆய்ந்தறிவார்க் கொன்றா மவை.

śāntiyadē yuṇṇōkkiṯ śatti puṟanōkkāl
āyndaṟivārk koṉḏṟā mavai.

பதச்சேதம்: சாந்தி அதே உள் நோக்கில் சத்தி புற நோக்கால். ஆய்ந்து அறிவார்க்கு ஒன்று ஆம் அவை.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): śānti-adē uḷ-nōkkil śatti puṟa-nōkkāl. āyndu aṟivārkku oṉḏṟu ām avai.

அன்வயம்: உள் நோக்கில் சாந்தி அதே புற நோக்கால் சத்தி. ஆய்ந்து அறிவார்க்கு அவை ஒன்று ஆம்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): uḷ-nōkkil śānti-adē puṟa-nōkkāl śatti. āyndu aṟivārkku avai oṉḏṟu ām.

English translation: That very peace in inward look is power by outward look. To those who, having investigated, know, they are one.

Explanatory paraphrase: That very peace [of pure being that is experienced] in inward look [when looking inside] is [what is experienced as] power by outward look [when looking outside]. To [or for] those who, having investigated [themself], know [what alone is real, transcending all distinctions such as inside and outside], they [peace and power] are one.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): சாந்தியதே (śānti-y-adē): that very peace, that peace itself, that peace alone {compound of śānti, ‘peace’ (Sanskrit loanword), and adē, intensified form of the distal demonstrative pronoun adu, ‘that’, used here as a suffix, in which the intensifying suffix ē implies ‘very’, ‘itself’ or ‘alone’} | உண்ணோக்கில் (uṇṇōkkil): in inward look {compound of uḷ, ‘inside’, ‘within’ or ‘interior’ (implying ‘inward’ in this context), and nōkkil, ‘in look’, locative (seventh case) form of nōkku, ‘look’ or ‘view’ (noun derived from the verb nōkku, ‘look at’, ‘see’, ‘view’ or ‘attend to’)}| சத்தி (śatti): power {Tamil form of the Sanskrit śakti, ‘power’} | புறநோக்கால் (puṟa-nōkkāl): by outward look {instrumental (third case) form of nōkku (explained above)} >>> so this first sentence, ‘சாந்தி அதே உள் நோக்கில் சத்தி புற நோக்கால்’ (śānti-adē uḷ-nōkkil śatti puṟa-nōkkāl), means ‘That very peace in inward look is power by outward look’, which implies:

That very peace [of pure being that is experienced] in inward look [when looking inside] is [what is experienced as] power by outward look [when looking outside].

<<< ஆய்ந்து (āyndu): investigating, having investigated {adverbial participle, the equivalent of either a present or past participle in English} | அறிவார்க்கு (aṟivārkku): to those who know, for those who know {dative (fourth case) form of aṟivār, ‘those who know’} | ஒன்று (oṉḏṟu): one {noun} | ஆம் (ām): will be, is, are {future (but used generically as a continuous present) third person neuter singular or plural form of ā, ‘be’} | அவை (avai): those, they {third person plural neuter pronoun} >>> so this second sentence, ‘ஆய்ந்து அறிவார்க்கு ஒன்று ஆம் அவை’ (āyndu aṟivārkku oṉḏṟu ām avai), means ‘To those who, having investigated, know, they are one’, which implies:

To [or for] those who, having investigated [themself], know [what alone is real, transcending all distinctions such as inside and outside], they [peace and power] are one.

Note: In this verse, which is also verse Bhagavan-6 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai, he expresses in a more succinct manner the same teaching of his that Muruganar had recorded in verse 216 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Explanations and discussions:
2019-02-02: Both infinite power and infinite peace are our real nature, so the true form of power is only peace, which is a state not of doing anything but of just being, as Sadhu Om illustrated with the analogy of a dam, whose motionless power holds water in the reservoir in a calm and peaceful condition, whereas if the dam were not sufficiently strong, it would crack, thereby disturbing the peaceful state of the water and allowing its power to flow out through the crack and create havoc

(வெண்பா: veṇbā)

Verse 20:

வேடன்கைப் பட்ட புறவு விடப்படின்
காடுங் கடந்து விடுமென்னின் — நாடியகம்
வேடன்றான் வேறகல வேறான வக்காடும்
வீடா யொடுங்கி விடும்.

vēḍaṉkaip paṭṭa puṟavu viḍappaḍiṉ
kāḍuṅ kaḍandu viḍumeṉṉiṉ — nāḍiyaham
vēḍaṉḏṟāṉ vēṟagala vēṟāṉa vakkāḍum
vīḍā yoḍuṅgi viḍum.

பதச்சேதம்: வேடன் கை பட்ட புறவு விடப்படின், காடும் கடந்து விடும். என்னில், நாடி அகம் வேடன் தான் வேறு அகல, வேறான அக் காடும் வீடாய் ஒடுங்கி விடும்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): vēḍaṉ kai-p-paṭṭa puṟavu viḍappaḍiṉ, kāḍum kaḍandu-viḍum. eṉṉil, nāḍi aham vēḍaṉ-tāṉ vēṟu agala, vēṟāṉa a-k-kāḍum vīḍāy oḍuṅgi viḍum.

அன்வயம்: வேடன் கை பட்ட புறவு விடப்படின், காடும் கடந்து விடும். என்னில், வேடன் தான் அகம் நாடி வேறு அகல, வேறான அக் காடும் வீடாய் ஒடுங்கி விடும்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): vēḍaṉ kai-p-paṭṭa puṟavu viḍappaḍiṉ, kāḍum kaḍandu-viḍum. eṉṉil, vēḍaṉ-tāṉ aham nāḍi vēṟu agala, vēṟāṉa a-k-kāḍum vīḍāy oḍuṅgi viḍum.

English translation: If the dove caught in the hand of the hunter is released, it will certainly escape from the forest also. If asking, when the hunter himself seeking home departs elsewhere, even that forest, which was other, will certainly be absorbed, becoming home

Explanatory paraphrase: If the dove [the soul or jīva] caught in the hand of the hunter [māyā] is released, it will certainly escape from the forest [the body] also [will it not]? If asked [thus], [the reply is that] when the hunter [namely māyā, which is the mind] himself seeking home [investigating itself, the ‘I’ that rises as ego] departs elsewhere [dissolving forever back into the heart, the source from which it arose], even that forest [the body], which was [previously considered by it to be] other [an alien phenomenon], will certainly be absorbed [as none other than the one infinite being], [thereby] becoming home [the eternal state of liberation].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): வேடன் (vēḍaṉ): hunter | கைப்பட்ட (kai-p-paṭṭa): hand-caught, caught in hand {compound of kai, ‘hand’, and paṭṭa, ‘caught’ (past adjectival participle)} | புறவு (puṟavu): dove, pigeon | விடப்படின் (viḍappaḍiṉ): if left, if released, if freed {conditional form of viḍappaḍu, ‘be left’, ‘be released’ or ‘be freed’, passive form of viḍu, ‘leave’, ‘abandon’, ‘liberate’, ‘release’ or ‘set free’} | காடும் (kāḍum): even the forest, the forest also {compound of kāḍu, ‘forest’, and the suffix um, which here means ‘even’ or ‘also’} | கடந்துவிடும் (kaḍandu-viḍum): it will certainly escape from {compound of kaḍandu, ‘traversing’, ‘crossing over’, ‘exceeding’, ‘avoiding’, ‘getting away from’ or ‘escaping from’ (adverbial participle), and viḍum, neuter third person future form of the intensifying auxiliary verb viḍu, which here implies certainty} >>> so this first sentence, ‘வேடன் கைப்பட்ட புறவு விடப்படின், காடும் கடந்து விடும்’ (vēḍaṉ kai-p-paṭṭa puṟavu viḍappaḍiṉ, kāḍum kaḍandu-viḍum), means ‘If the dove caught in the hand of the hunter is released, it will certainly escape from the forest also’, which implies:

If the dove [the soul or jīva] caught in the hand of the hunter [māyā] is released, it will certainly escape from the forest [the body] also [will it not]?

<<< என்னில் (eṉṉil): if said, if asked {conditional form of eṉ, ‘say’} | நாடி (nāḍi): seeking, investigating {adverbial participle} | அகம் (aham): home, heart, ‘I’ | வேடன்றான் (vēḍaṉḏṟāṉ): the hunter himself {compound of vēḍaṉ, ‘hunter’, and the intensifying suffix tāṉ, ‘himself’} | வேறு (vēṟu): different, separate, other, elsewhere | அகல (agala): when departing {infinitive of agal, ‘leave’, ‘separate’, ‘part’ or ‘depart’, used idiomatically in the conditional sense of ‘when’} | வேறான (vēṟāṉa): which was other {adjective formed from vēṟu, ‘different’, ‘other’ or ‘alien’, and the past adjectival participle āṉa, ‘which was’} | அக்காடும் (a-k-kāḍum): even that forest {compound of the distal demonstrative prefix a, ‘that’, kāḍu, ‘forest’, and the suffix um, which here means ‘even’} | வீடாய் (vīḍāy): being home, becoming home, as home {compound of vīḍu, ‘freedom’, ‘liberation’, ‘abode’, ‘house’ or ‘home’, and the adverbial suffix āy, ‘being’, ‘becoming’ or ‘as’} | ஒடுங்கிவிடும் (oḍuṅgi-viḍum): will certainly be absorbed {compound of oḍuṅgi, ‘being subdued’, ‘being reduced’, ‘shrinking’, ‘dissolving’, ‘ceasing’ or ‘being absorbed’ (adverbial participle), and viḍum, neuter third person future form of the intensifying auxiliary verb viḍu, which here implies certainty} >>> so this second sentence, ‘என்னில், நாடி அகம் வேடன் தான் வேறு அகல, வேறான அக் காடும் வீடாய் ஒடுங்கி விடும்’ (eṉṉil, nāḍi aham vēḍaṉ tāṉ vēṟu akala, vēṟāṉa a-k-kāḍum vīḍāy oḍuṅgi-viḍum), means ‘If asked, when the hunter himself seeking home departs elsewhere, even that forest, which was other, will certainly be absorbed, becoming home’, which implies:

If asked [thus], [the reply is that] when the hunter [namely māyā, which is the mind] himself seeking home [investigating itself, the ‘I’ that rises as ego] departs elsewhere [dissolving forever back into the heart, the source from which it arose], even that forest [the body], which was [previously considered by it to be] other [an alien phenomenon], will certainly be absorbed [as none other than the one infinite being], [thereby] becoming home [the eternal state of liberation].

Explanatory note: One day when Bhagavan was walking on the hill with a devotee called K.V. Ramachandra Aiyar, they saw a hunter catching a bird in a net, whereupon the devotee wrote this kuṟaḷ (a two-line verse in veṇbā metre):

வேடன்கைப் பட்ட புறவு விடப்படின்
காடுங் கடந்து விடும்.

vēḍaṉkaip paṭṭa puṟavu viḍappaḍiṉ
kāḍuṅ kaḍandu viḍum.

English translation: If the dove caught in the hand of the hunter is released, it will certainly escape from the forest also.

Though written in the form of a statement, this was intended to be a question, so Bhagavan answered it by extending this kuṟaḷ to form the above verse, which is a full four-line veṇbā. Both the question and answer are expressed as metaphors. In the question the hunter is māyā, the dove is jīva (the soul), its release from māyā is mukti (liberation), and the forest is the body, so the implied meaning of the question is: ‘If the jīva caught by māyā attains mukti, it will depart, casting off the body, will it not?’

Bhagavan repudiated this assumption in his answer, ‘என்னில், நாடி அகம் வேடன் தான் வேறு அகல, வேறான அக் காடும் வீடாய் ஒடுங்கி விடும்’ (eṉṉil, nāḍi aham vēḍaṉ-tāṉ vēṟu akala, vēṟāṉa a-k-kāḍum vīḍāy oḍuṅgi-viḍum), ‘If asked, when the hunter himself seeking home departs elsewhere, even that forest, which was other, will certainly be absorbed, becoming home’, the implied meaning of which is: ‘When māyā, namely the mind, ceases to exist by investigating itself, the rising I or ego, even the body, which was previously considered to be something other than oneself, will cease to appear as separate, being found to be nothing other than oneself’.

There are several points to notice about this reply of his. Firstly, he made use of the double meaning of ‘நாடி அகம்’ (nāḍi aham), which means both ‘seeking home’ and ‘investigating I’, and of வீடு (vīḍu), which means both ‘liberation’ and ‘home’, thereby creating various layers of meaning and implication. Secondly, and less obviously but no less significantly, he does not explicitly refer to the dove in his answer, so what can we infer from this? The devotee’s verse implies that the māyā (the hunter) by which jīva (the dove) has been ensnared is something distinct from jīva, whereas actually there is no māyā other than jīva, the mind, so to avoid lending any support to this mistaken implication, Bhagavan answered the devotee without mentioning the dove.

That is, māyā is nothing other than the mind, the root and essence of which is ego, the jīva. Of the two powers of māyā, namely the power of veiling (āvaraṇa-śakti) and the power of dispersion (vikṣēpa-śakti), ego is firstly the power of veiling, which is the primary power of māyā, because the nature of ego is to be always aware of itself as ‘I am this body’, which is the veil that prevents us as ego being aware of ourself as we actually are. However, ego is not only the power of veiling but also the power of dispersion, because as ego we are not only aware of ourself as ‘I am this body’ but are consequently aware of the seeming existence of a multitude of other things, all of which are thoughts and therefore secondary components of the mind, whose primary component is ego itself. The power by which ego sees itself as a multitude of thoughts, objects or phenomena is the power of dispersion, which is the secondary power of māyā, so there is no māyā other than ego, the jīva, and hence Bhagavan often used to refer to māyā as மனமாயை (maṉa-māyai), ‘mind-māyā’ or ‘māyā, the mind’.

Therefore the māyā by which ego, the jīva, is ensnared is nothing but ego itself, so this is why in his answer Bhagavan does not mention the dove but says ‘நாடி அகம் வேடன்றான்’ (nāḍi aham vēḍaṉ-tāṉ), ‘the hunter himself seeking home’ or ‘the hunter himself investigating I’. When māyā, the mind, investigates itself keenly enough to know who am I, it will thereby subside and dissolve forever back into its own being, which is the source from which it rose as ego, as Bhagavan implies in this verse by the phrase ‘வேறு அகல’ (vēṟu akala), ‘when [he] departs elsewhere’, and what then remains is ourself as வீடு (vīḍu), ‘liberation’, which alone is our real home.

So long as we rise as ego, we experience ourself limited to the extent of a body, so we need to separate ourself from this limitation by investigating ourself, which entails focusing our entire attention on ourself so keenly that we thereby cease to be aware of anything else whatsoever. As soon as we thereby become aware of ourself alone, we experience ourself as pure awareness (awareness that is aware of nothing other than itself), which is what we always actually are, and thus ego, the false awareness ‘I am this body’, is eradicated, and what then remains existing and shining is only infinite and indivisible sat-cit-ānanda (being-awareness-happiness), as Bhagavan says in verse 17 of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ and verse 28 of Upadēśa Undiyār. In the view of the jñāni, therefore, there is nothing other than sat-cit-ānanda, which is ātma-svarūpa, the very nature or essence of oneself, so what seems to be a world consisting of numerous bodies and other objects in the view of the ajñāni is only the one indivisible ‘I’ in the view of the jñāni. Therefore, whereas the experience of the ajñāni is ‘I am only this body’, the experience of the jñāni is ‘I am also this body’, because for the jñāni ‘I’ shines without limit and therefore includes the body, as Bhagavan points out in verse 17 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu:

உடனானே தன்னை யுணரார்க் குணர்ந்தார்க்
குடலளவே நான்ற னுணரார்க் — குடலுள்ளே
தன்னுணர்ந்தார்க் கெல்லையறத் தானொளிரு நானிதுவே
யின்னவர்தம் பேதமென வெண்.

uḍaṉāṉē taṉṉai yuṇarārk kuṇarndārk
kuḍalaḷavē nāṉḏṟa ṉuṇarārk — kuḍaluḷḷē
taṉṉuṇarndārk kellaiyaṟat tāṉoḷiru nāṉiduvē
yiṉṉavartam bhēdameṉa veṇ.

பதச்சேதம்: உடல் நானே, தன்னை உணரார்க்கு, உணர்ந்தார்க்கு. உடல் அளவே ‘நான்’ தன் உணரார்க்கு; உடல் உள்ளே தன் உணர்ந்தார்க்கு எல்லை அற தான் ஒளிரும் ‘நான்’. இதுவே இன்னவர் தம் பேதம் என எண்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): uḍal nāṉē, taṉṉai uṇarārkku, uṇarndārkku. uḍal aḷavē ‘nāṉ’ taṉ uṇarārkku; uḍal uḷḷē taṉ uṇarndārkku ellai aṟa tāṉ oḷirum ‘nāṉ’. iduvē iṉṉavar tam bhēdam eṉa eṇ.

English translation: For those who do not know themselves [and] for those who have known [themselves], the body is actually ‘I’. For those who do not know themself, ‘I’ is only the extent of the body; for those who have known themself within the body, oneself, ‘I’, shines without limit. Consider that the difference between them is only this.

This is what Bhagavan implies in this twentieth verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ by saying ‘வேறான அக் காடும் வீடாய் ஒடுங்கி விடும்’ (vēṟāṉa a-k-kāḍum vīḍāy oḍuṅgi-viḍum), ‘even that forest, which was other, will certainly be absorbed, becoming home’, meaning that even this body, which we previously needed to consider to be something other than ourself, will eventually be found to be nothing other than ourself, the one infinite being-awareness (sat-cit).

When the devotee wrote his verse, ‘வேடன் கைப்பட்ட புறவு விடப்படின், காடும் கடந்து விடும்’ (vēḍaṉ kai-p-paṭṭa puṟavu viḍappaḍiṉ, kāḍum kaḍandu-viḍum), ‘If the dove caught in the hand of the hunter is released, it will certainly escape from the forest also’, his idea was that if jīva (the dove) is released from the grasp of māyā (the hunter), it will not remain in the body (the forest). In other words, he assumed that the body will die when the jīva attains liberation (mukti), but Bhagavan repudiated this by implying that when the veil of māyā is withdrawn by self-investigation, even the body will be found to be nothing other than oneself. What he indirectly implied thereby is that the body will continue to live until the end of its prārabdha, and therefore that the jīvanmukta (one who is liberated while the body is alive) will continue to live in it until such time.

The importance of this teaching lies in the fact that the teachings of vēdānta in general and about self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) in particular are given to us by jīvanmuktas such as Bhagavan, so if there were no such state as jīvanmukti (liberation while the body is alive), there would be no way in which such teachings could be conveyed to us except though silence, and the vast majority of us require teachings in words in order for us to recognise the importance of practising self-investigation and self-surrender, which are means by which we can gain the clarity of mind and heart necessary for us to understand the teachings that are eternally being conveyed from within by silence.

However, this teaching about jīvanmukti is not the ultimate truth, because the body and mind of the jīvanmukta exist only in the view of those of us who are still ensnared in māyā. As Bhagavan often pointed out, it is only because we mistake ourself to be a person consisting of body and mind that we see the jīvanmukta as a person consisting of body and mind. What the jīvanmukta actually is is not a body or mind but only the one infinite light of pure awareness, because as Bhagavan often said, ‘ஞானமே ஞானி’ (jñāṉamē jñāṉi), ‘jñāna [pure awareness] alone is the jñāni [one who knows pure awareness]’. That is, since pure awareness can never be an object of awareness, it cannot be known by anything other than itself, so logically the jñāni cannot be anything other than jñāna itself. Therefore, since mukti (liberation) cannot be attained except by jñāna (that is, except by knowing and being the pure awareness that we always actually are), a mukta (one who is liberated) is nothing other than jñāna (pure awareness), so the difference between jīvanmukti (liberation while the body is alive) and vidēha-mukti (liberation without a body) seems to exist only in the deluded view of the ajñāni (one who is still bound by the ignorance ‘I am this body’). In the clear view of the jñāni, nothing other than jñāna actually exists, so there is no such thing as a mind, body or world, and hence the jñāni is not aware whether (in the view of others) the body is alive or dead, as Bhagavan makes clear in the next verse, and as he also implies in verse 31 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham.

Verse 21:

தனுநிலை யிலதாந் தங்கினு மெழினும்
வினையினா லடுத்து விடுத்திடு மேனும்
புனைதுகி லினைக்கள் வெறிக்குரு டனைப்போற்
றனையுணர் சித்தன் றனுவுணர் கிலனே.

taṉunilai yiladān taṅgiṉu meṙiṉum
viṉaiyiṉā laḍuttu viḍuttiḍu mēṉum
puṉaitugi liṉaikkaḷ veṟikkuru ḍaṉaippōṟ
ṟaṉaiyuṇar siddhaṉ ḏṟaṉuvuṇar gilaṉē.

பதச்சேதம்: தனு நிலை இலது ஆம் தங்கினும், எழினும், வினையினால் அடுத்து, விடுத்திடும் ஏனும், புனை துகிலினை கள் வெறி குருடனை போல், தனை உணர் சித்தன் தனு உணர்கிலனே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): taṉu nilai iladu ām taṅgiṉum, eṙiṉum, viṉaiyiṉāl aḍuttu, viḍuttiḍum ēṉum, puṉai tugiliṉai kaḷ veṟi kuruḍaṉai pōl, taṉai uṇar siddhaṉ taṉu uṇargilaṉē.

அன்வயம்: புனை துகிலினை கள் வெறி குருடனை போல், தனை உணர் சித்தன் நிலை இலது ஆம் தனு வினையினால் தங்கினும், எழினும், அடுத்து, விடுத்திடும் ஏனும், தனு உணர்கிலனே.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): puṉai tugiliṉai kaḷ veṟi kuruḍaṉai pōl, taṉai uṇar siddhaṉ nilai iladu ām taṉu viṉaiyiṉāl taṅgiṉum, eṙiṉum, aḍuttu, viḍuttiḍum ēṉum, taṉu uṇargilaṉē.

English translation: Though the body, which is what is not permanent, stays, though it rises, even though by karma being joined, it separates, the siddha who knows himself does not know the body, like someone blinded with toddy-intoxication, the fine cloth in which he was attired

Explanatory paraphrase: Whether [in accordance with its prārabdha] the body, which is impermanent, stays [remains without activity] or rises [resumes activity], whether by karma [namely prārabdha] it is joined [still alive] or is separated [dead], the siddha who knows himself [namely the ātma-jñāni] does not know [or is not aware of] the body, just like someone blinded with toddy-intoxication [not knowing whether he is still wearing] the fine cloth in which he was attired.

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): தனு (taṉu): body {Tamil form of the Sanskrit tanu, ‘body’ or ‘person’} | நிலை (nilai): standing, enduring, permanent | இலது (iladu): what is not | ஆம் (ām): being, which is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} >>> so if ஆம் (ām) were taken to be a neuter third person verb meaning ‘is’ instead of an adjectival participle meaning ‘which is’, ‘தனு நிலை இலது ஆம்’ (taṉu nilai iladu ām) would be a sentence that means ‘the body is what is not permanent’, but since தனு (taṉu), ‘body’, is the subject of the clause that forms the first two lines if this verse, ‘தனு நிலை இலது ஆம்’ (taṉu nilai iladu ām) can more aptly be taken to be a noun phrase that means ‘the body, which is what is not permanent’, which implies:

the body, which is impermanent

<<< தங்கினும் (taṅgiṉum): though staying, though remaining | எழினும் (eṙiṉum): though rising | வினையினால் (viṉaiyiṉāl): by karma {instrumental (third case) form of viṉai, ‘action’ or ‘karma’, in this case implying prārabdha karma, ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’} | அடுத்து (aḍuttu): joining, having joined, being joined {adverbial participle} | விடுத்திடும் (viḍuttiḍum): [it] lets go, separates | ஏனும் (ēṉum): even though >>> so ‘தங்கினும் எழினும் வினையினால் அடுத்து விடுத்திடும் ஏனும்’ (taṅgiṉum eṙiṉum viṉaiyiṉāl aḍuttu viḍuttiḍum ēṉum) means ‘though staying, though rising, even though by karma being joined, separates’, which implies:

whether [the body] stays [remains without activity] or rises [resumes activity], whether by karma [namely prārabdha] it is joined [still alive] or is separated [dead],

<<< புனை (puṉai): dress, wear, adorn, attire {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘which he was wearing’ or ‘in which he was attired’} | துகிலினை (tugiliṉai): fine cloth, sumptuous clothing {accusative (second case) form of tugil} | கள்வெறிக்குருடனை (kaḷ-veṟi-k-kuruḍaṉai): someone blinded with toddy-intoxication {accusative (second case) form of kaḷ-veṟi-k-kuruḍaṉ, compound of kaḷ, ‘palm toddy’ (liquor made from palm tree sap), veṟi, ‘be drunk’ or ‘be intoxicated’ (root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘intoxicated’), and kuruḍaṉ, ‘blind man’ (used here in a metaphorical sense)} | போல் (pōl): like {particle of comparison} >>> so ‘புனை துகிலினை கள் வெறி குருடனை போல்’ (puṉai tugiliṉai kaḷ veṟi kuruḍaṉai pōl) means ‘like someone blinded with toddy-intoxication, the fine cloth in which he was attired’, which implies:

just like someone blinded with toddy-intoxication [not knowing whether he is still wearing] the fine cloth in which he was attired

<<< தனை (taṉai): oneself, himself, self {accusative (second case) form of the generic pronoun tāṉ, ‘oneself’} | உணர் (uṇar): know, be aware of {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘who knows’ or ‘who has known’} | சித்தன் (siddhaṉ): siddha, one who has accomplished, one who is accomplished {Tamil form of the Sanskrit siddha} | தனு (taṉu): body {as explained above} | உணர்கிலனே (uṇargilaṉē): does not know, is not aware of >>> so ‘தனை உணர் சித்தன் தனு உணர்கிலனே’ (taṉai uṇar siddhaṉ taṉu uṇargilaṉē) means ‘the siddha who knows himself does not know the body’, which implies:

the siddha who knows himself [namely the ātma-jñāni] does not know [or is not aware of] the body.

Note: This verse is Bhagavan’s adaptation of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.13.36:

देहं च नश्वरमवस्थितमुत्थितं वा
      सिद्धो न पश्यति यतोऽध्यगमत् स्वरूपम् ।
दैवादपेतमथ दैववशादुपेतं
      वासो यथा परिकृतं मदिरामदान्ध: ॥

dēhaṁ ca naśvaram avasthitam utthitaṁ vā
      siddhō na paśyati yatō’dhyagamat svarūpam ।
daivād apētam atha daiva-vaśād upētaṁ
      vāsō yathā parikṛtaṁ madirā-madāndhaḥ ॥

English translation: Since he has come upon [or achieved] svarūpa [his own essential being], the siddha does not see whether the perishable body is seated or has risen, or likewise whether by daiva [destiny, which is the will of God] it is apēta [departed] or under the sway of daiva it is upēta [possessed or present], just like someone blinded with liquor-intoxication [not seeing] the clothes wrapped around.

Once when Bhagavan pointed out this verse and explained its import, Muruganar expressed the meaning of it in what is now verse 1148 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, and when he showed this to him, Bhagavan expressed the same teaching in this verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, which is also verse Bhagavan-24 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Explanations and discussions:
2008-06-22: In the experience of a jnani, who is jnana itself, there is no such thing as a body or world, and therefore no such thing as birth or death, so the death of the physical body makes absolutely no difference to a jnani, because jnana or true self-knowledge is the absolutely non-dual, undivided and therefore difference-free experience in which only ‘I am’ — our real self or essential adjunct-free self-conscious being — exists and is known by itself alone

(வேறு: vēṟu)

Verse 22:

கண்ட வன்றனைக் காயந் தனையன
முண்ட பின்னிலை யொப்ப விடுப்பனே.

kaṇḍa vaṉḏṟaṉaik kāyan daṉaiyaṉa
muṇḍa piṉṉilai yoppa viḍuppaṉē.

பதச்சேதம்: கண்டவன் தனை காயம் தனை அனம் உண்ட பின் இலை ஒப்ப விடுப்பனே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): kaṇḍavaṉ taṉai kāyam-taṉai aṉam uṇḍa-piṉ ilai oppa viḍuppaṉē.

அன்வயம்: அனம் உண்ட பின் இலை ஒப்ப, தனை கண்டவன் காயம் தனை விடுப்பனே.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): aṉam uṇḍa-piṉ ilai oppa, taṉai kaṇḍavaṉ kāyam-taṉai viḍuppaṉē.

English translation: He who has seen himself will discard the body like a leaf after food has been eaten.

Explanatory paraphrase: He who has seen himself [known himself as he actually is] will discard the body just like [one discards] a leaf after food has been eaten [from it].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): கண்டவன் (kaṇḍavaṉ): he who has seen {masculine third person singular pronominal noun formed from kaṇḍa, past adjectival participle of kāṇ, ‘see’, but since the masculine form is used here generically in a gender-neutral sense, it implies ‘one who has seen’} | தனை (taṉai): oneself, himself, self {accusative (second case) form of the generic pronoun tāṉ, ‘oneself’} | காயந்தனை (kāyandaṉai): body {compound of kāyam, ‘body’ (Tamil form of the Sanskrit kāya), and taṉai, accusative (second case) form of the generic pronoun tāṉ, used here as a case-marking suffix} | அனம் (aṉam): food {poetic abbreviation of aṉṉam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit anna, ‘food’ (especially boiled rice)} | உண்டபின் (uṇḍa-piṉ): after having eaten, after [it] has been eaten {compound of uṇḍa, past adjectival participle of uṇ, ‘eat’, and piṉ, ‘after’} | இலை (ilai): leaf | ஒப்ப (oppa): like {adverb of comparison} | விடுப்பனே (viḍuppaṉē): will discard {intensified form of viḍuppaṉ, masculine third person singular future form of viḍu, ‘leave’ or ‘discard’} >>> so ‘கண்டவன் தனை காயம் தனை விடுப்பனே’ (kaṇḍavaṉ taṉai kāyam-taṉai viḍuppaṉē) means ‘He who has seen himself will discard the body’, which implies:

He who has seen himself [known himself as he actually is] will discard the body

and ‘அனம் உண்ட பின் இலை ஒப்ப’ (aṉam uṇḍa-piṉ ilai oppa) means ‘like a leaf after food has been eaten’, which implies:

just like [one discards] a leaf after food has been eaten [from it]

Note: In this verse Bhagavan expresses in a more succinct manner the teaching given in Prabhuliṇga Līlai 12.11:

ஒண்ட ரைக்க ணொழிவி லருளுருக்
கொண்ட டுத்த குருவரு ளாற்றனைக்
கண்ட மெய்த்தவன் காயந் தனையன
முண்ட நெட்டிலை யொப்ப விடுப்பனால்.

oṇḍa raikka ṇoṙivi laruḷuruk
koṇḍa ḍutta guruvaru ḷāṯṟaṉaik
kaṇḍa meyttavaṉ kāyan taṉaiyaṉa
muṇḍa neṭṭilai yoppa viḍuppaṉāl.

(குறள்: kuṟaḷ)

Verse 23:

எய்தலிலின் புற்றழுக்கா றிற்றிரட்டை யெற்றுசமன்
செய்திடினுஞ் சிக்கற்றான் றேர்.

eydaliliṉ buṯṟaṙukkā ṟiṯṟiraṭṭai yeṯṟusamaṉ
ceydiḍiṉuñ cikkaṯṟāṉ ḏṟēr.

பதச்சேதம்: எய்தலில் இன்பு உற்று, அழுக்காறு இற்று, இரட்டை எற்று, சமன் செய்திடினும் சிக்கு அற்றான். தேர்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): eydalil iṉbu uṯṟu, aṙukkāṟu iṯṟu, iraṭṭai eṯṟu, samaṉ seydiḍiṉum sikku aṯṟāṉ. tēr.

English translation: Experiencing joy in what happens, having put an end to envy, having discarded the pairs of opposites, he who is equanimous, though doing, is devoid of entanglement. Know.

Explanatory paraphrase: Experiencing joy [being happy and contented] in whatever happens [knowing it all to be in accordance with destiny, as allotted by the will of God], having put an end to envy [and other evil dispositions or impurities of mind], having discarded [or transcended] the pairs of opposites [such as likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain, knowledge and ignorance, life and death], he [namely the ātma-jñāni] who is equanimous [both in success and failure], though [seemingly] doing [any amount of action], is devoid of entanglement [or bondage]. Know [or consider] [this].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): எய்தலில் (eydalil): in happening, in what happens {locative (seventh case) form of eydal, ‘happening’ or ‘what happens’, verbal noun formed from eydu, ‘happen’, ‘occur’, ‘transpire’ or ‘appear’} | இன்பு (iṉbu): joy | உற்று (uṯṟu): being, experiencing {adverbial participle} >>> so ‘எய்தலில் இன்பு உற்று’ (eydalil iṉbu uṯṟu) means ‘experiencing joy in what happens’, which implies:

experiencing joy [or contentment] in whatever happens [knowing it all to be in accordance with destiny, as allotted by the will of God],

<<< அழுக்காறு (aṙukkāṟu): envy, impurities of mind, evil dispositions | இற்று (iṯṟu): breaking off, smashing, destroying, putting an end to, having put an end to {adverbial participle} >>> so ‘அழுக்காறு இற்று’ (aṙukkāṟu iṯṟu) means ‘having put an end to envy’, which implies:

having put an end to envy [and other evil dispositions or impurities of mind],

<<< இரட்டை (iraṭṭai): pairs of opposites | எற்று (eṯṟu): discarding, having dicarded, having transcended {adverbial participle} >>> so ‘இரட்டை எற்று’ (iraṭṭai eṯṟu) means ‘having discarded the pairs of opposites’, which implies:

having discarded [or transcended] the pairs of opposites [such as likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain, knowledge and ignorance, life and death],

<<< சமன் (samaṉ): he who is equanimous {personal form of samam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit sama, ‘same’, ‘steady’, ‘constant’, ‘balanced’, ‘even’, ‘equal’ or ‘equanimous’} | செய்திடினும் (seydiḍiṉum): though doing | சிக்கு (sikku): entanglement, bondage | அற்றான் (aṯṟāṉ): [he] has been severed from, [he] has become devoid of, [he] is devoid of, {masculine third person singular past tense form of aṟu, ‘be severed’, ‘cease’ or ‘perish’} >>> so ‘சமன் செய்திடினும் சிக்கு அற்றான்’ (samaṉ seydiḍiṉum sikku aṯṟāṉ) means ‘he who is equanimous though doing is devoid of entanglement’, which implies:

he [namely the ātma-jñāni] who is equanimous [in both success and failure] though [seemingly] doing [any kind and any number of actions] is devoid of entanglement [or bondage].

<<< தேர் (tēr): investigate, know, consider {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} >>> so this final word is a separate sentence that means ‘know’ or ‘consider’, which implies:

Know [or consider] [this].

Note: This verse is the first and most succinct of Bhagavan’s two adaptations of Bhagavad Gītā 4.22:

यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सर: ।
सम: सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते ॥

yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭō dvandvātītō vimatsaraḥ ।
samaḥ siddhāv asiddhau ca kṛtvāpi na nibadhyatē ॥

पदच्छेद: यदृच्छा लाभ संतुष्टः, द्वन्द्व अतीतः, विमत्सरः, समः सिद्धौ असिद्धौ च, कृत्वा अपि न निबध्यते.

Padacchēda (word-separation): yadṛcchā lābha saṃtuṣṭaḥ, dvandva atītaḥ, vimatsaraḥ, samaḥ siddhau asiddhau ca, kṛtvā api na nibadhyatē.

English translation: Being contented with what is obtained by chance, having gone beyond the pairs of opposites, free from envy, equal in accomplishment and in non-accomplishment, even though doing he is not entangled.

Explanatory paraphrase: Being contented [satisfied or pleased] with what is obtained by chance [whether it be seemingly pleasant or unpleasant], having gone beyond [or transcended] the pairs of opposites [such as likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain, knowledge and ignorance, life and death], equal [the same, constant, steady, balanced or equanimous] in accomplishment [success] and in non-accomplishment [failure], even though [seemingly] doing [any number of actions] he is not entangled [or bound down] [by anything whatsoever].

One day Bhagavan explained the meaning and significance of this verse, and having heard what he said about it, Muruganar expressed the meaning of it in what is now verse 1166 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, and when he showed this to him, Bhagavan expressed the same teaching in a more succinct manner by composing this verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, which is also verse Bhagavan-26 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Later, in June 1940, when he composed Bhagavad Gītā Sāram, Bhagavan translated this verse again as verse 40:

உற்றதாம் பேற்றி லுவப்புற்றான் றொந்தங்க
ளிற்றா னழுக்கா றிலாதவ — னொற்றுமை
பெற்ற வவற்றுப் பெறாதவற்றுற் றான்செய்த
லுற்றாலும் பந்த முறான்.

uṯṟadām pēṯṟi luvappuṯṟāṉ ṟondaṅga
ḷiṯṟā ṉaṙukkā ṟilādava — ṉoṯṟumai
peṯṟa vavaṯṟup peṟādavaṯṟuṯ ṟāṉceyda
luṯṟālum bandha muṟāṉ.

பதச்சேதம்: உற்றது ஆம் பேற்றில் உவப்பு உற்றான், தொந்தங்கள் இற்றான், அழுக்காறு இலாதவன், ஒற்றுமை பெற்ற அவற்று பெறாத அவற்று உற்றான், செய்தல் உற்றாலும் பந்தம் உறான்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): uṯṟadu ām pēṯṟil uvappu uṯṟāṉ, dondaṅgaḷ iṯṟāṉ, aṙukkāṟu ilādavaṉ, oṯṟumai peṯṟa avaṯṟu peṟāda avaṯṟu uṯṟāṉ, seydal uṯṟālum bandham uṟāṉ.

அன்வயம்: உற்றது ஆம் பேற்றில் உவப்பு உற்றான், தொந்தங்கள் இற்றான், அழுக்காறு இலாதவன், பெற்ற அவற்று பெறாத அவற்று ஒற்றுமை உற்றான், செய்தல் உற்றாலும் பந்தம் உறான்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): uṯṟadu ām pēṯṟil uvappu uṯṟāṉ, dondaṅgaḷ iṯṟāṉ, aṙukkāṟu ilādavaṉ, peṯṟa avaṯṟu peṟāda avaṯṟu oṯṟumai uṯṟāṉ, seydal uṯṟālum bandham uṟāṉ.

English translation: He who experiences joy in acquisition that is what happens, he who has ended the pairs of opposites, he who is devoid of envy, he who experiences oneness in those that are obtained and in those that are not obtained, does not undergo bondage even if engaged in doing.

Explanatory paraphrase: [The ātma-jñāni, who is] he who experiences joy in acquisition that is what happens [that is, in accepting whatever happens], he who has ended dvandvas [pairs of opposites such as likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain, knowledge and ignorance, life and death], he who is devoid of envy, [and] he who experiences oneness [sameness, constancy, steadiness or equanimity] in those that are obtained [successes] and in those that are not obtained [failures], does not undergo bondage even if [seemingly] engaged in doing [any number of actions].

பாரமார்த்திக சத்தியம் (pāramārthika satyam): The Ultimate Truth

Verse 24:

ஆதலழி வார்ப்பவிழ வாசைமுயல் வார்ந்தாரில்
ஈதுபர மார்த்தமென் றெண்.

ādalaṙi vārppaviṙa vāśaimuyal vārndāril
īdupara mārttameṉ ḏṟeṇ.

பதச்சேதம்: ஆதல், அழிவு, ஆர்ப்பு, அவிழ ஆசை, முயல்வு, ஆர்ந்தார் இல். ஈது பரமார்த்தம் என்று எண்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ādal, aṙivu, ārppu, aviṙa āśai, muyalvu, ārndār il. īdu paramārttam eṉḏṟu eṇ.

English translation: There is no becoming, destruction, bondage, wish to become untied, effort, those who have attained. Know that this is the ultimate truth.

Explanatory paraphrase: There is no becoming [or coming into being], destruction, bondage, wish to become untied [from bondage], effort [made for liberation], [or] those who have attained [liberation]. Know that this is paramārtha [the ultimate truth].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): ஆதல் (ādal): becoming, coming into being {verbal noun} | அழிவு (aṙivu): destruction | ஆர்ப்பு (ārppu): bondage | அவிழ (aviṙa): to become untied {infinitive} | ஆசை (āśai): wish {Tamil form of the Sanskrit āśā, ‘wish’, ‘desire’ or ‘hope’} | முயல்வு (muyalvu): effort, endeavouring, trying | ஆர்ந்தார் (ārndār): those who have obtained {third person plural pronominal noun formed from ārnda, past adjectival participle of ār, ‘become full’, ‘pervade’, ‘be satisfied’, ‘stay’, ‘eat’, ‘experience’ or ‘obtain’} | இல் (il): not, is not, are not, there is not {negative sign; root of a negative symbolic verb denying existence; also a noun meaning ‘non-existence’ or ‘death’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘ஆதல், அழிவு, ஆர்ப்பு, அவிழ ஆசை, முயல்வு, ஆர்ந்தார் இல்’ (ādal, aṙivu, ārppu, aviṙa āśai, muyalvu, ārndār il), means ‘There is no becoming, destruction, bondage, wish to become untied, effort, those who have attained’, which implies:

There is no becoming [or coming into being], destruction, bondage, wish to become untied [from bondage], effort [made for liberation], [or] those who have attained [liberation].

<<< ஈது (īdu): this {singular proximal demonstrative pronoun} | பரமார்த்தம் (paramārttam): ultimate truth {Tamil form of the Sanskrit paramārtha, ‘ultimate truth’} | என்று (eṉḏṟu): that {adverbial participle meaning ‘saying’ or ‘having said’, but generally used in the sense ‘that’, ‘thus’ or ‘as’} | எண் (eṇ): think, consider, decide, regard, know {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} >>> so this second sentence, ‘ஈது பரமார்த்தம் என்று எண்’ (īdu paramārttam eṉḏṟu eṇ), means ‘Know that this is the ultimate truth’, which implies:

Know that this is paramārtha [the ultimate truth].

Note: This verse is Bhagavan’s adaptation of Amṛtabindu Upaniṣad verse 10:

न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।
न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥

na nirōdhō na cōtpattirna baddhō na ca sādhakaḥ ।
na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityēṣā paramārthatā ॥

पदच्छेद: न निरोधः, न च उत्पत्तिः; न बद्धः, न च साधकः; न मुमुक्षुः, न वै मुक्तः इति एषा परमार्थता.

Padacchēda (word-separation): na nirōdhaḥ, na ca utpattiḥ; na baddhaḥ, na ca sādhakaḥ; na mumukṣuḥ, na vai muktaḥ iti ēṣā paramārthatā.

English translation: There is no nirōdha [curbing or destruction], and no utpatti [birth, origination, arising, occurrence, appearance or coming into being]; no baddha [anyone bound], and no sādhaka [anyone doing sādhana or spiritual practice]; no mumukṣu [anyone seeking liberation], [and] even no mukta [anyone liberated]. This is paramārthatā [the ultimate truth].

As well as being verse 10 of Amṛtabindūpaniṣad, this also occurs in Ātmōpaniṣad as 2.31, and it is quoted by Gaudapada as Māṇḍukya Kārikā 2.32 (to which it is usually attributed) and by Sankara as Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi verse 574. In his Tamil prose adaptation of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi Bhagavan translated this verse as follows:

உத்பத்தி யில்லை; நாசமில்லை; பத்தனில்லை; சாதகனில்லை; முமுக்ஷுவில்லை; முக்தனுமில்லை; இதுவே பரமார்த்தம்.

utpatti-y-illai; nāśam-illai; baddhaṉ-illai; sādhakaṉ-illai; mumukṣu-v-illai; muktaṉ-um-illai; iduvē paramārttham.

There is no utpatti [arising, birth, origination, appearance or coming into being]; no nāśam [destruction]; no one bound; no one who does sādhana; no one seeking liberation; not even one who is liberated; this indeed is paramārtha [the ultimate truth].

On one occasion when Bhagavan was talking about this verse, Muruganar composed the meaning of it in what is now verse 1227 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, and when he showed this to him, Bhagavan expressed the same teaching in a more succinct manner as this verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, which is also verse Bhagavan-28 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Explanations and discussions:
2019-05-08: According to ajāta neither any dream nor even any dreamer has ever come into existence or been destroyed, because there is neither any utpatti (coming into existence) nor any nirōdha (destruction), so the ultimate truth is that there is no ego, and hence there is no baddha (one who is bound), no sādhaka (one who does sādhana) and no mumukṣu (one who is seeking liberation)
2018-09-01: When we investigate ourself keenly enough to see that ego does not actually exist, we will thereby see that its will does not exist, but until then both ego and its will seem to exist and to be real, so this is why a distinction needs to be made between pāramārthika satya (ultimate or absolute reality) on the one hand, and prātibhāsika satya (seeming reality) or vyāvahārika satya (transactional or mundane reality) on the other
2016-11-21: Since this verse categorically denies the existence of any उत्पत्ति (utpatti), which means birth, origination, arising, occurrence, appearance or coming into being, it denies in effect that any vivarta (illusion or false appearance) has ever occurred, arisen or come into being, which is not only the import of ajāta vāda but also the logical conclusion of vivarta vāda
2016-10-19: Vivarta vāda is therefore useful as a working hypothesis, but if we test this hypothesis by investigating whether there is actually any such this as this ego that we now seem to be, we will find that there is no such thing and that therefore nothing has ever seemed to exist at all, so the ultimate truth is only ajāta, as Bhagavan stated clearly in this verse
2014-09-26: Though ajāta is the ultimate truth, it is not the teaching that is most useful to us so long as we experience ourself as an ego living in a finite world, because believing that none of this actually exists does not help us to free ourself from the illusion that it does exist, so though Bhagavan explained to us that this was his experience, to enable us to experience it he taught dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda, which concedes that the ego and world do seem to exist, but only as an illusion or false appearance

மௌனம் (maunam): Silence

Verse 25:

இத்துவித பாடையி லேயே வினாவிடைகள்
அத்துவிதத் தின்றே யவை.

idduvita bhāṭaiyi lēyē viṉāviḍaigaḷ
attuvitat tiṉṟē yavai.

பதச்சேதம்: இத் துவித பாடையிலேயே வினா விடைகள்; அத்துவிதத்து இன்றே அவை.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): i-d-duvita-bhāḍaiyilēyē viṉā-viḍaigaḷ; adduvitattu iṉḏṟē avai.

அன்வயம்: வினா விடைகள் இத் துவித பாடையிலேயே; அத்துவிதத்து அவை இன்றே.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): viṉā-viḍaigaḷ i-d-duvita-bhāḍaiyilēyē; adduvitattu avai iṉḏṟē.

English translation: Questions and answers are only in this language of duality; in non-duality they do not exist at all.

Explanatory paraphrase: Questions and answers are [possible] only in this language of dvaita [duality]; in [the real state of] advaita [non-duality] [the language of which is only infinite silence] they do not exist at all [because there is no rising of ego to ask any questions or to seek any answers].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): இத்துவிதபாடையிலேயே (i-d-duvita-bhāḍaiyilēyē): only in this duality-language, only in this language of duality {compound of the proximal demonstrative prefix i, ‘this’, duvita (Tamil form of the Sanskrit dvaita), ‘duality’, and bhāḍaiyilēyē, strongly intensified form of bhāḍaiyil, locative (seventh case) form of bhāḍai (Tamil form of the Sanskrit bhāṣā), ‘speech’ or ‘language’, in which the doubling of the intensifying suffix ē implies ‘only’} | வினாவிடைகள் (viṉā-viḍaigaḷ): questions and answers {compound of viṉā, ‘question’, viḍai, ‘answer’ or ‘reply’, and the plural ending gaḷ} >>> so this first sentence, ‘இத் துவித பாடையிலேயே வினா விடைகள்’ (i-d-duvita-bhāḍaiyilēyē viṉā-viḍaigaḷ), means ‘Questions and answers are only in this language of duality’, which implies:

Questions and answers are [possible] only in this language of dvaita [duality];

<<< அத்துவிதத்து (adduvitattu): in non-duality {inflectional base of adduvitam (Tamil form of the Sanskrit advaita), ‘non-duality’, used here in a locative (seventh case) sense} | இன்றே (iṉḏṟē): are not at all, do not exist at all {intensified form of iṉḏṟu, ‘is not’, ‘are not’ or ‘do not exist’ (a form of the negative symbolic verb il, which denies existence), in which the intensifying suffix ē implies ‘at all’} | அவை (avai): they, those {neuter third person plural pronoun} >>> so this second sentence, ‘அத்துவிதத்து இன்றே அவை’ (adduvitattu iṉḏṟē avai), means ‘in non-duality they are not at all’ or ‘in non-duality they do not exist at all’, which implies:

in [the real state of] advaita [non-duality] [the language of which is only infinite silence] they do not exist at all [because there is no rising of ego to ask any questions or to seek any answers].

Note: This verse is Bhagavan’s adaptation of Pañcadaśī 2.39:

चोद्यं वा परिहारो वा क्रियतां द्वैतभाषया ।
अद्वैतभाषया चोद्यं नास्ति नापि तदुत्तरम् ॥

cōdyaṁ vā parihārō vā kriyatāṁ dvaitabhāṣayā ।
advaitabhāṣayā cōdyaṁ nāsti nāpi taduttaram ॥

One day when Bhagavan was talking about this verse, Muruganar summarised what he said about it in what is now verse 1181 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, and when he showed this to him, Bhagavan expressed the same teaching in a more succinct manner as this verse of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ, which is also verse Bhagavan-27 in Guru Vācaka Kōvai.

Explanations and discussions:
2019-03-22: As Bhagavan often pointed out, the language of non-duality (advaita) is only silence, because silence is the very nature of the non-dual experience of pure self-awareness, so it alone can describe it

(வெண்பா: veṇbā)

Verse 26:

அக்கரம தோரெழுத் தாகுமிப் புத்தகத்தோ
ரக்கரமா மஃதெழுத வாசித்தா — யக்கரமா
மோரெழுத்தென் றுந்தானா யுள்ளத் தொளிர்வதா
மாரெழுத வல்லா ரதை.

akkarama dōreṙut tāhumip puttakattō
rakkaramā maḵdeḻuda vāśittā — yakkaramā
mōreṙutteṉ ḏṟundāṉā yuḷḷat toḷirvadā
māreṙuda vallā radai.

பதச்சேதம்: அக்கரம் அது ஓர் எழுத்து ஆகும். இப் புத்தகத்து ஓர் அக்கரம் ஆம் அஃது எழுத ஆசித்தாய். அக்கரம் ஆம் ஓர் எழுத்து என்றும் தானாய் உள்ளத்து ஒளிர்வது ஆம். ஆர் எழுத வல்லார் அதை?

Padacchēdam (word-separation): akkaram-adu ōr eṙuttu āhum. i-p-puttakattu ōr akkaram ām aḵdu eṙuda āśittāy. akkaram ām ōr eṙuttu eṉḏṟum tāṉāy uḷḷattu oḷirvadu ām. ār eṙuda vallār adai?

அன்வயம்: அக்கரம் அது ஓர் எழுத்து ஆகும். ஓர் அக்கரம் ஆம் அஃது இப் புத்தகத்து எழுத ஆசித்தாய். அக்கரம் ஆம் ஓர் எழுத்து உள்ளத்து என்றும் தானாய் ஒளிர்வது ஆம். அதை ஆர் எழுத வல்லார்?

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): akkaram-adu ōr eṙuttu āhum. ōr akkaram ām aḵdu i-p-puttakattu eṙuda āśittāy. akkaram ām ōr eṙuttu uḷḷattu eṉḏṟum tāṉāy oḷirvadu ām. adai ār eṙuda vallār?

English translation: That, the imperishable, is the one letter. You wanted to write that, which is the one letter, in this book. One letter, which is imperishable, is what always shines spontaneously in the heart. Who are those who are able to write it?

Explanatory paraphrase: That, the akṣara [the imperishable, namely brahman, the one infinite reality], is the one [unique and peerless] letter. You wanted [me] to write that, which is the one [unique and peerless] akṣara [letter, syllable or imperishable reality], in this book. One letter [namely infinite silence], which is akṣara [imperishable and immutable], is what always shines spontaneously [or as oneself] in the heart [as sat-cit, pure being-awareness, ‘I am’]. Who are those who are able to write it? [There is no one who is able to do so, because that one letter is not something that can be written.]

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): அக்கரம் (akkaram): imperishable, indestructible, immutable {Tamil form of the Sanskrit akṣara, the primary meaning of which is ‘imperishable’, ‘indestructible’ or ‘immutable’, and which by extension means ‘syllable’ or ‘syllabic character’ (character or letter of a syllabic script such as Tamil or Devanagari)} | அது (adu): that {singular distal demonstrative pronoun} | ஓர் (ōr): one, unique, peerless {adjective} | எழுத்து (eṙuttu): letter, syllabic character | ஆகும் (āhum): will be, is, are {future (but used generically as a continuous present) neuter third person singular or plural form of āhu, ‘be’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘அக்கரம் அது ஓர் எழுத்து ஆகும்’ (akkaram-adu ōr eṙuttu āhum), means ‘That, the imperishable, is the one letter’, which implies:

That, the akṣara [the imperishable, namely brahman, the one infinite reality], is the one [unique and peerless] letter.

<<< இப்புத்தகத்து (i-p-puttakattu): in this book {compound of the proximal demonstrative prefix i, ‘this’, and puttakattu, the inflectional base of puttakam (Tamil form of the Sanskrit pustaka), ‘book’, used here in a locative (seventh case) sense} | ஓர் (ōr): one {as explained above} | அக்கரம் (akkaram): syllable, syllabic character, letter {as explained above, but used here primarily in the sense of ‘letter’ or ‘syllable’, though still implying ‘the imperishable’} | ஆம் (ām): being, which is {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | அஃது (aḵdu): that {singular distal demonstrative pronoun} | எழுத (eṙuda): to write {infinitive} | ஆசித்தாய் (āśittāy): you wanted {second person singular past tense form of āśi (Tamil verb derived from the Sanskrit noun āśā, ‘wish’, ‘desire’ or ‘hope’), ‘want’, ‘wish’ or ‘desire’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘இப் புத்தகத்து ஓர் அக்கரம் ஆம் அஃது எழுத ஆசித்தாய்’ (i-p-puttakattu ōr akkaram ām aḵdu eṙuda āśittāy), means ‘You wanted to write that, which is the one letter, in this book’, which implies:

You wanted [me] to write that, which is the one [unique and peerless] akṣara [letter, syllable or imperishable reality], in this book.

<<< அக்கரம் (akkaram): imperishable, indestructible, immutable {as explained above} | ஆம் (ām): which is {as explained above} | ஓர் (ōr): one {as explained above} | எழுத்து (eṙuttu): letter, syllabic character | என்றும் (eṉḏṟum): always | தானாய் (tāṉāy): as oneself, spontaneously, of its own accord {adverb, compound of the generic pronoun tāṉ, ‘oneself’ or ‘itself’, and āy, an adverbial participle that means ‘being’ or ‘as’ and that also serves as an adverbial suffix similar in some cases to ‘-ly’ in English} | உள்ளத்து (uḷḷattu): in the heart {inflectional base of uḷḷam, ‘heart’ (in the sense ‘what is inside’ or in this case ‘what is inmost’), used here in a locative (seventh case) sense}| ஒளிர்வது (oḷirvadu): what will shine, what shines, what is shining {future (but used generically as a continuous present) neuter third person singular pronominal noun formed from oḷir, ‘shine’} | ஆம் (ām): will be, is, are {future (but used generically as a continuous present) neuter third person singular or plural form of ā, ‘be’} >>> so this third sentence, ‘அக்கரம் ஆம் ஓர் எழுத்து என்றும் தானாய் உள்ளத்து ஒளிர்வது ஆம்’ (akkaram ām ōr eṙuttu eṉḏṟum tāṉāy uḷḷattu oḷirvadu ām), means ‘One letter, which is imperishable, is what always shines spontaneously in the heart’, which implies:

One letter [namely infinite silence], which is akṣara [imperishable and immutable], is what always shines spontaneously [or as oneself] in the heart [as sat-cit, pure being-awareness, ‘I am’].

<<< ஆர் (ār): who {interrogative pronoun} | எழுத (eṙuda): to write {infinitive} | வல்லார் (vallār): those who are able {third person plural (or honorific singular) pronominal noun formed from val, ‘strength’, ‘power’ or ‘ability’} | அதை (adai): that, it {accusative (second case) form of adu, singular distal demonstrative pronoun} >>> so this final sentence, ‘ஆர் எழுத வல்லார் அதை?’ (ār eṙuda vallār adai?), is a rhetorical question that means ‘Who are those who are able to write it?’, which implies:

Who are those who are able to write it? [There is no one who is able to do so, because that one letter is not something that can be written.]

Explanatory note: On 30th September 1937 a devotee called Somasundara Swami gave a notebook of his to Bhagavan and asked him to write in it any one letter. In response to this Bhagavan composed and wrote in his notebook the following kuṟaḷ, which is the last two lines of the above verse:

ஓரெழுத்தென் றுந்தானா யுள்ளத் தொளிர்வதா
மாரெழுத வல்லா ரதை.

ōreṙutteṉ ḏṟundāṉā yuḷḷat toḷirvadā
māreṙuda vallā radai.

பதச்சேதம்: ஓர் எழுத்து என்றும் தானாய் உள்ளத்து ஒளிர்வது ஆம். ஆர் எழுத வல்லார் அதை?

Padacchēdam (word-separation): ōr eṙuttu eṉḏṟum tāṉāy uḷḷattu oḷirvadu ām. ār eṙuda vallār adai?

English translation: One letter is what always shines spontaneously in the heart. Who are those who are able to write it?

When Bhagavan later explained the actual nature (svarūpa) of this ‘ஓர் எழுத்து’ (ōr eṙuttu), ‘one letter’, Muruganar summarised his explanation in verse 1172 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, in which he incorporated this kuṟaḷ as the final two lines:

வாலிதா மெய்ஞ்ஞான மாட்சி யளிப்பதாய்
ஏல்புடைய வெல்லா வெழுத்துக்கும் — மூலமாய்
ஓரெழுத்தென் றுந்தானா யுள்ளத் தொளிர்வதாம்
ஆரெழுத வல்லா ரதை.

vālidā meyññāṉa māṭci yaḷippadāy
ēlpuḍaiya vellā veṙuttukkum — mūlamāy
ōreṙutteṉ ḏṟundāṉā yuḷḷat toḷirvadā
māreṙuda vallā radai.

பதச்சேதம்: வாலிது ஆ, மெய்ஞ்ஞான மாட்சி அளிப்பது ஆய், ஏல்புடைய எல்லா எழுத்துக்கும் மூலம் ஆய், ஓர் எழுத்து என்றும் தானாய் உள்ளத்து ஒளிர்வதாம். ஆர் எழுத வல்லார் அதை.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): vālidu ā, meyññāṉa-māṭci aḷippadu āy, ēlpuḍaiya ellā eṙuttukkum mūlam āy, ōr eṙuttu eṉḏṟum tāṉāy uḷḷattu oḷirvadu ām. ār eṙuda vallār adai?

English translation: Being pure, being what gives the clarity of real awareness, being the root for all letters that have occurrence, one letter is what always shines spontaneously in the heart. Who are those who are able to write it?

Explanatory paraphrase: Being pure [or perfectly pristine], being what gives mey-jñāna-māṭci [the glory or clarity of mey-jñāna (real awareness or awareness of what is real)], [and] being the mūlam [root, basis, foundation, origin or source] for all letters that have occurrence [namely that occur in the form of sound or writing], one letter [namely infinite silence] is what always shines spontaneously [or as oneself] in the heart [as sat-cit, pure being-awareness, ‘I am’]. Who are those who are able to write it?

To appreciate the full significance of this verse, we first need to consider what this word ‘எழுத்து’ (eṙuttu), ‘letter’, signifies in this context and therefore what Bhagavan means by ‘ஓர் எழுத்து’ (ōr eṙuttu), ‘one letter’, ‘unique letter’ or ‘peerless letter’. An எழுத்து (eṙuttu), ‘letter’, is a symbol that (either individually or in combination with other such symbols) represents a syllable, which is the basic unit of sound in any spoken language. Languages are sophisticated means by which knowledge in the form of information is communicated, and they are formed by attributing meaning to words, each of which is either a syllable or a combination of syllables, so without syllables or the symbols that represent them there would be no languages and hence no such sophisticated means of communication.

However, in order to serve their purpose, words and the syllables of which they are formed need to be distinguishable from each other, and in order to be distinguishable they need a background of relative silence. If the background were too noisy, they would be lost among the noise, thereby becoming indistinguishable and hence unable to serve their purpose. Likewise, letters need to be written (or printed) on a clear background in order to be distinguishable, because if the background were already densely scribbled, the letters would be lost among the scribblings, thereby becoming indistinguishable and hence unable to serve their purpose. Therefore syllables and letters derive their power to serve their purpose of communication from the silence or clearness of the background in which or on which they appear.

However, the immediate source from which syllables and letters derive their power is physical silence and physical clearness, which are fleeting appearances, so they cannot be the ultimate source. Even mental silence or clearness cannot be the ultimate source, because they too are fleeting appearances. Therefore the ultimate source from which syllables and letters originate and derive their power is the eternal silence of pure being and eternal clearness or clarity of pure awareness. And since pure being is itself pure awareness, the infinite silence of pure being is itself the infinite clarity of pure awareness, so it alone is the ultimate source from which all syllables and all letters originate and derive their power. Metaphorically, therefore, the infinite silence of pure being can be described the original syllable and original letter, the one unique and peerless source from which all other syllables and letters originate, so this is why Bhagavan describes it as ‘ஓர் எழுத்து’ (ōr eṙuttu), which means ‘one letter’, ‘unique letter’ or ‘peerless letter’.

The significance of his explanation of this ஓர் எழுத்து (ōr eṙuttu) as recorded by Muruganar in the first two lines of the above verse of Guru Vācaka Kōvai now becomes clear. It is ‘ஏல்புடைய எல்லா எழுத்துக்கும் மூலம்’ (ēlpuḍaiya ellā eṙuttukkum mūlam), ‘the mūlam [root, basis, foundation, origin or source] for all letters that have occurrence’, in which ‘ஏல்புடைய’ (ēlpuḍaiya), ‘that have occurrence’, implies ‘that occur (arise or appear) in the form of sound or writing’. That is, all syllables and letters are risings, meaning things that appear and disappear or come into being and cease to be, and the ultimate source from which they appear is pure being, which is the infinite silence that Bhagavan refers to as ‘ஓர் எழுத்து’ (ōr eṙuttu), ‘the one letter’.

This ஓர் எழுத்து (ōr eṙuttu) is also ‘வாலிது’ (vālidu), which means what is pure, white, good or excellent, thereby implying ‘what is pristine’ or ‘what is in its original state of unsullied purity’, which is a perfect description of the infinite silence and clarity of pure being-awareness (sat-cit), because whatever may seem to rise or subside, sat-cit remains eternally as it is, untouched and unaffected by any such appearance. And most importantly of all, it is ‘மெய்ஞ்ஞான மாட்சி அளிப்பது’ (meyññāṉa-māṭci aḷippadu), ‘what gives mey-jñāna-māṭci’, in which mey-jñāna means ‘real awareness’ or ‘awareness of what is real’ and māṭci means ‘glory’, ‘clarity’ or ‘beauty’. The perfect clarity of real awareness (mey-jñāna-māṭci) is what we always actually are, but we seem to be not aware of ourself as such because we have risen as ego, so giving the clarity of real awareness means revealing to us what we always actually are, thereby tearing asunder the veil of ignorance, the very form of which is ego. Nothing that is finite can reveal what is infinite, so no words have the power to reveal the pure and infinite being-awareness that we actually are, and hence it can be revealed only by infinite silence, which is pure being-awareness itself.

Therefore this infinite silence of pure being, which is what Bhagavan refers to in this verse as ‘ஓர் எழுத்து’ (ōr eṙuttu), the ‘one letter’, ‘unique letter’ or ‘peerless letter’, is what we always actually are, so he says that is ‘என்றும் தானாய் உள்ளத்து ஒளிர்வது’ (eṉḏṟum tāṉāy uḷḷattu oḷirvadu), ‘what always shines spontaneously [or as oneself] in the heart’, thereby implying that it is the one real awareness that always shines in its pristine state as our fundamental awareness of being, ‘I am’. Since it is infinite being-awareness, which is the one source from which all finite things have arisen and into which they must all eventually subside, it cannot be captured within the narrow confines of any number of words, syllables, letters or other symbols, so he ended this kuṟaḷ by asking rhetorically ‘ஆர் எழுத வல்லார் அதை?’ (ār eṙuda vallār adai?), ‘Who are those who are able to write it?’

Subsequently at the request of other devotees he translated this kuṟaḷ of his into both Sanskrit and Telugu, and his Sanskrit version of it is:

एकमक्षरं हृदि निरन्तरं ।
भासते स्वयं लिख्यते कथम् ॥

ēkamakṣaraṁ hṛdi nirantaraṁ ।
bhāsatē svayaṁ likhyatē katham ॥

पदच्छेद: एकम् अक्षरम् हृदि निरन्तरम् भासते स्वयम्. लिख्यते कथम्?

Padacchēda (word-separation): ēkam akṣaram hṛdi nirantaram bhāsatē svayam. likhyatē katham?

English translation: One akṣara [syllable or imperishable thing] unceasingly shines spontaneously in the heart. How [is it] to be written?

Word-explanation: एकम् (ēkam): one | अक्षरम् (akṣaram): imperishable, syllable {nominative (first case) form of akṣara, the primary meaning of which is ‘imperishable’, ‘indestructible’ or ‘immutable’, but which by extension also means ‘syllable’ or ‘letter’, and it is in this latter sense that it is used here} | हृदि (hṛdi): in the heart {locative (seventh case) form of hṛd, ‘heart’} | निरन्तरम् (nirantaram): unceasingly, uninterruptedly, constantly | भासते (bhāsatē): shines, is clear | स्वयम् (svayam): self, oneself, itself, by itself, spontaneously, of its own accord >>> so this first sentence, ‘एकम् अक्षरम् हृदि निरन्तरम् भासते स्वयम्’ (ēkam akṣaram hṛdi nirantaram bhāsatē svayam), means:

One akṣara [syllable or imperishable thing] unceasingly shines spontaneously in the heart.

<<< लिख्यते (likhyatē): to be written {passive of likh, ‘to write’} | कथम् (katham): how, in what way >>> so this second sentence, ‘लिख्यते कथम्?’ (likhyatē katham?), is a rhetorical question that means:

How [is it] to be written?

Finally on 21st September 1940 Bhagavan expanded this kuṟaḷ of his by adding two more lines before it to form a full four-line veṇbā, which is now this verse 26 of Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ. In these newly added first two lines, he not only indicates the context in which he composed the original kuṟaḷ by saying in the second sentence ‘இப் புத்தகத்து ஓர் அக்கரம் ஆம் அஃது எழுத ஆசித்தாய்’ (i-p-puttakattu ōr akkaram ām aḵdu eṙuda āśittāy), ‘You wanted [me] to write that, which is the one akṣara [letter], in this book’, but more importantly clarifies that what he meant by ‘ஓர் எழுத்து’ (ōr eṙuttu), ‘one letter’, is ‘அக்கரம்’ (akkaram), which is a Tamil form of the Sanskrit term ‘अक्षर’ (akṣara), whose primary meaning is ‘imperishable’, ‘indestructible’ or ‘immutable’, thereby indicating that what he referred to as ‘ஓர் எழுத்து’ (ōr eṙuttu), ‘one [unique and peerless] letter’, is the one imperishable reality that always shines in our heart, namely sat-cit, pure being-awareness, ‘I am’, which is what is otherwise called brahman or ātma-svarūpa, the very nature or essence of ourself, meaning ourself as we actually are.

Though the primary meaning of ‘अक्षर’ (akṣara) in Sanskrit and ‘அக்கரம்’ (akkaram) in Tamil is ‘imperishable’, ‘indestructible’ or ‘immutable’, by extension they also both mean ‘syllable’, ‘syllabic character’ or ‘letter’, so the first sentence of this verse, ‘அக்கரம் அது ஓர் எழுத்து ஆகும்’ (akkaram-adu ōr eṙuttu āhum), means not only ‘That, the imperishable, is the one letter’ but also ‘That, the letter [or syllable], is the one letter’, thereby implying that the only ‘letter’ that is real is the one unique and peerless letter that always shines spontaneously in the heart, namely the infinite silence of pure being, because it is the only language that is able to reveal what is real, since it is itself that reality, which cannot be revealed by anything other than itself.

(வேறு: vēṟu)

Verse 27:

மௌனமுள் ளெழுமொரு மொழியரு ணிலையே.

mauṉamuḷ ḷeṙumoru moṙiyaru ṇilaiyē.

பதச்சேதம்: மௌனம் உள் எழும் ஒரு மொழி அருள் நிலையே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): mauṉam uḷ eṙum oru moṙi aruḷ-nilaiyē.

English translation: Silence is the very nature of grace, the one language that rises within.

Explanatory paraphrase: Silence is the very nature [or actual state] of grace, the one [unique and peerless] language that rises within [eternally surging forth as the clear light of pure awareness, ‘I am’, drawing the mind back within and waiting to swallow it as soon as it thereby sinks deep enough into the heart].

Padavurai (word-for-word meaning): மௌனம் (mauṉam): silence {Tamil form of the Sanskrit mauna} | உள் (uḷ): inside, within, heart | எழும் (eṙum): rising, that rises {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle} | ஒரு (oru): one, unique, peerless | மொழி (moṙi): word, language | அருணிலையே (aruṇilaiyē): the very grace-nature, the very nature of grace, the very state of grace {compound of aruḷ, ‘grace’, nilai, ‘standing’, ‘firmness’, ‘stability’, ‘permanence’, ‘nature’, ‘condition’ or ‘state’, and the intensifying suffix ē, which in this case implies ‘very’ or ‘actual’}

Explanatory note: A devotee once wrote an article in English about Bhagavan that was published under the title ‘Where Silence is an Inspired Sermon’. Seeing that title, Bhagavan composed this one-line verse explaining what silence (mauna) actually is.

Firstly he says that it is ‘அருணிலையே’ (aruṇilaiyē), ‘the very nature of grace’, because grace works silently, doing everything that needs to be done without ever actually doing anything, saying (revealing) all that needs to be said (revealed) without ever actually saying any words. It is grace because it alone is what reveals the reality of ourself, which cannot be revealed by any other means, as Bhagavan makes clear in verse 5 of Ēkāṉma Pañcakam:

— தனதொளியா
லெப்போது முள்ளதவ் வேகான்ம வத்துவே
யப்போதவ் வத்துவை யாதிகுரு — செப்பாது
செப்பித் தெரியுமா செய்தன ரேலெவர்
செப்பித் தெரிவிப்பர் செப்பு.

— taṉadoḷiyā
leppōdu muḷḷadav vēkāṉma vattuvē
yappōdav vattuvai yādiguru — seppādu
seppit teriyumā seydaṉa rēlevar
seppit terivippar ceppu.

பதச்சேதம்: தனது ஒளியால் எப்போதும் உள்ளது அவ் ஏகான்ம வத்துவே. அப்போது அவ் வத்துவை ஆதி குரு செப்பாது செப்பி தெரியுமா செய்தனரேல், எவர் செப்பி தெரிவிப்பர்? செப்பு.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): taṉadu oḷiyāl eppōdum uḷḷadu a-vv-ēkāṉma-vattuvē. appōdu a-v-vattuvai ādi-guru seppādu seppi teriyumā seydaṉarēl, evar seppi terivippar? seppu.

English translation: What always exists by its own light is only that ēkātma-vastu. If at that time the ādi-guru made that vastu known speaking without speaking, say, who can make it known speaking?

Explanatory paraphrase: What always exists by its own light [of awareness] is only that ēkātma-vastu [the one self-substance, namely oneself, the one real substance]. If at that time the ādi-guru [the original guru, Dakshinamurti] made that vastu known [only by] speaking without speaking, say, who can make it known [by] speaking?

Secondly, since silence alone can make us know our own reality, he says that it is ‘ஒரு மொழி’ (oru moṙi), ‘the one language’, ‘the unique language’ or ‘the peerless language’. Other languages can enable us to know finite appearances, whereas this one peerless language called silence alone can make us know the infinite reality, because it is itself that infinite reality, which is our own actual substance (vastu), our very being (sat), which is what shines eternally within us as our own fundamental awareness (cit), ‘I am’.

How silence makes us know our own infinite reality is what Bhagavan implies by the relative clause ‘உள் எழும்’ (uḷ eṙum), ‘that rises within’. எழும் (eṙum) is an adjectival participle of the verb எழு (eṙu), which means ‘rise’, ‘ascend’, ‘appear’, ‘arise’, ‘originate’, ‘start out’, ‘be roused’, ‘be resuscitated’, ‘wake up’, ‘increase’, ‘swell’, ‘grow’ or ‘spread’, but in this context it implies ‘reveals itself’ or ‘makes itself known’. Silence does not literally rise or arise because it is pure being-awareness (sat-cit), which is eternal and immutable, as Bhagavan makes clear in verse 24 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu by saying ‘சத்சித் உதியாது’ (sat-cit udiyādu), ‘sat-cit does not rise’, but from the perspective of ourself as ego it does rise into view, so to speak, when it reveals itself within, thereby swallowing ego in its infinite clarity of pure awareness.

The silent power of grace is always working deep in our heart, gradually purifying our mind and thereby rising within us in the form of clarity. As this clarity grows within us, it begins to shine as vivēka, the ability to clearly distinguish the eternal from the ephemeral, the real from the unreal, as a result of which we develop bhakti in the form of love to hold firmly on to our own being, which alone is eternal and therefore real, and vairāgya in the form of freedom from desire to experience anything else. By the strength of this bhakti and vairāgya, which are constantly being nurtured in our heart by the silent light of grace, we are able to cling more and more firmly to self-attentiveness, thereby sinking deeper and deeper within until we eventually subside completely, whereupon the light of grace will shine forth as our own svarūpa, thereby swallowing us forever in its infinite clarity.

Explanations and discussions:
2022-11-25: The infinite silence of pure being, which is the very nature of both Arunachala and his grace, is the one and only real language, because it is our real nature, and therefore it alone has the power to reveal our real nature to us by drawing our attention back within, thereby making us know and be what we always actually are

Last updated: 28th May 2026

All writings and translations by Michael James on this website are licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
(CC BY-SA 4.0)

உபதேசத் தனிப்பாக்கள் (Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ):Tamil text, transliteration and translation

உபதேசத் தனிப்பாக்கள் (Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ):
Tamil text, transliteration and translation