THE ESOTERIC
KANDAR ANUBHUTI
OR
THE SECRET TEACHING ON
GOD-EXPERIENCE
(A Treatise on Adwaitic Realization)
OF
SAINT ARUNAGIRINATHAR
| THE ESOTERIC KANDAR ANUBHUTI OR THE SECRET TEACHING ON GOD-EXPERIENCE (A Treatise on Adwaitic Realization) OF SAINT ARUNAGIRINATHAR | |
 | by N.V. Karthikeyan |  |
| verses contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 .. 17 this verse in PDF version (4 parts) p-1 p-2 p-3 p-4 complete download of this book |
VERSE-7 கெடுவாய் மனனே கதிகேள் கரவாது இடுவாய் வடிவேல் இறைதாள் நினைவாய் சுடுவாய் நெடுவேதனை தூள்படவே விடுவாய் விடுவாய் வினையாவையுமே.Keduvaai manane gathi kel karavaathu Iduvaai vadivel iraithaal ninaivaai Suduvaai neduvethanai thool padave, Viduvaai viduvaai vinai yaavaiyume. Means to salvation, O wretched mind! Listen: Commentary To maintain and strengthen his aspiration, the seeker takes recourse to study of holy scriptures, attend Satsangas, seek company of holy men, etc. The prayer of the seeker in verse-6 is so intense and sincere that the response comes at once from the Lord, in a mysterious manner. The Lord does not come personally, even as in the case of Valli to whom at first He appeared in disguise, but provides the needed advice to the seeker either through a book, an elderly person, a spiritual discourse (Satsanga), etc. or some holy man whom he approaches for guidance. He gets the advice: To give in unrestrained charity without holding, (which will soften the hard heart by feeling for others and also remove attachment for wealth, etc.), and to meditate on the Lord's Feet, (for the blossoming of the Feet-lotus in the heart thus rendered soft), the combined action of which will attract Divine Grace. 'Ninaivaai' (நினைவாய்) is a significant word used in this verse. Earlier the seeker was only chanting (மொழிந்து) the Mantras (Verse-5) without the mind thinking of the Lord. It was a mechanical lip-chanting without touching the heart. Thus when the heart is softened by charity coupled with meditation on His Feet, it paves the way for the destruction of all Karmas and thus puts an end to the endless cycle of birth and death. As a first step the Lord's grace comes in the form of a Guru's advice (next verse). The mind is the cause of one's bondage and liberation. A proper education of it is, therefore, necessary. Hence the instruction to the mind in this verse. The ignorant mind constantly thinks of the fleeting objects of the world taking them as something real, goes for them, gets entangled in them and in the end suffers miserably. This is Vishaya-Chintana (thinking of objects) which is the cause of its bondage. The Bhagavad Gita warns us of the disastrous effects of thinking of sense-objects. "Thinking leads to attachment for objects, from attachment is born desire, from desire arises anger, from anger delusion, from delusion loss of memory and from loss of memory destruction of discrimination, and finally with loss of discrimination the individual perishes." (Gita II-62, 63) Hence, the malady is to be cured at the root itself. The mind should not be allowed to dwell upon objects. It is, therefore, advised to give away in charity whatever it has as its possession. But how is it to be given? Not unwillingly with a feeling of remorse or grudge (as the father of Nachiketas did, in the Katha Upanishad), but with love of God, i.e., not thinking of the object given but of God. This is called Bhagavat-Chintana, Atma-Chintana or Brahma-Chintana, which is an antidote to Vishaya-Chintana. When anything is given in charity, there should be no thought of the object given; but the Lord should be thought of. How? God should be thought of as the giver, the thing given, the receiver, and even the act of giving, because everything is God and everything belongs to God. The one who gives and what is given are as much creations of God as the one who receives. All are limbs of the one universal being of God. The practice of and an establishment in this is "Brahma-Karma-Samadhi," as explained in Verse 24, Chapter IV of the Gita. "Brahman is the oblation; Brahman is the clarified butter; by Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman; Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in action." This is the fire of knowledge that burns to ashes the endless process of birth and death. Where is the possibility for an individualistic existence or Jivatva when everything is beheld as God or Brahman, as an undivided ocean of existence, of which the giver and the given are but waves which have no independent existence of their own apart from the ocean. Karmas, says Arunagiri, are the cause of our present suffering as also for the never-ending chain of Samsara, of which our present life is but a link. He also prescribes the remedy for these, namely charity and meditation on the Lord - charity to wash away Karmas and meditation to cease from birth and death. 'Charity covereth a multitude of sins.', says Lord Jesus Christ. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says: "Sacrifice (Yajna), gift or charity (Daana) and also austerity (Tapas) are the purifiers of the wise" (Gita XVIII-5). We commit sins due to desires, greed, etc., which constrict the heart. Charity is an antidote to this malady. It expands the heart, fills it with compassion and love for the suffering. A man of charitable nature has a broad heart. He can feel for the sufferings of others. Charity, thus, renders the heart wet and soft, fit for the blossoming of the lotus of the Lord's feet, for which the prayer was offered in the earlier verse. Thus, charity purifies and prepares the heart and thinking of the Lord while giving anything in charity enables the planting of His lotus feet in that cultivated heart. Charity and meditation thus lead to liberation. Charity is a broad term. It is not merely sharing or giving a little of one's wealth. One can be (and has to be) charitable in one's thoughts and feelings, in one's notions and attitudes. One can give one's wealth, knowledge, talents, or wisdom in charity. Wisdom-charity (Jnana-Daana) is considered as the highest form of charity because while the effect of other forms of charity does not last long, Jnana-Daana leads to permanent good. All charity involves, however, sacrifice of one's pleasure - it may be physical, psychological, or egoistic. Unless this element of sacrifice is involved in charity, charity loses all meaning. The different kinds of charity or sacrifice are meant to serve as a means to and a preparation for the final sacrifice of meditation on the Lord, wherein one's individuality is offered in universality. Thus, one has to give away everything one has in charity - one's wealth, one's capacities and talents, one's ego and finally oneself to God - so much so, that nothing is left behind to be called as one's own or oneself. It is a giving without a remainder. No possession is left and individuality, too, remains not. That is why the instruction is not simply to "give in charity" but also 'karavaadu' "without concealing or holding." Nothing is to be concealed or held back. Thus, when all one's possessions are given away in charity and with the master-stroke of meditation on God, wherein one's very individuality is offered in the universal existence of God, the bonds of Karma break and the process of Samsara comes to an end. Charity and meditation are means to shatter Karmas and transcend transmigratory life. Charity is (material) external sacrifice and meditation is (spiritual) internal sacrifice, the former leading to and preparing for the latter. This is a practical instruction to attain that "all-ceasing and mine-losing good," referred to in verse 2. There it is a prayer offered to God and here it is an instruction given to the mind; there the goal, here the means. How beautifully are the truths driven home by the saint! |
| contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 .. 17 this verse in PDF version (4 parts) p-1 p-2 p-3 p-4 |
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