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 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 .. 43 this verse in PDF version (4 parts) p-1 p-2 p-3 p-4 complete download of this book |
VERSE-33 சிந்தாகுல இல்லொடு செல்வமெனும் விந்தாடவி என்று விடப்பெறுவேன் மந்தாகினி தந்த வரோதயனே கந்தா முருகா கருணாகரனே.Sinthaakula illodu selvam enum, vinthaadavi enru vidap peruven Manthaakini thantha varothayane, Kanthaa murugaa karunaakarane. The mind-distressing family, riches and gold, Commentary In the previous verse the seeker had resolved to renounce the family and to take to the life of Sannyasa. This aspiration to renounce gets intensified by the day. And a time comes when he could not wait any more. He, therefore, appeals to the compassionate aspect of the Lord: "O Lord Skanda, Muruga, Embodiment of Compassion, Siva's Boon-Incarnation, born of Mandakini! When shall I get freed from this entanglement of Samsara, from this dense Vindhya forest like family and property, which cause affliction to the mind?" In the prayer itself is implied the answer. With the Lord's grace, he soon left his home and reached (his Guru's Ashram on) the banks of the holy river Mandakini (Ganga) (which is beyond the Vindhya forest). In every verse, Arunagiri employs appropriate words in addressing the Lord. Surprisingly, after 32 verses in this work of Kandar Anubhuti of 51 verses, the saint refers to the river Ganga for the first time in this verse, to suggest that the seeker has gone there. The Lord is born of Mandakini (this verse), is the son of Ganga (next verse) and Nadi-putra -- son of a river (verse-50). In a broad sense, all rivers (and even lakes, tanks and wells) are regared as 'Ganga'. So, on the day of Deepavali, people ask each other, 'Did you have holy Ganga-bath?', though they take bath in their homes only. Hence, the seeker may be said to have reached the Ashram of his Guru which may be on the bank of any river, not necessarily of the Ganga. Samsara is full of pain and suffering. The problems of household life are innumerable. House, wife, children and wealth are the source of troubles. Yet, they are very enchanting and it is easy to get involved in them. They appear to be pleasing and desirable; they look charming so long as they are at a distance, so long as they are not obtained. Man struggles hard to have them and he is restless till he possesses them; but once they are obtained and enjoyed, they lose their charm and become sources of vexation and mental agony. They completely rob man of his peace of mind and make him restless. The sufferings and anxieties of family life are too well-known to all to be described. Now, having got involved in them, man might want to do away with them, but he cannot. Even if he wants to leave them, they will not leave him. Thus, enmeshed he dies miserably. So agonising, so inextricable, so vexing, so boring are family and wealth that the Saint compares them to the forests of the Vindhya mountains in Central India. The ever-green Vindhya-forest is charming and attractive. Those who are attracted by its beauty and enter it, forget themselves in enjoying its charm until they get deep into it. But it is so thick that they find it difficult to trace their way out and are finally consumed by wild beasts of the forests. So is this life with wife, children, and wealth. It is attractive but creates problems after problems and drags man into more and more entanglements so that he gets lost in them, and all his time goes away in trying to solve the problems and free himself from entanglements. He is, thus, left with no time or energy to devote himself to God. Home and wealth are the destroyers of mental peace, they are great obstacles to spiritual progress, holds Arunagirinathar. Though there is nothing wrong with family-life and God can be and has been attained by house-holders, the actual condition in which man generally finds himself is something different. He is tormented from all sides. Arunagirinathar is a practical saint. He can visualise people's condition. He is specially gifted with this rare art of conveying truths as they are - not only of the highest spiritual experiences in a mystical language, but also of the miserable worldly life in striking, vivid terms. "Kandar Anubhuti" being a treatise on "Anubhuti" (God-experience), the Saint has to tell things as they are - whether pleasing to us or not - which, we have to take in their true spirit. Man gets involved in sex and greed almost unwittingly. But when he finally realises his folly and tries to leave them, he finds it impossible. He is prepared to leave them, but not they. He gets so much entangled that he cannot extricate himself from them, even as one cannot find his way out of the Vindhya-forest. So the prayer very significantly says, "When shall I get freed?" One cannot, by one's own effort, free oneself from them. The more one tries to leave them, the more they will cling to him. The only way is to fix one's mind on God. "To get freed from other attachments, have this one attachment, i.e., the attachment to the Lotus-Feet of Him who is unattached", says Saint Thiruvalluvar. God only can free us from the clutches of women and gold. Therefore, is the prayer to get "freed" and not "leave". He does not say, "When shall I leave," but says, "When shall I get freed." God's grace is the means for getting rid of this Samsara. The all-merciful and compassionate Lord has to shower His grace on us, to Whom is the prayer of this verse addressed. Lord Skanda is a boon-incarnation. He was given as a boon by Lord Siva to the Devas. The Devas could not fight against the Asura Surapadman. They were defeated by the Asura and driven out of heaven. They approached Siva and prayed to Him for help, for the divine birth of Skanda. Siva, out of His compassion over their plight, assumed His original form of six-faces and smilingly looked at Parvati who was seated by His side. At once, from the third eye (Eye of Wisdom) of each face flashed forth a light (Tejas) of extra-ordinary brilliance. It filled all space, from infinity to infinity. Siva, then withdrew it, handed it over to the wind-god and fire-god, and commanded them to carry it to river Ganga (also known as Mandakini). When Ganga received it, she shelved it into a pond called Saravanappoigai, where the Light assumed the form of six-beautiful babies on six-lotuses. This is the "Mandakini-given" and "boon-born" Avatara of Lord Skanda. This Mandakini is referred to as Ganga in the next verse and as 'river' (in a most general term) in verse-50, thus showing that all rivers represent the Holy Mandakini/Ganga. The Skanda Avatara signifies the manifestation of the Absolute in the relative plane of the five elements of ether (space), air, fire, water (Ganga), and earth, as described above. It refers to the awakening of the spiritual consciousness in the element-bound mind of the seeker, which is agonized by and engrossed in women and gold, to be freed from which is the prayer of this verse. Another name for Skanda is Murugan, which means "One who is of eternal youth, beauty, and divine in nature." He is the Beauty of beauties and the divinity behind all things. The beauty and the value that is seen in objects is but a reflection of Him. Our attraction for home and wealth is to be transmuted into higher aspiration for God by resort to Lord Murugan. Whether He is "Mandakini-given," "boon-born," Skanda or Murugan, He is an embodiment and outcome of compassion. To that Lord, the seeker prays: "O Lord Skanda, the Devas could not themselves fight the Asura Surapadman. They prayed to Siva and You were born as a boon to them. I am also in a similar condition, unable to overcome the entanglements of home and wealth. Be gracious to be "born" in me and free me from these, O Ocean of Compassion!" |
| contents 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 .. 43 this verse in PDF version (4 parts) p-1 p-2 p-3 p-4 |
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