Thinking in the proper manner of the Guru’s Grace, which is beyond expression, and Being Still, remaining unattached to the false [world] appearance in front of us, is alone Blissful.
Sadhu Om: Sri Bhagavan often used to say “Grace is Self, which shines in everyone as ‘I-I’.” Therefore, “thinking in the proper manner of the Guru’s Grace” is nothing but attending uninterruptedly to Self. In order to show that this Self-attention is nothing but avoiding second and third person attention, it is described here as “remaining unattached to the false world-appearance in front of us”. Remaining in Self-attention by “Being Still” is neither a state of laziness, nor is it remaining like a stone in
kashta-samadhi or laya; it is the state of making an uninterrupted effort towards Self-attention. When this state is understood and experienced as our own Natural State, then Self-attention becomes effortless, and that is
Sahaja Samadhi.
289
Destroy the stealthy ego, which is the thought “I am the body”, either by enquiring “Who am I?”, or by melting into nothing by always thinking with love of God’s feet. That which will then remain is the Light of
Jnana.
This verse clearly shows that the ego can be destroyed only by self-enquiry or self-surrender. One should destroy the ego by whichever of these two means appeals to one as better and more suitable. Anyhow, the destruction of the ego is alone recommended as being essential.
290
Shanti [i.e., Peace or Bliss], which is loved by everyone, cannot at all be attained by anyone, at any place, at any time, or by any means, unless the mind is subdued by the Grace of the
Sadguru. Therefore, turn towards His Grace with one-pointed devotion.
291
If one wants to be saved, one is given the following true and essential advice: just as the tortoise draws all its five limbs within its shell, so one should draw the five senses within and turn one’s mind Selfward. This alone is happiness.
Sadhu Om: The last sentence may also mean, ‘This alone is the happy conclusion.’
This important advice, to withdraw the mind from the five senses and to turn it Selfward, is not given to one and all; it is given only for the benefit of those who wish to save themselves, and not for those who are still vainly hoping to save the world. Such people, who want to save the world, will find no taste for Self-attention, and thus they are not yet fit even to save themselves, let alone to save the world; unless one has first leant to swim it is vain and futile to jump into the water to save others.
292
Be assured that That which ever shines [for all] is certainly the true Existence of Self, “I am”. When the True God is thus realised as one’s own Self, without doubt or misconception, the Supreme Bliss will brim
over.
293
Having known for certain that everything which is seen, without the least exception, is merely a dream, and that it [the seen] does not exist without the seer, turn only towards Self –
Sat-Chit-Ananda – without attending to the world of names and forms, which is only a mental conception.
Sadhu Om: When it is said “… the seen does not exist without the seer… ”, we should remember that the seer is also an unreal dream, like the seen.
The instruction: “… turn only towards Self –
Sat-Chit-Ananda – without attending to the world of names and forms… ”, should remind us that
Brahman has five aspects,
Sat, Chit, Ananda, name and form, of which Sat,
Chit and Ananda are real, and name and form are unreal; if instead of attending to the unreal names and forms of the world, we attend to
Sat-Chit-Ananda [i.e., Self], then the world will be known as Sat-Chit-Ananda, and not as names and forms.
294
Attention to one’s own Self, which is ever shining as ‘I’, the one undivided and pure Reality, is the only raft with which the
jiva, who is deluded by thinking “I am the body”, can cross the ocean of unending births.
295
The false delusion of the jiva can never be lost, unless Self – the pure
Sat-Chit, which is the one Reality ever shining within, without a second – is realised.
296
Having annihilated the delusive mind which always dwells upon worldly things, having killed the restless ego, and having completely erased the worldly
vasanas, shine as Shiva, the pure Consciousness Itself.
The ego is called restless because it is always rising, setting or wandering.
297
Do not wander outside, eating the scorching sand of worldly pleasures, which are non-Self; come home to the Heart where Peace is shining as a vast, everlasting, cool shade, and enjoy the feast of the Bliss of Self.
298
O aspirant, having come to the Lord’s feet for refuge, with great devotion and with a spirit of self-surrender, give up completely the desire for occult powers and
siddhis, and aim only to attain and enjoy the Bliss of Liberation, which is Itself
Sada-Shivam [the Supreme Lord].
This verse is a warning not only for those who desire to acquire
siddhis, but also for those aspirants who desire to use the siddhis which they have acquired according to their
prarabdha. Women, wealth and fame are the only things that can be gained by occult powers and
siddhis, so, by advising us not to desire these powers, Sri Bhagavan is indirectly advising us to give up these threefold desires.
From this verse, we learn that Shiva and Liberation are one and the same; in
Atma-Vidya [The Song of Self-Knowledge], verse 5, Sri Bhagavan also uses the Name “Annamalai” to denote Self, so we should understand that in many places where words such as Hara, Shiva, Shiva’s Feet, the Guru’s Feet, etc., are used in this work, they denote Self and not a personal God. Refer also to verse 1101.
299
Having come under the sway of Grace, ever revel in the dense, blazing Mass of Supreme Knowledge, the Feet of Lord Hara, the indestructible Reality, without yielding to the mental activities of thinking and forgetting.
300
Man, the deluded ego-mind, cannot be freed from confusion and fear [of birth and death], unless he subdues himself by taking refuge under the protection of Grace; for, [by any other means], the force of past karmas [i.e.,
vasanas] is unconquerable.
When food is offered to the Guru, if the remaining portion is given to the disciple, it is considered to be very sacred, and a sign of the Guru’s Blessings and Grace; this remaining portion of food is known as ‘uchishtam’.
301
The uchishtam given by the Guru to the disciple is the enlightening words of instruction, coming from His own Self-Realisation; the right manner of partaking of His
uchishtam is for the disciple to silently abide in Self, as soon as he hears them.
302
After offering the ego – the attachment to the body as ‘I’ – as food to the Supreme Whole – the Silent Guru – the attainment, by the disciple, of Self, which remains shining in the heart is the eating of the Guru’s
uchishtam.
Sadhu Om: The feeling ‘I am so-and-so’ is the ego, but when this is surrendered or offered to the Guru, only the portion ‘so-and-so’
[i.e., the attachment to the body] is removed. What then remains is only
Sat-Chit, ‘I am’, which can never be either offered or taken. This ‘I am’ is Self, which is described here as That “which remains shining in the Heart”.
303
It is said [by Sages] that the mere life on earth of a great
jnani, who ever revels in Sat [i.e., Self], is itself the supremely pure
uchishtam of God, which will remove all the sins of the world.
The emphasis in this verse is that even the words, teachings and writings of a
Jnani are not necessary, since His mere existence on earth is itself enough to remove all the sins of the world.
The habit by disciples of worshipping their Guru, who has taken them as His own, is, if pondered over, only observed as an outward formality, just like a wife’s habit of outwardly observing proper reverence towards her husband while in company.
In India it is the custom for a housewife to pay formal reverence to her husband by many actions such as always sitting at a lower level than him. In truth however, both of them know that these actions are mere formalities, and that, since they are one in life, she is not really menial or inferior to him. In the same way, even the Self-realised disciple will observe the formalities of outward reverence towards his Guru, even though both of them know that they are, in truth, one in
Jnana.
305
For those who ever think of and cling to the Feet of the
Sadguru, who is the blazing flame of pure Jnana, through the Grace obtained by such Guru-bhakti, their minds will become clear and they will achieve
Mei-Jnana [i.e., the true Knowledge].
306
In those who are fortunate enough to surrender to the Feet of their
Sadguru, Para-Bhakti [i.e., the Supreme Love] will grow. Such
Para-Bhakti will itself grow into Mei-Jnana, which will completely burn away all other unworthy desires.
307
When Sri Krishna, the Ocean of Grace – having Arjuna between Himself and us - tells us “Know for certain that I will release you from the bondage of the two kinds of karmas if you reach me”, He is advising us to reach Self.
“… having Arjuna between Himself and us…” means that Krishna is giving all of us instructions through Arjuna, just as an orator talks to a microphone, although he is truly addressing his speech to his audience.
The two kinds of karmas are
punya karmas (meritorious actions) and papa karmas
(demeritorious actions).
308
Worship of [i.e. surrender to] the Feet of the Guru, with Guru-bhakti, is the real mantra, which will destroy all the rising
vasanas and bestow Jnana, in which there will be no fear of
Maya’s delusion. Thus should you know.
309
Though one performs all kinds of worship to the Guru, who is none other than the Supreme Shiva walking on earth, losing ‘I’, the ego, and merging into [i.e. uniting with] Him, the Lord of one’s soul, is the best of [the modes of] worship.
Sadhu Om: All other ways of worshipping the Guru involve the use of body, speech or mind, and therefore, –
unlike the merging of the ego into Self [i.e. Jiva-Brahma-Aikya] – they are such that they cannot be performed always and without a break. Hence,
Jiva-Brahma-Aikya is the best way of worshipping the Guru. Refer also to
Upadesa Undiyar verse 30: “Knowing THAT which survives the annihilation of ‘I’ is alone the true
Tapas!… ”
310
The great delusion caused by the ignorant ego creates the sense of separateness, which conceives the differences such as Guru-disciple, Shiva-jiva, etc. One’s attainment of the State of Silence, where such a sense of separateness never rises, is the meaningful
Namaskaram [i.e. obeisance], which one should make towards one’s Guru.
311
Having destroyed the dualistic sense ‘I am the disciple’ by the great Fire of the Teachings of the
Jnana-Guru, the Lord, the shining of the State of Supreme Silence, devoid of all
vasanas, is the true way of worshipping the Sadguru. Thus should you know.
312
By being well established in the Supreme Knowledge [Guru-Bodham] – which is a perfect experience, attained by means of the inward enquiry “Who is this ‘I’ which is adopted [through ignorance]?” – the fictitious sense ‘I am the disciple’ [sishya-bodham] is completely annihilated. This is the right worship of the
Sadguru to be performed by a worthy disciple.
“a perfect experience” means one which is complete, continuous and without doubts.
Sadhu Om: The sense ‘I am a
jiva is called jiva-bodham, and its destruction is generally known as
Shiva-Bodham. Similarly, the destruction of the sishya-bodham
[the sense ‘I am a disciple’] is called, in this and other verses,
Guru-Bodham. Thus Guru-Bodham simply means
Atma-Jnana, the State of Self-Knowledge.
In this state, both the individual sense of the first person, ‘I am so-and-so’, and the sense of otherness
[second and third persons such as the Guru] are not experienced. Hence the sense ‘I am the disciple’ has no real existence, and thus, in this verse, it is called fictitious.
313
Since That which has come in the Form of the Sadguru is nothing but the all-pervading – like the sun-light – vast Space of Supreme
Jnana, the noble attitude of giving no room [in that vast Space] to the rising of the individual mind [‘I’] is the worthy worship to be performed to the
Sadguru. Thus should you know.
314
For a worthy disciple, the proper worship of the Guru is having the firm outlook of
Jnana-Guru-Bodham, through which the disciple sees the whole universe – which is nothing but the forms of ‘I’ and ‘this’, each bound by desire towards the other – as the Form of his Guru. Thus should you know.
‘I’ and ‘this’ means the seer and the seen.
For the meaning of
Jnana-Guru-Bodham, refer to the note for verse 312.
315
The dissolving of the ice – the ego, ‘I am the body’ – in the ocean of
Guru-Bodham, which shines as the one blissful Self, is the right worship of the Guru. Thus should you know.
316
Naturally never giving room to the ego’s sinful outlook – which divides the unbroken, single, all-pervading nature of the Guru into many – is the best worship of the Guru, who ever shines unobstructed.
This verse clearly teaches us the true nature of the Guru; He is not the limited human form, He is the unbroken, single, all-pervading Consciousness.
The ego’s outlook is said to be sinful because of the great sin which it commits by dividing and seeing the one real
Sat-Chit-Ananda as many unreal names and forms of the universe.
317
After surrendering one’s body [wealth and soul] to the
Sadguru, the avoidance of the crime of dattapahara – [that is] again mistaking the body, etc. as ‘I’ and ‘mine’ – is the pure worship of the
Sadguru. Thus should you know.
Dattapahara is the crime of taking back what has already been given.
Sadhu Om: So long as a disciple feels ‘I am the body’ and ‘this is my body’, he cannot be considered to be one who has surrendered himself to the Guru. Instead, he should be considered to be one who has stolen the things which he has already given to another. In short, annihilation of the ego is the complete self-surrender, and that alone is the right
Guru-puja [worship of the Guru].
318
The subsidence of the mind’s mischief – of leaving the Feet of the
Sadguru, who has taken one as His own by once subduing the three-fold fire, and of straying away into the fiery desert of sense-pleasures – and its merging [into Self], is the worthy worship to be performed to the Lotus-Feet of the Guru.
‘The three-fold fire’ is the three kinds of desire namely for women, wealth and fame.
Sadhu Om: When a ripe soul first meets his
Sadguru, he at once feels, even without any effort on his part, a great peace in his heart and the removal of all worldly desires; this is due to the power of the Grace which prevails in the
Sadguru’s presence. This experience is the right sign by which one can know that the
Sadguru has taken one as His own. This feeling of peace may either remain in one permanently or temporarily, according to the degree of one’s maturity, but whichever is the case, there is no doubt that this is the sign that one has been brought under the protection of the Guru’s Grace. In the hearts of the less mature souls, the desirelessness and peace, which have once been induced by the Guru’s Grace, will seem to fade away after a while, and his mind will seem to desire worldly things
[refer to
Maharshi’s Gospel Book I, chapter 3, p. 18], but the disciple need not get disheartened, thinking that he has been abandoned by the Guru. Just as a deer can never escape once it has been caught in the jaws of a tiger, so also, those who have been taken by the Guru as His own will never be abandoned, but will surely be saved. It is only as the result of Grace that all the hidden worldly
vasanas in the disciple’s heart are now churned and brought up to the surface of his mind, in order to be destroyed by the power of discrimination which is bestowed upon him by the Guru, because only then will he be able to understand that unbroken Peace is earned by one’s own Self. In this way the Guru makes the peace as the disciple’s own, because until it is thus found to be his own nature, the disciple cannot experience it permanently. Therefore, the less mature soul is warned that, though his three-fold desires are once subdued by the
Sadguru’s Grace, he should not stray away again into the fiery desert of sense-pleasures. This effort of his is describe here as the worthy
Guru-puja.
Refer also to
Who am I?, where the same idea is expressed in the following words: “… those who are captured by the glance of the Guru’s Grace will surely be saved and not abandoned. YET, ONE SHOULD FOLLOW WITHOUT FAIL THE PATH SHOWN BY THE GURU!”
319
One’s merging into the Heart – through the enquiry into the nature of the ego, which is a delusion in the form of mind – is the right worship of the Lotus-Feet of the supreme
Mouna-Guru, who is beyond the mind.
Since the Guru is nothing but the supreme
Mouna (Silence) which is beyond the mind, any worship performed by the mind will not be fitting. By merging the mind into the Heart, Silence alone prevails, and that is the right medium through which He can be fittingly worshipped.
320
The right worship of the Lotus-Feet of the Guru, who shines as the vast Supreme Space, is the prevention of the rising and spreading of the dark cloud of the wrong outlook of the ego, who, though behaving as the body, pretends to be
Sat-Chit [Existence-Consciousness – i.e. Self].
The wrong outlook of the ego, which is described here as a dark cloud, is to see a multiplicity of names and forms, which are all unreal. This dark cloud thus obscures the nameless and formless Reality, which is the true nature of the Guru, and hence the right
Guru-puja is the prevention of the ego’s rising.
Though one has shaken off all vices, secured all virtues, renounced all relatives, and observed all the austerities prescribed by the
Shastras, can one reach Eternal Bliss unless one meets the Jnana-Guru? [No, one cannot!]
322
It is certainly impossible for one to attain and enjoy the Supreme Bliss of Liberation, the ultimate Gain, unless one receives the Grace of the
Sadguru, who shines as the one Whole, which puts an end to the differences of [dyads and] triads.
323
The Sadguru – the one unlimited Whole, who pervades this and all other worlds, and all time and space, and who shines as ‘I’ within and as everything outside – is He who resides in the hearts of His intimate disciples as the Pillar of Light of Knowledge, the divine Lamp which needs no kindling.
324
By coming near to the Sadguru and by depending completely upon His Grace, with great
Guru-bhakti, one will have no misery in this world and will live like
Indra.
Indra is the kind of the
devas and he has all the enjoyments of heaven at his feet.
325
Seated in the heart-throne of His beloved disciples, the Durbar of the
Sadguru – who has destroyed all the evils of the disciple – has a mountain-like grandeur. Those who have experienced It [through the loss of their individuality] cannot express It, and those who talked about It have never experienced It; this is the verdict of the
Vedas, given by the real Devotees [i.e. Jnanis].
326
The grand, natural and sweet Self-abidance [Sahaja-Atma-Nishta] of the
Sadguru, who is devoid of the ego-sense, is the mighty Sword which can cut deep and remove the heart-knot
[hridaya-granthi] of His loving disciples.
Sri Muruganar:This verse described the power of the
Sadguru’s Self-abidance. Because outwardly He is sitting quietly, one should not come to the conclusion that He is not bestowing Grace upon one, since His natural Self-abidance is itself Grace. If one sits quietly before Him, this truth will reveal itself automatically.
327
Taking to Self-enquiry – as the result of a proper education and understanding – not staying away through the petty senses, and being firmly establishes in the Heart as the mere Self-Effulgence, is truly following the
Sadguru’s Upadesa.
Wise people will never associate with those who are vainly argumentative, and who, instead of inwardly subduing themselves through knowledge of the righteous way, munch their empty mouths, due to their lack of any worthy aim.
“Those who munch their empty mouths” is a Tamil idiom which means those who talk much, but about worthless matters.
329
Many are the evils that can befall one, if one associates with those
mad people whose beautiful mouths alone chatter, but whose minds remain confused. The best association to have is only with those who dwell in the Supreme Silence, through having annihilated their minds.
330
O mind, immediately give up and cut your connection with those wicked people who go the wrong way, always arguing for the unjust; associate instead with
Jnanis, who ever abide in the State of Peace, devoid of confusion.
331
Since all vices are born only out of the fictitious enthusiasm, which is caused by loss of Self-attention
[pramada], the Blissful State of Mei-Jnana [True Knowledge], where the ego – which is that ignorant enthusiasm itself – is annihilated, is all the virtues.
332
Spotless Jnanis alone are truly virtuous; others
[ajnanis] are base-natured. Therefore, to be saved, we should approach only those Virtuous Ones who ever abide in the Truth, by having got rid of the false worldly delusion.
Beyond speech is the greatness of those who have earned the privilege of becoming a prey to the glance of Grace of the
Sadguru, who has ripened as the Fruit – the Supreme Self – on account of the invincible achievement of Self-Knowledge.
334
Hiding His own Form, taking another form as a human being, Lord Shiva enters the group of His enlightened devotees, who have staunch devotion to Him, as if He were one among them, taking immense pleasure in their holy company.
Sri Muruganar:Thus Sri Bhagavan indirectly tells us that the
Sadguru is none but Shiva Himself.
335
The greatness of Devotees cannot be limited. Devotees
are greater than Brahma and Vishnu, who often serve the Devotees as if
they were their slaves. It is only the greatness of Devotees that the Vedas
proclaim.
Seers of the rarely seen Truth say, “Brahma-Vidya, which is worthwhile for the aspirant to learn, is to see [the truth of] the seer who sees the world, instead of seeing the world which is seen”.
337
Brahma Vidya is nothing other than seeing That which remains when all these three – the mirage-like world, the seer of that world, and the bright eye’s seeing – are burnt without a trace.
“All these three”, which are referred to in this verse, are the triad (i.e.
triputi), the seen, the seer and the seeing.