Ramana Nool Thirattu Urai - Guru's writing

aksharamana malai 108

30/12/2020

maalai aLith aruNachala ramaNaven
Maalai aNindh aruL Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala Ramana, the Self of all (atma raman), you opened the flood gates of genuine desire for you in me. Please accept this garland,(akshara manNa malai), a result of the desire that sprang up in my heart, as a token of my love/affection for you.

Explanation
In one of the verses in Arunachala Pancharathnam, Bhagavan says, ‘ariyadhiyi tharaseevara thagavaarisa gugayil arivaairami paramathuma naruNachala ramaNan’ (when Bhagavan was living in Viruppaksha cave, a devotee, Amritananda, asked Bhagavan whether he was Siva, Vishnu, Siva guru or Vyasa, Bhagavan replied on the same slip of paper the question was written on) where the answer is he is Arunachala Ramanan. So here Bhagavan calls Arunachala as Ramana. Ramana has the meaning of ‘he who enjoys or he who makes others joyous’, it is only natural to call Arunachala as Ramanan.

This verse forms the most important aspect of marriage ceremony, that of exchanging of garlands which is the union of jiva with Brahma (soul and Self). The bride tells the groom to put the garland in his hand around her neck while she will adorn his neck with the garland in her hand.

Also ‘maalai aLithu’ meaning ‘put your garland around me (literally, garland give) implies Arunachala has given full consent to this wedding and is whole heartedly accepting the bride. So Bhagavan says, as a token of your acceptance of me, put your garland around me first.

Those who worship Arunachala with great love in their hearts will enjoy all the fruits and reap all the benefits in this life by his grace and finally will attain liberation.

Arunachala Siva Arunachala Siva
Arunachala Siva Arunachala
Arunachala Siva Arunachala Siva
Arunachala Siva Arunachala!

Arunachala vaazhi anbargaLum vaazhi
Aksharamana maalai vaazhi

Meaning
Long live Arunachala (the form of the lord of this song)
Long live the devotees who melt in their hearts for Him
Long live aksharamana malai which is a useful companion for the devotees in their worship of Arunachala .

Sri Arunachala Aksharamana Malai ends.

aksharamana malai 107

29/12/2020

porumayai poodhara punsolai nunsolaa
porutharuL ishtam pin Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala, you are the personification of patience and forbearance. Please don’t despise the offensive words uttered by this simpleton, and accept them, and please ignore any mistakes there may be, for my sake (besides begging you like this I know no other means). Do what you wish to do Arunachala.

Explanation
The words ‘poruthal’, ‘tharithal’, ‘thaangal’, all mean to bear something patiently. Since Bhagavan is requesting Arunachala to bear with his lowly words (pun sol - pun rhymes with Lun in lunatic), he is calling Arunachala ‘budhara/poodhara’ which is a form of forbearance.

Arunachala is the Lord /chief of the song (paatudai thalaivan) for all the songs composed by Bhagavan. Unlike other mountains such as the Himalayas and the Vindhya mountains, Arunachala is not just a physical form, it is a subtle form of pure consciousness/pure wisdom that supports the world hence Bhagavan calls Arunachala ‘bu dhara/poodhara.

When Bhagavan praises Arunachala he praises not just the physical form of Arunachala but the flame of wisdom and Siva consciousness that He represents. Since Mother Earth, referred to as patience-manifest in India, supports mountains, she is called ‘poo dhara/ bu dhara’. But this only applies to other mountains, not Arunachala as it is not an ordinary mountain. (‘Pa’ and ‘ba’ have the same letter, unlike Sanskrit, there is no distinction.)

Arunachala, the form of Siva, supports all life on earth and bears everything, hence ‘budharam’ refers to Him here. As we are nearing the end of the song, Bhagavan is asking Arunachala to bear with his faulty words like he did a few verses ago in ‘vaidhalai vaaztha’.

Since the bride’s wish or desire is not different or separate from that of her lord’s, Bhagavan, in total surrender’ says, ‘do as you wish’ (pin un ishtam Arunachala).

aksharamana malai 106

28/12/2020

enburuganbar thum insorkkaL seviyumen
Punmozhi koLa varuL Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala! Your ears which have heard the sweetest compositions by great devotees that could melt the bones (of those who heard). Now please listen to my tasteless lowly words also and grace them.

Explanation
The songs sung by great devotees that are sweeter than honey have the power to melt even the bones (enburugu is split as elumbu urugu = bone melt) of those who hear them, not just their hearts.

Bhagavan, in utmost humility which is the hall mark of great beings, says to Arunachala that ‘your ears that have heard the sweetest songs sung by devotees such as Tiruvasagam by Manickavasagar and Thevaram by Gnana Sambandar, now with those same ears hear my humble submissions and grace them’.

Listening is placed on a higher plane than learning. It is said that the greatest wealth is that of being able to hear (holy names, prayers and songs). And God’s ears listen to the songs and prayers of his devotees and shower his grace on them.

Bhagavan says to take only the Bhakti essence of his songs (in aksharamana malai) and ignore the mistakes if any in them. Since it is Arunachala’s nature to forgive and accept his devotees’ offerings, Bhagavan is praying for acceptance of his song(s).

aksharamana malai 105

27/12/2020

en polum theenarai inbura kaathu nee
ennaLum vaazhndharuL Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala! Please shower your grace and protect simple, poor devotees like me who are yearning for liberation from material life (samsara) and bless us with the ultimate bliss (brahmanandam). May you live forever as gnana guru!

Explanation
Bhagavan is praying to Arunachala on behalf of all the devotees who are longing to be freed from the shackles of material existence and desire to experience the bliss of Self and protection of Arunachala. As said by great people from times before, Bhagavan fits the description of those who live for others don’t live for themselves.

All the devotees who are melting in their hearts for the grace of Arunachala will certainly be blessed with it if they chant this verse because in this verse Bhagavan is praising Arunachala while praying for the devotees.

aksharamana malai 104

26/12/2020

anbodu naamangaeL anbartham anbaruk
anbana yida varuL Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala, bless me with your grace so may I be dear (anban) to all the devotees (anbar) of you who just on hearing your holy name melt in their hearts in pure devotion.

Explanation
The devotees who just on hearing the Lord’s name melt in their hearts in pure devotion are called ‘anbar’ here (Anbu is love, affection, dear etc). In fact there is no difference between god and his name(s). The name indicates the greatness and fame of the lord, also the word ‘anbar’ subsumes ‘anbu’.

Bhagavan says that tools such as srvanam, mananam and bhakti’ (hearing, contemplating and devotion respectively), if carried out without shraddha (sincerity), will not bear fruit, which is referred to by ‘anbodu naamam kaeL anbar’. [‘Sravana, manna and Nididhyasana are the three-fold methods of reaching the truth, meaning hearing the instruction, contemplating on it and being absorbed in the final meditative silent state.]

Since hearing is more effective than learning Bhagavan places it on a higher plane by saying ‘kaeLanbar’ (dear devotees who listen. ‘KaeL’ is to listen, ‘anbar’ is dear devotee.) Vedas are also referred to as ‘shruthi’ as they are transmitted to orally from the guru to sishyas (MahaPeriyava says that Vedas must not be passed on by any other means).

Since Arunachala is ‘Sthavara’ that is unmoving/fixed and the devotees are ‘jangama’ meaning moving from place to place, there is no difference between the two. Which is what Bhagavan is saying by ‘anbartham anbaruku anbana yida’.

Initially, it is the benefit of hearing god’s name from devotees that plants the seed for devotion (bhakti). Slowly, this leads to the destruction of the ‘I am the body’ idea and the consequent attachments and affections and likes and dislikes related to the material world, and eventually leading the devotee step by step to lose the ‘I’ and then to liberation, ‘jivan mukti’ stage.

Appar, a 7th century Saiva poet-saint explains how hearing the mere name of the lord leads one to liberation. (He was also known as ’thiru naavikarasar , naavukku is for the tongue, and arasar is king. The ‘r’ sound at the end is a mark of respect in Tamil. ‘arasan’ became ‘arasar’ just like ‘Appa’ meaning father became ‘appar’. Another poet-saint, Sambandar, called him father, hence he became known as ‘appar’. The triumvirate consists of Appar, Thiruganana Sambandar, Sundarar’ )

munnam avanuDaiya nAmam kaettaL
   mUrththi avanirukkum vaNNam kaettaL
pinnai avanuDaiya ArUr kaettaL
   paerththum avanukkE picciyAnAL
annaiyaiyum aththanaiyum anRE neeththAL
   aganRAL agaliDaththAr AcAraththaith
thannai maRandhAL thann nAmam kaettaL
   thalaippaTTAL nangai thalaivan thALE
                   - Thevaram

The stories and histories that are written in praise of gods are called Puranas. But the stories and biographies of the saint-poets who composed such works are called ‘Periya Puranam’ (meaning big story) because there is no difference between iswara, the sthavaralingam and his devotees who are jangama lingam. Which is what Bhagavan also says by ‘anbar Tham anbarukku anbanaa yida varuL’ towards the end of the verse, extolling the benefits of being with such saint-poets and devotees.

The above poem by Appar Swamigal reflects the incidents that happened in Bhagavan’s life almost frame by frame, it’s a wonder that Bhagavan’s life in 19th and 20th century should mirror a poem written in the 7th century.

When Bhagavan was a school boy, a relative visited his home. When young Ramana asked the visitor where he was coming from, he said ‘I’m coming from Arunachala’. Surprised, Ramana asked, ‘Arunachala? Where is it?’ To which the relative exclaimed, ‘What? You don’t know where Tiruvannamalai is?’
That was it. On simply hearing the five letters ‘a ru na cha la’, his heart was filled with an elated feeling. The name kept vibrating/pulsing in his heart. What great magnetic attraction that name has! This state of Bhagavan can be likened to the first line of the poem, ‘munnam avanudaya naamam kaettaL’ meaning, first she heard His name.

When the relative said ‘Don’t you know Tiruvannamalai?’ Bhagavan grasped the mountain form of Arunachala. This tallies with the second line, ‘mUrththi avanirukkum vaNNam kaettAL’ meaning ‘she asked how the lord looked like’. He also learnt where the Hill was which is in the third line, ‘pinnai avanuDaiya ArUr kaettaL’, meaning, then she asked about his lofty city. (‘Oor’ in Tamil refers to where one hails from, can be city, village etc).

The name Arunachala flashing and pulsing in heart, he transformed from a normal school boy into an almost mad man. This is reflected in the fourth line, ‘paerththum avanukkE picciyAnAL’ meaning she became mad over Him.

Then Bhagavan left his mother, father and close relatives and started for Arunachala. This is said in the fifth line, ‘ annai yaiyum aththa naiyum anRE neeththAL ‘ meaning she left her mother, father and everything that day itself’.

Bhagavan renounced all the material life-related activities and religious rituals and practices (aachaaram) which is mirrored in the sixth line, ‘ aganRAL agaliDaththAr AcAraththaith’ meaning, ‘left (she) from home and (the surrounding) rituals’.

Once Bhagavan reached ‘home’ in Arunachala, he forgot and lost himself, renounced even his name. When school boy Venkataraman departed from his home he left a short letter for the family, where, instead of writing his name or signature, he entered three dots. This is a perfect reflection of the seventh line, ‘thannai maRandhAL thann nAmam kettaL’ meaning, (she) forgot herself, her name she spoiled’ [kedudhal means going bad, rotting, spoilt etc, kettaaL literally means she spoiled it, but translates to renounced/gave up’ etc]

Deciding and determined not to stay in Madurai any longer, Bhagavan resolved to reach Arunachala and submit himself as the bride to Arunachala the groom. This fits well with the last line ‘thalaippaTTAL nangai thalaivan thALE’ meaning, (she) headed towards the feet of her master’ (thalaivan is leader, master, groom etc).

aksharamana malai 103

26/12/2020

sindhith arut pada silandhi pol katti
Siraittundnai Arunachala

Meaning
Planning to trap him (me) in your net, with your grace evident, like a spider spins and spreads its web to trap its prey, you trapped me like you planned and once I was trapped you imprisoned me and devoured me oh Arunachala!

Explanation
The spider spins its web with its thread and other insects come of their will and get trapped as the spider’s food. Similarly, you devised a cunning plan to trap me, and without knowing it, I got caught in it like an innocent prey, and you trapped me so tight as to prevent me from escaping. ’Sindhithu’ here refers to one of the three forms of initiation (we covered this in verse 63 noakkiye karudhi Mei thakkiye …’) where the lord initiates by thought.

Arunachala imprisoned the jiva bodham (knowledge of the sou, body-mind-ego consciousness), devoured it and bestowed gnana bodham (wisdom of the self or knowledge of the self), this Bhagavan calls as ’sirai ittundanai’ meaning you imprisoned and devoured. The greatest favour a guru can do to manifest his grace is by ‘devouring’ the jiva of the disciple who has take refuge, and thus destroy his ego-consciousness. Once this is destroyed what remains is the real form of the Self. Bhagavan proudly declares the great favour done to him by Arunachala.

aksharamana malai 102

25/12/2020

aruNai endreNNa yaan arutkaNNi patten un
aruLvalai thappumo Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala! The moment I thought of you as Arunachala in my heart I was trapped in the net of your grace by the power of that thought without being able to go anywhere. Will your grace-net which is spread to trap our devotees ever let me slip through Arunachala (who is expert in trapping devotees)?

Explanation
Arunachala, you came of your own volition into my heart and made me think of you (shone in my heart - spuranam), spread the net of your grace cunningly and trapped me in such a way I couldn’t move even a little. Can I go against your wishes Arunachala says Bhagavan by ‘aruL valai thappumo?’ Meaning will your grace net miss me?

Great saint-poets have described god as ‘the one who is trapped by the net of Bhakthi of his devotees’ (‘Bhakti valayil paduvon kaaNga). Keeping this in mind, Bhagavan says that even before the devotees trap Arunachala in their net of devotion, Arunachala beats them to it by trapping them in his net of grace. This is proof of Arunachala’s limitless and boundless grace and its strength. Without his grace, it is impossible to think of him. Saint Manickavasagar says the same in Siva puranam: ‘avan aruLale avan thaaL vanangi’ meaning ‘by His grace worship His feet’.

aksharamana malai 101

25/12/2020

ambuvil aali pol anburuvunil enai
Anbaai karaitharuL Arunachala

Meaning
Just how hail stone, made of water gets its solid form, and melts into its original form of water with heat, dissolve me in your form of love Arunachala.

Explanation
In reality, hail stone and water not different, they just appear different, with one form as solid and the other as liquid. Similarly, jiva and Siva (soul and god) are the same.
The jiva, which in reality is a form of love, due to reflected qualities (aabaasa guna) takes the form for of ego. Analysing the differentiated forms due to imagination that arise due to limitations (upadhi), it comes to light that the ego melts in the heat of wisdom (gnana agni), loses its form and dissolved in its true form.
If they are different objects they won’t attain non-dual state of moksha/liberation (athuvidha Mukti), it will disprove the Vedic declarations that both are one and the same and make it a lie. Bhagavan mentions that both are the same in Upadesa Undhiyar verse also:
‘irukkum iyarkkaiyal eesaseevargaL
oruporuLe yaavar undheepara
Upadhi uNarvae undheepara

aksharamana malai 100

24/12/2020

vaidhalai vaazhtha vaitharut kudiya
Vaithenai vidadharuL Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala! I don’t have the capacity to extol you, please don’t mind my insults/dispraise and treat them as my praise/plaudits for you and give me citizenship/residence in your domain, protect me and never leave me.

‘Vaidhal’ is to censure or scold someone

Explanation
Bhagavan is referring to the harsh words he has spoken in some parts of this manamalai as censure/dispraise, words that were expressed owing to his insatiable desire to merge with Arunachala, his groom (vara sreshtan).

‘Vaidhalai vaazhtha’* is akin to a how a mother enjoys the blabber of her child as sweet praise even if it sounds harsh. Bhagavan is asking Arunachala to enjoy his harsh words like a mother would enjoy her child’s harsh noises.

‘aruL kudiya vaithu’ (where aruL is grace, ‘kudi’ is short for kudimakkal meaning citizens of a country) means Bhagavan is considering Arunachala as the Lord of a great domain as He protects the citizens/residents of His country/domain.

Another meaning for ‘vaidhalai vaazhtha’ (split like ‘vai thalai’ meaning to keep one’s hand on one’s head’) is praying for Arunachala to initiate/bless Bhagavan by keeping His hand on Bhagavan’s head. Such an act is called ‘ashtamasthaka dikshai’ (hand on tea initiation).

My note: (‘vaidhal’ is scolding/ harsh words, and ‘vaazhtu’ is praise. It actually means pleasant words, to wish someone well, as in ‘puthaandu vaazhthukkal’ meaning happy new year greetings)

aksharamana malai 99

24/12/2020

Vedanthathe vaer ara viLangum
Veda poruL arul Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala, bless me with the experience of merging with the Absolute silence where there is no difference between me and you, a state postulated by the upanishads that are the end of the vedas. Bless me with the inner meaning of the vedas that shines as the undivided one.

Explanation
In the Upanishads, which come at the end of the Vedas, there are instructions for various sects of people according to their role in the material plane of existence, which implies a nondual nature (teacher and student). When the state that differentiates from the Brahman is destroyed, what remans is the ‘paramartha swarupam’ (form of god/Absolute) which shines as One. That part of the vedas which explicitly explain the self realisation is called upanishads. Since they appear at the end of the vedas (antham is end, Vedanta is at the end of Vedas), these wisdom-sections (gnana kaandam or upanishads) are called Vedantas. This is what Bhagavan points out as ‘vedanthathe vaer Ara vilangum’ - that which shines as not separate from vedanta.

Since it is difficult to understand Vedas without a guru, Bhagavan pleads for Arunachala’s grace to reach that stage (mentioned in the Vedanta).

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