ANNAMACHARYA
66R. ఊరకే వెదకనేల వున్నవి చదువనేల
(ūrakē
vedakanēla vunnavi caduvanēla)
Introduction
Searching and learning are among the most powerful instruments available
to human beings. The achievements made possible through them have increasingly
strengthened the belief that there can be no substitute for these faculties.
Annamacharya questions this very assumption.
What places limits on the human intellect may not be its inherent
capacity, but rather the mind's tendency to protect itself and to keep
everything under its own control.
Thus, what Annamacharya questions is not human intelligence or
capability, but the tendency that puts a restraint on this extraordinary
potential. A closer look at human history reveals numerous instances in which
human capabilities have been used to establish dominance over others. The sense
of superiority — the belief that one is a step above the rest — and the urge to
establish oneself as someone special are deeply embedded in human behaviour.
Does the same tendency continue to operate in our inner lives as well?
Instead of relinquishing anger, do we merely try to manage its consequences?
Without looking at what is happening within us, do we try to make ourselves
acceptable to the world? Could even our desire to know ourselves conceal an
unrecognised form of self-interest? Do we live with one image of ourselves
within and present another to the world?
Annamacharya brings these questions together in this poem. Where,
indeed, is that which we are searching for? Could our own searching, reading
and constant verbal explanations become obstacles to recognising “truth” that
is already so close to us?
It is also worth noting that, for the past hundred years, there has been
considerable discussion about the immense potential within human beings and how
little of it we actually make use of.
This brings us back to the relevance of Annamacharya's question:
Why search? Why study?
Recognise what is already present within!
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అధ్యాత్మ కీర్తన
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రేకు: 334-1 సంపుటము: 4-196
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ఊరకే వెదకనేల వున్నవి చదువనేల చేరువనె వున్నదిదె చెప్పరాని ఫలము ॥పల్లవి॥ కోపము విడిచితేనె పాపము దానే పోవు దీపింప సుజ్ఞానముతెరు విదివో లోపల మనిలుఁడై లోకముమెచ్చుకొరకు పైపైఁగడిగితేను పావనుఁడౌనా ॥ఊర॥ ముందరికోరిక వోతే ముంచిన బంధాలు వీడు కందువ నాస మానితే కైవల్యము బొందిలోన నొకటియు భూమిలోన నొకటియు చిందు వందు చిత్తమైతే చేరునా వైకుంఠము ॥ఊర॥ కాంతల పొందొల్లకుంటే ఘనదుఃఖమే లేదు అంతరాత్మ శ్రీవేంకటాద్రీశుఁడు అంతట మాటలె యాడి హరి శరణనకుంటే దొంతినున్నభవములు తొలఁగునా వివేకికి ॥ఊర॥
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Philosophical Poem
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Copper Plate 334-1 Volume 4-196
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ūrakē vedakanēla vunnavi caduvanēla cēruvane
vunnadide cepparāni phalamu ॥pallavi॥ kōpamu viḍicitēne pāpamu dānē pōvu dīpiṃpa sujñānamuteru vidivō lōpala
maniluṃ̐ḍai lōkamumeccukoraku paipaiṃ̐gaḍigitēnu pāvanuṃ̐ḍaunā ॥ūra॥ muṃdarikōrika vōtē muṃcina baṃdhālu vīḍu kaṃduva nāsa mānitē kaivalyamu boṃdilōna nokaṭiyu bhūmilōna nokaṭiyu ciṃdu vaṃdu cittamaitē cērunā vaikuṃṭhamu ॥ūra॥ kāṃtala poṃdollakuṃṭē ghanaduḥkhamē lēdu aṃtarātma śrīvēṃkaṭādrīśuṃ̐ḍu aṃtaṭa māṭale yāḍi hari śaraṇanakuṃṭē doṃtinunnabhavamulu
tolaṃ̐gunā vivēkiki ॥ūra॥
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Pallavi:
ఊరకే వెదకనేల వున్నవి చదువనేల
చేరువనె వున్నదిదె చెప్పరాని ఫలము ॥పల్లవి॥
ūrakē vedakanēla
vunnavi caduvanēla
cēruvane
vunnadide cepparāni phalamu ॥pallavi॥
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Poem Line | Meaning in English
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ఊరకే
వెదకనేల వున్నవి చదువనేల
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Why search aimlessly in all directions? Why keep
reading when what is already available to us is right here? (Why make that
effort at all?)
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చేరువనె
వున్నదిదె చెప్పరాని ఫలము
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There it is, very close to us — a fruit that
cannot be conveyed in words, but can be known only through direct experience.
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Literal Meaning: Why waste time in aimless
searching and in studying and investigating the Divine? An indescribable fruit
is already very close to you.
Interpretative Notes:
ఊరకే వెదకనేల వున్నవి చదువనేల: Searching and
reading are deliberate activities of man. Therefore, they must have some
underlying cause. When we examine that cause from different angles, we find
that it depends on things that have entered our consciousness through
experience. Yet the poet immediately points out that the other thing, which is
of a different nature, is not far away at all.
As usual, Annamacharya seems
to be telling us not to waste our time through constant effort. It appears that
he is suggesting that theoretical formulations and intellectual investigation
have little relevance to the direct perception of truth.
Through this Pallavi,
Annamacharya seems to be pointing to another important matter. Neither
searching nor reading will take us to what we are seeking. He is not denying
the existence of something beyond the reach of our present understanding.
Rather, he is questioning the usual methods to which are accustomed. Instead of
forming an idea and then trying to understand truth through that idea, do we
not have the capacity to understand it directly?
We can see a beautiful
painting and understand what it conveys.
We cannot see a language as an
object, yet we can understand it.
We can see the sea, but how
much do we really understand about it?
But Truth is different. We can
neither see it as an object nor arrive at it through intellectual
understanding. It has to be directly perceived.
An Illustrative Story
We can relate this to a
popular story associated with poets Pothana and Srinatha. It is said that one
day, after lunch, Srinatha was chewing betel leaves and reading the Bhagavatam
composed by Pothana. While reading a verse in Gajendra Moksham, he came across
Pothana's description of Vishnu rushing to rescue Gajendra without even carrying
His conch and Chakra. Srinatha wondered how Vishnu could come to rescue His
devotee without bringing His weapons. Pothana did not offer an answer.
Some time later, Pothana came
running to Srinatha and told him that Srinatha's son had fallen into a well.
Hearing this, Srinatha rushed anxiously to the well and, not knowing what to
do, began running around it helplessly. Pothana then asked him why he was
running around the well instead of bringing a ladder or seeking help from
others. Pothana subsequently brought out the child, whom he had hidden nearby,
and showed him to Srinatha.
What Pothana intended to
convey through this incident was that, just as Srinatha had rushed without
thinking because of his love for his son, Vishnu too had rushed to rescue His
devotee, driven by His love, without stopping to think about carrying His weapons.
What we should observe in this
story is the difference between reasoning about something from a distance and
responding when the same situation confronts us directly. Our attachments and
emotions can push our ordinary powers of discernment aside. Pothana's answer to
Srinatha was not another argument. He made Srinatha understand the very matter
he had questioned through his own experience.
The Potential and Limitations
of Human Intelligence
What is the principal
difference between human beings and the rest of the animal world? In many
respects, such as strength, speed and subtle sensory perception (sound, smell,
hearing, changes in temperature, sight and so on), other animals possess abilities
superior to those of human beings. But human intelligence is extraordinary.
The searching and reading
mentioned by Annamacharya are aspects of this very intelligence. However, when
he says, "చేరువనె
వున్నదిదె చెప్పరాని ఫలము", we may understand him as also pointing to the limitations of that
intelligence. He is not rejecting human intelligence. Rather, perhaps he is
suggesting that we go through life without yet recognising its full potential.
It may not be the inherent
capacity of human intelligence that limits it, but the mind's tendency to
protect itself and perpetuate what it considers its own. Our familiar thoughts,
beliefs, experiences and the patterns we have developed to protect ourselves
provide us with a certain sense of security. But that very security can prevent
us from seeing the situation before us as it actually is. Instead of directly
encountering what is unknown, we find it safer to form an idea about it and
depend on that idea. Perhaps this is why we find it difficult to move towards
direct understanding.
The Paradox of Human
Intelligence
Human beings can land a
spacecraft on an asteroid belonging to a distant comet. Yet, strangely enough,
they may not know what is right beside them!
We need have no doubt
whatsoever about the capacity of human intelligence to investigate the external
world. But why does the same sincerity and persistence not appear in the search
to understand oneself? Human beings achieve extraordinary things through their
intelligence in the external world, yet perhaps remain behind when it comes to
examining their own fears, attachments and sense of possession. It may be that
what limits human intelligence is not its inherent capacity, but the mind's
tendency to protect itself and perpetuate what it considers its own.
చేరువనె
వున్నదిదె చెప్పరాని ఫలము:
The first line of the Pallavi
appears to refer to things within the range of our experience, while the second
points towards something beyond our present experience.
There is another matter we
should consider. Although it is said to be very close, we are unable to enter
into it by our own effort. At present, we are caught in a system of cause and
effect. The poet points that it is right here, close to us, yet it cannot be
conveyed in words.
Why is it that, despite being
immersed in thousands of activities, we fail to see what is so close to us?
Would it become visible if we looked through telescopes and magnifying glasses?
Perhaps Annamacharya is referring to something that lies beyond this system of
cause and effect.
First Stanza:
కోపము విడిచితేనె పాపము దానే పోవు
దీపింప సుజ్ఞానముతెరు విదివో
లోపల మనిలుఁడై లోకముమెచ్చుకొరకు
పైపైఁగడిగితేను
పావనుఁడౌనా ॥ఊర॥
kōpamu viḍicitēne pāpamu dānē pōvu
dīpiṃpa sujñānamuteru
vidivō
lōpala
maniluṃ̐ḍai lōkamumeccukoraku
paipaiṃ̐gaḍigitēnu pāvanuṃ̐ḍaunā ॥ūra॥
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Poem Line
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Meaning in English
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ముందరికోరిక వోతే ముంచిన బంధాలు వీడు
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When anger is
relinquished, sin disappears by itself.
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కందువ నాస మానితే కైవల్యము
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Perhaps this is how
true understanding shines forth!
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బొందిలోన నొకటియు భూమిలోన నొకటియు
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While remaining
inwardly impure, seeking the world's approval...
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చిందు వందు చిత్తమైతే చేరునా వైకుంఠము
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Can one become pure merely by cleansing oneself
outwardly?
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Literal Meaning: Leave out the anger, all your sins
will dissolve (without your knowing). That is the path to proper knowledge. no
point is served, in exhibiting clean and fresh
appearances and good etiquette (
to the public) unless you are actually clean inside.
Interpretative Notes:
Anger is the cause of many problems in human life.
Desires, expectations, disappointments and numerous other impulses lie behind
it. When these keep erupting in countless forms, giving up anger itself becomes
a challenge. In Bhagavad Gita 3.37, the Lord identifies desire and anger
together as forces that impel a person towards wrongdoing.
Hypocrisy has also become a part of our lives. We
read the Vedas, study scriptures and speak words of wisdom, yet often forget to
examine what we are inwardly. The poem below (attributed to Kabir) expresses
this in simple style:
मन न रंगाए हो, रंगाए जोगी कपड़ा।
जटवा बढ़ाए जोगी, धूनी रमाए,
दाढ़ी बढ़ाए जोगी, बनि गएले बकरा।
mana na raṅgāye
ho, raṅgāye
yogī kapaṛā
jatavā baḍhāe jogī,
dhuni ramaye,
Dhadi baḍhāe jogī
bani gayele bakarā
“O Yogi, you have dyed your clothes, but have you
dyed your mind? You have grown your matted locks and tended the sacred fire.
You have let your beard grow, until you look like a goat. But has anything
changed within you?”
What deserves attention here is inner purity. No
one else can fully examine our inner condition. Therefore, each person must
examine and keep their own inner self clean. But what exactly is cleanliness?
This is where we enter the realm of relativity. Each person may consider
themselves pure. Whom should we trust? Getting caught in this dilemma is itself
a source of confusion.
If God is one, why should there be all these
confusions? Perhaps the confusion arises because we keep watering the branches
while neglecting the roots that nourish them. (See this is presented in the
poem no. 13). Why do we keep attending to the branches?
Second Stanza:
ముందరికోరిక వోతే ముంచిన బంధాలు వీడు
కందువ నాస మానితే కైవల్యము
బొందిలోన నొకటియు భూమిలోన నొకటియు
చిందు వందు చిత్తమైతే చేరునా వైకుంఠము ॥ఊర॥
muṃdarikōrika vōtē muṃcina baṃdhālu vīḍu
kaṃduva nāsa mānitē kaivalyamu
boṃdilōna nokaṭiyu bhūmilōna nokaṭiyu
ciṃdu vaṃdu
cittamaitē cērunā vaikuṃṭhamu ॥ūra॥
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Poem Line |
Meaning in English |
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ముందరికోరిక వోతే ముంచిన బంధాలు వీడు |
When
our desires for the future subside, the bonds that hold us down begin to
loosen by themselves. |
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కందువ నాస మానితే కైవల్యము |
When
the desire to discover the clue to who you are ceases, that itself is
liberation. |
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బొందిలోన నొకటియు భూమిలోన నొకటియు |
One
identity within the body and another presented to the world. |
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చిందు వందు చిత్తమైతే చేరునా వైకుంఠము |
With a
scattered and divided mind, can one possibly reach Vaikuntha? |
Literal Meaning: First, if you eschew desires, bondages will get removed. If you stay
away from the circuitous hope, it is equal to achieving the liberation. How can you expect to reach Vaikunthamu if your mind is pulling you apart by stating
one thing for yourself and another for the world?
Interpretative Notes:
ముందరికోరిక
వోతే ముంచిన బంధాలు వీడు: Let us look at this stanza in connection with the Pallavi: "Why
search aimlessly? Why keep studying what is already here?"
Curiosity has driven human beings towards many
discoveries and achievements. Yet, when it comes to God, truth and dharma, the
same curiosity has not delivered similar results. We still keep searching,
accumulating ideas and pursuing explanations, while overlooking what is already
before us.
కందువ నాస మానితే కైవల్యము: Annamacharya questions even the desire to
know oneself. The very feeling that there is something to be known keeps
opening up further things to know. But what lies behind this persistent desire
to know?
All our perceptions and thoughts are transient. The
transient remains transient by continually changing into some other aspect. (Anyone
can observe this.) Therefore, is it possible to seek a permanent state from a
transient position? The very effort to arrive at a stable answer becomes
another form of seeking. When this seeking ceases, there may be a possibility
of knowing the permanent.
బొందిలోన
నొకటియు భూమిలోన నొకటియు: Self-deception comes naturally to us. Consider the following verse by
Arudra from his Koonalamma poems:
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ఆత్మవంచన వల్ల ఆడు కల్లల వల్ల అగును హృదయము డొల్ల ఓ కూనలమ్మ
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Through self-deception, through pretence and lies, the heart becomes hollow, O Koonalamma.
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We maintain one identity within ourselves and present another to the world. The gap between the two is itself a form of self-deception. When the mind is scattered and divided in this manner, can it possibly reach Vaikuntha? The poet's question points to the contradiction itself.
Perhaps the following observation by Eric Ambler helps us recognise this tendency in ourselves: “The duplicity of others must always be shocking when one is unconscious of one's own.” ―
We may abhor duplicity in others, yet fail to
recognise the same tendency in ourselves. Why do we find it so difficult to
turn the same scrutiny towards ourselves?
Third Stanza:
కాంతల పొందొల్లకుంటే ఘనదుఃఖమే లేదు
అంతరాత్మ శ్రీవేంకటాద్రీశుఁడు
అంతట మాటలె యాడి హరి శరణనకుంటే
దొంతినున్నభవములు తొలఁగునా వివేకికి ॥ఊర॥
kāṃtala poṃdollakuṃṭē ghanaduḥkhamē lēdu
aṃtarātma śrīvēṃkaṭādrīśuṃ̐ḍu
aṃtaṭa māṭale yāḍi hari śaraṇanakuṃṭē
doṃtinunnabhavamulu
tolaṃ̐gunā vivēkiki ॥ūra॥
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Poem line
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Literal Sense in English
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Meaning in English
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కాంతల పొందొల్లకుంటే ఘనదుఃఖమే
లేదు
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Without becoming entangled in the company or
affection of women, there is no great sorrow. (Note that Annamacharya
considers everyone except Lord as ladies)
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Human relationships, as we create and
sustain them, are born of attachment. It is the attachment to these
relationships that becomes a source of deep sorrow.
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అంతరాత్మ శ్రీవేంకటాద్రీశుఁడు
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Sri Venkateswara is the indwelling Self.
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Sri Venkateswara is the indwelling presence
in every human being.
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అంతట మాటలె యాడి హరి
శరణనకుంటే
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Even while speaking of Hari everywhere, if
one does not take refuge in Him...
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Speaking about Hari, repeating His name or
talking about surrender does not, by itself, amount to taking refuge in Him.
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దొంతినున్నభవములు తొలఁగునా
వివేకికి?
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Will the accumulated layers of existence,
piled one upon another, fall away for a discerning person?
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Can the accumulated layers of existence fall
away merely through words, without actual surrender?
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Literal Meaning: The poet observes that deep sorrow arises from attachment to human
relationships. He then points to Sri Venkateswara as the indwelling presence
within us. Merely speaking about Hari everywhere, however, does not mean that
one has taken refuge in Him. Can the accumulated layers of existence fall away
for a discerning person without that actual surrender?
Interpretative Notes:
కాంతల పొందొల్లకుంటే ఘనదుఃఖమే లేదు: The
opening line draws attention to the nature of human relationships. The
relationships we form and sustain are often rooted in attachment. We experience
happiness and sorrow through these attachments, but neither feeling is
permanent. The transient feelings of sorrow and happiness arise in the absence
of each other. Bhagavad Gita 2.14 offers a related observation: experiences of
pleasure and pain, arising through contact with the senses, are transient. They
come and go. Verses 2.62 and 2.63, in turn, describe how attachment develops
into desire, anger and eventually the loss of discernment.
అంతరాత్మ శ్రీవేంకటాద్రీశుఁడు: Sri Venkateswara is the
indwelling presence in every human being. We are directly connected with Him;
the other relationships we form are indirect. The poet seems to be challenging
us to look at the nature of these relationships and distinguish between what is
direct and what is created through memory, habit and attachment.
అంతట మాటలె యాడి హరి శరణనకుంటే: The final two lines question the gap between words and actual experience. We may speak about Hari everywhere, sing His praises, perform prayers and repeatedly express our surrender. But do these expressions amount to taking refuge in Him? Can words alone accomplish anything?
దొంతినున్నభవములు తొలఁగునా వివేకికి?: The poet's question is not merely whether the accumulated births or layers of existence will disappear. More importantly, it draws attention to the state in which a person actually exists. Is there genuine surrender, or is there only the verbal expression of surrender?
Annamacharya thus brings the stanza back to the distinction running through the kirtana: what we say, what we display and what we actually are may be very different.
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Progression of the Poem:
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Poem (Telugu)
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Meaning
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Progression of Thought
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Pallavi
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ఊరకే
వెదకనేల వున్నవి చదువనేల
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Why search for something already within reach?
Why spend time reading and studying?
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Is there really a need to make an effort? What
is it that we are trying to find?
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చేరువనె
వున్నదిదె చెప్పరాని ఫలము
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That which is so close to us is an experience
that cannot be described in words, perceived through sight or hearing, or
grasped by the mind.
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What is this indescribable experience, so close
to us and yet beyond expression?
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First Stanza
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కోపము
విడిచితేనె పాపము దానే పోవు
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When anger is relinquished, sin disappears on
its own.
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What is it that keeps us entangled in anger?
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దీపింప
సుజ్ఞానముతెరు విదివో
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Perhaps this is how true wisdom begins to
shine!
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Wisdom is not another subject to be learned. It
is the state that emerges when ignorance falls away.
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లోపల
మనిలుఁడై లోకముమెచ్చుకొరకు పైపైఁగడిగితేను పావనుఁడౌనా
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If one remains impure within, but merely
cleanses oneself outwardly to win the world's approval, can one become pure?
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Not how clean do you appear to the world, but
how pure are you within?
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Second Stanza
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ముందరికోరిక
వోతే ముంచిన బంధాలు వీడు
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When desires concerning the future subside, the
bonds that hold us down begin to loosen.
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What is it that keeps projecting the future?
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కందువ
నాస మానితే కైవల్యము
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When the desire to discover the clue to one's
own identity ceases, that itself is liberation.
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Is the desire to know oneself really the way to
knowing?
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బొందిలోన
నొకటియు భూమిలోన నొకటియు
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One identity within the body, and another
presented to the world.
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Is there one way of living and another of
knowing the ultimate? Are they separate existences?
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చిందు
వందు చిత్తమైతే చేరునా వైకుంఠము?
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With a scattered and divided mind, can one
possibly reach Vaikuntha?
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Where can a scattered and divided mind possibly
arrive? Is it Vaikuntha?
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Third Stanza
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కాంతల
పొందొల్లకుంటే ఘనదుఃఖమే లేదు
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Human relationships, as we create and sustain
them, are born of attachment; it is this attachment that becomes a source of
deep sorrow.
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The transient feelings of sorrow and happiness
arise in the absence of each other.
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అంతరాత్మ
శ్రీవేంకటాద్రీశుఁడు
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Lord Venkateswara is the indwelling presence in
every human being.
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We are directly connected with Sri Venkateswara
within. All other relationships are indirect.
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అంతట
మాటలె యాడి హరి శరణనకుంటే దొంతినున్నభవములు తొలఁగునా వివేకికి?
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Even while speaking of Hari everywhere, if one
does not take refuge in Him, can the accumulated layers of existence ever
fall away for a discerning person?
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Can surrender be attained through words alone?
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X-X-X- THE END -X-X-X
