3. తొల్లి కలవే ఇవియు ( Tolli kalavE iviyu)

ANNAMACHARYA

3. తొల్లి కలవే ఇవియు

Annamacharya in this philosophical verse touches upon existence, complex connection between time, memory, death and reality. Of course he continues to be modern and precise. 

In this seminal presentation, Annamacharya first establishes that the world as it appears to us is transient. In the starting stanza, he summarises that we perceive these things as per our conditioning. In the second, he contends that the root cause of trouble is our own thinking. In the third, he confirms that the feeling of existence is due to God. 

Some of Annamacharya’s observations, are now corroborated in the speeches of Jiddu Krihsnamurti. I have included them in the detailed text below.

                                                తొల్లి కలవే ఇవియు తొల్లి తానుఁ గలడే
                                                కల్లయునుఁ గాదు ఇది కడు నిజము గాదు. IIపల్లవిII

                                            Tolli kalavE iviyu tolli tAnu galadE
                                            kallayunu gAdu idi kaDu nijamu gAdu IIpallavi||
    

Word by Word Meaning: తొల్లి (Tolli) =before; కలవే (kalavE) = existing; ఇవియు= iviyu = these things; తొల్లి (Tolli) =before; తానుఁ (tAnu)=God; గలడే (galadE)=existing?; కల్లయునుఁ (kallayunu)= falsehood; గాదు (gAdu) = not; ఇది (idi) =this or these; కడు (kadu)= much; నిజము (nijamu) = truth; గాదు (gAdu) = not; 

Literal meaning: Do these things exist before? Or HE is before them? These things (the world) cannot be said as not existing. Neither can be declared truly existing. 

Implied meaning: Do these things exist before? Or HE is before them? These things (the world) appear to be existing while truly they don't. (As explained in below stanzas) 

Comments: Thru this verse, Annamacharya first brought up the question who is first? The world OR the GOD? Then he answers in the later part. 

                                                కను దెరచినంతనే కలుగు నీ జగము 

                                                కనుమూసినంతనే కడు శూన్యమౌను 

                                                కనురెప్ప మరఁగుననె కలిమియును లేమియును 

                                                తన మనోభావనలఁ దగిలి తోఁచేనే. IIతొల్లిII 

                                                Kanu derachinaMtanE kalugu nI jagamu 

                                            kanumUsinamtanE kaDu SUnyamaunu 

                                            kanureppa Maragunane kalimiyunu, lEmiyunu 

                                            tana manObhaAvanala dagili tOchEnE ||Tolli|| 

Word by word meaning: కను (Kanu) = eyes; దెరచినంతనే= తెరచినంతనే (derachinaMtanE = terachinaMtanE) =opening of; కలుగు (kalugu) = exisit; నీ (nI)= this; జగము (jagamu) = world; కను (Kanu) = eyes; మూసినంతనే (mUsinamtanE)= on closing eyes, కడు (kadu)= much; శూన్యమౌను SUnyamaunu =vanish, disappear; కనురెప్ప (kanureppa )= eyelids; మరఁగుననె (Maragunane) to become familiar, to desire, to covet, fall in love; కలిమియును (kalimiyunu) = riches; లేమియును (lEmiyunu)= poverty; తన tana = self; మనోభావనలఁ(manObhaAvanala)= feelings; దగిలి= తగిలి (dagili = tagili) =entanglement, తోఁచేనే (tOchEnE)= to occur in the mind. 

Literal meaning: Upon opening of up eyes (senses) this world exists. When we shun the senses, the world disappears. Based on what a person gets entangled within the mind, experiences richness or poverty. 

Implied meaning: Upon opening of up eyes (senses) this world exists. When we shun the senses, the world disappears. Therefore, richness and poverty are just desires/feelings created by senses. Everything exists (or does not exist) due to entanglement of one’s thoughts. 

Comments: In this stanza, Annamacharya establishes that the root cause of our feelings is the mind, not physical needs. He goes further to state that the world exists for a person from birth to death. Further, see the link with the wording కల్లయునుఁ గాదు ఇది కడు నిజము గాదు (kallayunu gAdu idi kaDu nijamu gAdu), indicating the world as we see is dependent on our internal feelings. This sentence makes more sense now. 

                                         తలఁచినంతనె యెంత దవ్వయిన గాన్పించు 

                                         తలఁపు మరచినమతికి దట్టమౌఁ దమము 

                                        పొలసి మతిమరఁగుననె పుట్టుటలుఁ బోవుటలు 

                                        పలుచంచలవికారభావ మీ గుణము. IIతొల్లిII 

                                        talachinaMtane yeMta davvayina gAnpiMchu

                                        talapu marachina matiki daTTamau damamu

                                        polasi matimaragunane puTTuTalu bOvuTalu

                                        palu chaMchala vikArabhAva mI guNamu ||Tolli|| 

Word by word meaning: తలఁచినంతనె talachinaMtane= upon imagination; యెంత (yeMta) = any amount; దవ్వు (davvu) = distance; అయినా (ayina) = being; గాన్పించు = కాన్పించు gAnpiMchu (=kAnpiMchu) = can be seen; తలఁపు (talapu)= thinking; మరచిన (marachina)= forget, absent; మతికి (matiki) to that mind దట్టమౌఁ (daTTamau) = multitude (many) దమము (damamu)= self-controlled state of (feelings); పొలసి (polasi) = layers; మతి మరఁగుననె (matimaragunane) = behind the reminiscence; పుట్టుటలుఁ (puTTuTalu) = Birth(s) బోవుటలు = పోవుటలు (bOvuTalu = pOvuTalu) = departures; పలు (=palu) = multiple; చంచల (chaMchala) = unstable, transient, volatile, mutable; వికారభావము (vikArabhAvamu) = inversions, transformation, distortion; ఈ గుణము (iI guNamu) = this feeling. 

Literal Meaning: There is no end to imagination, it keeps extending. By stopping thinking one can control feelings. In the layers of memory exists reminiscence of death and birth. These feelings are volatile and create transforms from one to another. 

Implied meaning: There is no end to imagination. (Farther you go, imagination keeps growing.) You can’t reach the end of your thoughts. Cessation of thought is the beginning of peace(1). In the layers of the memory, these thoughts, birth and death exists due to reminiscence(2). Volatile mind creates (illusionary) inversions of our feelings to baffle. 

Comments: man’s only instrument is thought. Now Annamacharya is questioning the very root cause of our troubles (akin to modern philosophers). He underlined the fact that we do not know what lies within our mind. Of course, we fall to the illusions created by the mind and ultimately get frustrated. 

Again observe connect with the wording కల్లయునుఁ గాదు ఇది కడు నిజము గాదు (kallayunu gAdu idi kaDu nijamu gAdu), indicating that imagination/thought and its associated activities does cause the illusion. 

                                        దాఁ గలిగితే మూఁడు లోకములుఁ గల 

                                        వెందు దా లేకుంటే నేమియును లేదు 

                                        అంది శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁ డాత్మలోననె వీఁడె 

                                        కందువల నితని సంకల్ప మీపనులు. IIతొల్లిII 

                                        dA galigitE mUDu lOkamulu gala-

                                        veMdu dA lEkuMTE nEmiyunu lEdu

                                        aMdi SrIvEMkaTESu DAtmalOnane vIDe

                                        kaMduvala nitani saMkalpa mIpanulu ||Tolli|| 

Word by word meaning: దాఁ = తాఁ (dA= tA) = God; గలిగితే (galigitE= kaligitE )= Exists; మూఁడు లోకములుఁ (mUDu lOkamulu) = three worlds ( wake up, sleeping and dreamy states); గలవు = కలవు ( galavu = kalavu)= exist, present; ఎందు (eMdu)= in which; దా = తా (dA= tA) = God; లేకుంటే lEkuMTE absent; నేమియును (nEmiyunu) = nothing; లేదు (lEdu) = does not exist; అంది (aMdi)= said; శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁ డాత్మలోననె (SrIvEMkaTESu DAtmalOnane) God with in the self; వీఁడె (vIDe) = this very person, God; కందువలన (kaMduvalana) = trace, image etc; ఇతని (itani) his; సంకల్పము (saMkalpamu) = will, design; ఈ పనులు (iI panulu) = these things. 

Literal Meaning: If God exists, this world exists for us. If he is not there, everything ceases to exist. It is said that the Lord Ventkaeswara is in our hearts, all these things (World and its inhabitants) are his creation. 

Implied meaning: The world (wake up, sleeping and dreamy states for each individual) exists because HE (GOD) exists in our hearts. There will be no world without HIM. I felt this movement within me. Therefore, all these things are HIS designs. 

Comments: He is talking of the feeling of life that we all experience, which is due to the “self (ego)” feeling. If this is absent, the world does not exist for that individual. Therefore, the feeling of existence for any individual is due to God. Thus proving God is before all the creation.

Foot notes:
1: Like Annamacharya, Jidddu Krishnamurti also said thought has no place in creating inner peace: 
(In a talk at Brandies University Jiddu Krishnamurti said) “Why has man given such extraordinary importance to thought which formulates a concept which he tries to live. The formulation of ideologies and the attempted conformity to those ideologies is observable throughout the world. The Hitler movement did it, the Communist people are doing it very thoroughly; the religious groups, the Catholics, the Protestants, the Hindus, and so on have asserted their ideologies through propaganda, for two thousand years, and have made man conform through threats, through promises. One observes this phenomenon throughout the world; man has always given thought such extraordinary significance and importance. The more specialized, the more intellectual, the more thought becomes of serious import. So we ask: Can thought ever solve our human problems? 
Is thought the only instrument that we have to deal with all our human problems? - for it does not answer, it does not resolve our problems. It may be, we are just questioning it, we are not dogmatically asserting it. It may be that thought has no place whatsoever, except for mechanical, technological, scientific matters.”)

 
2: As observed by Annamacharya, Jiddu Krishnamurti also said about various layers embedded inside us: (“I wonder how many of us are aware that there is a subconscious, and that there are different layers in our consciousness? I think most of us are aware only of the superficial mind, of the daily activities, the rattling superficial consciousness. We are not aware of the depth, the significance and meaning of the hidden layers;.. One's life is based essentially on yesterday and 'yesterday' makes us vulnerable, deprives us of the capacity of innocence, vulnerability. So 'yesterday' is the observer'; in the 'observer' are all the layers of the unconscious as well as the conscious. The whole of humankind is in each one of us, in both the conscious and the unconscious, the deeper layers. One is the result of thousands of years; embedded in each one of us.” ) 

Reference: Copper Leaf No 313-1, Vol 4-73