284 vicāra mennaṃ̐ḍu lēdu vīriḍi jīvulakunu (విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును)

   TALLAPAKA ANNAMACHARYULU

284 విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును

(vicāra mennaṃ̐ḍu lēdu vīriḍi jīvulakunu) 

తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.

INTRODUCTION

Annamacharya is astonishing.
His observations on time are nothing short of mind-blowing.
Many may disagree with me — and that’s fine. 

The point is this:
An idea that is almost inconceivable,
Something we struggle even to put into words,
Unfolds effortlessly before our eyes through him.

Annamacharya sees such a phenomenon,
Stands in the presence of it,
And then crafts a poem
That can be etched on the very soul of time. 

A fifteenth-century insight like this
Completely pulls the ground from beneath our feet.

All our modern theories collapse.
He disarms us — gently, effortlessly —
With a logic that cuts across every decorated idea we hold.

 

అధ్యాత్మ​ కీర్తన	Philosophical Poem
రేకు: 157-3 సంపుటము: 2-271	Copper Plate: 157-3 Vol: 2-271
విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును పచారించేరు బ్రదుకు బ్రహ్మనాటనుండియు ॥పల్లవి॥ పొద్దువొడచుటయును పొరిఁ గూఁగుటయె కాని అద్దుకొని మిగులఁగ నందేమి లేదు వొద్దికఁ బుట్టుటయును వుడుగఁ జూచుటె కాని కొద్దితోడఁ గాలమేమి గురియై నిలువదు ॥విచా॥ అన్నము భుజించేదియు నాఁకలి గొనేదెకాని యెన్నికకుఁ జెప్పిచూప నేదియు లేదు ఇన్నిటఁ దిరిగాడేది ఇంటికి వచ్చేదే కాని పన్ని తననిలుకడ భావించ లేదు      ॥విచా॥ జవ్వనము మోఁచేదియు సరి ముదుసేదే కాని తవ్వి కట్టుకొనే దేది దాఁచే దేది నవ్వుతా నలమేల్మంగనాయక శ్రీవేంకటేశ రవ్వల నీ వేలికవు రక్షించు మిఁకను  ॥విచా॥	vicāra mennaṃ̐ḍu lēdu vīriḍi jīvulakunu pacāriṃcēru braduku brahmanāṭanuṃḍiyu    ॥pallavi॥   podduvoḍacuṭayunu poriṃ̐ gūṃ̐guṭaye kāni addukoni migulaṃ̐ga naṃdēmi lēdu voddikaṃ̐ buṭṭuṭayunu vuḍugaṃ̐ jūcuṭe kāni kodditōḍaṃ̐ gālamēmi guriyai niluvadu           ॥vicā॥   annamu bhujiṃcēdiyu nāṃ̐kali gonēdekāni yennikakuṃ̐ jeppicūpa nēdiyu lēdu inniṭaṃ̐ dirigāḍēdi iṃṭiki vaccēdē kāni panni tananilukaḍa bhāviṃca lēdu   ॥vicā॥   javvanamu mōṃ̐cēdiyu sari mudusēdē kāni tavvi kaṭṭukonē dēdi dāṃ̐cē dēdi navvutā nalamēlmaṃganāyaka śrīvēṃkaṭēśa ravvala nī vēlikavu rakṣiṃcu miṃ̐kanu           ॥vicā॥

Details and Discussions:

Chorus (Pallavi):

---

విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును

పచారించేరు బ్రదుకు బ్రహ్మనాటనుండియు      ॥పల్లవి॥

vicāra mennaṃ̐ḍu lēdu vīriḍi jīvulakunu

pacāriṃcēru braduku brahmanāṭanuṃḍiyu       ॥pallavi॥ 

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును	(వీరిడి = foolish) These foolish people never repent
పచారించేరు బ్రదుకు బ్రహ్మనాటనుండియు	(పచారించేరు = reject; బ్రహ్మనాటనుండియు = for very long time, from the beginning) for they reject true-life for very long time

 

---

Literal Meaning: 

From the beginning of creation till this very moment, these deluded beings, without proper reflection or discrimination, have been rejecting the true essence of life — the divine truth — and have been wasting their time in ignorance.

---

Interpretative Notes: 

విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును

 “They never reflect…”

Annamacharya begins with a sharp warning.

“Such beings” refers to people who,

no matter how long they live,

never pause even for a moment to ask:

How is my life unfolding?

Why am I living?

What is the real nature of existence?

For them, the door of discernment has never been opened.

---

పచారించేరు బ్రదుకు బ్రహ్మనాటనుండియు

“From the beginning, they reject true life…”

Because they never reflect,

they consistently reject

the real, meaningful essence of life that stands right before their eyes.

Day after day, they drag their lives away from the path of truth.

This is not a new mistake —

it is an ancient human weakness, existing since primordial times.

---

The First Human Problem — Imitation

Human life begins with psychological dependence.

As children, we imagine that parents “know the truth.”

Later it becomes teachers, elders, and society.

This imitation begins innocently. 

But slowly,

imitation becomes mental dependence.

Then we start learning from the world around us:

What is “a good life”?

What is “happiness”?

Who is “successful”?

We take the lives of the wealthy, the influential,

and the celebrated as standards and try to replicate them. 

We begin living on borrowed definitions.
We swallow other people’s ideals —

often like medicine, without resistance.

Thus, we experience not real joy,

but vicarious, borrowed satisfaction.

Shows like Bigg Boss flourish because

they offer this continuous vicarious pleasure —

living through others’ lives.

---

Oscar Wilde expressed this brilliantly:

“Most people are other people.

Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions.”

Most of us fear original thinking for ourselves,

because independent thought demands responsibility.

Imitation requires no such burden.

and so it feels safe. 

---

The Bhagavad Gita (3.21) recognizes this tendency:
“People follow what they perceive as the superior.”

But we rarely question

whether those we imitate are truly wise —

we follow based on name, status, or wealth, leading to blind imitation. 

However, The Gita (3.17) shows the opposite state:
the one who finds satisfaction within oneself —
self-sufficient, not dependent on imitation —
that is where true seeing begins. 

This is exactly what Annamacharya is pointing to:

A life trapped in imitation has been rejecting true living for ages.

That is the meaning of:

“They have been rejecting real life since ancient times.” 

The core message of this Pallavi:
The day we stop living by other people’s opinions
is the day our real life begins.

---

First Stanza:

పొద్దువొడచుటయును పొరిఁ గూఁగుటయె కాని

అద్దుకొని మిగులఁగ నందేమి లేదు

వొద్దికఁ బుట్టుటయును వుడుగఁ జూచుటె కాని

కొద్దితోడఁ గాలమేమి గురియై నిలువదు ॥విచా॥

podduvoḍacuṭayunu poriṃ̐ gūṃ̐guṭaye kāni

addukoni migulaṃ̐ga naṃdēmi lēdu

voddikaṃ̐ buṭṭuṭayunu vuḍugaṃ̐ jūcuṭe kāni

kodditōḍaṃ̐ gālamēmi guriyai niluvadu ॥vicā॥ 

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
పొద్దువొడచుటయును పొరిఁ గూఁగుటయె కాని	The sun rises, then sun sets that all.
అద్దుకొని మిగులఁగ నందేమి లేదు	By touching/dissecting these time dependent actions, you cannot find anything in them
వొద్దికఁ బుట్టుటయును వుడుగఁ జూచుటె కాని	(వుడుగఁ జూచుటె = విడువక చూచుట, continuous observation) By closely observing continuous births
కొద్దితోడఁ గాలమేమి గురియై నిలువదు	This short period of time is not a suitable to make any meaningful conclusions

---

Literal Meaning: 

By touching/dissecting these time dependent events like sun rise and set, you cannot find anything substantial in them. This human life is a short period of time is not a suitable to make any meaningful conclusions on continuous birth and death cycles.

---

Interpretative Notes: 

అద్దుకొని మిగులఁగ నందేమి లేదు

“Nothing remains even if you grasp it”

Sunrise and sunset are repeated movements within time.

They certainly occur,

but they are motions produced by the illusion of time itself.

Relying on time-bound events

while living inside time

cannot lead us to any final truth.

A mind conditioned by time

cannot use time as a measure

to discover the timeless.

(Therefore, man’s discernment remain incomplete

= విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును) 

కొద్దితోడఁ గాలమేమి గురియై నిలువదు

“This short span of life cannot conclude anything”

Birth and death occur endlessly before our eyes.

But the span of human life is so limited

that it cannot serve as a sufficient basis

for determining any conclusion

on the nature of existence.

In this stanza, Annamacharya tells us:

We must abandon the illusion that

truth can be known through time-based observations.

We observe time

while standing inside the very field of time—

and therefore, the “truth” we derive from it

will always slip out of our hands.

Sunrise and sunset,

birth and death—

all these are

scenes authored by time,

curtains that conceal the real.

To know truth,

we must step beyond

the glamour and deception of time itself.

---

Second Stanza:

అన్నము భుజించేదియు నాఁకలి గొనేదెకాని

యెన్నికకుఁ జెప్పిచూప నేదియు లేదు

ఇన్నిటఁ దిరిగాడేది ఇంటికి వచ్చేదే కాని

పన్ని తననిలుకడ భావించ లేదు          ॥విచా॥

annamu bhujiṃcēdiyu nāṃ̐kali gonēdekāni

yennikakuṃ̐ jeppicūpa nēdiyu lēdu

inniṭaṃ̐ dirigāḍēdi iṃṭiki vaccēdē kāni

panni tananilukaḍa bhāviṃca lēdu ॥vicā॥

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
అన్నము భుజించేదియు నాఁకలి గొనేదెకాని	That one which gets hungry consumes food, yet
యెన్నికకుఁ జెప్పిచూప నేదియు లేదు	if one tries to count, grasp or articulate it, nothing definite can be pointed out.
ఇన్నిటఁ దిరిగాడేది ఇంటికి వచ్చేదే కాని	(Whatever) it is that roams amidst all experiences returns again to what it considers its home. yet
పన్ని తననిలుకడ భావించ లేదు	Yet it does not notice the order, the sequence, or the abiding nature behind this movement.

Literal Meaning: 

Whatever experiences hunger is the same that eats the food. But if we try to define or enumerate what exactly is happening, nothing clear can be concluded. Whatever wanders through all experiences — that same ‘something’ returns again into that which it knows as home. Yet, it does not observe or recognise the pattern, the cycle, the continuity, or the underlying stable nature behind all this movement.

---

Implied Meaning:

In this stanza, Annamacharya points to

the experiencer behind all human experience.

There is something within us that

feels hunger, tastes food,

 takes part in experiences and moves on to the next.

This “something” undergoes every experience in life.

After each experience it returns to its own inner state — its “home”.

We may remember experiences,

but we do not know the one that experiences.

We witness a stream of experiences,

but the continuous awareness that

enjoys them without interruption,

remains unnoticed.

---

Interpretative Notes: 

“పన్ని తననిలుకడ భావించ లేదు”

Here Annamacharya indicates

the very principle that can apprehend the Eternal.

This is not a description; it is a direct pointer to a real state.

It does not belong to envelope of time.

Everything else is shaped by time. 

He is pointing to the subtle, original locus of true knowledge.

That “home” is within us.

But our attention never falls on it.

Because all our attention goes outward —

to movement:

Food, taste, emotion, travel, experience

When movement becomes the focus,

stillness gets concealed. 

All inner movement occurs within time.
Every experience lives within the enclosure of time.

But that which is beyond time —
the original witnessing state —
remains unseen. 

---

Connection with surreal painting “Eyes on the Table”

 

Please have a clean look at Remedios Varo’s surreal painting

“Eyes on the Table” (1938).

A floating table hovers in mid-air,

bearing an antique pair of spectacles with eyelids attached.

The strange image suggests a mind adrift — unstable, ungrounded.

The eyes, though, are not looking outward but inward,

pointing us to the essential task:

to turn vision within.

To look without bias into the depths of oneself is profoundly difficult —

yet it is only by such inner seeing that may reveal that permanent thing. 

---

Attempting to See the Silent Gap

Consider

A tick–space–tick interval in any clock —

whether a wall clock or an atomic clock —

resembles:

attention → inattention → attention

When we try to attend to something,

we move from inattention into attention;

we do not remain in attention continuously.

The silent interval between the ticks,

that unnoticed gap,

is our true “home.”

Our attention is born of effort, not natural

(this also resembles Bhagavad-Gita 4-18)

---

Movement hides Stillness

Let us attempt to see that silent gap.

as it cannot be grasped directly;

As Annamacharya implies:

“Conscious knowing is not ‘knowing’ at all.”

The second (the unknown) is not graspable.

And this is not easy. 

As long as the activity called “conscious knowing” is present,

the silent knowing (awareness) remain subdued.

All attempts to forcibly quieten this

“conscious knowing” are unnatural.

Understanding this,

 to stay put “neutral” between the opposite pulls

“effort” and “in-effort”

remaining completely still is true equanimity.

In that state there is possibility of coming upon the awareness.

---

Gita Connection

This is exactly what the Gita declares:

“अकर्तारं स पश्यति Akartāraṁ sa paśyati” —

The ‘non-doership’ is the true seer.

The still mind alone is the witness.

(Bhagavad Gita 13.30)

---

 

Third Stanza: 

జవ్వనము మోఁచేదియు సరి ముదుసేదే కాని

తవ్వి కట్టుకొనే దేది దాఁచే దేది

నవ్వుతా నలమేల్మంగనాయక శ్రీవేంకటేశ

రవ్వల నీ వేలికవు రక్షించు మిఁకను          ॥విచా॥

javvanamu mōṃ̐cēdiyu sari mudusēdē kāni

tavvi kaṭṭukonē dēdi dāṃ̐cē dēdi

navvutā nalamēlmaṃganāyaka śrīvēṃkaṭēśa

ravvala nī vēlikavu rakṣiṃcu miṃ̐kanu ॥vicā॥ 

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
జవ్వనము మోఁచేదియు సరి ముదుసేదే కాని	The one that carries the youth and equally the ripe age, yet
తవ్వి కట్టుకొనే దేది దాఁచే దేది	Digging into these natural phases, you gain nothing. What is the one that hides (reality from our view?)
నవ్వుతా నలమేల్మంగనాయక శ్రీవేంకటేశ	Happily smiling the Lord Venkatesa along with Alamelumanga
రవ్వల నీ వేలికవు రక్షించు మిఁకను	You are the lord of our fragmentary existence and save us.

Literal Meaning:

Youth and old age are worn out by the same underlying principle; both are merely phases of the same body. By digging deeper into the body, what can you really grasp? And more importantly, what is it that hides the truth? O Lord Venkatesha, Consort of Alamelmanga, You must be smiling at our confusion! We are like fragments and cracks — You alone must protect us now.

---

Interpretative notes: 

“జవ్వనము మోఁచేదియు సరి ముదుసేదే కాని”

(youth and old age bear the same principle)

What we see outwardly —
youth or old age —
never reveals the true nature of the body.
Age is a surface signal, not an insight into its reality.
It tells us nothing about what the body truly is.

---

తవ్వి కట్టుకొనే దేది?” 

“What do we gain by examining the body?

This naturally leads to the deeper question:

Even if we probe it from within, no permanent truth is found.

Because the eternal is not material.
As the Gita (13.13) states,
it lies beyond the reach of matter,
beyond existence and non-existence.

---

“దాఁచే దేది?”

What is hiding the truth?

Annamacharya now sharpens the inquiry:

What hides the eternal truth?

The answer is not mysterious —

it is not Truth that hides.

It is our own ignorance.

As the Gita (5.15) says:
“Knowledge is covered by ignorance;
thus beings fall into delusion.”

---

రవ్వల నీ వేలికవు

You are the Lord of these fragments

Here Annamacharya points to

the fragmented nature of human existence.

Within us:

a little goodness, a little deception,

some devotion, some rebellion,

some clarity, some confusion —

an entity made of fragments. 

These cracks distort perception.
Just as dust in the air scatters sunlight
and allows us to see only partial rays,
our inner fragments break the wholeness of Truth.

We perceive in pieces
because we live in pieces.

---

పచారించేరు బ్రదుకు బ్రహ్మనాటనుండియు

(we reject the truth)

We cling to the certainty of the familiar —

what we already know.

Letting go of this becomes difficult.

The known feels safe;

the unknown feels threatening.

This very psychological habit

is the true veil that hides the real. 

“దాఁచే దేది?”

Who hides the truth? We ourselves

---

విచార మెన్నఁడు లేదు వీరిడి జీవులకును

(We spend life of self satisfaction)

Human life, body, and mind

are marvellous yet profoundly complex.

They appear like an assembly

of diverse and often contradictory forces.

The body is a ladder

intended for realising the One Truth.

Meditation is what gathers these scattered fragments

onto a single thread.

---

The nature of perception

All our observations arise

from the reactions of memory.

But when the mind becomes still,

it sees the futility of these reactions.

It does not respond,

does not rush to interpret.

Only in that silence
does the unity of existence —
the world as one continuous consciousness —
become visible.

Until the mind is quiet,
Truth cannot be seen.

---

 

Central Message of this poem:

 Annamacharya’s message is worthy of contemplation

A life without reflection can not grasp the essence of Living

---

X-X-The END-X-X