42R cūḍarevvaru dīni sōdyaṃbu parikiṃci (చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి)

 TALLAPAKA ANNAMACHARYULU

42R చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి

(cūḍarevvaru dīni sōdyaṃbu parikiṃci)

తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి. 

INTRODUCTION

 

Annamacharya asks us to examine our lives adequately and carefully. This does not mean that we are living carelessly or neglecting life. What guides our lives are the opinions, moral structures, material structures, and other frameworks that we humans have created about life. While these serve as our guides, attachments, desires, and hopes for the future gradually distort those very guides.

A person mistakes his hopes and anxieties for thought, his ego for love, and his impulses for happiness. Immersed in justifying himself, he fails to observe his actual state. While believing that he is seeing clearly, he is, in reality, seeing only his own illusions.

“That is why Annamacharya says, ‘చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి’. 'Sodyambu' refers to an astonishing, unfathomable wonder. Annamacharya points out that although an extraordinary process of living is unfolding right before our eyes, we ordinary human beings fail to observe it as a wonder.”

Only when a person recognizes his own illusions can he notice where his vision is being distorted. Therefore, the problem is not merely a lack of sufficient attention; it is the failure to recognize the attachments, desires, opinions, and ego that influence one’s way of seeing. 

అధ్యాత్మ​ సంకీర్తన

రాగి రేకు: 16-2  సంపుటము - సంకీర్తన: 1-96

చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి చూడఁజూడఁగఁ గాని సుఖమెఱఁగరాదు             ॥చూడ॥ ఎడతెగని మమత వేయఁగరాని పెనుమోపు కడలేని యాస చీఁకటి దవ్వుకొనుట నిడివైన కనుచూపు నీడనుండిన యెండ వడిచెడని తమకంబు వట్టి తాపంబు  ॥చూడ॥ బుద్ధిమానిన చింత పోని యూరికిఁ దెరువు పొద్దువోవని వలపు పొట్ట పొంకంబు యెద్దుఁ బట్టిన సివం బెఱుకమాలిన ప్రియము లొద్దిక విహారంబు లుబ్బుఁ గవణంబు            ॥చూడ॥ తీపులోపలి తీపు తిరువేంకటేశ్వరుని చూపు, దనుఁ బొడగనని చూపు లోచూపు, ఆపదలు వాయు నెయ్యపుఁ దలఁపు లీతలఁపు రూపైన రుచిలోని రుచి వివేకంబు      ॥చూడ॥

Philosophical POEM

Copper Plate: 16-2  Volume: 1-96

cūḍarevvaru dīni sōdyaṃbu parikiṃci cūḍaṃ̐jūḍaṃ̐gaṃ̐ gāni sukhame\raṃ̐garādu    ॥cūḍa॥ eḍategani mamata vēyaṃ̐garāni penumōpu kaḍalēni yāsa cīṃ̐kaṭi davvukonuṭa niḍivaina kanucūpu nīḍanuṃḍina yeṃḍa vaḍiceḍani tamakaṃbu vaṭṭi tāpaṃbu             ॥cūḍa॥ buddhimānina ciṃta pōni yūrikiṃ̐ deruvu podduvōvani valapu poṭṭa poṃkaṃbu yedduṃ̐ baṭṭina sivaṃ be\rukamālina priyamu loddika vihāraṃbu lubbuṃ̐ gavaṇaṃbu          ॥cūḍa॥ tīpulōpali tīpu tiruvēṃkaṭēśvaruni cūpu, danuṃ̐ boḍaganani cūpu lōcūpu, āpadalu vāyu neyyapuṃ̐ dalaṃ̐pu lītalaṃ̐pu rūpaina rucilōni ruci vivēkaṃbu         ॥cūḍa॥

Details and Discussions:

Chorus (Pallavi):

చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి

చూడఁజూడఁగఁ గాని సుఖమెఱఁగరాదు ॥పల్లవి॥

cūḍarevvaru dīni sōdyaṃbu parikiṃci

cūḍaṃ̐jūḍaṃ̐gaṃ̐ gāni sukhame\raṃ̐garādu॥cūḍa॥

Sense of the Poem:   

Telugu phrase	English meaning
చూడరెవ్వరు	No one observes
దీని	This life / the process through which life continues
సోద్యంబు	A remarkable and unfathomable matter worthy of investigation
పరికించి	Examining carefully and looking into it deeply
చూడఁజూడఁగఁ	Seeing again and again; observing repeatedly and continuously
గాని	Unless one does so
సుఖమెఱఁగరాదు	One cannot understand what true happiness is

Literal Sense:

No one carefully observes life—the astonishing and unfathomable process that it is. Unless one looks deeply into it and observes it closely, one cannot understand what true happiness is.

 

Implied Meaning:

However unstable and uncertain life may be, it continues somehow on the edge of dangers and circumstances that appear almost impossible to survive. Yet human beings have not developed a sufficiently direct and inward understanding of what living actually is, what is involved in the process of living, and how its different elements interact. Without continuously observing the temporary nature of life, they search for permanence within this brief and transient span. Consequently, they fail to recognize true happiness. 

Deeper Note: 

“చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి” — “No one carefully examines this astonishing matter.” Annamacharya is declaring that we pass through life without noticing something that is extraordinarily puzzling, astonishing, and yet extremely close to us.

Scriptures, books, wise sayings, and the sciences can introduce us to life from many perspectives. They provide valuable information, explanations, and guidance. Yet human beings have not developed a sufficiently direct and inner understanding of what living actually is, or of what are all involved in the process of living. and how its different elements interact.

Most of what we know has been gathered through the observations, teachings, theories, and experiences of others. On the basis of this knowledge, each person forms opinions, standards, and ways of living. But it is rare for a person to observe directly the living process taking place within himself in every moment of his own life.

As the Bhagavad Gita says in 13.16, “सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं sūkṣhmatvāt tad avijñeyaṁ”—because it is extremely subtle, it is not easily grasped.

“చూడఁజూడఁగఁ గాని సుఖమెఱఁగరాదు” — “Unless one observes it again and again, one cannot know ture happiness.” This is not something that can be understood by looking at it once or making a single attempt. One must continuously observe how life unfolds within oneself from moment to moment—how thoughts, desires, attachments, fears, hopes, pleasure, and sorrow are interwoven. Hasty or superficial observation is not enough.

The happiness we ordinarily experience has a beginning and an end. It depends upon circumstances, and therefore carries along with it sorrow, fear of loss, and attachment. The “happiness” referred to by Annamacharya is not something entangled with sorrow and bondage. It is not the acquisition of yet another temporary experience.

“When we observe the nature of life deeply, the illusion “that temporary experiences are true happiness” begins to disappear. Only then can we recognize what genuine happiness is.”

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First Stanza:

ఎడతెగని మమత వేయఁగరాని పెనుమోపు

కడలేని యాస చీఁకటి దవ్వుకొనుట

నిడివైన కనుచూపు నీడనుండిన యెండ

వడిచెడని తమకంబు వట్టి తాపంబు     ॥చూడ॥

eḍategani mamata vēyaṃ̐garāni penumōpu

kaḍalēni yāsa cīṃ̐kaṭi davvukonuṭa

niḍivaina kanucūpu nīḍanuṃḍina yeṃḍa

vaḍiceḍani tamakaṃbu vaṭṭi tāpaṃbu ॥cūḍa॥ 

Poem line	Concise meaning
ఎడతెగని మమత వేయఁగరాని పెనుమోపు	Attachment that cannot be severed becomes an unbearable burden that cannot be thrown away
కడలేని యాస చీఁకటి దవ్వుకొనుట	Trying to fulfil endless desires is like digging in darkness—acting without knowing what one is doing
నిడివైన కనుచూపు నీడనుండిన యెండ	A prolonged gaze directed toward the future is like searching for sunlight in the shade—an impossibility
వడిచెడని తమకంబు వట్టి తాపంబు	Unrelenting possessiveness and the belief that something can be acquired or controlled bring only suffering

Literal Sense:

Human beings complicate their own lives through attachments, desires, hopes for the future, and the insistence that things are “mine.” They neither can bear the burden, nor can let them go; and become increasingly trapped in them.

In their anxiety to make the future secure and comfortable, they lose the ability to observe the life that is taking place in the present.

These psychological pressures influence their thoughts, decisions, and actions. As a result, life itself is not distorted, but the way they see life becomes distorted in many ways. Unable to observe the astonishing process of life as it is, they fail to recognize true happiness.

Deeper Notes:

Consider the bronze artwork Nobility of Time by Salvador Dalí shown below. In this artwork, a wall clock stretches, crumbles and hangs like chapati (or like a thin flat piece of soft rubber mat), losing its original form and collapsing over the branch of a tree. Through the clock, Dalí appears to remind us of human life and its predicament before us. Clock is indicating limited time available, and its distorted form indicates what we do with our life.

A person is unable to bear the weight of his attachments, yet cannot relinquish them. His hopes do not die; instead, he becomes more deeply entangled in them.

In his anxiety to make the future comfortable and secure, in his confidence in his own abilities, and in his belief that he can accomplish many things, he undergoes considerable suffering and mental distress. All these efforts, like the distorted wall clock in the artwork, deform our view in different ways and under different circumstances.

Attachments, desires, hopes for the future, and the insistence that something is “mine”—all of them alter the way we look at life. When circumstances provoke us, we think, decide, and act under their influence.

Consequently, our present actions do not arise from a vision that sees life as it is. They arise from a vision that has already been distorted. Life has not become distorted; our vision of life has become distorted. Let us return once again to the pallavi: “చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి” “No one carefully examines this astonishing process.” Life is taking place directly before us. Yet we ourselves distort the vision through which we observe it—with attachments, desires, hopes, and possessiveness. This stanza shows the difficulty created by entanglements.

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Second Stanza:

బుద్ధిమానిన చింత పోని యూరికిఁ దెరువు

పొద్దువోవని వలపు పొట్ట పొంకంబు

యెద్దుఁ బట్టిన సివం బెఱుకమాలిన ప్రియము

లొద్దిక విహారంబు లుబ్బుఁ గవణంబు   ॥చూడ॥

buddhimānina ciṃta pōni yūrikiṃ̐ deruvu

podduvōvani valapu poṭṭa poṃkaṃbu

yedduṃ̐ baṭṭina sivaṃ be\rukamālina priyamu

loddika vihāraṃbu lubbuṃ̐ gavaṇaṃbu        ॥cūḍa॥

Poem line	Concise meaning
బుద్ధిమానిన చింత పోనియూరికిఁ దెరువు	Anxiety and confused thought become roads to a place we do not intend to go.
పొద్దువోవని వలపు పొట్టపొంకంబు	(పొద్దువోవని = unable to pass time; పొట్టపొంకంబు =, inflated conceit) Attachments cultivated merely to pass time, display one’s pride, or maintain one’s self-importance
యెద్దుఁ బట్టిన సివం బెఱుకమాలిన ప్రియము	(యెద్దుఁ బట్టిన సివం = Animal like impulse) An affection born of animal-like impulse and devoid of awareness; an unintelligent delight in such impulses
లొద్దిక విహారంబు లుబ్బుఁగవణంబు	(ఉబ్బుఁగవణంబు = gross animal feed) Recreational activity and indulgence reduced to gross sensory experience

Literal Sense:

Although a person considers himself intelligent, his anxieties are like roads that prevent him from reaching the very place he wishes to reach. Believing that he is thinking, he is actually pushing himself into greater confusion and moving elsewhere.

 

Attachments pursued merely for amusement, relationships used to display pride and self-importance, and efforts to preserve one’s sense of superiority may appear outwardly as love and happiness. Yet ego is working beneath them.

Animal-like impulses, unconscious insistence, and meaningless excitement within affectionate relationships are also forms of delusion unknown to the person himself. To take pleasure in such animal impulses is an unintelligent happiness. Finally, recreational activities and sensory indulgences remain limited to gross pleasures.

Thus, a person treats anxiety as thought, ego as love, impulse as happiness, and sensory indulgence as recreation. He therefore fails to observe what is actually taking place within him.

Deep Notes:

Here Annamacharya exposes the fundamental weakness of human beings. A person treats his anxieties as thought, his ego as love, his impulses as happiness, and sensory pleasures as recreation. He believes that whatever suits him is true and leaves no room for anything contrary to it.

He uses arguments to justify irrational thoughts and protects his stubbornness with a pompous seriousness. The inner world of such a person resembles René Magritte’s surrealist painting The Listening Room shown below.

In Magritte’s painting, there is an apple inside an ordinary room. The apple has expanded abnormally and occupied the entire room, leaving no space for the remaining objects—or even for light.

In the same way, a belief, anxiety, attachment, or impulse can occupy the entire inner world. Then no space remains for listening to truth or looking at things differently. The person keeps justifying irrational thoughts, becomes satisfied within them, and continues to stumble within them. This is his actual condition.

That is why Annamacharya says: “చూడరెవ్వరు దీని సోద్యంబు పరికించి” “No one carefully examines this astonishing process.” This stanza shows the difficulty from the person’s side

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Third Stanza:

తీపులోపలి తీపు తిరువేంకటేశ్వరుని

చూపు, దనుఁ బొడగనని చూపు లోచూపు,

ఆపదలు వాయు నెయ్యపుఁ దలఁపు లీతలఁపు

రూపైన రుచిలోని రుచి వివేకంబు        ॥చూడ॥

tīpulōpali tīpu tiruvēṃkaṭēśvaruni

cūpu, danuṃ̐ boḍaganani cūpu lōcūpu,

āpadalu vāyu neyyapuṃ̐ dalaṃ̐pu lītalaṃ̐pu

rūpaina rucilōni ruci vivēkaṃbu          ॥cūḍa॥

Poem line	Concise meaning
తీపులోపలి తీపు తిరువేంకటేశ్వరుని	The sweetest of all sweetness is the compassionate glance of Lord Venkateswara
చూపు దనుఁ బొడగనని చూపు లోచూపు	(దనుఁ బొడగనని చూపు = A seeing not connected with body-senses) An inner seeing that does not accept the body as the final proof or criterion of the self
ఆపదలువాయు నెయ్యపుఁ దలఁపులీతలఁపు	(ఆపదలువాయు= worldly bondages getting loosened) A kind and friendly remembrance that removes the dangers arising from worldly bonds
రూపైన రుచిలోని రుచి వివేకంబు	The real sweetness within all experience is the seeing that is free from distortion; that seeing itself is discernment

Literal Sense:

The sweetest of all experiences is the compassionate glance of Lord Venkateswara. Through that glance arises an inner seeing that is not a judgement born of sensory perception.

It is a kind and friendly remembrance through which one recognizes that worldly bonds are the source of danger and suffering. The true sweetness within all experiences is the seeing that observes bonds without distortion.

When the personal centre called “I” does not obstruct clear perception, knowledge, protection, and sweetness are present within that very seeing.

Deep Notes: 

In the first two stanzas, Annamacharya shows why a human being fails to look directly at life. Attachments, desires, hopes for the future, and possessiveness distort his vision. He then goes a step further: the person begins to mistake anxiety for thought, ego for love, impulse for happiness, and sensory pleasure for recreation. He not only lives within these distortions; he also justifies them. Thus, the difficulty is not merely that he is confused. He does not recognize that his seeing itself has become distorted.

The third stanza now introduces an entirely different kind of seeing.“చూపు, దనుఁ బొడగనని చూపు లోచూపు” Here, దనుఁ బొడగనని should not be understood as rejecting the body or as denying sensory perception. The body is present and is part of experience. The point is subtler: the body is not accepted as the final criterion of the self. The personal centre—“this body is me”—is not allowed to become the ultimate standard through which everything else is judged and interpreted.

This is the turning point of the poem. In the first two stanzas, the personal centre colours everything it sees. A desire is seen as a necessity; an attachment is seen as love; an anxiety is seen as intelligent thought; an impulse is seen as happiness. In the third stanza, that colouring begins to disappear. The seeing is no longer completely organised around “me” and “mine.”

When the personal centre does not interfere in this way, things can be seen more directly. The nature of worldly bonds becomes apparent. They are seen not merely as sources of pleasure and security, but also as sources of danger and suffering. They need not be forcibly rejected or suppressed. When their nature is clearly seen, their hold begins to weaken by itself.

This also explains the significance of: “ఆపదలు వాయు నెయ్యపుఁ దలఁపు లీతలఁపు” The remembrance mentioned here is not simply remembering a name or repeatedly thinking about something. It is a remembrance that has the quality of friendship and benevolence—a movement that helps one see the very bonds that create danger.

The first two stanzas showed the distorted seeing. The third stanza points toward seeing without distortion. That is why the final line is so important: “రూపైన రుచిలోని రుచి వివేకంబు” The real sweetness within all experience is not necessarily another pleasant experience. It is the quality of seeing itself when it is free from distortion.

And here lies the remarkable statement: చూపు = వివేకము. Annamacharya does not introduce viveka as another faculty that has to be acquired and then applied to seeing. The seeing itself, when it is free from the distortion created by the personal centre, is Viveka (intelligence).

This also completes the movement begun in the Pallavi. The Pallavi asks us to look carefully at life.The first stanza shows how attachments, desires, future projections and possessiveness distort that looking. The second stanza shows how we justify those distortions and mistake them for reality. The third stanza shows what happens when that distortion is absent: the seeing itself becomes clear, and that clear seeing is Viveka (intelligence).

Thus the closing words, “రుచిలోని రుచి వివేకంబు” bring the whole poem back to its beginning. The happiness that cannot be known without repeatedly observing life is not something to be obtained from outside. It becomes visible when the obstruction in seeing is understood. That is why the opening “చూడరెవ్వరు” and the closing “వివేకంబు” belong to the same movement. The poem begins by asking us to see. It ends by showing that true seeing itself is discernment. 

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