ANNAMACHARYULU
164 పాపపుణ్యముల రూపము దేహ మిది
(pApapuNyamula rUpamu dEha midi)
Synopsis: One must navigate the
forest called life and possess courage to face any positive or negative situations
that may emerge.
Summary of this Poem:
Chorus: This body is an embodiment of virtues and sins together. There is no solution
to its greed and gluttony.
Stanza
1: O
Man! Extreme love of the flesh is enough to block the virtue. Without giving up
the up the thoughts of carnal lust in the mind, higher states are not possible.
Stanza 2: Unless one
crosses the limits of that constituents of ‘mine’
(sea of Meum), will not arrive at lasting comfort. Unless one worships Lord
Venkateswara, he can’t be conferred with divine bliss.
Detailed Presentation
Introduction: This verse
can be considered as the sequel to the previous two submissions. Annamacharya
mentions the most daunting Yoga as finding remedy to body’s insatiable hunger
and avarice. This can be compared to the Gita saying तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् "tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ
manye vāyor iva su-duṣhkaram" (= it is as difficult as controlling the air).
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కీర్తన: రాగిరేకు: 4-8 సంపుటము: 1-28 |
POEM Copper Leaf:
4-8 Volume: 1-28 |
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పాపపుణ్యముల రూపము దేహ మిది దీని- దీపనం బణఁగింపఁ దెరు వెందు లేదు ॥పాప॥ అతిశయంబైన దేహభిమానము దీర గతిఁగాని పుణ్యసంగతిఁ బొందరాదు మతిలోని దేహభిమానంబు విడుచుటకు రతి పరాఙ్ముఖుఁడు గాక రపణంబు లేదు ॥పాప॥ సరిలేని మమకారజలధి దాఁటిఁనఁ గాని అరుదైన నిజసౌఖ్య మది వొందరాదు తిరువేంకటాచలాధిపునిఁ గొలిచినఁ గాని పరగు బ్రహ్మానందపరుఁడుఁ దాఁ గాఁడు ॥పాప॥ ॥
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pApapuNyamula
rUpamu dEha midi dIni-
dIpanaM
baNagiMpa deru veMdu lEdu ॥pApa॥ atiSayaMbaina
dEhabhimAnamu dIra
gatigAni
puNyasaMgati boMdarAdu
matilOni
dEhabhimAnaMbu viDuchuTaku
rati
parA~mmukhuDu gAka rapaNaMbu lEdu ॥pApa॥ sarilEni
mamakArajaladhi dATina gAni
arudaina
nijasaukhya madi voMdarAdu
tiruvEMkaTAchalAdhipuni
golichina gAni
paragu
brahmAnaMdaparuDu dA gADu ॥pApa॥
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Details and Explanations:
Word to word meaning: పాపపుణ్యముల (pApapuNyamula) = mixture of virtues and sins; రూపము (rUpamu) = shape; దేహ (dEha) = body; మిది (midi) = this; దీని (dIni) = its; దీపనం (dIpanaM) = hunger, gluttony (used in the sense of inconstancy or Fickleness);
బణఁగింపఁ (baNagiMpa) = to put down,
to subside; దెరు వెందు లేదు (deru veMdu lEdu) = no solution anywhere.
Literal
meaning: This body is an embodiment of
virtues and sins together. There is
no solution to its greed and gluttony.
Explanation: We are all sick of these words sin and virtue. Without understanding them, however, we cannot get out of them. In the preceding explanations (162, 163) we have seen how the exterior environment and events are transformed into the interior of beings. Further, these experiences are converted into memory layers. As a result, we are constantly overwhelmed with these transfigurations and waste our time.
Even more surprising is the painting of "The Swan #24" drawn by an unknown divine power, with Hilma Af Klint as her medium. The white swan symbolizes the known side of the body and the black swan symbolizes the secret world that we do not know. "The Swan No. 24" gives physical manifestation to the idea of dominance and power that the spiritual realm has over the temporal world.
The swans' twisted necks are intertwined and meet at their beaks. Whatever be the theories of Theosophical society, the painting clearly conveys the contradictory dualism of good and evil for man. The picture by Klint, sitting in a remote room somewhere in Sweden, perfectly represents the nature of wording of Annamacharya and the constant struggle we endure.
Word to word meaning: అతిశయంబైన (atiSayaMbaina)
= exalted; దేహభిమానము (dEhabhimAnamu) = love for own body; దీర (dIra) =
unless overcome, unless crossed; గతిఁగాని (gatigAni) = possible for a way; పుణ్యసంగతిఁ (puNyasaMgati) = virtuous things; బొందరాదు (boMdarAdu)
= impossible to attain, not possible to get; మతిలోని (matilOni) =
in the mind; దేహభిమానంబు (dEhabhimAnaMbu) = love for own body; విడుచుటకు (viDuchuTaku)
= to leave, to eschew; రతి (rati) = Desire, particularly sexual passion; పరాఙ్ముఖుఁడు (parA~mmukhuDu) =one whose face is turned away or
averted, one who is averse or disinclined to; గాక (gAka) = except; రపణంబు
(rapaNaMbu) = greatness (used in the sense of higher planes, higher
states); లేదు (lEdu) = not possible.
Literal
meaning: O Man! Extreme love of the
flesh is enough to block the virtue. Without giving up the thoughts of carnal
lust in the mind, higher states are not possible.
Explanation: This is something that almost all Indians understand.
Still, with the help of Magritte's 'The Spirit of Geometry' given below, I
would like to try my bit of articulation.
Magritte exchanges the heads of a mother
and a baby – compressing one and enlarging the other. The effect is at once
uncanny, threatening, comic and perceptive.
Apart from the hilarious expression, Magritte said that
the man in the arms though aged, is mentally dependent on mother and others
like a child. He does not have his own opinions, but merely reflects others. Oscar
Wilde once remarked, "Most people are other people. Their
thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a
quotation."
More or less similar views were expressed
by Paravastu Chinnaya Suri in a Book titiled మిత్రభేదము
(cessation of friendship, year 1853) Ita DettuvAri cEti biDDagAni yoka
tennuna bOvuvADu gADu. ITTivAni koluvu mikkili kaSTamu. ("ఈతఁ డెత్తువారి
చేతి బిడ్డగాని యొక తెన్నునఁ బోవువాఁడు గాడు. ఇట్టివాని కొలువు మిక్కిలి కష్టము").
considering all that ails man, the above
picture is somewhat poignantly reminiscent of modern man. Is it not a farce that
we cannot stand on our feet properly, still talk about things like knowledge,
intelligence, consciousness and liberation.
Annamacharya said in a poem (పెఱుగఁగఁ బెఱుగఁగఁ బెద్దలమైతిమి నేము pe~rugaga be~rugaga beddalamaitimi nEmu#1) that we are adults only by age but not grown up tall to see the end of our wants. He squarely puts our present state on the mat for us to see. He echoed the words “Seek to learn constantly while you live. Do not wait in faith that old age by itself will bring wisdom” (SOLON, the Greek lawmaker and poet).
‘matilOni
dEhabhimAnaMbu viDuchuTaku rati parA~mmukhuDu gAka rapaNaMbu lEdu’ (‘మతిలోని దేహభిమానంబు
విడుచుటకు / రతి పరాఙ్ముఖుఁడు గాక రపణంబు లేదు”) Can
those who lack independence may be willing to let go of 'deep routed carnal
affection'? Supposing, they actually let go, considering their present
exhibited fickle mind, what is the surety that they do not go back to the old
ways?
rati parA~mmukhuDu gAka (“రతి పరాఙ్ముఖుఁడు
గాక”) Regardless of success in other domains, men generally
exhibit their sexual vigour and use it
as a means to showcase their maturity that may not be apparent in other
aspects. He generally
precedes age in this matter, continue to yearn for it even in old age. Viewed in this light, Magritte's
figure seems appropriate for this poem.
Word to word meaning: సరిలేని (sarilEni) = incomparable; మమకారజలధి (mamakArajaladhi) = sea of meum, sea that constitutes which is mine; దాఁటిఁనఁ (dATina) = to cross over, to transgress; గాని (gAni) = unless; అరుదైన (arudaina) = rare; నిజసౌఖ్య మది (nijasaukhya madi) = that true comfort; వొందరాదు (voMdarAdu) = not possible to get; తిరువేంకటాచలాధిపునిఁ (tiruvEMkaTAchalAdhipuni) = Lord Venkateswara; గొలిచినఁ (golichina) = serve, worship; గాని (gAni) = unless; పరగు (paragu) = great, well known; బ్రహ్మానందపరుఁడుఁ brahmAnaMdaparuDu) = person with divine bliss; దాఁ (dA) = that man; గాఁడు (gADu) = cannot become;
Literal meaning: Unless one crosses the limits of that constituents of ‘mine’
(sea of Meum), will not arrive at lasting comfort. Unless one worships Lord
Venkateswara, he can’t be conferred with divine bliss.
Explanation: With
wording sarilEni mamakArajaladhi dATina gAni (సరిలేని మమకారజలధి
దాఁటిఁనఁ గాని) Annamacharya
suggested something like Vaitarani (वैतरणी),
most difficult river to cross. Elders say that the righteous see the Vaitarani
river as full of water like nectar, while the sinners see it as full of pus,
bones & blood. The need for a pure heart needs no further mention.
Many times, I have repeated that man should attain the Param
(the Other) while he is still alive. There is nothing to be gained on death. Therefore,
the pus, blood and bones mentioned in this Vaitarani River are of this
body. Look
back at Magritte's figure. Humans who are old enough to be mature, and lack
intelligence to differentiate good from evil, and hang on to what we believe
like the stubborn boy in the arms of the lady.
Knowledge is ‘letting go’ of what is known. It's definitely not to chew the cud later. But the child in that arms is not ready to listen. Freedom is not a reward to be showered by someone else. Man has to walk on his own, on this lonely path. "Uddharedatma natmanam" (उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं) in the Gita also means the same. Note that knowledge, freedom, meditation, and liberation refer to an intense action, not a theory to write down on paper to relish it in leisure.
God's help is available like the glass key, matching
our effort "to leave all the carnal love and faith in the known that we hold
with all our might". And ‘let go’ is an action of dissociation. That is
meditation. All a man has to do is to show maturity to climb down from the
comfortable arms of that woman.
References
and Recommendations for further reading:
