ANNAMACHARYULU
162 వాదమేల సారెసారె వడి ముక్తి లేదంటా
(vAdamEla sAresAre vaDi mukti lEdaMTA)
for Telegu (తెలుగు) Version press here
MIND OF A
YOGI
Synopsis: “The Only Freedom Is Freedom from The Known” – Jiddu
Krishnamurti.
Summary of this Poem:
Chorus: There is no argument that liberation does
not happen time and again. (However) perfunctory
listening to scriptures does no good. Implied Meaning: O Man Devotion to God should as if
it's the only reason you are brought into this world; you might never get
another chance.
Stanza 1: When there is realisation that there are no real distinctions between the people, identifying a person as teacher and others as disciples does not hold water. If a saint has the understanding that his soul is himself (they are one and the same) then there is no need to offer prayers.
Stanza 2: When
one finds that all that we call as life are mere mirages, then there is no need
to perform any sacrifices. In
that very understanding that life and death are only pointers in memory (not
true), then there is no need to do any prescribed duties.
Stanza 3: If all assembling God is invisible, then
there is no need to recite hymns in his praise. However, without engaging in service of the
Lord Venkateshwara, O man you are surely on the path of demons, rivalling in nonsense.
Detailed Presentation
Introduction: Deciphering the genuine intentions behind Annamacharya's profound intellect exhibited in this poem is daunting. He cleverly conceals great insights beneath seemingly rebellious and open demeanour. Unfortunately, parts of this poem may stir up discomfort for individuals who uphold conventional values.
Annamacharya's magnificence lies in his willingness to embrace that which established standards may disapprove of. His devotion towards God breaks the boundaries of preconceived notions, surpasses methods, language of prayers, forms and shapes.
Isn't it a fallacy to try and describe something that we have no knowledge of? Therefore, యిటు పురుషసూక్తాదు లివి మరేల yiTu purushasUktAdu livi marEla (= Why hymns?) to be seen from that point of view, not as an iconoclastic statement of an ungodly man.
Poem of this kind may be termed anti-Hindu in the present society. We need not discuss how it would have been treacherously viewed in Annamacharya’s time. Publishing a poem like this demonstrates his fearlessness.
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కీర్తన: రాగిరేకు: 120-6 సంపుటము: 2-120 |
POEM Copper Leaf:
120-6
Volume: 2-120 |
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వాదమేల సారెసారె వడి ముక్తి లేదంటా
వేదాంతశ్రవణము వెట్టికిఁ జేసిరా ॥పల్లవి॥ అరయ జీవులకెల్లా నభేదమైతే
గురుఁడు శిష్యులు లేఁడు కూడ దర్థము
సొరిది నాతుమలోన సోహంభావనయైతే
సరి మునుల దేవపూజలు చెల్లవు ॥వాద॥ సహజలీలావిభూతి సర్వము మిథ్య యైతే
బహుయాగాది కర్మాల పస లేదు
మహిలోని జననాలు మరణాలు మాయమైతే
విహితాచారాలు సేయ విధే లేదు ॥వాద॥ ఘటన బ్రహ్మము నిరాకార మైతేఁ బఠియింప
యిటు పురుషసూక్తాదు లివి మరేల
అటు శ్రీవేంకటేశుదాస్యము లేక బిగిసితే
సటలాడుకొనేడి రాక్షసమత మవును ॥వాద॥
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vAdamEla sAresAre vaDi mukti lEdaMTA
vEdAMtaSravaNamu veTTiki jEsirA ॥pallavi॥ araya jIvulakellA nabhEdamaitE
guruMDu Sishyulu lEDu kUDa darthamu
soridi nAtumalOna sOhaMbhAvanayaitE
sari munula dEvapUjalu chellavu ॥vAda॥ sahajalIlAvibhUti sarvamu mithya yaitE
bahuyAgAdi karmAla pasa lEdu
mahilOni jananAlu maraNAlu mAyamaitE
vihitAchArAlu sEya vidhE lEdu ॥vAda॥ ghaTana brahmamu nirAkAra maitE baThiyiMpa
yiTu purushasUktAdu livi marEla
aTu SrIvEMkaTESudAsyamu lEka bigisitE
saTalADukonEDi rAkshasamata mavunu ॥vAda॥
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Details and Explanations:
Word to word meaning: వాదమేల (vAdamEla) = Why argue? సారెసారె (sAresAre) = time and again; వడి (vaDi) = quick; ముక్తి లేదంటా (mukti lEdaMTA) = liberation is not available; వేదాంతశ్రవణము (vEdAMtaSravaNamu) = listening to holy scriptures; వెట్టికిఁ (veTTiki) = like a bonded labour; జేసిరా (jEsirA) = he does.
Literal meaning: There is no argument that liberation does not happen time and again. (However) perfunctory listening to scriptures does no good.
Explanation: Annamacharya is rather blunt in the poem. However, the purpose of including this poem (in the blog) is to enunciate “how much detached the mind of a yogi must be”.
The wording వాదమేల సారెసారె వడి ముక్తి లేదంటా (vAdamEla sAresAre vaDi mukti lEdaMTA) is indicating that man may not get this chance of life again and again.
There are some things that are universally common among humans, such as “the belief in the incentive of heaven and the deterrent of hell”, and “the importance of conformance in maintaining a cohesive community”. This often involves listening to scriptures and participating in community prayers. Regardless of our personal beliefs, we are often encouraged to ‘listen and follow’ religious texts, which can become familiar and comforting to us due to our acquaintance with them. People who are accustomed to conformity tend to value the security and stability that comes with following established traditions.
Whereas, we are talking of ‘the Other’‘(‘param’ or పరము), meaning it’s not in the realm of the known. Therefore, practitioner must leave the known. That is the ultimate challenge.
Here Annamacharya is declaring వేదాంతశ్రవణము వెట్టికిఁ జేసిరా (vEdAMtaSravaNamu veTTiki jEsirA = man mechanically hears to the holy scriptures) According to Annamacharya, engaging in such pursuits does not result in any progress. He is criticising that we don’t have relationship with the scriptures and urgency for their absorption. Instead, we tend to skim through it, similar to ascending stairs. Consequently, we get accustomed to its overall essence, but tend to ignore crucial specifics, behaving in a mechanical and uninterested manner. Therefore, by వేదాంతశ్రవణము వెట్టికిఁ జేసిరా (vEdAMtaSravaNamu veTTiki jEsirA) Annamacharya points out to many things that we should rejig about.
A yogis mind is described in Bhagavad-Gita verse 2-41 should be concentrating solely on God व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana Purport: there is only one fruitive way (and nothing else). Thus, we may take that Annamacharya is discouraging activities we causally get engaged.
Implied Meaning: O Man! Devotion to God should as if it's the only reason you are brought into this world. You might never get another chance.
Word to word meaning: అరయ (araya) = on close observation; జీవులకెల్లా (jIvulakellA) = for all the beings;
నభేదమైతే (nabhEdamaitE) = no difference (in the sense of distinction) గురుఁడు (guruMDu) = Teacher; శిష్యులు (Sishyulu) = disciples; లేఁడు కూడ దర్థము (lEDu kUDa darthamu) = does not make sense; సొరిది (soridi) = Order, regularity; నాతుమలోన (nAtumalOna) = for the soul; సోహంభావనయైతే (sOhaMbhAvanayaitE) = if the
feeling that Atma is myself; సరి (sari) = similarly,
agreeably; మునుల (munula) = saint’s; దేవపూజలు (dEvapUjalu) = prayers to God; చెల్లవు (chellavu) = not suitable;
Literal meaning: When there is realisation
that there are no real distinctions between the people, identifying a person as
teacher and others as disciples does not hold water. If a saint has the
understanding that his soul is
himself (they are one and the same) then there is no need to offer prayers.
Explanation: Annaamcharya
simply referred Bhagavad-Gita verses 6-5 and 6-6 to indicate this journey of
meditation shall be undertaken solely based on one’s own conviction, not at the
directives of someone else. उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ (= you must uplift yourself by the power of your mind).
And बन्धुरात्मा… वर्ते तात्मैव शत्रुवत्
bandhur ātmātma… vartetātmaiva
śhatru-vat (= On the path of self-knowledge, you
can be your friend or your enemy depending on whether you are neutral or not).
If Gita is so clear, a yogi shall not distinguish someone a teacher and someone
else as disciple.
This is the same reason, Jiddu Krishnamurti refused to take up the post of “World Teacher” conferred to him on a platter. Neither he encouraged any one to be his disciple. Therefore, గురుఁడు శిష్యులు లేఁడు కూడ దర్థము (guruMDu Sishyulu lEDu kUDa darthamu) is accurate, but not easy to accept for a mind brought up in conventional sense. Giving up the known is greatest adversity.
నాతుమలోన సోహంభావనయైతే (nAtumalOna sOhaMbhAvanayaitE): When a man realizes that there is nothing sacred in his knowledge, and that there is no holier thing than ‘unlearning’, one comes upon the understanding that there is no point in offering prayers.
To enunciate the above statement, let take the help of a painting titled “red model” by Rene Magritte. Have a deep look at the picture below.
The uncanny affinity between the feet and the shoes drives our curiosity and undermines our habitual conceptual polarity: feet/shoe, human/non-human, inside/outside. To combine human feet with leather to form a new object is an expression and demonstration of hybridization. The painting reversal reveals how the exterior gets under the skin of man, partly because of habit/comfort zone, partly because of our feelings, assumptions and thoughts. However, the fact remains that invariably "outside" becomes "inside." The container (boot) contains the contained.
The paradoxical interpretation of the outside shoe becoming the inside foot is the theme of this picture. Man’s knowledge is most often coming from exterior. The same is converted to inside knowledge is the meaning conveyed by this painting.
Leather shoes that
transform on feet and become part of the body – and the objects scattered
around the main painting, especially the young woman in a bathing suit
stretching herself (immorality), discarded cigarette butts (bad habits),
nickels ( greed) may represent the intrusive elements that infiltrate us.
Now consider the relationship with the picture and Annamacharya poem వెలుపల మఱవక లోపల లేదు వెలుపలఁ గలిగిన లోపల మఱచు#1 velupala ma~ravaka lOpala lEdu velupala galigina lOpala ma~rachu (= If you do not forget outside, it is not there inside; In case you have it out side, it does not exist inside). Combining the painting and the cited poem together, we understand that we are extending exterior to interior. Unless we forget (or eschew) these altogether, we shall continue to be fazed by doubts.
Hence the statement నాతుమలోన సోహంభావనయైతే సరి మునుల దేవపూజలు చెల్లవు (nAtumalOna sOhaMbhAvanayaitE sari munula dEvapUjalu chellavu = Prayers and implorations become needless for a saint who realizes that his soul is his whole self is incredibly true. There was no record of worship by Jiddu Krishnamurti in his life. So was Buddha.
It would be appropriate to refer to the Bhagavad-Gita verse नैव तस्य कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनेह कश्चन |न चास्य सर्वभूतेषु कश्चिदर्थव्यपाश्रय: || 3-18|| naiva tasya kṛitenārtho nākṛiteneha kaśhchana na chāsya sarva-bhūteṣhu kaśhchid artha-vyapāśhrayaḥ Purport: True yogi remains fiercely independent and complete outsider to the earthly activities of other humans.
Let me mention the title of a book by Jiddu Krishnamurti “Freedom from the known”. If a yogi is not situated in that plane, he is not a yogi at all.
Word to word meaning: సహజలీలావిభూతి (sahajalIlAvibhUti) = natural play of life (here he meant existence; సహజ = natural; లీలా=
play; విభూతి = opulence of life ); సర్వము (sarvamu) = all; మిథ్య యైతే (mithya yaitE) = if called mirage; బహుయాగాది కర్మాల (bahuyAgAdi karmAla) = performing many sacrifices; పస లేదు (pasa lEdu) = essentially not
required; మహిలోని (mahilOni) = on this earth; జననాలు (jananAlu) = births; మరణాలు (maraNAlu) = deaths; మాయమైతే (mAyamaitE) = if vanished; విహితాచారాలు (vihitAchArAlu) = prescribed
duties; సేయ (sEya) = doing; విధే లేదు (vidhE lEdu) = not required;
Literal meaning: When one finds that all that we call as life are mere mirages, then there is no need to perform any sacrifices. In that very understanding that life and death are only pointers in memory (not true), then there is no need to do any prescribed duties.
Explanation: మహిలోని
జననాలు మరణాలు మాయమైతే (mahilOni jananAlu
maraNAlu mAyamaitE): Annamacharya
referred death and birth many times, but most notable among them is పొలసి మతిమరఁగుననె పుట్టుటలుఁ బోవుటలు#2 polasi matimaragunane
puTTuTalu bOvuTalu = In the layers of the memory, thoughts of birth and
death exists due to reminiscence). He is
extending the same in this poem as well. When a yogi reaches the state of mind that
sees there is no distinction between himself and the world; for such a person
both birth and death are one and the same. Such people join life force that pervades
the universe. Living continues. ‘I’ gets dropped.
సహజలీలావిభూతి సర్వము మిథ్య యైతే (sahajalIlAvibhUti sarvamu mithya yaitE): Let start with a reference to Bhagavad-Gita verse. गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतस: | यज्ञायाचरत: कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते || 4-23| gata-saṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthita-chetasaḥ yajñāyācharataḥ karma samagraṁ pravilīyate Purport: Individuals who have emancipated themselves from material attachments and aligned with pure wisdom perform, conduct all their actions in devotion to those tasks. This results in their liberation from all consequences of their deeds.
When
we don’t know what is natural, there is no question of understanding “natural order of life”. Let me refer to the painting “Red
Model” again. What is happening is that we unknowingly assimilate external
information as an inherent part of ourselves, leading to a lack of ability to
discern whether it aligns with natural design. But when we acknowledge the
baseless nature of these convictions and reject them vehemently, like we give up a venomous snake, then there is no need for us to make reparations in life.
Word to word meaning: ఘటన బ్రహ్మము (ghaTana brahmamu) = the deity assembling all occurrences and circumstances of this world; నిరాకార మైతేఁ (nirAkAra maitE) = if not having any specific shape/form, invisible; బఠియింప (baThiyiMpa) = to recite; యిటు (yiTu) = this side (on this earth); పురుషసూక్తాదు (purushasUktAdu) = (a part of the Vedas containing) a hymn in praise of the first manifestation of the Supreme Spirit and many such things; లివి మరేల (livi marEla) = why these are required? అటు (aTu) = (however) that side; శ్రీవేంకటేశుదాస్యము (SrIvEMkaTESudAsyamu) = service of Lord Venkteswara; లేక(lEka) = without; బిగిసితే (bigisitE) = freezing (indicating moving away from service of the lord) సటలాడుకొనేడి (saTalADukonEDi) = quibbling in nonsense; రాక్షసమత మవును (rAkshasamata mavunu) = a path of demons.
Literal meaning: If all assembling God is invisible, then there is no need to recite hymns in his praise. However, without engaging in service of the Lord Venkateshwara, O man you are surely on the path of demons, rivalling in nonsense.
Explanation: Hymns in praise of the Supreme Spirit and many such things are conceptions of our mind. Let me explain it through a painting titled “The Palace of Curtains III” by René Magritte in years1928-29. As you can see, Magritte shows two nearly identical frames side-by-side.
In one is the image of a blue sky. In the other is the French word “ceil” which means “sky.” Magritte is showing us here that the word and the image are interchangeable in their meaning, but different in their execution. However, it is in their execution that we find an interchangeable hierarchy of importance.
In fact, looking at a painting of the sky or reading the printed letters ‘ciel’ can be assumed to be the sky. The frame on the right gives us an arbitrary association to the subject: when you think of a word - the word "sky" your mind instantly fashions an image of what that might look like. Magritte made this picture with all his ingenuity.
Take a moment to think about that process. One segment from an arbitrary system of communication absorbed by the only process living things have to sense skies has the enormous power to conjure an image inside your brain that only you can see - your sky. In contrast, the left image appears unremarkable (rather banal) as the sky's features are identical to those typically observed on a daily basis. (with inputs from website https://slang-king.tumblr.com/post/736401642/the-palace-of-curtains-iii).
Thus, for us with the reasoning given above, it may be stated that omnipresent God pales (represented by the picture of sky) in comparison to the idea of God’s form, indicating texts, hymns (indicated by the word ‘ciel’ = ‘sky’).
Irrespective of the extent of our belief in a god or our interpretation of a piece of poetry as a tool for worship, they ultimately represent abstract concepts or symbols of the higher power that remain beyond our full understanding. The phrase ఘటన బ్రహ్మము నిరాకార మైతేఁ (ghaTana brahmamu nirAkAra maitE) means that the deity assembling entirety of this world remains invisible.
The same is stated in Bhagavad-Gita verse सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप sarvasya dhātāram achintya-rūpam (=inconceivable form that supports the whole creation). Isn't it a fallacy to try and describe something that we have no knowledge of? Therefore, యిటు పురుషసూక్తాదు లివి మరేల yiTu purushasUktAdu livi marEla (= Why hymns?) to be seen from that point of view, not as an iconoclastic statement of an ungodly man.
The final two lines of the poem suggest that the man's unrestrained liberty simply results in disorder, as we witness on a regular basis. If we base our thoughts on this turmoil, what sort of community will we establish? What sort of legacy can we pass on to the next generation? Annamacharya's 500-year-old composition is an impressive display of observational skills.
అటు శ్రీవేంకటేశుదాస్యము లేక బిగిసితే సటలాడుకొనేడి రాక్షసమత
మవును aTu SrIvEMkaTESudAsyamu lEka bigisitE saTalADukonEDi
rAkshasamata mavunu = Without religiosity what can we learn from this abyss
called the world) is so paradoxically precise.
References
and Recommendations for further reading:
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