A Indhu Madham Part10

arttamulla intu matam The magnum opus of Kaviyarasu Kannadasan Read in English...... A humble tribute of Dr.N.RAMANI to a great poet.... WARNING : The following excerpts of translation from original texts are parts of academic exercises in translation. No part of the same shall be used for purposes other than the academic without the explicit permission of the authors and/or copyright holders.

BOOK X KNOW THY SELF SIX THE REINS

"Where our body is" is not that very important; but "where our mind is" quite significant. The mind does not accompany the body wherever it goes. It will make the body sit at Mylapore and go to Singapore and come back. Taking into account the speed of the mind, our ancestors have said, "vayu vekam mano vekam". (The mind is as fast as the wind). That made Sivavakkiar say, "With dirt on the mind what if he goes to the forest. The dirt will remain only with himself". The one without dirt on his mind may be sitting beside the breast of a prostitute and still does not look at the breast. His mind does not go towards her. He appears to be the one who has severed future birth from himself. So I have to reiterate that the good and bad are within one’s own mind. Patrakiriar was able to renounce everything but not the dog who followed him. Though we are able to renounce everything, we are not able to renounce the working of the mind. Pattinattar song, kati vilaiyati iru kai visi vantalum

tati manam nirk kutattetan. However she may swerve while walking, the servant maid will have her mind fixed on the pot on her hip. Let her indulge in whatever idle talk or play while walking. Her mind will be focussed on the pot on her hip and the water in it list it should fall and break into pieces spilling the water. The attention of the jnanis is likewise. Whatever they direct their mind on, they will get absorbed in it. But the average man’s vexations take their cue only from the waywardness of the mind. If one marries a dark woman, he longs for a fair woman; if he were to have a fair woman, he wants to have a dark woman whenever one such is come across. Home meals appears to be grand to the one who has to eat the hotel meals. Hotel dishes appear to be so very sweet to the one who has a home to feed him. It is the mind that enables man either to be aware of himself or otherwise. It is the mind that brings him the conceit of being greater than everything. It is the same mind which makes him realise that he is the lowliest of the low. "However great I am, I should have humility", it is the self same mind which prompts humility. So, the greatest enemy to be first overcome by the man who wants to be aware of himself is his own mind. It is not only physical conditions that are responsible for blood pressure. The psychologist, psychiatrists and doctors all say that mental tension is the more important reason. Let a man be always flattered with, "Oh, how charming you are!" He will become so happy that he would come to assume a charm hitherto not his own. His mind and body both acquire a new charm. The world does not consider scientists to be as great as psychologists. That is because the world has some basic assumptions. Only he who has become aware of his own mind can win the world; can win anything. So does everyone’s mind assume. Tirumular said in his "Tirumantiram": tannai ariyat tanakkoru ketillai

tannai ariyamal tane ketukinran tannaiye ariyum arivai arinta pin tannaiye arccikkat taniruntane! (Once you understand yourself, you have no harm. He who does not know himself gets undone. Once you have acquired the knowledge to know yourself, you come to worship your self.) tane tanakkup pakaivanum nanpanum tane tanakku marumaiyum immaiyum tane tan seita vinaip payan tuyppanum tane tanakkut talaivanum ame. (Each one is a friend and foe unto himself. Each decides his own present and future life. Each one enjoys only the effects of his own past good and bad deeds. Each is a lord unto himself.) He who knows the self has no harm. How is man undone? He is undone because of his ignorance of himself. Once he acquires the knowledge to know himself, he grows so great in stature that all worship him and he worships himself. Who is your foe? yourself. Friend? Again, yourself. What bring you death? Yourself. What is truth? Yourself, again. Who is to reap the fruits of your own good and bad? Yourself. Who is your Lord? Yourself, Who is your servant? Yourself, Everything is yourself. What is the origin of this recognition of all being oneself? It is your mind. Valluvan wrote manattukkan masilan atal anittu aran akula nira pira

Your body may carry blemishes; but if your mind remains unblemished, the very feeling becomes the purest. If you want to accuse someone, learn to accuse yourself first. Stand in front of a mirror. Stretch your finger towards your own image and say, "You are guilty, you are guilty, you are guilty", thrice. You say unto the image; the image in turn accuses you. That is, you tell your mind and your mind in turn tells you. If your mind is accusing you, what exactly does it accuse?. Your own body, eye, life-the mind tells unto all of them, "You are the guilty". "I am guilty. I am at fault. I am quite small. I have to be wary. I have to behave properly". - This gradual realization becomes the realization of the self. It becomes a harmony within, a tune within; an accompanying note of harmony within; an attitude within. When man achieves the realization of the self, the mind is cured. Tobacco is green of course, subject to decay. Cure it and it is preserved for long. Take a betel leaf. Keep it within a book. Keep it in for quite sometime. Then retrieve and see for yourself. It might have dried up but it remains essentially the same as before. This is the process of curing the mind too. The cured mind does not weep at the death of anyone, however near and dear. It keeps itself aloof from whatever may happen around oneself. Have you ever heard of great people like Kanchi Periyavarkal mourning the death of any one? Have you ever heard of them shedding tears at the death of any one? Why doesn’t death make them weep? The mind has become immune; the mind has been cured. Once the mind is cured, the ability to know oneself can be achieved as a matter of course. Even when a thousand throng around us with an accusing finger, we only smile at them. Even if a ten thousand throng around us to praise us to the skies, we will not be carried away. That is why the jnanis want us to cure our mind. Read the following songs: manattakattu alukkarata mavuna jnana yokikal vanattakattu irukkinum manattapattu alukkarar manattakattu alukkarutta mavuna nana yokikal

mulaittatattu irukkinum pirappu aruthiruppare! (The yokis of silent wisdom who had not cleansed their minds of blemishes will not be unblemished even if they are in the forest. The yokis of silent wisdom who had cleansed their mind of blemishes will remain another birthless even if they stay close by the breasts of a woman) - Sivavakkiyar. alaiyum manattai akattu atakkum avane sariyai katantona alaiyum manattai akattu atakkum avane kiriyai mutintona. alaiyum manattai akattu atakkum avane yoka tarparanam alaiyum manattai akattu atakkum avane jnani ati suran - Nittanuputi. (He who is able to tame the wayward mind has transcended the religious duties of the first order (sariyai: daily worship by mantras and the practice of other external religious duties); has completed the duties of the second order (kiriyai : the privilege of performing puja and other rites); has become the contemplative absolute; has become the veteran jnani). Onkiya parasiva aikkiyam unarntitum unarval anri sankiya matattinalum sarntitum yokattalum vinkiya kanmattalum verin upasanaiyalum onkiya muttip perrai onruvatu onrumillai. - Viveka Cintamani. Neither religious disciplines like the sankhya Nor schools of contemplation Nor the accumulated merits of previous births Nor ritualistic worship can assure the Highest bliss of redemption as the feeling of union With the Supreme Being does. Desire will be haunting him Who has not cleansed his mind of blemishes; Who has not cured his mind; Who bends to any passing whim, Who desires anything

Even if he retires to the forest. He would desire at least for a little of the trees and the surrounding land over there. The sight of a wayfaring woman will make him desire to make a family with her. He retires to the forest and sings songs of renunciation; but seeks woman, gold and land. If the mind becomes wayward even after retiring to the forest, the wayward impulses of the mind drag the body along with it. But Sivavakkiar’s verdict is that when the mind is cured one need not retire to the forest. Let him be wherever he is. He may make a luxurious bungalow of a forest or a forest of a luxurious bungalow. The real sanyasi has boarded a running train but remains motionless; he is the one who has really controlled his mind. He who does not feel hunger at the sight of food has really controlled his mind. He who does not feel lust at the sight of a woman has really controlled the mind. He who does not ask for himself when he is it at the sight of money has really controlled the mind. He who does not feel jealous at the sight of another’s house has really controlled the mind. Why does every jnani say "Control the mind?". The mind in the cause behind all miseries. As I have described in the other books of this volume, man is undone because of the pull of the mind. That is why the root for "manushyan" (man) in Sanskrit is "manas" (mind). Kalaivanar used to tell a story. I have narrated it on many platforms. A patient went to a doctor. He said, "Sir, I suffer from such and such a disease. Please give me a suitable medicine". The siddha doctor gave him a medicinal jelly. "Well Sir! Is there any dietary regulation while taking the medicine? "Not as such. Only thing is, you should never think of the monkey while taking the medicine. That’s all!. That’s all, of course! Whenever he laid his hands on the medicine, he would feel as if a monkey stood in front of him. He could not take the medicine till the end.

Why? Since the doctor has forbidden the thought of monkey, the very thought was embedded in his mind. Whenever he touched the medicine the thought of the monkey loomed large. Are the medicine and the monkey in any way related? Had the doctor not mentioned the monkey, would he have ever thought of it? The mind hovered round the monkey because the doctor had mentioned it. The mere touch of the medicine brought the thought of the monkey. As a result he was not able to take it till the end. We see some people commit a certain mistake. When asked, "You fellow, why did you do this?", his answer is, "What am I to do? My mind did not listen to my words. I went there". What would the mind listen to? Who will it obey? It should listen when you speak. Only then your mind is within your control. The man is not contained within the mind. The mind is only contained within the man. This is the essence of the Sanskrit word "manushyan". Greet jnanis lived only thus. How did they live for long? There was no tension within; no disease. They don’t seek medicine for diseases. They are not even aware of any disease, whatsoever. Is involvement in devotion alone enough to control the mind? No, it is not to be easily accomplished. Not all can have this brought about. If everyone can control his mind, there will be no rivalry; there will be no wars. Only a few are accorded great respect because they alone are able to control their minds. We call them the enlightened; the genius. We are governed by our minds. We often say, "My conscience says this. My mind tells me that". What obeys the mind? The brain? The eye? The ear? The whole body responds to the governing mind. This body acts accordingly. Why can’t you make the mind dance to the beat of your will? Your brain’s will? Why can’t they tell the mind, "Well. Now listen to me and obey!". Bharati said,

manamenum penne! vali ni kelay onraiye parri usalatuvay. (My mind, little wench! Listen to me and be blessed! Hold on to the one and swing on Him). Hold down the swinging mind within; perfect it; cure it. When you learn to live with such a mind, you will not alternate through the series of attachment, affection, happiness, tears and smiles lost as you would be to relationships, bindings, night, day, death and birth. The advent of summer or spring or winter seasons change; the outward scenes of the world change.