The role of grace in all that ego creates

In a comment on one of my recent articles, Is there any such thing as ‘biological awareness’?, an anonymous friend suggested that it is not correct to say that ego has projected or created anything, because though the world appears when ego emerges, it ‘appears by the power of higher power and is also the higher power’, and ‘The higher power enables everything and manifests as everything’. Therefore this article is written in reply to that comment.

1. What manifested outwardly as the human form of Bhagavan and his teachings is what is called ‘grace’, which is the infinite love that he has for us as himself
2. Though Bhagavan does not explicitly say in Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu that our present world is just a dream, he clearly implies this in many of its verses
3. Nāṉ Ār? paragraph 4: the world is nothing but thoughts, the seeds of which are our viṣaya-vāsanās, and what makes these thoughts appear is ego, which is the root and essence of the mind
4. Since we as ego have created all this, we can put an end to all the problems and sufferings we see in this world only by surrendering ourself back into the source from which we have risen
5. What is called ‘the higher power’ is nothing other than grace, which is Bhagavan’s infinite love, so it does not create anything, but for our benefit it does regulate what we as ego create
6. Nāṉ Ār? paragraph 13: grace is always shining in our heart and in many subtle ways it is gradually rectifying our will, so all we need do is to yield ourself to it entirely by being so keenly self-attentive that we give not even the slightest room to the rising of ourself as ego
7. Nāṉ Ār? paragraph 15: everything happens by the mere presence of grace, but grace has no desire that anything should happen, and it does not itself do anything, nor is it affected by anything that is done
8. Grace is the light of awareness that illumines our mind, so the correct use we can make of it is to turn our mind back within and attend to it with heart-melting love

1. What manifested outwardly as the human form of Bhagavan and his teachings is what is called ‘grace’, which is the infinite love that he has for us as himself

Before quoting that comment in the next section and then replying to it, I will first explain in this section the context in which it was written. That is, a friend called Saxon had written a comment saying:

Hello Michael,

You sometimes talk about the lion in the elephants dream or say Bhagavan, his teaching and Arunachala are nothing but an outward projection of what we really are (pure awareness) directing our attention back onto our self and telling us to turn within.

You also often say that Bhagavan’s love for us is boundless. I must admit it is very comforting to think that Bhagavan (what I really am) loves me and is trying to help me (ego) but how can that be true? If what I actually am is pure immutable, indivisible non dual self-awareness that is never aware of anything other than itself there is no ego for it to save, help or destroy. So I must conclude that the manifestation of Bhagavan, his teaching and Arunachala are solely my own creation just like all other phenomena in my dream.

So there is nothing trying to help me but instead I have become tired at long last of duality and have created my own solution in the form of Bhagavan and his teaching to lead to my own self-destruction.

Or is it more like how the plants grow as a side effect of being in the presence of the sun without the sun intending to help them, care about them or even being aware of them. Can the same be said about why Bhagavan, his teaching and Arunachala have manifested in my dream? Are they just a side effect, this is not as comforting I must confess.

Thank you very much for clarifying.

In reply to this I wrote a series of two comments:

Saxon, using the honorific plural ‘அவர்’ (avar), ‘they’, to refer to the jñāni, in verse 31 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Bhagavan says and asks rhetorically, ‘தன்னை அலாது அன்னியம் ஒன்றும் அறியார்; அவர் நிலைமை இன்னது என்று உன்னல் எவன்?’ (taṉṉai alādu aṉṉiyam oṉḏṟum aṟiyār; avar nilaimai iṉṉadu eṉḏṟu uṉṉal evaṉ?), ‘They do not know [or are not aware of] anything other than themself; [so] who can [or how to] conceive their state as ‘[it is] like this’?’, so as this finite ego we can never adequately comprehend his state. However, in order to answer the questions implied in your comment we can try to understand his state at least to a limited extent as follows:

He is our own real nature (ātma-svarūpa), which is pure awareness and what alone actually exists, so he is not anything other than ourself. However, whereas he is aware of us only as himself, which is what we actually are, we are aware of ourself as if we were a person, which is not what we actually are, so he loves us as himself and not merely as this person whom we seem to be. Therefore, we cannot adequately comprehend his infinite love for us until we are aware of ourself as we actually are.

His infinite love for us as we actually are is what is called ‘grace’, and it is what has manifested outwardly as his human form and his teachings in order to turn our attention back within to see what we actually are. That is, since he has infinite love for himself, he wants nothing other than to be as he always is, and this means that since he does not see us as anything other than himself, he wants us to be as we actually are.

However, in order to make us be as we actually are, he does not need to do anything other than to be as he actually is, because he is like the sun, by whose mere presence flowers blossom. By his merely being as he actually is, the flower of love to be as we actually are blossoms in our heart, and when this love blossoms fully it will devour us, and what will then remain is only infinite love, which is his true form and what we actually are.

This state of being devoured by his infinite love is what he refers to in the final sentence of verse 21 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, ‘ஊண் ஆதல் காண்’ (ūṇ ādal kāṇ), ‘Becoming food is seeing’ (where ‘seeing’ means seeing and thereby being what we actually are), in verse 27 of Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai, ‘சகலமும் விழுங்கும் கதிர் ஒளி இன மன சலசம் அலர்த்தியிடு அருணாசலா’ (sakalamum viṙuṅgum kadir oḷi iṉa, maṉa-jalajam alartti-y-iḍu aruṇācalā), ‘Arunachala, sun of bright light that swallows everything, make [my] mind-lotus blossom’, and in verse 1 of Śrī Aruṇācala Pañcaratnam, ‘அருள் நிறைவான அமுத கடலே, விரி கதிரால் யாவும் விழுங்கும் அருணகிரி பரமான்மாவே, கிளர் உள பூ நன்றாய் விரி பரிதி ஆக விளங்கு’ (aruḷ niṟaivu āṉa amuda-k-kaḍalē, viri kadirāl yāvum viṙuṅgum aruṇagiri paramāṉmāvē, kiḷar uḷa-p-pū naṉḏṟāy viri paridhi āha viḷaṅgu), ‘Ocean of amṛta [the ambrosia of immortality], which is the fullness of grace, paramātmā [my ultimate self], Arunagiri, who swallow everything by [your] spreading rays [of pure self-awareness], shine as the sun that makes [my] budding heart-lotus blossom fully’.

The appearance of Bhagavan (in human form) and his teachings in our life are a central part of this process of our being melted and swallowed by his love, which is most beautifully described by him in verse 101 of Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai: ‘அம்புவில் ஆலி போல் அன்பு உரு உனில் எனை அன்பு ஆ கரைத்து அருள் அருணாசலா’ (ambuvil āli pōl aṉbu-uru uṉil eṉai aṉbu ā karaittu aruḷ aruṇācalā), ‘Arunachala, be gracious, melting me as love in you, the form of love, like ice in water’.

2. Though Bhagavan does not explicitly say in Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu that our present world is just a dream, he clearly implies this in many of its verses

Soon after I posted this reply the anonymous friend whom I referred to at the beginning of this article posted the following comment (which he or she perhaps wrote before reading my reply to Saxon):

This is my perception.

Plants and Sun are both the higher power. From ego’s perspective, we see Plant as separate entity and thinking that plant grows because of sun. But plant grows because of the sun’s power that exists within the plant. And plant is also the higher power itself.

In ulladu narpadhu, Bhagavan never talks about the world being dream. I never saw a word ‘kanavu’ in ulladu narpadhu. This is my understanding. When ego emerges, world appears. This world appears by the power of higher power and is also the higher power. The higher power enables everything and manifests as everything. So the thought that ego created/projected everything itself is very ‘egotistical’. The body that we all possess functions because of higher power and is also the higher power. The only one error is ego thinking ‘I am the body’. Everything else happens because of higher power and is higher power itself.

So there is no reason to get dejected thinking Bhagavan is ego’s creation. Ego is absolutely not worthy and capable of creating ‘Bhagavan’.

Bhagavan is the created by Bhagavan and appeared in the world because he loves all of us as himself.

Any thought in the lines of ego did this and ego did that and ego projected/created something is only egotistical in nature and I only feel there is more arrogance with that line of thinking and is not going to help anyone.

The following is my reply to this comment:

Anonymous, as you say, Bhagavan does not use the word ‘கனவு’ (kaṉavu) in Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, but in verse 35 he uses the word ‘சொப்பனம்’ (soppaṉam), which likewise means dream:

சித்தமா யுள்பொருளைத் தேர்ந்திருத்தல் சித்திபிற
சித்தியெலாஞ் சொப்பனமார் சித்திகளே — நித்திரைவிட்
டோர்ந்தா லவைமெய்யோ வுண்மைநிலை நின்றுபொய்ம்மை
தீர்ந்தார் தியங்குவரோ தேர்.

siddhamā yuḷporuḷait tērndiruttal sidddipiṟa
siddhiyelāñ soppaṉamār siddhikaḷē — niddiraiviṭ
ṭōrndā lavaimeyyō vuṇmainilai niṉḏṟupoymmai
tīrndār tiyaṅguvarō tēr.

பதச்சேதம்: சித்தமாய் உள் பொருளை தேர்ந்து இருத்தல் சித்தி. பிற சித்தி எலாம் சொப்பனம் ஆர் சித்திகளே; நித்திரை விட்டு ஓர்ந்தால், அவை மெய்யோ? உண்மை நிலை நின்று பொய்ம்மை தீர்ந்தார் தியங்குவரோ? தேர்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): siddhamāy uḷ poruḷai tērndu iruttal siddhi. piṟa siddhi elām soppaṉam ār siddhigaḷ-ē; niddirai viṭṭu ōrndāl, avai meyyō? uṇmai nilai niṉḏṟu poymmai tīrndār tiyaṅguvarō? tēr.

அன்வயம்: சித்தமாய் உள் பொருளை தேர்ந்து இருத்தல் சித்தி. பிற சித்தி எலாம் சொப்பனம் ஆர் சித்திகளே; நித்திரை விட்டு ஓர்ந்தால், அவை மெய்யோ? உண்மை நிலை நின்று பொய்ம்மை தீர்ந்தார் தியங்குவரோ? தேர்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): siddhamāy uḷ poruḷai tērndu iruttal siddhi. piṟa siddhi elām soppaṉam ār siddhigaḷ-ē; niddirai viṭṭu ōrndāl, avai meyyō? uṇmai nilai niṉḏṟu poymmai tīrndār tiyaṅguvarō? tēr.

English translation: Being knowing the substance, which exists as accomplished, is accomplishment. All other accomplishments are just accomplishments achieved in dream; if one wakes up leaving sleep, are they real? Will those who, standing in the real state, have left unreality be deluded? Know.

Explanatory paraphrase: Being [as one actually is] knowing poruḷ [the one real substance, which is oneself], which exists as siddham [what is always accomplished], is [real] siddhi [accomplishment]. All other siddhis [such as the aṣṭa-siddhis, eight kinds of paranormal powers that some people try to achieve by meditation or other yōga practices] are just siddhis achieved [or experienced] in dream; if one wakes up leaving [this] sleep [of self-ignorance], are they real? Will those who, standing [firmly] in the real state [of pure self-awareness], have left unreality [or illusion, namely the unreal states of waking and dream] be deluded [by such unreal siddhis]? Know.

When he says ‘பிற சித்தி எலாம் சொப்பனம் ஆர் சித்திகளே; நித்திரை விட்டு ஓர்ந்தால், அவை மெய்யோ?’ (piṟa siddhi elām soppaṉam ār siddhigaḷ-ē; niddirai viṭṭu ōrndāl, avai meyyō?), ‘All other siddhis [accomplishments] are just siddhis achieved in dream; if one wakes up leaving sleep, are they real?’, does he not clearly imply that any world in which such siddhis are achieved is just a dream, and that if we wake up from our sleep of self-ignorance, in which all dreams appear, whatever worlds we perceived in those dreams will no longer seem to be real?

Though he does not explicitly say in Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu that our present world is just a dream, he does explicitly teach this in Nāṉ Ār? and elsewhere, and in many verses of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu he clearly implies this. For example, in verse 6 he begins by saying ‘உலகு ஐம் புலன்கள் உரு; வேறு அன்று’ (ulahu aim pulaṉgaḷ uru; vēṟu aṉḏṟu), ‘The world is a form [composed] of five [kinds of] sense-impressions [sights, sounds, tastes, smells and tactile sensations], not anything else’, and ends by asking rhetorically ‘உலகை மனம் ஒன்று ஐம் பொறிவாயால் ஓர்ந்திடுதலால், மனத்தை அன்றி உலகு உண்டோ?’ (ulahai maṉam oṉḏṟu aim poṟi-vāyāl ōrndiḍudalāl, maṉattai aṉḏṟi ulahu uṇḍō?), ‘Since the mind alone [or since one thing, the mind] perceives the world by way of the five sense organs, say, is there [any] world besides [excluding, if not for, apart from, other than or without] the mind?’, and in verse 26 he says ‘அகந்தை உண்டாயின், அனைத்தும் உண்டாகும்; அகந்தை இன்றேல், இன்று அனைத்தும். அகந்தையே யாவும் ஆம்’ (ahandai uṇḍāyiṉ, aṉaittum uṇḍāhum; ahandai iṉḏṟēl, iṉḏṟu aṉaittum. ahandaiyē yāvum ām), ‘If ego comes into existence, everything comes into existence; if ego does not exist, everything does not exist. Ego itself is everything’.

You say “the thought that ego created/projected everything itself is very ‘egotistical’”, but do you consider it egotistical to say that ego creates or projects everything that it perceives in a dream? If our present state is just a dream, as Bhagavan says, then surely what has created or projected the world we now perceive is only ourself as ego.

3. Nāṉ Ār? paragraph 4: the world is nothing but thoughts, the seeds of which are our viṣaya-vāsanās, and what makes these thoughts appear is ego, which is the root and essence of the mind

The fact that ego itself has created or projected whatever world it perceives is clearly stated by Bhagavan in the following sentences of the fourth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?:

மன மென்பது ஆத்ம சொரூபத்தி லுள்ள ஓர் அதிசய சக்தி. அது சகல நினைவுகளையும் தோற்றுவிக்கின்றது. நினைவுகளை யெல்லாம் நீக்கிப் பார்க்கின்றபோது, தனியாய் மனமென் றோர் பொருளில்லை; ஆகையால் நினைவே மனதின் சொரூபம். நினைவுகளைத் தவிர்த்து ஜகமென்றோர் பொருள் அன்னியமா யில்லை. தூக்கத்தில் நினைவுகளில்லை, ஜகமுமில்லை; ஜாக்ர சொப்பனங்களில் நினைவுகளுள, ஜகமும் உண்டு. சிலந்திப்பூச்சி எப்படித் தன்னிடமிருந்து வெளியில் நூலை நூற்று மறுபடியும் தன்னுள் இழுத்துக் கொள்ளுகிறதோ, அப்படியே மனமும் தன்னிடத்திலிருந்து ஜகத்தைத் தோற்றுவித்து மறுபடியும் தன்னிடமே ஒடுக்கிக்கொள்ளுகிறது. மனம் ஆத்ம சொரூபத்தினின்று வெளிப்படும்போது ஜகம் தோன்றும். ஆகையால், ஜகம் தோன்றும்போது சொரூபம் தோன்றாது; சொரூபம் தோன்றும் (பிரகாசிக்கும்) போது ஜகம் தோன்றாது.

maṉam eṉbadu ātma-sorūpattil uḷḷa ōr atiśaya śakti. adu sakala niṉaivugaḷaiyum tōṯṟuvikkiṉḏṟadu. niṉaivugaḷai y-ellām nīkki-p pārkkiṉḏṟa-pōdu, taṉi-y-āy maṉam eṉḏṟu ōr poruḷ illai; āhaiyāl niṉaivē maṉadiṉ sorūpam. niṉaivugaḷai-t tavirttu jagam eṉḏṟu ōr poruḷ aṉṉiyam-āy illai. tūkkattil niṉaivugaḷ illai, jagamum illai; jāgra-soppaṉaṅgaḷil niṉaivugaḷ uḷa, jagamum uṇḍu. silandi-p-pūcci eppaḍi-t taṉ-ṉ-iḍam-irundu veḷiyil nūlai nūṯṟu maṟupaḍiyum taṉṉuḷ iṙuttu-k-koḷḷugiṟadō, appaḍiyē maṉamum taṉ-ṉ-iḍattil-irundu jagattai-t tōṯṟuvittu maṟupaḍiyum taṉṉiḍamē oḍukki-k-koḷḷugiṟadu. maṉam ātma-sorūpattiṉiṉḏṟu veḷippaḍum-pōdu jagam tōṉḏṟum. āhaiyāl, jagam tōṉḏṟum-pōdu sorūpam tōṉḏṟādu; sorūpam tōṉḏṟum (pirakāśikkum) pōdu jagam tōṉḏṟādu.

What is called mind is an atiśaya śakti [an extraordinary power] that exists in ātma-svarūpa [the ‘own form’ or real nature of oneself]. It makes all thoughts appear [or projects all thoughts]. When one looks, excluding [removing or putting aside] all thoughts, solitarily there is not any such thing as mind; therefore thought alone is the svarūpa [the ‘own form’ or very nature] of the mind. Excluding thoughts [or ideas], there is not separately any such thing as world. In sleep there are no thoughts, and [consequently] there is also no world; in waking and dream there are thoughts, and [consequently] there is also a world. Just as a spider spins out thread from within itself and again draws it back into itself, so the mind makes the world appear [or projects the world] from within itself and again dissolves it back into itself. When the mind comes out from ātma-svarūpa, the world appears. Therefore when the world appears, svarūpa [one’s own form or real nature] does not appear; when svarūpa appears (shines), the world does not appear.

Though he does not explicitly use the term ‘ego’ in this passage, it is implied by his use of the word ‘mind’, because ego is the perceiving element and hence the root and essence of the mind, and hence he often used the term ‘mind’ to refer to ego, as he does here. As ego we project the world in our own awareness, so our projection of it and our perception of it are one and the same thing, and hence it does not exist independent of our perception of it. This is therefore called dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda, the contention (vāda) that perception (dṛṣṭi) is itself creation (sṛṣṭi), and this is what Bhagavan taught us in his core texts such as Nāṉ Ār? and Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu.

As he says in the above passage of Nāṉ Ār?, whatever world we perceive is nothing other than thoughts, and as he explains elsewhere, the seeds that sprout as thoughts are our own vāsanās (inclinations or likings). However, whereas all other phenomena (viṣayas) are a projection of our viṣaya-vāsanās (our inclinations or likings to be aware of phenomena), the human form of Bhagavan, his teachings and the all-embracing love we see in him are a projection of our sat-vāsanā (our love to be as we actually are), which is a manifestation within us of the infinite love that he has for us as himself.

4. Since we as ego have created all this, we can put an end to all the problems and sufferings we see in this world only by surrendering ourself back into the source from which we have risen

You end by saying, ‘Any thought in the lines of ego did this and ego did that and ego projected/created something is only egotistical in nature and I only feel there is more arrogance with that line of thinking and is not going to help anyone’, but if we understand Bhagavan’s teachings correctly the idea that we as ego have created all this is extremely humbling, because it means that we alone are responsible for all the problems and sufferings we see in this world. It is our own vāsanās (likes and dislikes) that we perceive as this world, so if we want to put an end to all problems and sufferings we need to surrender all our own likes and dislikes, and in order to surrender them entirely we need to surrender their root, namely ourself as this ego.

So where and how can we surrender ourself along with all our likes and dislikes? We can only surrender ourself back into the source from which we have risen, namely our own real nature (ātma-svarūpa), which is pure awareness and the real nature of Bhagavan, and we can do so only by keenly investigating ourself to see what we actually are, as he implied in the first sentence of the thirteenth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?:

ஆன்மசிந்தனையைத் தவிர வேறு சிந்தனை கிளம்புவதற்குச் சற்று மிடங்கொடாமல் ஆத்மநிஷ்டாபரனா யிருப்பதே தன்னை ஈசனுக் களிப்பதாம்.

āṉma-cintaṉaiyai-t tavira vēṟu cintaṉai kiḷambuvadaṟku-c caṯṟum iḍam-koḍāmal ātma-niṣṭhāparaṉ-āy iruppadē taṉṉai īśaṉukku aḷippadām.

Being ātma-niṣṭhāparaṉ [one who is completely fixed in and as oneself], giving not even the slightest room to the rising of any cintana [thought] other than ātma-cintana [‘thought of oneself’, self-contemplation or self-attentiveness], alone is giving oneself to God.

5. What is called ‘the higher power’ is nothing other than grace, which is Bhagavan’s infinite love, so it does not create anything, but for our benefit it does regulate what we as ego create

You say ‘This world appears by the power of higher power and is also the higher power. The higher power enables everything and manifests as everything’, but saying this can easily lead to a misunderstanding, because it seems to imply that the higher power wants this world to appear, which is not what Bhagavan taught us. What is called ‘the higher power’ is nothing other than his infinite love, which is himself, and as I wrote above in my reply to Saxon, what he wants is just to be as he always is, which means that he wants us to be as we actually are, because he does not see us as anything other than himself.

Being nothing other than his infinite love, which is what is called grace, the higher power does not and would not create anything other than love in our heart to be as we actually are, but even such love is not its creation but its very nature, which is eternal and immutable, but which is seemingly concealed by ego and all its outward-going desires. However, though the higher power does not create anything, it does regulate what ego creates in such a way as to make it most conducive to nurturing in our heart the seed of love to be as we always actually are.

Its regulating what ego creates is what is called the allotment of prārabdha (fate or destiny), which is a carefully chosen selection of the fruits of ego’s past āgāmya (actions motivated by likes and dislikes). However, though our prārabdha is carefully chosen by grace, grace does not actually do anything. Since grace is just the love of our real nature to be as it always is, and since this love is always shining in our heart, by its mere presence our prārabdha is shaped in such a way as to be most conducive to our cultivating the love to surrender ourself and thereby merge back into and as our real nature.

Our prārabdha determines all that we are to experience in our present life, which is just a dream, and for each of our lives or dreams a certain prārabdha is allotted. In other words, prārabdha determines what we as ego are to project in each life. Though whatever is projected is our own vāsanās, which vāsanās are to be projected at any time is determined by prārabdha, which is a portion of the fruit of our past āgāmya karmas selected by grace. This role played by prārabdha in determining what we as ego project and experience in each life is indicated in verse 6 of Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam by the phrase ‘நிகழ்வினை சுழலில்’ (nikaṙviṉai suṙalil), which literally means ‘in the whirl [or whirling] of occurring action’ and implies ‘in the whirl of destiny (prārabdha)’:

உண்டொரு பொருளறி வொளியுள மேநீ
      யுளதுனி லலதிலா வதிசய சத்தி
நின்றணு நிழனிரை நினைவறி வோடே
      நிகழ்வினைச் சுழலிலந் நினைவொளி யாடி
கண்டன நிழற்சக விசித்திர முள்ளுங்
      கண்முதற் பொறிவழி புறத்துமொர் சில்லா
னின்றிடு நிழல்பட நிகரருட் குன்றே
      நின்றிட சென்றிட நினைவிட வின்றே.

uṇḍoru poruḷaṟi voḷiyuḷa mēnī
     yuḷaduṉi laladilā vatiśaya śatti
niṉḏṟaṇu niṙaṉirai niṉaivaṟi vōḍē
     nikaṙviṉaic cuṙalilan niṉaivoḷi yāḍi
kaṇḍaṉa niṙaṯcaga vicittira muḷḷuṅ
     kaṇmudaṯ poṟivaṙi puṟattumor sillā
ṉiṉḏṟiḍu niṙalpaḍa nikararuṭ kuṉḏṟē
     niṉḏṟiḍa ceṉḏṟiḍa niṉaiviḍa viṉḏṟē.

பதச்சேதம்: உண்டு ஒரு பொருள் அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ. உளது உனில் அலது இலா அதிசய சத்தி. நின்று அணு நிழல் நிரை நினைவு அறிவோடே நிகழ்வினை சுழலில் அந் நினைவு ஒளி ஆடி கண்டன நிழல் சக விசித்திரம் உள்ளும் கண் முதல் பொறி வழி புறத்தும் ஒர் சில்லால் நின்றிடும் நிழல்படம் நிகர். அருள் குன்றே, நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): uṇḍu oru poruḷ aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī. uḷadu uṉil aladu ilā atiśaya śatti. niṉḏṟu aṇu niṙal nirai niṉaivu aṟivōḍē nikaṙviṉai suṙalil a-n-niṉaivu oḷi āḍi kaṇḍaṉa niṙal jaga-vicittiram uḷḷum kaṇ mudal poṟi vaṙi puṟattum or sillāl niṉḏṟiḍum niṙal-paḍam nikar. aruḷ-kuṉḏṟē, niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē.

அன்வயம்: அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ ஒரு பொருள் உண்டு. உனில் அலது இலா அதிசய சத்தி உளது. நின்று அணு நிழல் நினைவு நிரை அறிவோடே நிகழ்வினை சுழலில், ஒர் சில்லால் நின்றிடும் நிழல்படம் நிகர், நிழல் சக விசித்திரம் உள்ளும் கண் முதல் பொறி வழி புறத்தும் அந் நினைவு ஒளி ஆடி கண்டன. அருள் குன்றே, நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī oru poruḷ uṇḍu. uṉil aladu ilā atiśaya śatti uḷadu. niṉḏṟu aṇu niṙal niṉaivu nirai aṟivōḍē nikaṙviṉai suṙalil, or sillāl niṉḏṟiḍum niṙal-paḍam nikar, niṙal jaga-vicittaram uḷḷum kaṇ mudal poṟi vaṙi puṟattum a-n-niṉaivu oḷi āḍi kaṇḍaṉa. aruḷ-kuṉḏṟē, niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē.

English translation: There is only one substance, you, the heart, the light of awareness. In you exists an extraordinary power, which is not other [than you]. [Appearing] from [that] along with awareness, series of subtle shadowy thoughts [spinning] in the whirl of destiny are seen [on] the mirror [that is] the mind-light as a shadowy world-picture both inside and outside via sense organs such as the eye, like a shadow-picture that stands out [or is projected] by a lens. Hill of grace, let them cease or let them go on, they do not exist at all apart from you.

The ‘அதிசய சத்தி’ (atiśaya śatti) or ‘extraordinary power’ that Bhagavan refers to in the second sentence of this verse is the same ‘அதிசய சக்தி’ (atiśaya śakti) that he refers to in the first sentence of the above-cited fourth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, where he says it is what is called mind, thereby implying that it is ego. Here he says this atiśaya śakti (extraordinary power) exists ‘in you’ (that is, in Arunachala, who is ‘the one substance, the heart, the light of awareness’) and is not other than you, whereas there he says it exists in ātma-svarūpa (the real nature of ourself), which is likewise the light of awareness that shines as our heart. Here he says that from this atiśaya śakti series of shadowy thoughts appear in the whirl of prārabdha and are seen as the (movie) pictures of both an internal and an external world, whereas there he says, ‘அது சகல நினைவுகளையும் தோற்றுவிக்கின்றது’ (adu sakala niṉaivugaḷaiyum tōṯṟuvikkiṉḏṟadu), ‘It makes all thoughts appear’, and then goes on to say, ‘நினைவுகளைத் தவிர்த்து ஜகமென்றோர் பொருள் அன்னியமா யில்லை’ (niṉaivugaḷai-t tavirttu jagam eṉḏṟu ōr poruḷ aṉṉiyam-āy illai), ‘Excluding thoughts, there is not separately any such thing as world’, so what he describes poetically in this verse is the same process of creation that he describes in that paragraph.

In this verse he alludes to the process by which movie pictures are projected on cinema screen, which he often used as an analogy to explain how ego projects and perceives the world. Our viṣaya-vāsanās, which are the seeds that sprout as thoughts, are analogous to the images on the film reels, and prārabdha is analogous to the whirling of a film reel in the projector.

When he says that series of shadowy thoughts appear in the whirl of prārabdha and are seen as the pictures of both an internal and an external world, what he implies is that prārabdha determines which viṣaya-vāsanās are to be projected at each moment, so though ego is projecting its own vāsanās as whatever world it perceives, prārabdha regulates what it projects. However, prārabdha is just one of the three karmas (the other two being āgāmya and saṁcita), and as Bhagavan says in verse 1 of Upadēśa Undiyār, karma is jaḍa (devoid of awareness), so what selects which fruit of past āgāmyas are to form the prārabdha of each life is neither ego nor any of its karmas but only grace. In other words, grace is what shapes prārabdha to perform its role of regulating what is projected by ego.

6. Nāṉ Ār? paragraph 13: grace is always shining in our heart and in many subtle ways it is gradually rectifying our will, so all we need do is to yield ourself to it entirely by being so keenly self-attentive that we give not even the slightest room to the rising of ourself as ego

However, shaping prārabdha is not the only role played by grace, because grace is always shining in our heart and in many subtle ways that we cannot perceive or comprehend it is gradually rectifying our will, weakening our viṣaya-vāsanās and strengthening our sat-vāsanā. This is why Bhagavan taught us that all we need do is to yield ourself entirely to the power of grace by being so keenly self-attentive that we give not even the slightest room to the rising of ourself as ego, as he implied so clearly and beautifully in the thirteenth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār? (Nāṉ Yār?):

ஆன்மசிந்தனையைத் தவிர வேறு சிந்தனை கிளம்புவதற்குச் சற்று மிடங்கொடாமல் ஆத்மநிஷ்டாபரனா யிருப்பதே தன்னை ஈசனுக் களிப்பதாம். ஈசன்பேரில் எவ்வளவு பாரத்தைப் போட்டாலும், அவ்வளவையும் அவர் வகித்துக்கொள்ளுகிறார். சகல காரியங்களையும் ஒரு பரமேச்வர சக்தி நடத்திக்கொண்டிருகிறபடியால், நாமு மதற் கடங்கியிராமல், ‘இப்படிச் செய்யவேண்டும்; அப்படிச் செய்யவேண்டு’ மென்று ஸதா சிந்திப்பதேன்? புகை வண்டி சகல பாரங்களையும் தாங்கிக்கொண்டு போவது தெரிந்திருந்தும், அதி லேறிக்கொண்டு போகும் நாம் நம்முடைய சிறிய மூட்டையையு மதிற் போட்டுவிட்டு சுகமா யிராமல், அதை நமது தலையிற் றாங்கிக்கொண்டு ஏன் கஷ்டப்படவேண்டும்?

āṉma-cintaṉaiyai-t tavira vēṟu cintaṉai kiḷambuvadaṟku-c caṯṟum iḍam-koḍāmal ātma-niṣṭhāparaṉ-āy iruppadē taṉṉai īśaṉukku aḷippadām. īśaṉpēril e-vv-aḷavu bhārattai-p pōṭṭālum, a-vv-aḷavai-y-um avar vahittu-k-koḷḷugiṟār. sakala kāriyaṅgaḷai-y-um oru paramēśvara śakti naḍatti-k-koṇḍirugiṟapaḍiyāl, nāmum adaṟku aḍaṅgi-y-irāmal, ‘ippaḍi-c ceyya-vēṇḍum; appaḍi-c ceyya-vēṇḍum’ eṉḏṟu sadā cintippadēṉ? puhai vaṇḍi sakala bhāraṅgaḷaiyum tāṅgi-k-koṇḍu pōvadu terindirundum, adil ēṟi-k-koṇḍu pōhum nām nammuḍaiya siṟiya mūṭṭaiyaiyum adil pōṭṭu-viṭṭu sukhamāy irāmal, adai namadu talaiyil tāṅgi-k-koṇḍu ēṉ kaṣṭa-p-paḍa-vēṇḍum?

Being ātma-niṣṭhāparaṉ [one who is completely fixed in and as oneself], giving not even the slightest room to the rising of any cintana [thought] other than ātma-cintana [‘thought of oneself’, self-contemplation or self-attentiveness], alone is giving oneself to God. Even though one places whatever amount of burden upon God, that entire amount he will bear. Since one paramēśvara śakti [supreme ruling power or power of God] is driving all kāryas [whatever needs or ought to be done or to happen], instead of we also yielding to it, why to be perpetually thinking, ‘it is necessary to do like this; it is necessary to do like that’? Though we know that the train is going bearing all the burdens, why should we who go travelling in it, instead of remaining happily leaving our small luggage placed on it [the train], suffer bearing it [our luggage] on our head?

Since we as ego create and sustain the appearance of everything else, if by being keenly self-attentive we surrender ourself entirely to the infinite love of Bhagavan, which is our own real nature (ātma-svarūpa), we thereby give up not only ego but also everything else, as he said in the final sentence of verse 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu: ‘ஆதலால், யாது இது என்று நாடலே ஓவுதல் யாவும் என ஓர்’ (ādalāl, yādu idu eṉḏṟu nādal-ē ōvudal yāvum eṉa ōr), ‘Therefore, know that investigating what this [ego] is alone is giving up everything’.

7. Nāṉ Ār? paragraph 15: everything happens by the mere presence of grace, but grace has no desire that anything should happen, and it does not itself do anything, nor is it affected by anything that is done

What he refers to in this thirteenth paragraph as ‘ஒரு பரமேச்வர சக்தி’ (oru paramēśvara śakti), ‘one supreme ruling power’ or ‘one power of God’, is the power of grace, which is the power of Bhagavan’s infinite love for us as himself. Though he says here that this power is driving all kāryas (whatever needs or ought to be done or to happen), he clarified elsewhere that this power does not actually do anything, but drives all kāryas by its mere presence (that is, by its merely being as it always is: immutable, serene and untouched by anything that may seem to happen), as he explains in the fifteenth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?:

இச்சா ஸங்கல்ப யத்நமின்றி யெழுந்த ஆதித்தன் சன்னிதி மாத்திரத்தில் காந்தக்கல் அக்கினியைக் கக்குவதும், தாமரை மலர்வதும், நீர் வற்றுவதும், உலகோர் தத்தங் காரியங்களிற் பிரவிருத்தித்து இயற்றி யடங்குவதும், காந்தத்தின் முன் ஊசி சேஷ்டிப்பதும் போல ஸங்கல்ப ரகிதராயிருக்கும் ஈசன் சன்னிதான விசேஷ மாத்திரத்தால் நடக்கும் முத்தொழில் அல்லது பஞ்சகிருத்தியங்கட் குட்பட்ட ஜீவர்கள் தத்தம் கர்மானுசாரம் சேஷ்டித் தடங்குகின்றனர். அன்றி, அவர் ஸங்கல்ப ஸஹித ரல்லர்; ஒரு கருமமு மவரை யொட்டாது. அது லோககருமங்கள் சூரியனை யொட்டாததும், ஏனைய சதுர்பூதங்களின் குணாகுணங்கள் வியாபகமான ஆகாயத்தை யொட்டாததும் போலும்.

icchā-saṅkalpa-yatnam-iṉḏṟi y-eṙunda ādittaṉ saṉṉidhi-māttirattil kānta-k-kal aggiṉiyai-k kakkuvadum, tāmarai malarvadum, nīr vaṯṟuvadum, ulahōr tattaṅ kāriyaṅgaḷil piraviruttittu iyaṯṟi y-aḍaṅguvadum, kāntattiṉ muṉ ūsi cēṣṭippadum pōla saṅkalpa-rahitar-āy-irukkum īśaṉ saṉṉidhāṉa-viśēṣa-māttirattāl naḍakkum muttoṙil alladu pañcakiruttiyaṅgaṭ kuṭpaṭṭa jīvargaḷ tattam karmāṉusāram cēṣṭit taḍaṅgugiṉḏṟaṉar. aṉḏṟi, avar saṅkalpa-sahitar allar; oru karumam-um avarai y-oṭṭādu. adu lōka-karumaṅgaḷ sūriyaṉai y-oṭṭādadum, ēṉaiya catur-bhūtaṅgaḷiṉ guṇāguṇaṅgaḷ viyāpakam-āṉa ākāyattai y-oṭṭādadum pōlum.

Just like in the mere presence of the sun, which rose without icchā [wish, desire or liking], saṁkalpa [volition or intention] [or] yatna [effort or exertion], a sun-stone [sūryakānta, a gem that is supposed to emit fire or heat when exposed to the sun] emitting fire, a lotus blossoming, water evaporating, and people of the world commencing [or becoming engaged in] their respective kāryas [activities], doing [those kāryas] and ceasing [or subsiding], and [just like] in front of a magnet a needle moving, jīvas [sentient beings], who are subject to [or ensnared in] muttoṙil [the threefold function of God, namely the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the world] or pañcakṛtyas [the five functions of God, namely creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment and grace], which happen by just [or nothing more than] the special nature of the presence of God, who is saṁkalpa rahitar [one who is devoid of any volition or intention], move [exert or engage in activity] and subside [cease being active, become still or sleep] in accordance with their respective karmas [that is, in accordance not only with their prārabdha karma or destiny, which impels them to do whatever actions are necessary in order for them to experience all the pleasant and unpleasant things that they are destined to experience, but also with their karma-vāsanās, their inclinations or desires to think, speak and act in particular ways, which impel them to make effort to experience pleasant things and to avoid experiencing unpleasant things]. Nevertheless, he [God] is not saṁkalpa sahitar [one who is connected with or possesses any volition or intention]; even one karma does not adhere to him [that is, he is not bound or affected in any way by any karma or action whatsoever]. That is like world-actions [the actions happening here on earth] not adhering to [or affecting] the sun, and [like] the qualities and defects of the other four elements [earth, water, air and fire] not adhering to the all-pervading space.

8. Grace is the light of awareness that illumines our mind, so the correct use we can make of it is to turn our mind back within and attend to it with heart-melting love

Not only does grace by its mere presence regulate all that ego projects, but it is also the light by which ego projects everything. That is, grace is the clear light of pure awareness that is always shining in our heart as ‘I’, but instead of attending to this light with heart-melting love, we turn away from it and thereby misuse it to project this entire dream that we call our life.

We have a simple choice: either we can choose to follow the path of pravṛtti (rising, appearing, going outwards and being active) or the path of nivṛtti (returning, coming back, withdrawing, desisting, disappearing, ceasing, resting and being inactive). The natural tendency of ego is towards pravṛtti, whereas the nature of grace is to lead us back in the direction of nivṛtti. However, since grace is the light of awareness that illumines the mind, thereby enabling it to project and perceive phenomena, even to follow the path of pravṛtti we require the aid of grace, but by following the path of pravṛtti we are misusing the power of grace.

The path of nivṛtti is the path of complete surrender, and as Bhagavan teaches us in the first sentence of the thirteenth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, in order to surrender ourself completely we need to be so keenly self-attentive that we do not give even the slightest room to the rising of any other thought. In other words, we can surrender ourself completely and thereby rest eternally in our natural state of absolute nivṛtti only by turning our entire attention back within (towards ourself alone) and thereby immersing it in the pure light of grace, as he clearly indicates in verse 22 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu:

மதிக்கொளி தந்தம் மதிக்கு ளொளிரு
மதியினை யுள்ளே மடக்கிப் — பதியிற்
பதித்திடுத லன்றிப் பதியை மதியான்
மதித்திடுத லெங்ஙன் மதி.

matikkoḷi tandam matikku ḷoḷiru
matiyiṉai yuḷḷē maḍakkip — patiyiṯ
padittiḍuda laṉḏṟip patiyai matiyāṉ
madittiḍuda leṅṅaṉ madi.

பதச்சேதம்: மதிக்கு ஒளி தந்து, அம் மதிக்குள் ஒளிரும் மதியினை உள்ளே மடக்கி பதியில் பதித்திடுதல் அன்றி, பதியை மதியால் மதித்திடுதல் எங்ஙன்? மதி.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): matikku oḷi tandu, a-m-matikkuḷ oḷirum matiyiṉai uḷḷē maḍakki patiyil padittiḍudal aṉḏṟi, patiyai matiyāl madittiḍudal eṅṅaṉ? madi.

அன்வயம்: மதிக்கு ஒளி தந்து, அம் மதிக்குள் ஒளிரும் பதியில் மதியினை உள்ளே மடக்கி பதித்திடுதல் அன்றி, பதியை மதியால் மதித்திடுதல் எங்ஙன்? மதி.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): matikku oḷi tandu, a-m-matikkuḷ oḷirum patiyil matiyiṉai uḷḷē maḍakki padittiḍudal aṉḏṟi, patiyai matiyāl madittiḍudal eṅṅaṉ? madi.

English translation: Consider, except by, turning the mind back within, completely immersing it in God, who shines within that mind giving light to the mind, how to fathom God by the mind?

Explanatory paraphrase: Consider, except by turning [bending or folding] mati [the mind or intellect] back within [and thereby] completely immersing [embedding or fixing] it in pati [the Lord or God], who shines [as pure awareness] within that mind giving light [of awareness] to the mind, how to fathom [or investigate and know] God by the mind?

Grace is completely impartial, so it shines equally in each one of us, whether our mind is now relatively pure or still relatively impure, but to the extent that our mind is impure we misuse grace to pursue the path of pravṛtti, whereas to the extent it is pure we use grace correctly to return home by following the path of nivṛtti. Since grace is the infinite love that Bhagavan has for us as himself, and since he therefore wants nothing for us other than for us to subside and just be as we actually are, the correct use we can make of the light of grace is just to turn back within and attend to it with heart-melting love.