EXCERPTS FROM
பாரதி அறுபத்தாறு
BHAARATI ARRUPATTHAARRU
INTRODUCTION
This work of Bharatiyaar describes his
journey towards self-realization; his quest for the realization of the state of
Advaita (non-dual state of Brahman).
Here is a briefing of what the Advaitic
state means:
Brahman is the Supreme state which is a
point out of space and time; the very essence of existence, knowledge and
quiescent bliss.
All that you perceive as forms and names
trapped in space and time - are just waves rising on the ocean of Brahman
Brahman is not a God; he is not a Supreme
Godhead; he is not a person you can worship and pray to! He or It is just a
source-point of all that exists.
He is the unmanifest state of all; yet
manifests as this perceived world through his power of manifestation, which
Bharati refers to as ‘Mother’.
Since Para Brahman cannot be approached or
worshipped or prayed to, Bhaarati takes shelter in ‘Mother’ – the manifest
Brahman – the world that you see all around you.
Para Brahman is one’s own essence.
Mother guides the ignorant child towards
the realization of the Self.
Self is not an apparition: Self is not a
ghost; Self is not a Jeeva (bound entity).
Self is the ‘I’ feeling you always have at
all times.
Since every ignorant person believes
himself to be a physical form with a name and form; and is bound by desires and
attachment, he is not able to understand that he is actually the ‘Para Brahman
state’ which is the quiescent state of silence.
When the false ‘I’ is destroyed by the
practice of reason, the Yogi shines as the true ‘I’, the Brahman state. (Read Ramana’s work‘Ullathu Naarpathu’ or
UpadeshaSaaram’, for better understanding).
When one realizes this truth, like
realizing that ‘I am not the cloth I am wearing’; then that Yogi is known as a
JeevanMukta, liberated while living.
Since he has realized his true deathless
nature, he never dies even when the body dies.
This state of JeevanMukti is known as the
Advaitic state.
A yogi in such a state of freedom is free
of all desires and attachments.
Though he lives like all others, doing the
regular acts that belong to him, he remains always in the witness-state and is
in the quiescent state of Brahman-identity.
For him Brahman alone appears as the
perceived world.
It is one that appears as two –ADVAITA – ‘not two’
but ‘one appearing as two’.
Brahman and his Shakti – the unmanifest and
the manifest appear as two though they are inseparable and one.
Bharati is a JeevanMukta; but a poet who
loves to ‘love’.
Bharati now as the ‘Para
Brahman-state’ loves Shakti the ‘Mother of ignorant Bharati’, as the beloved
playing in the love-forest of the perceived world.
Shakti, the manifesting power of Brahman is
‘imagined’ by the poet as the consort of Brahman.
The perceived world – every name and form
for him is a dance of ParaaShakti; and without entering into any Samaadhi state
or trance-state like fake Yogis, he remains always in the trance state of the
love of ParaaShakti.
The unfinished autobiography (SuyaCharitai)
describes his quest for realization.
अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि। तत्त्वमसि।
I AM BRAHMAN/ THAT THOU ART
SALUTATION TO THE GREAT KNOWER BHAARATI
ॐ
SECTION ONE
PRAYER TO THE SUPREME
[HYMNS TO PARAASHAKTI]
கடவுள் வாழ்த்து-பராசக்தி துதி
KADAVUL VAAZHTTHU – PARAASHAKTI THUTHI
எனக்கு முன்னே சித்தர் பலரிருந்தாரப்பா
யானும் வந்தேனொரு சித்தனிந்த நாட்டில்!
ENAKKU MUNNE SITTHAR PALAR IRUNTHAARAPPAA
YAANUM VANTHENORU SITTHAN INTHA NAATTIL!
Before me there were many Siddhas hey!
I also arrived here, another Siddha in this country.
(Siddhas are those
who have succeeded in realizing the Self and who have no body-identity or
form-identity which plagues all the ignorant.
Such Siddhas who
have attained realization and attained the Supreme state are countless.
‘I am one of them’ says Bharati.
Yes! He was a
realized Siddha; but unfortunately the land he lived was filled with only the
ignorant lot, who recited Vedas and scriptures like parrots, without ever
comprehending the subtle truths contained in them.
Bharati was the
beautiful swan boycotted as the ugly duckling in the duck-herd of the ignorant
Brahmin community. Not able to
find a companion who could understand his realized state, he lived in the
company of his ‘Kannammaa’ alone, the unique beloved who had the combined
beauty of Lord Krishna and Mother Goddess (Kannan and Ammaa). (Kannammaa was
the imagined heroine of all his poems.)
Nobody understood
his higher nature; not even his wife on the earth.
Nobody had the
capacity to understand his poems which were sometimes directly picked out of
Upanishads and Vedic hymns.
In his incomplete
autobiography, he starts his story as not Bharati, the Brahmin poet married to
Chellammaa, but as the realized Sage who was not any different in his
JeevanMukta state than a Shankara or a Ramakrishna.
What is his mental
state now as he words his autobiography?
He cannot write
about the birth of the body and its varied stages in life which was not real;
but he can write only about how he understood the great truths declared by
Upanishads.
He is a Siddha, a
realized Sage!
There is no ‘I’ at
all there!
The ‘I’ called
Bharati, the limited identity had died long ago.
Now what was left
was the state of ‘Supreme Purusha’ or ‘Shiva’, the Supreme Consciousness -
which joint to Prakrti, the great ParaaShakti, the Supreme essence of all
powers - appears as this perceived world.
He could see only
himself as Purusha and the world as his eternal consort Shakti.
Actually Shiva and
Shakti are not different but the same state appearing as two, the unmanifest
and manifest Brahman.
It is the state of
Advaita extolled in Upanishads.
If Bharati the
limited identity had died long ago, then who is writing this autobiography (சுய சரிதை)?
Bharati explains:
மனத்தினிலே நின்றிதனையெழுதுகின்றாள்
மனோன்மணியென் மாசக்தி வையத்தேவி
MANATTHINILE NINRRITHANAI YEZHTHUGINRRAAL
MANONMANIYEN MAASAKTI VAIYATTHEVI;
The Goddess of the world, the wish fulfilling gem of
my mind,
my great Mother Shakti alone,
words all
these,
staying inside my mind.
SHE alone writes
all this!
I the Supreme
Brahman am the unmanifest state of Existence, Knowledge and Consciousness
(Sacchidaananda).
I have no form. I
cannot write anything. I am always in the changeless state. I am the unmanifest
Brahman.
If any writing
gets done, it is because of Shakti, the Supreme Goddess who appears as this
entire perceived world. She is the manifest Brahman.
She is
‘Vaiyatthevi’- the Goddess of the Universe! She ‘is’ the Universe.
Where does she
stay?
Where else, but in
my (Brahman’s) mind!
And she loves me
so much, that whatever I (Brahman) want she will produce instantly!
It is mentioned in
the Upanishads that whatever the Brahman wants to perceive, instantly Prakrti
turns into all that, and fulfills his wishes.
He thinks and she
becomes that! So much love and understanding between Him and Her!
What is the bliss
state of this Purusha and Prakrti, Brahman and his power?
Bharati explains:
தினத்தினிலே புதிதாகப் பூத்து நிற்கும்
செய்யமணித்தாமரைநேர்முகத்தாள்
THINATTHINILE PUTHITHAAGA POOTTHU NIRRKUM
CHEYYAMANI TTHAAMARAI NER MUGATTHAAL
Her face resembles the lotus that has bloomed afresh
in the morning
shining red
like the coral gem.
(Brahman (through
the mind called Bharati) talks about his beloved Shakti!
My beloved Shakti
is the essence of all beauty that is found in the world.
Her face is like a
red shining lotus which has freshly bloomed at the arrival of the morning Sun.
In ‘my’ presence,
she always blooms up in bliss.
The mind of a
realized Sage (another form of Prakrti) is always in the state of bliss in the contemplation
of the Self (Brahman), like a freshly bloomed lotus.)
காதல்வனத்தினிலே தன்னையொரு மலரைப்போலும்
வண்டினைப்போலெனையுமுருமாற்றிவிட்டாள்
KAATHAL VANATTHINILE THANNAIYORU MALARAIPPOLUM
VANDINAIPPOLENAIYUMURU MAARRI VITTAAL
In the forest of love,
she turned herself into a flower
and turned me also into a bee.
(In this state of
union with the Supreme Brahman, there is only the bliss of love and nothing
else. It is not an artificial garden maintained by paid gardeners or even a
stone-temple run by priests. It is a wild forest of love where the lovers are
completely freed of all rules and regulations of the world.
And there are only
two of them in that huge expanse of ‘love-forest’ – ‘She and me’ – she a flower
and me bee sucking the sweet honey from her petals.
How did I (the
ignorant Bharati) become a bee (Brahman-Bharati)?
How else; the
Supreme Mother, the manifest power of Brahman led me to the realized state; and
now I enjoy her company like a bee enjoying the flower.
All her doing!
I the Brahman am
powerless without her!
The Dvaita state
(duality state)
- the duality of flower and bee- the duality of
God and the devotee – the duality of the perceived world and Brahman - the two
which are actually one – the great lovers who make the creation go on – the
Shiva and Shakti –
all this duality
is there because of my Mother ParaaShakti!
She alone turned
me from the false identity of Bharati to the unmanifest Brahman state;
and now I enjoy
her as ‘Brahman-state’, like a bee enjoying a flower.
I am a JeevanMukta
now!
I am always in the
state of bliss like a bee buried in the honey of the flower.
I see the world as
Brahman; and enjoy the perceived world as Shiva enjoying his beloved Shakti!
I am a Siddha!)
தீராத காலமெலாந் தானு நிற்பாள்
தெவிட்டாத இன்னமுதின் செவ்விதழ்ச்சி
THEERAATHA KAALAMELLAAM THAANU NIRRPAAL
THEVITTAATHA INNAMUTHIN CHEVVVIDAZHCCHI
Endowed with red lips like blossoming buds
which ooze never satiating delicious nectar,
she will stay for endless times as herself.
நீராகக் கனலாக வானாக் காற்றா
நிலமாக வடிவெடுத்தாள்
நிலத்தின் மீது
போராக நோயாக மரணமாகப்
போந்திதனையழித்திடுவாள்
NEERAAGA KANALAAAGA VAANAAK KAARRAA
NILAMAAGA VADIVEDUTTHAAL
NILATTHIN MEETHU
PORAAGA NOYAAGA MARANAMAAGAP
PONTHITHANAIYAZHITTHIDUVAAL
She will take on the forms of
water, fire,
sky, wind and earth.
On the earth she will cause destruction as war,
disease, and death.
புணர்ச்சி கொண்டால்
நேராக மோனமஹானந்த வாழ்வை
நிலத்தின்மிசையளித்தமரத்தன்மை ஈவாள்
PUNARCCHI KONDAAL
NERAAGA MONA MAAA NANTHA VAAZHVAI
NILATTHIN MISAI YALITH THAMARAT THANMAI EEVAAL
When she in the supreme bliss of the union of Prakrti
and Purusha
(Self-realization/Yoga of individual soul and Supreme
soul),
she will directly give the life of quiescent state of
great bliss
and bestow the immortal state to all in the world.
(The root-letter
‘BRHM’ means biggest/greatest.
Brahman is the
source-point from which all the perceptive world of space/time appears.
The ‘power of the
unmanifest Brahman to appear as the manifest’ is termed by Bharati as
‘ParaaShakti’.
Brahman is not
Lord Brahma, the Creator-God. (Brahman and Brahma are different terms having
different meanings)
‘Brahman’ is not a
God; but a point of all possible manifestations.
Brahman cannot be
worshipped.
Since Brahman is
the essence of all that exists, we also are Brahman in essence.
When we destroy
the imagined ego based on body-identity, we will remain as Brahman-state,
deathless and birthless; like the Sun shining when the clouds get removed.
That state is
known as JeevanMukta state.
Bharati was such a
JeevanMukta.
He as
‘Brahman-state’ has no identity with the Bharati-form- the physical body seen
by others in the world.
Yet since his
poetic mind is active, he calls his power as his beloved Shakti.
And when acting in
the world in the form of Bharati, he refers to Shakti as Mother.
Since she is the
manifest Brahman - all that he sees, hears, smells, touches, tastes - is
-‘ParaaShakti’ for him.
He drowns inside
the ocean of bliss in her presence, as she is all around him, even as his own
physical form and the mind (thoughts).
He is overwhelmed
by the bliss of losing himself in her; like a lover in the presence of the
beloved.
He can feel her
love in the air, in the forms all around, in the ground he walks, everywhere.
There is not a second when he is separated from her.
He breathes her,
talks her and thinks her in every thought.
He tries to
express his blissful state in a few verses and offers her his obeisance as
Bharati, the poet.)
(My ParaaShakti is
the power of Brahman-state and is eternal like Brahman.
She is of the
nature of bliss. I am always in her bliss and never do I get tired of it.
She is the
manifest world made of elements.
All the
destruction seen also is her manifest-form only, where she destroys life
through wars, diseases etc.
When the
individual Jeeva attains the state of realization through reason, she alone
bestows the blissful state and makes one understand his immortal nature.)
மாகாளி பராசக்தி உமையாள் அன்னை
வைரவி கங்காளி மனோன்மணி மாமாயி
MAAKAALI PARAASHAKTI UMAIYAAL ANNAI
VAIRAVI KANKAALI MANONMANI MAA MAAYI
She is the great Kaali; ParaaShakti, the Supreme
power!
She is Umaa; Mother of all;
Bhairavi; KanKaali: Manonmani:
Great Maayi (delusion power of Brahman)
பாகார்ந்த தேமொழியாள்
படருஞ்செந்தீ பாய்ந்திடுமோர் விழியுடையாள்
PAAGAARNTHA THEMOZHIYAAL
PADARUNJCHENTHEE PAAYNTHIDUMOR VIZHIYUDAIYAAL
She speaks honey-like words sweet like the sugar
syrup.
She has eyes from which shoot out blazing red flames
of fire.
பரம சக்தி
ஆகார மளித்திடுவாள் அறிவு தந்தாள்
ஆதிபராசக்தியெனதமிர்தப் பொய்கை
சோகாடவிக்குளெனைப் புகவொட்டாமல்
துய்யசெழுந்தேன்போலே கவிதை சொல்வாள்
PARAMA SHAKTI
AAGAARA MALITTHIDUVAAL ARRIVU THANTHAAL
AADI PARAASHAKTI YENATHAMIRTHA POYGAI
SOGAA DAVIKKULENAI PUGAVOTTAAMAL
THUYYA CHEZHANTHEN POLE KAVITHAI
CHOLVAAL
The Supreme Goddess of power will give food.
She gave intelligence.
Aadi ParaaShakti is my lake of nectar.
Not allowing me to enter the desolate forest of
depression,
she will sing me the poem which is like pure ripened
honey.
(My ParaaShakti
has many names.
She is the black
hued Kaali who destroys all.
She is the Supreme
power of Brahman.
She is Umaa, the
daughter of Himavaan, and wife of Shiva.
She is Bhairavi the
powerful Goddess.
She is Kankaali –
the terrifying form appearing as the skeleton.
She is the wish
fulfilling gem (Chintaamani) for all.
She is the great
mother who creates the delusion of the world.
Her words are
sweet like the thickened syrup of sugar, when she talks to her devotees.
But, when she
looks at the wicked, her eyes will shoot out blazing flames of fire.
What we eat as
food is the food given by Mother Kaali.
The understanding
power also which makes us understand her, is her blessing only.
She gives bliss
when we realize the Self.
[She takes care of
my day-to day needs. She gave me the intelligence to sing about her. She has
guided me towards the highest state of liberation; and has filled me with
bliss.]
I was lost in the
forest of suffering namely ignorance; but she took my hand and guided me out of
the forest by shining the light of wisdom.
She soothed my
tired heart by singing the song of Upanishads, the ripened statement (Vedanta)
(ripe honey) of the great Sages and led me to the state of JeevanMukta.)
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