Kandhar Anubhuti : Verse #13 - Beyond Definition

முருகன், தனிவேல் முனி, நம் குரு ... என்று
அருள் கொண்டு அறியார் அறியும் தரமோ
உரு அன்று, அரு அன்று, உளது அன்று, இலது அன்று,
இருள் அன்று, ஒளி அன்று என நின்றதுவே (13) 

Murugan Thani-Vel Muni, Nam Guru - endru
Arul Kondu Ariyar Ariyum Tharamo
Uru Andru, Aru Andru, Uladu Andru, Iladu Andru,
Irul Andru, Oli Andru ena Nindrathuve (13)

முருகன் - Lord Murugan
தனிவேல் - Spear
முனி - Lord 
நம் குரு - Our Teacher
அருள் - Grace
கொண்டு - With
அறியார் - One who does not know
அறியும் தரமோ - Will one know? (rhetorical)
உரு அன்று - Without Form
அரு அன்று - Not Formless
உளது அன்று - No existence
இலது அன்று - Not without existence
இருள் அன்று - Not Darkness
ஒளி அன்று - Not Light
என நின்றதுவே - So, It stood

Short Meaning
Lord Murugan, the peerless who wields the Spear, is our Eternal and Only Guru - This knowledge will not be known to ones who have not received His Grace (Rhetorical question - Will they know, without His Grace?) - The Lord stood in a way that cannot be defined or comprehended by the mind - He cannot be called as One with Form or without, with Existence or without, as Darkness or Light. 

Gloss
Lord Murugan is Supreme - The Spear he holds is the representation of the Ultimate Knowledge that liberates, and hence considered the final weapon against evil. 

Lord Murugan is almost always referred to as a Teacher (Guru) in Tamil Literature. He is considered the Greatest of Gurus - Since He even became Guru of Lord Shiva who in the form of Sri Dakshinamurthy is considered the Primal of all Gurus. 

To realize Lord Murugan as the Primal Guru, and hence receive the Final teaching which will liberate us from repeated Births and Deaths is impossible with the Grace of the Lord. 

So, Sri Arunagiri asks, "Without your Grace, will anyone realize Lord Murugan as the Final Guru?" 

God cannot be defined - God is beyond the realms of mind and hence cannot be described in words. 

Even the Greatest Scriptures, Vedas, that descended from God Himself, since they are in form of Words cannot capture even an iota of the Glory of God. 

In this word, Sri Arunagiri establishes a template which scriptures use - "Neti Neti" - "Not This, Not This"

Sri Arunagiri says Lord is without Form, and immediately negates Lord is not Formless too! Basically, he says that when we get entranced by Lord's beautiful Form, we should not be deluded as Lord exists only in that form. The entire Universe is His Form. Isavasyam Idam Jagat says Isavasya Upanishad. (The Entire Universe is filled with divinity). 

At the same time, Lord can't be called Formless too - All Forms are His forms. He is also beyond forms! 

He says Lord cannot be described as He Exists - Because existence is an attribute of time. Since time and Universe eventually ends, if we claim Lord exists in time, He also will be vanquished when time ends. So, Lord cannot be called as He exists. In the next word, Sri Arunagiri says, Lord cannot be described as He doesn't exist :) Our existence is the proof that Lord exists. We cannot exist without support of the Lord. So, Lord's existence cannot be denied as well! 

God cannot also not be defined as darkness nor light - Sri Arunagiri brings out an attribute, its opposite and negates both :) 

I wish people know enough Tamil to read through this verse and enjoy the poetry aspect as well. It is only the Divine which can express itself like this. 

Arunagiri just became a vessel for the highest Divinity, Lord Murugan to express Himself in words, and Tamil the language of the divine, is the perfect vessel to communicate this.

Sri Gurubhyo Nama: