மின்னே நிகர் வாழ்வை விரும்பிய யான்
என்னே விதியின் பயன் இங்கு இதுவோ?
பொன்னே, மணியே, பொருளே, அருளே,
மன்னே, மயில் ஏறிய வானவனே (27)
minne nigar vaazhvai virumbiya yaan
enne vidhiyin payan ingu ithuvo?
ponne maniye porule arule
manne mayil eriya vanavane! (27)
மின்னே நிகர் - As transient as a lightning
வாழ்வை - This life
விரும்பிய - desired
யான் - (by) me
என்னே - What do I say?
விதியின் - My Fate
பயன் - Result
இங்கு இதுவோ? Is this?
பொன்னே - (Precious as) Gold
மணியே - (Lustrous as) Gems
பொருளே - The final meaning
அருளே - Grace
மன்னே - The stable / immovable one
மயில் ஏறிய - Riding a peacock
வானவனே - Lord
Short Meaning
Why do I desire this life which is as transient as a lightning that flashes by? Is that because of my fate? Oh Lord Subrahmanya, one who rides the peacock, who is as precious as Gold and lustrous as precious gems - Please tell me! You are the ultimate meaning of life and the Grace to reach it.
Gloss
There is a common theme behind the calls of realized souls - They are worried about people wasting their time, instead of pursuing the divine.
In this, Sri Arunagiri Nathar calls life as transient as flash of a lightning. But he says, his heart desires to pursue goals relevant to this transient life. We take false goals we want to pursue, spend our precious time in pursuing them, and in the end, we die without achieving the purpose of life - which is to realize the Self, which is non-different from the Supreme Lord Subrahmanya!
In Lalitha Sahasranamam, the Five Great actions of Goddess Lalitha Maha Tripura Sundari is mentioned (discussed in more detail here)
1. She Creates as Brahma
2. She sustains as Vishnu
3. She destroys as Rudra
4. She obfuscates as Mahadeva
5. She offers Grace as Sadashiva
The fourth action is called 'thirodhanagaram', meaning 'obfuscation' or to confuse. Why does Mother do this? It is a given that we are all going to die and everyone knows that too. So, why don't people just get depressed and be inactive since they are all going to die one day, any way? The whole world will come to a grinding halt if everyone stops doing their work
To avoid this, Mother obfuscates - She makes us believe on things that don't exist in reality, creates false desires so that we run behind them. We all want bigger houses / cars / TVs / spouse / kids - What not? So, we spend out precious time and energy following these goals. By the time we realize, we are already at the end of our life. This continues next birth as well and it goes on and on.
In 'Moha Mudgaram' or more popularly known as 'Bhaja Govindam', Sri Adi Sankara Bhagawatpada says
It is by design, that we are made to follow desires that are results of latent tendencies of the soul - The issue is that there are infinite desires and hence paths to take for the soul. This is the reason why Sri Arunagiri is perplexed that even after knowing this life is so transient, why are people behind goals which do not take us to divine.
He says it should be because of our fate! (விதியின் பயன்)
He then implores Lord Murugan to help - In His intense love for Lord, He addresses Lord as Gold! It is common to call people / kids lovingly as thangame in Tamil or Bangaram in Telugu (both meaning Gold in respective languages) - Gold is precious and Sri Arunagiri is unable to think anything or anyone more precious than the Lord.
He is not satisfied - He then address Lord as a precious and shining gem (மணியே)
Next, Sri Arunagiri addresses Lord Murugan as the Ultimate meaning of Life - பொருளே! (unlike the famous 42 by Douglas Adams) - Once the Self is realized, or in other words, soul unites with Lord Skanda, then one reaches the Deathless nature and nothing more needs to be known / done
Apparently, when a self realized soul leaves the body, the feeling is of extreme thankfulness:
Prapthavyam Prapthum - That which has to be achieved has been achieved
Karthavyam Krutham - That which has to be done is done
Dhanyoham Dhanyoham tri-Dhanyoham - I am thankful, thankful, thrice thankful!
Sri Arunagiri wants us to reach this state of knowing the ultimate meaning of life
Then Sri Arunagiri calls Lord as 'Grace' (அருளே) - We earlier spoke of the act of obfuscation by Goddess (who is same as Her son, Lord Subrahmanya) - This causes a soul to be born again and again millions of times. A soul searches for eternal happiness in every possible direction. When this is elusive, a tired soul cries out from its bottom of the heart - This is not superficial nor a temporary affliction. These souls carry a pain so deep in the heart that their heart constantly cries out for help. When the soul can no longer bear this pain, it cries out and Mother in Her infinite compassion, offers Grace (arul) - This Grace soothes the crying soul and makes it One with Mother. After this the soul knows no pain - no birth - no death
Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi says, this soul who is united with the Lord is always immersed in Bliss (Arunachala Pancharatnam - Verse 5)
Finally, Sri Arunagiri address Lord as the 'Stable One' (மன்னே) - Lord alone is stable and we can rest only on him. Sri Nochur Venkatraman says that resting on anything other than God is like trying to sit on a cardboard chair - It will break and will take you down with it. God alone is the stable one who can offer support to those who seek. In Vedanta, this attribute of Lord is widely discussed in many Upanishads
He thus invokes Lord Subrahmanya as the Lord who rides the peacock (மயில் ஏறிய வானவனே) - May Lord Subrahmanya, direct our attention to Him so that we don't waste time on meaningless pursuits.
PS:- Image from https://shivaom.tumblr.com/post/154027751869/kartikeya-%E0%A5%90
