Kandhar Anubhuti : Verse #51 - Grace me as My Guru and Liberate me! (uruvai aruvai)

 

உருவாய் அருவாய், உளதாய் இலதாய் 

மருவாய் மலராய், மணியாய் ஒளியாய்க் 

கருவாய் உயிராய்க், கதியாய் விதியாய்க் 

குருவாய் வருவாய், அருள்வாய் குகனே (51)

uruvai aruvai ulathai ilathai

maruvai malarai maniyai oliyai

karuvai uyirai kathiyai vithiyai

guruvai varuvai arulvai guhane! (51)

உருவாய் அருவாய் - With Form and as Formless

உளதாய் இலதாய் - As that which exists and that doesn't

மருவாய் மலராய் - As fragrance and the flower

மணியாய் ஒளியாய்க்  - As precious stones and the light shining through

கருவாய் உயிராய்க் - As they embryo and life inside

கதியாய் விதியாய்க்  - As the destination and the Path

குருவாய் வருவாய் - Come as My Guru

அருள்வாய் குகனே - And Grace me, Oh Guha! 

Short Meaning

Oh Lord Subrahmanya, you are the Form and the Formless, One with existence and non-existent, are the Fragrance and the Flower which is its source, the precious gems and the light shining through them, the embryo/seed and the life inside, and you are the path and the destination - Please come as my Guru and Grace me, Oh Guha!

Gloss

I have waxed eloquent about beauty of some of the verses before - But, Sri Arunagirinathar saved the best for the last - If entire Anubhooti cannot be memorized or chanted, it is sufficient to chant just this verse, or even if this verse is hard, just the last line (குருவாய் வருவாய், அருள்வாய் குகனே) can be chanted for liberation. 

A quote goes, "God defined is God defiled" - God cannot be captured by mind, hence the words - The world of names and forms (nama rupa jagat) exists only in the mind. Our state of existence is beyond mind. Mind can never comprehend the Self or the Divine. Hence it is impossible to write about or verbalize divinity. 

In this verse, the author points to the Divine Lord as a pair of contradictions and also as pair of complementing principles / things.

1. With Form and Without (உருவாய் அருவாய் ) - If the world of forms and names, is not an expression of divinity, what else is? Every form beautiful or mundane or downright repulsive cannot but be the form of the Lord. 

One difference though - When this world of forms is made up of objects and sensory stuff that's made up of five elements (space, air, fire, water and land), when God takes up Form, it is beyond these five elements. 

At the same time, God cannot be captured in just the forms. He is the formless Brahman behind this forms. We cannot restrict God to the world of forms alone. 

There are religions which claim God has a specific form only or the other extreme as God cannot have forms. This verse explains that all forms and the formless behind these forms are both Divine

2. As existing and non-existent (உளதாய் இலதாய்) - The scriptures emphatically state the Omnipresence of God. God alone is truth. Sri Sankara says 'Brahmaiva Satyam' - God alone is Absolute Truth. 'Jagan Mithya' - The world has only relatively reality. So, here Sri Arunagirinathar emphatically asserts Lord Murugan is the only existent truth. However, this existence is beyond any senses and cannot be perceived. Hence can be considered non-existent too. 

3. As fragrance and the flower from which it emanates (மருவாய் மலராய்) - Just as a fragrance pervades space, Brahman also pervades everywhere. Seeming nothingness of huge void of space is also pervaded by Brahman - Sarvam Kalu idam Brahma says Vedas. Everything here is pervaded by Brahman.

Sarvam Vishnu-mayam Jagat - Everything in this Universe is pervaded by Lord Vishnu says scriptures

There is no place divinity is not present. The source of this divinity (fragrance) is Lord Murugan (flower)

4. As precious stones and the light that shines through (மணியாய் ஒளியாய்க் ) - In India, people address people dear to them as a 'gem', precious stone! Since Lord Murugan is so dear to Arunagirinathar, he addresses Murugan as resplendent gem! But, a gem's glory is evident only when light shines through it. But, Lord Murgan's glory is self evident (swaraad) and does not need any external support for Him to shine - So, Murugan is also the light that shines through the resplendent gem!

5. As the seed / embryo and the life within (கருவாய் உயிராய்க் ) - Lord is the Seed from where the entire creation sprang forth - All the perceived and non-perceivable part of Universe are sourced from Him. We as humans can perceive only a minute fraction of this Universe. The Universe is enormous (mahat). But all this creation can be traced back to the Seed which is the Lord. 

When Lord said 'eko'ham bahusyam' - Let the One Me, become Many, the mere will of the Lord produced the primal sound (nada) which is known as Pranavam / Om. This will manifested matter that was initially like a point (bindu). This point split (act of splitting is called kala) into two - This is identified as Shiva / Shakti. When Arunagirinathar sings, 'nada vindu kala - adi namo nama', he sings about Murugan as the primal divinity that existed before all creation existed (before the sound, point, separation / explosion)

I have to agree that this sounds a lot like the modern Big Bang theory.

6. As the Destination and the Path leading to it (கதியாய் விதியாய்க்) - Lord is the final destination, whether we agree to it or not. He is the source and the destination. 

Vishnu Sahasranamam says:

Yatha Sarvani Bhoothani Bhavanthyadhi Yugagame
Yasmimscha Pralayam Yanthi Punareva Yugakshaye

From where all living beings appear in the beginning of the Yuga

Unto where they all recede (again) in the end of the Yugas during Pralayam (dissolution of Universe)

The Path from the Source to Destination is also Lord Murugan! 

In the verse above only the un-enlightened beings are subject to repeated births and deaths - Even after Maha Pralaya (great dissolution) where even Gods are resolved, when the next creation starts, new Forms are created. However, an enlightened being, is cut from this cycle and is not affected since He/She has united with Lord Murugan

Come as my Guru (குருவாய் வருவாய் ) - Without a Guru, liberation is impossible. This Guru can come in the form of a Human, or the Lord himself or any other form - For e.g., Guru came in the form of Sri Arunachala Hill for Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Irrespective of the Form, Guru is absolutely required for liberation. 

Lord Subrahmanya, as Swaminathan is the Greatest of all Gurus. He took the role as the Guru of Lord Shiva (Siva Guru) - So, Sri Arunagiri pleads the Lord Subrahmanya to take His final form as that of Guru. Once Guru instructs the Great Teaching (Maha Upadesha), the distinction between Guru and Disciple dissolves, and the Disciple becomes One with the Guru, in this case Lord Skanda and achieves "Kandhar Anubhuti" - So, this form of Guru is the final perceivable form for the soul - After this, this Universe is dissolved and the soul is irrevocably merged with the Lord - There is no differentiation left of the soul. The Son becomes the Father. 

Sri Dakshinamurthi is considered the Guru of Gurus and is non different from Lord Subrahmanya

Grace me, Oh Guha, The Secret One (அருள்வாய் குகனே ) - Once the Guru appears, and utters the Maha Vakya (the great sentence) - Tatwamasi / aham brahmasmi etc, due to an act of Grace, the disciple achieves Self Realization. Without Grace of Guru, this cannot happen. 

So, Sri Arunagiri asks Lord Murugan, not only to come as Guru, but offer Grace (anugraha / arul) - He interestingly calls Murugan as Guha in this verse. Guha is derived from Sanskrit word Guhya (secret)

Lord Murugan, in the form of Guha is the Secret Form of the lord. The greatest of mysteries is that the Lord whom the disciple searches is the seeker himself. This is the Secret. There is nothing to be sought, nothing to be achieved. Once the seeker turns inward (into the cave of the heart), with Grace of God and Guru, he realizes the self. 

This is the greatest secret. The secret is Lord Subrahmanya, the supreme Lord. 

May the Lord take all of us, in various stages of evolution in a gentle way like a mother would towards Herself. May the Lord keep us in the path and take us to him without letting us go astray. 

Sri Gurubhyo Nama: (All Great things are achieved only by Guru's Grace - I bow to my Guru, Sri Rajagopala Swami of Nanganallur, Chennai in Who's Heart the Supreme Goddess, Sri Raja Rajeshwari resides)

Shri Subrahmanya Swamine Nama:

Om Muruga Sharanam!