Nāṉār eṉ uḷḷamār ñāṉaṅkaḷār eṉṉaiyāraṟivār
Vāṉōr pirāṉeṉṉai āṇṭilaṉēl
Who am I? Who is my mind? What is mine? They speak of wisdom, but what does all that mean? Who will truly know me? As I was suffering and wandering in confusion without answers to these questions, the One who shines in the heavens, the Chief, the Supreme Lord, took me as His own and bestowed His grace upon me!
Kaṇṇappaṉ oppatōr aṉpiṉmai kaṇṭapiṉ
Eṉṉappaṉ eṉṉoppil eṉṉaiyum āt koṇṭaruḷi
Vaṇṇap paṇitteṉṉai vāveṉṟa vāṉkaruṇai
Like Kannappa Nayanar, what incomparable love he had for the Lord! I do not possess such love, do I!? Yet, despite this, my Father took me under His grace according to my own merit, invited me to come, commanded me, and made me perform penance as a radiant light. His grace is vaster than the sky!
Even the saint Pattinathar lamented, “I am not capable of plucking out my eye and offering it in six days,” crying out that he couldn’t pluck his eyes out in just six days to offer them to the Lord like Kannappan did! He weeps, wondering what kind of penance he must perform to receive the Lord’s grace. He pleads, “Lord, show me the way!”
The Lord takes each person under His grace according to their own level of spiritual maturity! We should not compare them and think, “This person is not like that person, and that person is not like this person!” Every sage and Siddhar received the Lord’s grace in their own unique way! They live on!
Attēvar tēvar avartēvar eṉṟiṅṅaṉ
Poyttēvu pēcip pulampukiṉṟa pūtalattē
Pattētum illāteṉ paṟṟaṟanāṉ paṟṟiniṉṟa
Meyttēvar
“That god is the supreme god! This deity is the true god!” Without knowing the absolute truth of what the Supreme God is and what a mere deity is, worldly people worship and celebrate whatever temples and deities they come across! Even today, they lament and speak falsehoods, arguing that their word is the truth and that only their deity is the Supreme God!?
Poodhalaththae means “in the world!” Since this world is made of the five great elements (Pancha Bhoothas), Manikkavasagar referred to it as Poodhalam (the realm of elements)! In such a world, without any attachment He stopped and protected me, and to me who did not know God, He revealed Himself. The True God blessed me to cling solely to Him without any other worldly attachments! He is the Lord! He is Sivam! The Supreme Soul (Paramatma) residing within my eyes! The singular True God dwelling within my truth, my very body! Our God is the light residing within our true essence (Meipporul)! There is no other deity! Bow to His holy feet!
Poo – thalaththile (In the flower-like realm) – Realizing that You, O Lord, reside in the flower-like realm of the eyes, I clung to You, the God residing in my body (Mei). O Lord, You severed my attachment to the three impurities (Mummalam) that bound me to this earthly world (Poodhalam)! You alone are the one True God of this world!
Maraṇam piṟappeṉṟu ivaiyiraṇṭiṉ mayakkaṟutta
Those who perform the penance of supreme wisdom (Gnana Thavam) will know what death truly is! They will understand and feel how it will be! The Lord will also reveal to them what birth is! Everything can be known! That itself is true wisdom (Gnanam)!
Vaittaniti peṇṭīr makkaḷ kalviyeṉum pitta ulakil
The money, houses, properties, wife, children, and education we accumulate in this world hold value only in this lunatic world! None of this will help a person attain spiritual wisdom! True wisdom cannot be attained unless one receives teachings (Upadesam) and initiation (Deeksha) through a Guru!
Nōyuṟṟu mūttunāṉ nuntukaṉṟāy iṅkiruntu
Nāyuṟṟa celvam nayantaṟiyāvaṇṇa mellām
Afflicted by disease and growing old, pushed away and neglected by the people of the world like a calf nudged away by its mother cow; and just like a dog that has stumbled upon great wealth (but does not know how to use it), we too get trapped in the illusions of this world and suffer! At that time, only the Lord will come like a mother to save us!
Nāyēṉait taṉṉaṭikaḷ pāṭuvitta nāyakaṉaip
Pēyēṉa tuḷḷap piḻaipoṟukkum perumaiyaṉaik
Cīyētum illāteṉ ceypaṇikaḷ koṇṭaruḷum
Tāyāṉa īcaṟkē ceṉṟūtāy kōttumpi
O Lord who made even someone as lowly as a dog like me sing the praises of Your golden holy feet! My mind wanders and jumps around like a restless ghost. Yet, You are the Great Lord who forgives all my faults! Without rejecting me with disgust (saying “chi”), You gracefully accept the services I offer. O Compassionate One who is like a mother, O Ishan, I take refuge in You alone! O Bee, go to the Lord speak of this humble servant to Him!” says Manikkavasagar!
Who is the Lord? Is He not the Mother who created all the souls of the world? Just as we patiently bear the mischiefs and pranks of our children, and just as we lovingly enjoy listening to their babbling words, the Lord too makes us sing, bears with our sins, forgives us, and protects us!
When you were a little child, you would run and take refuge in your mother, crying out, “Amma!” In the exact same way, do not think of yourself now as a great person, an educated person, a wealthy person, or a powerful leader. Instead, consider yourself a child and surrender to the Lord, the Mother of the World! Only then will the supreme bliss of liberation (Mukthi) be attained! If you reach the holy feet of the Lord with the conviction that “The Mother is my only refuge,” and if your mind remains pure and free from distortions like a child, the Lord’s grace is absolutely certain! Therefore, become a child!!
The reason he addresses the song to the Thumbi (bee) is because, while performing deep penance (Thavam), one hears the ten types of mystic inner sounds (Dasavidha Nadham), do they not?! A sound similar to the humming of a flying bee can be heard during penance! Hearing this divine sound, Manikkavasagar sang:
Tīmēṉiyāṉukkē ceṉṟūtāy kōttumpi
The Lord is the Supreme Light—Jothi—and here Manikkavasagar calls Him the One with a body of fire (Thee meniyan)! Our physical body is made of blood, bones, flesh, and marrow. But the Lord is fire! The Lord is the color of fire! The Lord has a form of fire!
If we are to merge with the Lord, we too must become fire. The very nature of our body must change. By performing penance, our body must gradually begin to shine as fire—as a divine light (Jothi). This divine light must pierce and flow through all the seventy-two thousand subtle energy channels (Nadis) in our body! The divine fire must rise from the eyes and spread!
That is exactly why we must perform penance! True penance can only be performed once one realizes the Ultimate Truth (Meipporul)! Keep trying; you absolutely can do it!