part 13- I does not exist separate from God

 https://www.davidgodman.org/bhagavan-and-thayumanavar/5/

In the final verse in this section Thayumanavar describes the moment of Self- realisation and some of the experiences that stem from it. Arthur Osborne wrote that this was a verse that Bhagavan particularly liked (Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self Knowledge, p. 61, B. I. publications, 1979) but there are no recorded instances of Bhagavan quoting this verse in his replies to devotees.

When overpowered by the vast expanse
that has neither beginning, middle nor end,
the truth of non-dual bliss will arise in the mind.
Our entire clan will be redeemed.
Nothing will be lacking.
All our undertakings will prosper.
There will be sporting in the company
of those wise ones who,
like sunrise at the break of day,
have known the dawn of grace,
where there is neither abundance nor lack.
Our nature will become such,
that like babies, madmen or ghouls,
we should not rejoice,
though offered heaven and earth in their entirety. (‘Ninaivonru’, verse 7)

..

Then, turning to Khanna, Bhagavan said, ‘Why distress your mind by thinking that jnana has not come or that the vasanas have not disappeared? Don’t give room for thoughts. In the last stanza of ‘Sukavari’ in Thayumanavar the saint says much the same as is written on this paper.’

And Bhagavan made me read the stanza and translate it into English for the benefit of those who did not know Tamil. It goes: 

‘The mind mocks me, and though I tell you ten thousand times, you are indifferent, so how am I to attain peace and bliss?’ 

(Day by Day with Bhagavan, 26th June, 1946)

Mind, you who evolve from maya
as jewels are wrought from gold!
If you are freed from your defects

 so that blissful samadhi is attained

by meditating on [reality] within oneself

 as oneself, by melting within,

and by making [you] fall away,

I shall attain redemption.
No one is as kind to me as you are — no one.
When I ponder on this, you [the mind]
are equal to the grace of God.
Amongst those who have taken on bodies
to experience the [the world],
be they Brahma, or any of the gods,
it is true, is it not,
that for any of them to reject you [the mind],
and exist without you,
is impossible, quite impossible.
Without you, can anything be,
in this world or the next?
To vainly label you ‘unreal’ is unjust.
So I shall praise you as ‘real’ also.
In order that my wretched state may be ended,
you must return to the glorious land of your birth.

You who have been my companion
for many a day, were you to lie dead
through the enquiry [vichara]
that has separated you from me,
I should revere that ground with perfect devotion.
Through the mauna Guru who has ruled me
I will be free from ‘I’ and ‘mine’,
becoming one with his grace.
The eight siddhis, liberation itself,
which is a vision delightful to behold,
shall be mine upon the earth.
Through you my anxieties shall be ended.

All my interminable wrangling
with birth will end in this very birth.
For me, the state of jivanmukti,
which is difficult for anyone to experience,
will arise.
Oh, Sir [mind]! Will even a cloud
or a grove of karpaka trees
suffice as a comparison to you?
Can your greatness be described
in the seven worlds, beginning with earth? (‘Mandalattin’, verses 8-11)

 ........

To tame a rutting elephant, who has snapped his tethering-post,
and to walk him under our control — that is possible.
To muzzle a bear, or a fierce tiger — that is possible.
To ride upon the back of the incomparable lion — that is possible.
To charm snakes, and make them dance — that is possible.
To put mercury into a furnace, transform the five base metals,
sell them, and live from the proceeds — that is possible. 

To wander the earth, invisible to everyone else — that is possible.
To command the celestials in our own service — that is possible.
To remain forever young — that is possible.
To transmigrate into another physical body — that is possible.
To walk on water, or to sit amidst flames — that is possible.
To attain supernatural powers, that know no equal — that is possible. 

But the ability to control the mind, and remain still, is very difficult indeed.

God, whose nature is consciousness,
who as the reality, impossible to seek,
took up his abode within my understanding!
Refulgent light of bliss! (‘Tejomayanandam’, verse 8)

.........

Thayumanavar did not merely disapprove of the pursuit of siddhis. 

His criticism extended to extreme ascetic practices, attempts to prolong the lifespan of the body, and methods which aimed to raise the kundalini to the sahasrara. 

In the following verse, which Devaraja Mudaliar said Bhagavan occasionally referred to (My Recollections of Bhagavan Sri Ramana, p. 55)  Thayumanavar asserts that none of these practices by themselves can lead to liberation.

Though we firmly stand upon devotion’s path,
though we perform pradakshina of the broad earth’s nine divisions,
though we bathe in the ocean, and in the rivers too,
though we place ourselves between the rising flames
without a thought of thirst or hunger,
stopping up the gnawing pangs with water, air and fallen leaves,
though we dwell in silence, retreat to lofty mountain caves,
though we purify the ten channels which ever endure,
though we contain within the sphere known as somavattam
the inner fire, along with the vital air which rises from the root,
tasting thus the nectar that no words can describe,
though we practise the acquisition of powerful siddhis,
to prolong this mere trifle of a body through every aeon of time,
other than through jnana can liberation be attained?

Siddhanta Mukti’s Primal Lord!
Dakshinamurti, enthroned in glory upon the lofty Siragiri!

Guru, you who are pure consciousness’s form! (‘Chinmayanandaguru’, verse 11)

The key line in this verse is the last one in which Thayumanavar asserts, ‘other than through jnana can liberation be attained?’, a rhetorical question whose answer is clearly ‘no’. 

This conclusion and the preceding comments about the pointlessness of pursuing siddhis can both be found in a remarkably similar answer that Bhagavan gave out when he was asked about the relationship between enlightenment and the attainment of siddhis.

Only jnana obtained through enquiry can bestow Liberation. 

Supernatural powers are all illusory appearances created by the power of maya.

 Self- realisation which is permanent is the only true accomplishment [siddhi].

 Accomplishments which appear and disappear, being the effect of maya, cannot be real.

 They are accomplished with the object of enjoying fame, pleasures, etc. They come unsought to some persons through their karma. Know that union with Brahman is the attainment of the sum total of all the siddhis. This is also the state of Liberation [aikya mukti] known as union [sayujya]. (Upadesa Manjari, section four, answer ten)

Thayumanavar and Bhagavan were in agreement that yogic practices alone will not directly result in liberation. 

Bhagavan has pointed out in several places that its practices can result in bliss, siddhis, and even nirvikalpa samadhi, 

but he also maintained that it is not until the ‘I’ dies in the Heart 

that jnana, true liberation occurs.

 In Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi talk nos. 398 and 474 Bhagavan expresses his negtive views on these yogic practices in great detail.

Question: What is the end of devotion [bhakti] and the path of Siddhanta [i.e., Saiva Siddhanta]?

Bhagavan: It is to learn the truth that all one’s actions performed with unselfish devotion, with the aid of the three purified instruments [body, speech and mind], in the capacity of the servant of the Lord, become the Lord’s actions, and to stand forth free from the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. 

This is also the truth of what the Saiva Siddhantins call para-bhakti [supreme devotion] or living in the service of God [irai pani nittral]. 

Question: What is the end of the path of knowledge [jnana] or Vedanta?

Bhagavan: 

It is to know the truth that the ‘I’ does not exist separately from the Lord [Ishwara]

 and to be free from the feeling of being the doer

[kartitva, ahankara]. 

(Spiritual Instruction, part one, questions nine and ten)

Death and Liberation

Question: Is liberation to be achieved before the dissolution of the body or can it be had after death?…

Bhagavan: Is there death for you? For whom is death? The body which dies, were you aware of it, did you have it, during sleep? The body was not, when you slept. But you existed even then. When you awoke you got the body and even in the waking state you exist. You existed both in sleep and waking. But the body did not exist in sleep and exists only in waking. That which does not exist always, but exists at one time and not at another, cannot be real. You exist always and you alone are therefore real.

Liberation is another name for you. It is always here and now with you. It is not to be won or reached hereafter. Christ has said, ‘The Kingdom of God is within you,’ here and now. You have no death. (Day by Day with Bhagavan, 9th March 1946)

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