மெய் தான் அரும்பி விதிர்விதிர்த்து உன் விரை ஆர் கழற்கு என்
கை தான் தலை வைத்து கண்ணீர் ததும்பி வெதும்பி உள்ளம்
பொய் தான் தவிர்ந்து உன்னை போற்றி சய சய போற்றி என்னும்
கை தான் நெகிழவிடேன் உடையாய் என்னைக் கண்டுகொள்ளே.
As I worship your fragrant holy feet, my overwhelmed body quivers and
I raise my hands above my head, with tearful eyes and a melting heart.
As I renounce all lies, and proclaim victory to your holy feet, my trembling frame
can no longer hold my hands! My lord, why don't you look at me?
(Thiruvasagam, 5.1.1)
Of all the verses that make Thiruvasagam the poignant and emotional masterpiece it is, this one stands apart. Words can seldom convey the experience of God. Through the above lines, the Saint describes the physical experience he undergoes when he sees God. His hands spontaneously raise to surrender completely. His heart overflows with love and his eyes with tears. His mortal frame immersed in god experience is trembling in joy and can hardly hold him straight. (A similar idea is presented by Kulashekhara Alwar in his Perumal Thirumozhi which I will defer to a later post).
This verse in a sense conveys the essence of Thiruvasagam and the path of God-love and complete surrender that it advocates. The poet saint Panranjothiyar who later documented the life of Saint Manikkavasagar in his Thiruvilayadal puranam pays homage to him by referring to this exact verse. He claims that while all other saints attained the holy feet by worshiping, Manikkavasagar got the same by crying - such overwhelming love and joy!
தொழுத கை தலைமேல் ஏறத்துளும்பு கண்ணீரில் மூழ்கி
அழுதடி அடைந்த அன்பர் அடியவர்க்கடிமை செய்வாம்
With hands raised above the head and body submerged in tears
The one who reached the holy feet by crying, I wish to serve the servants of that great one.
When I imagine Saint Manikkavasgar blinded by tears, I'm reminded of the following words of Paramahansa Yogananda, the greatest yogi saint of our times. He describes his experience of Samadhi or the superconscious state of God union.
"Smoldering joy, oft-puffed by meditation,
Blinding my tearful eyes,
Burst into immortal flames of bliss!"
The words of the saints may talk of an experience most of us have not had. And yet powerful they are, as they always have and will continue to inspire millions to pursue the infinite bliss that these masters lived in.
(The picture above is of the stone idol in the sanctum of Hoysaleshwara temple, Halebidu, Karnataka)
...To be continued
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