Thiruvaimozi- 1.2

In the previous ten verses Azvar has explained the nature of the supreme reality which forms the subject matter of the first two adhyayas of the Brahma suthra. This set of ten speaks about the

Means of attaining the Reality, the topic of the third and fourth adhyaya of Brahmasuthra. He ended the previous verse saying that this thirvaimozi itself is like attaining salvation. Now in this section he explains that further.

1.Veedumin muttravum veeduseidhu ummuyir veedu udaiyAnidai veedu isaimine

Leave all attachments and surrender yourself to the Lord who is your inner self.

Muttravum veedu seidhu- giving up all attachments,

Um uyir veedumin- offer your self

Veedu udaiyAnidai- because it belongs to Him.

Veedu isaimine- Surrender should be wholehearted.

This advice is for all as samsara is common to all. Muttravum veedu seidhu means sarvasangaparithyga, to give up wholly the idea of ‘I’ and ‘Mine.’

In the line ‘um uyir veedu udaiyAnidaiai’,’ uyir means the self and veedu is the sarira. The Lord has the individual self is the sarira as he is inside as the sariri or the inner self and hence it belongs to Him. The Upanishad says, ‘yah Athmani thishTan Athmanah antharah yam AthmA na vedha yasya Athma Sareeram ya AthmAnam antharO yamayathi sa tha AthmA antharyAmyamrthah,’ meaning, ‘He who dwells in the self within, whom the self does not know, whose body is the self, who controls the self from within, He is your real self and immortal.’ The line in the pasuram therefore means restoring the property back to the owner. Veedu udaiyan may also mean the on who gives moksha as the word veedu is denotes as moksha as in the last decade of verses.

The veedu seidal or offering one’s self to the Lord to whom it belongs to is enjoined with the word isaimine, meaning that it should be agreeable as it secures infinite bliss.

To consider this body and soul as belonging to us while it is really the property of the Lord as He is the seshi of all as mentioned by Ramanuja in his mangala sloka of VedArThasangraha, ‘aseshachidhachithvasthu SeshiNe SeshaSAyine.’

According to Ramanuja the meaning of Self or saririn is that who is the supporter, AdhAra, and controller, niyanthA, of another , namely the sarira which he uses for his own purpose and satisfaction and which is dependent, Sesha, on him. As per the Upanishad passage quoted above it is clear that the individual self is the sarira or Sesha of the Lord, its Saririn and Seshi.

This idea is substantiated by the sadhvidhya and sathkarya vadha of the Upanishad which shows that the Brahman is the sath or reality by knowing which everything becomes known because it alone was in the beginning without a second, ‘sadheva soumya idham agra Aseeth,’(chan.6.2.1) This is termed as sadhvidhya as declared by the text, ‘utha tham AdheSam aprAkshyah yena aSrutham Srutham bhavathi amatham matham avijnAnam vijnanam,’( Chan. 6.1.3) This is known as the promissory statement that means “ have you got that instruction of the truth by knowing hearing which all that is unheard, becomes heard, thinking about which all that is not thought of becomes thought of and knowing which all that is unknown becomes known. This is sadvidhya. The sathkArya vAda is that Brahman is the material and efficient cause of the universe and hence the latter is real as its effect because the cause is real. ‘thadhaikshatha bahusyAm prajAyeya ,it willed to become many,’(chan.6.2.3). The Upanishad further says that Brahman not only created the universe but also entered into everything and became their inner self and gave them name and form. ‘anena jeevena AthmanA anupraviSya nAmarupe vyAkaravANi.’(Chan.6.3.2)

This makes it clear that the idea of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ is false and everything is His.

The next four verses elucidate that which should be given up.

2. minnin nilaiyila, mannuyir AkkaigaL

ennum idatthu iRai unnumin neere

Consider the truth that the bodies of the embodied self are transitory , being less durable than even the lightning.

He body is permanently changing every moment and hence it is said that it is more fleeting than the lightening. So even in one life we have many bodies. After a life it is completely destroyed. Only after taking birth again the soul attains a body.

A sarira has seven defects or doshas , namely, alpam, of no value, asThiram, transitory, duhkha moolam, rooted in misery, duhkhamayam, consists of misery and nothing else, duhkhasyakAraNam, cause of sorrow, bhrAnthimoolam, reason for illusion and hence mokshavirodhi, obstacle to moksha.

Of these, asthiram is the sufficient cause to give up the attachment to the body, not considering the others. Just because it is transitory the attachment to it causes sorrow and delusion that it is of great value.

Akkai means the body and it is described as minnin nilai il, does not stay even as long as a lightning. Mannuyir means the self which is permanent. IRai unnumin is also explained as contemplate on the Lord, iRai.

This pasuram elucidates the phrase ‘muttravum veedu seidhu,’ in the previous one, meaning giving up fully the attachment. All the attachments for possessions, people etc. are only due to the attachment of the self, which is identified wrongly with the body.

In BrhadharanYaka Upanishad Yajnavalkya explains this by the text ‘na vA are pathyuh kAmAya pathih priyo bhavathi----Athmanansthu kAmAya sarvam priyam bhavathi ‘(Brhd.2-4-5) meaning that everything, wife, son, wealth etc. are dear not for their own sake but for one’s own sake. It is the self the love for which is primary and the rest are secondary. We attach importance to worldly things because we identify our self with the body as all these are related to the body only. When we identify ourselves with the Self within and with the Supreme self within the individual self we understand that all we have hitherto considered as valuable are indeed valueless.

Yajnavalkya had two wives , Kathyayani and Maithreyi. When he wished to embrace the monastic life he wanted to divide his possessions to both of them. But mithreyi asked him to give her that which makes him leave everything and go. Then Yajnavalkya instructed her the knowledge of the Self, telling her that it is not for the sake of wife, son, wealth etc that they are dear but only for the ske of one’s Self. The real self should be seen, heard of, reflected on and meditated upon and thus realised. ‘AthmA vA arE, dhrashtavyah srothavyah manthavyah and nidhiDhyAsithavyah.’ (Brhd.2.4.5)

The phrase ‘muttravum veedu seidhu ‘ in the first pasuram is thus made clear. The other parts of the pasuram are elucidated by the next.

3.neer numadhenRivai vEr mudhal mAytthu iRai

sErmin uyirkkadhan nEr niRai ille

Destroy the concept of ‘you’ and ‘yours’ by rooting it out. Attach yourself to the Lord. There is no other goal higher than that.

The feeling of ‘you’ and ‘yours’ denote the ahamkAra and mamakAra, namely ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Azvar uses the words neer, numadhu, ‘you’ and ‘yours’ instead of ‘I” and ‘Mine ‘ because he is advising the mankind as a whole and therefore uses the second person pronoun and also may be that he could not bring himself to say “I” “mine “ even for the sake of instruction, as he is a liberated soul who is devoid of ahamkara and mamakara.

The phrase ‘vermudhal mAytthu,’ means root out the ego which is the cause of ahamkara and mamakara. The identity with the body, mind and intellect are transitory because they are originated. This means that we identify ourselves sometimes with body, other times with mind etc. So it will be destroyed once for all, only if the root cause, the ego, is destroyed.

As Krishna explains in the Gita, ‘dhyAyatho vishayAn pumsaH sangastheshu upajAyathe,’ dwelling on sense objects, which includes also people who gratify the senses like wife and son, the attachment is produced. This is the cause of the concept of ‘mine,’ which is the by-product of the concept of’ I.’ So by controlling the senses from hankering after the sense objects the mamakara can disappear as said in the Gita ’yadhA samharathe chAyam koormaAngAneeva sarvaSah;indhriyANi indhriyArthebhyaH,’ when one withdraws the senses from the sense objects as the tortoise withdraws its limbs in side its shell, etc. But they may shoot up again because he concept of ‘I’ is not eliminated, like a plant which is cut and not uprooted. For this, it is necessary to destroy the root cause of ahamkara, the ego. To refer to the words of the Lord again, the impressions, vasanas, that give rise to ahamkara and mamakara, remain even after the senses are controlled and disappear wholly only when the supreme reality is perceived. ‘rasavarjam rasopyasya param dhrshtvA nivarthathe.’

The means of uprooting the vasanas that cause the ego-centric impulses, is shown by azvar by the words irai sErmin , attach yourself to the Lord. Azvar sukthis are all extolling prapatthi and surrenderin to Him giving up all idea of agency is what is meant here. The ‘aham’ should merge with ‘saH,’ which is implied by the mahavakyas ‘aham brahmasmi,’ and ‘tatthvam asi.’

Azvar says ‘uyirkkadhan nEr illE,’ meaning, for the individual soul there is no other means equivalent in merit than this, as said by the Upanishad ‘nAnyaH pantThA vidhyathe ayanAya.’

4. illadhum uLladhum alladhu avanuru

ellaiyil annalam pulgu pattRattRe

The Lord is different from the sentient and insentient and His nature is of boundless bliss having endowed with infinitely auspicious qualities. Hence give up all other attachments and embrace that supreme self.

Illadhu here means that which has no permanent existence, meaning the non-self which is always changing. uLLadhu is the individual self which is permanently existent, being eternal. Alladhu avan uru means that the form or nature of the Lord is neither the insentient matter nor the sentient self. It is ellai il annalam, of the nature of limitless bliss. So one should give up the attachment towards the body and all its possessions, including our kith and kin which are all non-self and even the individual self should be looked upon as being subservient to the inner self, the Lord.

Brahman is described as chidhachithvilakshnam, something different from the sentient and the insentient. But at the same time it is said that the relationship between Brahman and the world of sentient and insentient beings is one of aprthaksiddha, inseparable relationship. This appears to be self contradictory. But if we remember the body-soul relationship between Brahman and the world the term chidhachitvilakshanam makes sense. The soul is different from body but the latter cannot exist without the former. Similarly the world which is the body of Brahman, has no separate existence than Brahman who is its inner self, yet it is not identical with Brahman. This is what is meant by the sentence illadhum uLLadhum alladhu.

In the Bhagavatgita, the Lord says, ‘ksharaH sarvaaNi bhoothaani kooTastho akshara ucyathe,’ all beings are transcient and the self is eternal, utthamah purushah thu anyah paramaathmaaithi udhaahrthah, the supreme self is other than these two.

Commentators say that the words illadhu alladhu, meaning , it is not non-existent refutes the sunyavada of Buddhist nihilism and the mayavada of advaita.

According to the sunyavada of Buddhism nothing is real and there is no absolute reality at all. This is denied by the words illadhu alladhu, meaning that Brahman is not illadhu, unreal like the horns of the hare,saSavishaana. Advaita claims that everything except Brahman is unreal and the world is an appearance like the silver perceived in the shell or like the serpent seen in a rope due to illusion, maya. This is also refuted by illadhu alladhu, where the word illadhu refers to the concept of the world as illusion.

Azvar asks the devotee to embrace (pulgu) the Lord of infinitely auspicious qualities and of the nature of bliss which means that one should approach Him with love.

5.attRadhu pattRenil uttRadhu veeduyir,

chettRadhu mannuRil,attRiRai pattRE

If the attachment to the worldly objects ceases to be, then the experience is that of the Self aathmaanubhava. But this will not give absolute bliss as it is devoid of bhakthi. So to get that immortal bliss, brahmananda, one should resort to the feet of the Lord.

The desires may be of this world and the next, such as wealth, power or to attain heaven or to have a better birth etc. The Vedas specify various means of attaining these by way of yajna, dhaana etc. But all these lead only to further bondage and not to the release from it.They are ‘janmakarmaphalapradha’ as Krishna says in the Gita.

Hence one who wishes to get rid of the bondage should give up al worldly desires. Then he becomes established in the Self, ‘aatmanyaivaathmanaa thushtah,’ reaching the state of stithaprajna as outlined in the Gita.

But Azvar says that is not enough. As Krishna further emphasizes in the Gita, ‘mayi sarvaani karmaaNi sannyasya adhyaathmachethsaa,’ it is essential to engross the mind in the devotion of the Lord.

Jnana should be combined with bhakthi to be fruitful. Sheer jnana attained through the study of the scriptures and through meditation, Sravana ,manana and nidhiDhyaasana, without bhakthi will be dry and mere bhakti without jnana will be a mire. One should lead to the other, bhakthi culminating in jnana through detachment and discrimination and vice versa.

Bhakthi secures jnana through the grace of the Lord as He says, ‘theshaam sathathayukthaanaam bajathaam preethipoorvakam dhdhaami buddhiyogam tham yena maam upayaanthi the.’ (BG.10.10) meaning that the Lord Himself gives the jnana to those who worship Him with love consistently and persistently. Upanaishad also says, ‘yamaivesha vrNuthe thena labhyathe,’ he alone attains salvation whom the Lord chooses to show His grace.

This is the idea expressed in this pasuram.

AttRadhu pattRenil uyir veedu uttRadhu- When the attachment to the worldly objects ceases, the jeeva realizes its true nature and this is called kaivalya, establishing in Athman. Veedu means the exclusive experience of the Self and uyir denotes the jeeva.

Adhu setRu- giving up that experience.

Man uRil- when one discards the aathmanubhava for the main purushartha, that is moksha,

atRu irai pattRu- It will not be achieved without the grace of the Lord and hence one should contemplate on Him.

The aathmanubhava referred to here is the experience of the Self while being in this embodiment, known as jeevanmukthi through jananyoga. But Azvar says that it is not the real mukthi because,

any experience in the state of embodiment must involve gross body, through the senses or subtle body, through the mind and intellect, the experiencer being the ego. Through jnanayoga one maybe able to stop aagaami karma, that is furure karma and the prarabdha karma which has started to yield result and will continue till the fall of the body. But the accumulated karma, sanchita karma, will not be destroyed unless by prapatthi, by the will of the Lord. Upanishad says that, ‘ksheeyanthe asya karmaaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare’ the karma is completely destroyed only after the brahmasaakshaatkara, after which there is no riverting back to embodiment. This can be secured only through devotion.

There are three reals according to visishtadvaita, namely, chit, achit and Isvara. Detaching oneself from achit and establishing the mind on chit may exclude Isvara also, which is what the azvar refers to as uyir veedu uttRadhu. The one and only purushartha to be sought is the attainment of the Lord. The sesshathva stressed in visishtadvaita is not servitude and thus to be shunned by those who aspire for kaivalya mukthi, but it is the greatest purushartha which brings eternal joy. The Brahmananda has been described as the absolute bliss which cannot be experienced by kaivalya mukthi where there is only pure consciousness and no experiencer.

On the other hand in seshathva the responsibility rests with the Lord to release the prapanna from the bondage and grant him absolute bliss because the jiva then belongs to the Lord. Thus experiencing the joy of being part and parcel with the Lord is the real Athmanubhava since the Lord is the real self of all.

6.pattRilan eesanum, muttRavum ninRanan

pattRilaiyaai avan muttRil adange

eesanum - even the almighty Lord

muttRavum pattRilan- loves all beings including us

therefore,

pattrilai aai- giving up all other attachments

avan muttRil adange- get involved in His service.

The Lord who is all-powerful is attached to the devotees though in reality He is impartial towards all beings. So we should also give up all attachments and get ourselves attached to Him only, engaging ourselves only in His service.

Azvar has advised in the previous pasuram to give up all other attachments and resort to the Lord. We may feel that He , being always served by the nityasoories and being almighty, may not be interested in us who are lowest of beings, full of faults, revelling in the worldly pursuits and not having enough devotion for Him to take notice. To dispel this doubt azvar gives this pasuram . He is the Lord of all beings, but He has said ‘samo aham sarvabhootheshu’ (BG.9-29)that He is impartial towards all.

But impartiality is different from mercy. In the same Bhagvatgita we have the words ‘priyo hi jnaanainah athayarTham aham sa cha mamapriyaH,’I in which the word jnani denotes the one who resorts tot the Lord for Himself , that is an ardent devotee. “Such a devotee to whom I am the most beloved, is dearest to Me also.” This confirms the words of azvar that he is pattRilan, which does not mean that He is without attachment to anyone, of course the word pattRu or attachment in respect of the Lord is different from what we normally understand. It means that He is full of love for His devotees.

The exalted position of the Lord is not an obstruction to His showing love to us. In fact the pattRu he has towards us is only adding to His glory. The soulabhya and souhaardha, easy accessibility and affection are praiseworthy only in those who are above us. The souhardha of the Lord is enhanced by His swamithva. Being avapthasamasthakaama, the one to whom no wish remains unfulfilled, the attachment is solely due to kindness. In this respect His pattRu differs from ours.

Subaala upanishat says ‘pithr mathr sutha bhraathr dhaara mithraadhayaH api vaa ekaaikaguNalaabhaaya sarvalaabhaaya kesavaH.’ This means, father, mother, son, brother and wife etc are sought after for a particular gain but the Lord Kesava is resorted for attaining all. As Vibheeshan asked the vanarsas to inform Rama that he has come giving up all else ‘thyakthvaa puthraan cha dhaaraan cha raaghavam saraNa gathaH,’ This is the attitude of a devotee. Thirmangaiazvar says,’thaayE thandhaiyE thaaramE suttRam makkaL ennum nOyE pattozindhEn unai kaaNbadhOr aasaiyinaal.’ This is exactly what is denoted by the words ‘pattRilai aai avan muttRil adangu.’

If He is the same towards all how will He show His favour to the devotees as against the others who are not and act against Him? The reply is that He is there for all to resort to and equally attached to all to show His grace but like the child who is playing and wanders away from his father and calls for help only when he is in trouble, we are not calling Him and when we call Him he will respond respond. It is like the mother who responds to the child who expresses his love even though she is equally affectionate towards all her children.

MuttRavum ninRanan means that He pervades all as He is transcendent and imminent, everything is in Him and He is in everything. As the Upanishad says, `na va aare sarvasaya kaamaaya sarvam priyam bhavathi, aathmanasthu kaamaaya sarvampriyam bhavathi,' (Brhd. 2.4.5), all is dear not for the sake of itself but for the sake of the Self.

Since the Lord is the inner self of all, loving Him and attaching oneself to Him means one is loving his own self and hence attaching himself to it.

The word pattRilan is explained by Parasarabhattar as meaning that He is not attached to anyone, including the nithyasuris like Garuda and Anantha, except the ASritha, the one who surrenders to Him. Parasarabhatta gives an illustration to this.

Rama says to Sugriva, chiding him when he took a risk and went and assaulted Ravana and came back, `thvayi kimchith samaapanne kim kaaryam seethayaa mama; bharathena mahaabaaho lakshmaNena yavaayasaa; Sathruhnena cha Sathrughna, svaSareereNa vaa punah.'

It means, "If something has happened to you what is the use of Seetha , Bharath, Lakshmana or Sathrughna or even my own body to me?"

This does not mean that he did not care for others but shows his affection to Sugreeva. And his saranaagatharakshaNa dharma.

But He is in reality pattRilan as Desika explains. That is because He is avaaptha smasthakaama and need have no preference from one to another and he is equally established in His all forms, namely, para,vyuha, vibhava. Archa and antharyami. Whether He is called by the name Vaikuntavaasa, Dvarakavaasa, thirumalaivaasa, Vaasudeva, or simply as Hrdhayakamalvaasa , He rushes to shower His grace equally.

7. adangezil sampatthu adangakkandeesan,

adangezil ahdhanRu, adanguga uLLE

Knowing that all that is beautiful and bountiful belong to the Lord and hence get immersed in Him.

adangu ezil sampatthu- All things bright and beautiful and all things great and small, all things wise and wonderful are nothing but the Lord.

Adangakkandu – seeing thus, eesan adangu ezil- He is the Lord and controller of all,

enRu uL adanguga- get immersed in Him.

This pasuram reassures the devotee who experiences trepidation to approach the Lord, awed by His glory and eminence.

The fear to approach the Lord may be due to the following reasons.

1. Fear that He may chastise us due to our sins committed so far.
2. Shy of the nithyasooris who may treat us with derision.
3. The obstacles that may be created by devas and humans to prevent us from reaching to Him
4. Natural diffidence considering the supreme status of the Lord and our lowliness.

This pasuram reassures us implying that the above doubts are groundless.

The very reason we are resorting to Him is that He should show mercy on us and forgive our sins. So there need be no fear of chastisement.

Nithyasoories see all as the sesha of the Lord and have no contempt towards anyone because all belong to Him.

The third reason may have some reality as it is said that the devas are wary of those who resort to the Lord because they become free from the desire-motivated activities like the yaga and other austerities done to propitiate the devas, ‘Srooyathe khila govindhe bhakthim udvahathaam nrNaam samsaaranyoonathaabheethaah thridhaSaaH paripanThinaH,’ so the devas try to obstruct the path of those who follow the devotional path to the Lord fearing that they will leave the samsara and the devas will be neglected.

But even this fear is baseless because the devas get their power only from the Lord and by resorting to Him the devotee is blessed by His grace and hence the devas become powerless and it is needless to fear the humans thus.

The fourth reason namely, the diffidence due to our being undeserved for His favour is also dispelled thinking that when He wills it even the inanimate beings attain salvation as illustrated by the story of Dhadhibaanda, often cited by the pouranikas. The cowherd Dhadhibaanda concealed Krishna in one of his pots by sitting on it when Krishna was pursued by gopi for stealing butter. Afterwards he refused to get up to free Krishna and laid down a condition that he should be given moksha. Krishna said that he will give moksha not only to him but also to all the curd pots in his house! This is to show that the mercy of the Lord is enough to raise even the lowliest to an exalted positon.

The ocean gives place even to a whale as it belongs to the sea but throws out a blade of grass which does not belongs to it. Similarly when one approaches the Lord with an attitude of a sesha He is accepted by Him.

Since the Lord owns all and we belong to Him there is no fear of being rejected. The fear is only as long as the eternal relationship between us and the Lord is not known as in the example of a father and son who did not recognize each other owing to a long separation see each other as his rival in business or k like the son of a king who does not know that he owns his father’s wealth because he was separated from his father from childhood. The acharyas and the scriptures like the mutual relative points out our connection with the Lord and henceforward we do not have any trepidation in approaching him like a son to his father.

8. uLLam urai seyal uLLa immoonRaiyum

uLLikkedutthu iRai uLLil odungE

Knowing that the three means of acting in the world, namely, mind, word and action, which we are endowed with, are to be used to attain the Lord only and hence casting off the activities outside we should use these in the service of the Lord.

uLlam- mind, uRai, speech and seyal , action are the three means of experience in the world outside. If three are concentrated on one ideal, it helps the evolution. ‘yaThaa chittham thaThaa vaachaH yaThaa vaachaH thaTHaa kriyaa ; chitthe vaachi kriyayaam cha mahathaam ekaroopathaa’ is the maxim of greatness. To a devotee who aspires for attainment of salvation the three are employed in the service of the Lord. ; ‘ kaayena vaacha manasaa indhriyairvaa buddhyaathmanaa vaa prakrheH svabhaavaath karomi yath yath sakalam parasmai naaraaynaayethi samarpayaami,’ is the attitude of a devotee.

In the last pasuram Azvar said that as everything belongs to the Lord including ourselves we should be immersed in his service. In this pasuram he shows how to do that.

Andal says ‘thooyomaai vandhu thoomala thoovitthozhudhu vaayinaal paadi mandhinaal sindhikka,’ thus illustrating the above meaning clearly. The body is to be used in His service by cleansing it by bath and worship Him by offering flowers etc. which is kaayika, physical service. Not only that but also one should do every act as an offering to the Lord. By singing His glory and speaking about Him to others is vaachika, verbal service. To think about Him all the time, dhruva smrthi as Ramanuja puts it, which is persistent and consistent remembrance of the Lord, and exist only as the instrument of the Lord is maansika, mental service.

This idea is beautifully explained by Kulasekhara in His Mukundamala.

jihve kirthaya kesavam muraripum chetho bhaja SreeDharam

pANidhvandhva tham archaya achutha kaThAh Srothradhvaya thvam Srunu

krshNam lokaya lochanadhvaya hareh gacchAnghriyugma Alayam

jighra ghrANa mukundha pAdhathulaseem moorDhan nam aDhokshajam

Oh tongue, sing about Kesava., the slayer of Mura. Oh mind, think of SreeDhara. Two hands, you worship Him , Two ears, you hear the stories about Achyutha. Oh eyes, look at Krishna. Pair of feet, you go to the temple of Hari. Oh nose, you smell the tulsi leaves from the feet of Mukundha. Oh head, bow down to ADhokshaja.

When all the senses are thus engaged in the service of the Lord they will cease to be attracted by the worldly sensual pleasures.

There may arise a doubt as to whether this will remove the results of past karma which have to be experienced and exhausted, the next pasuram gives the answer.

9.odunga avankaN odungalum ellaam

vidum pinnum aakaai vidumpozhudhu eNNE

avankaN odunga- when one employs his body , speech and mind in His service,

odungalum ellaam- all karma

vidum- will leave us.

Pinnum- even after that

Aakaai vidumpozhudhu- till one leaves the body

eNN- Remember the Lord.

When we employ all the three means of action in His service the past karma will perish. But the body will have to remain till the prarabdha karma is exhausted. Hence till the soul leaves the body one should remember Him alone.

To a devotee who engages his body mind and speech in the service of the Lord all the karma that are yet to fructify, sanchithakarma, are destroyed. Since he is doing everything as an offering to the Lord he does not accumulate any more karma, aagaami karma. But the karma that has already stated giving result, praarabdhakarma, has to be exhausted only through experience. Hence the body will remain till then and that is why Azvar says that one has to remember the Lord till he leaves this body after which there will be no more embodiment.

10.eNperukkannalatthoN poruL eeRila vaNpugaz naaraNan thiNkazal sErE

Resort to the infallible feet of Narayana, who possesses infinitely auspicious qualities , and the abode of all beings innumerable who are in reality immortal and of the nature of knowledge.

This pasuram is an explanation of the ashtakshara manthra.

The individual souls are innumerable,eNperukku, are of three kinds , baddha, muktha and nithya. Those who are bound by karma are baddhas, those who are released from bondage are mukthas and those who are always immortal like Sesha, Garuda, Vishvaksena etc are nitthyas. All these in reality, annalatthu, have knowledge by nature, oN poruL, and are immortal, eeRu ila. The praNava of the ashtakshara denotes Narayna by the syllable ‘a’ the individual souls by the syllable ‘ma’ denotes the jiva. The syllable ‘u’ is either explained as Lakshmi, to whom and Narayana the jiva is the sesha or means ‘only as per the veda. This means that the jiva is the sesha only of Narayana.

Narayana is the substratum of all. The word Narayana is derived as naaraaNaam ayanam. He is the abode of all beings, denoting the transcendence or as naraaH ayanam yasya, in which case it means that He is in everything, denoting the imminence. How to understand that this means only Lord Vishnu and no one else? It is because naaraH means both beings and waters and it denotes the one who has made Hi abode the ocean, that is Narayana.

Hence eNperukku eeRu ila oN poruL, besides meaning the jives who form the sarira of Narayana, also means the Lord Himself who has infinitely auspicious qualities and the absolute immortal reality, who is mentioned as vaNpugaz naaraNan, and azvar asks us to resort to His feet, kazal sEr, which are firm and known to be the steadfast refuge to the devotees, thiN kazal.

The word sEr means ‘resort to His feet.’ This refersto the third part of ashtkshara manthra, ‘namaH.’ Thus the pasuram clarifies the doubt that to attain salvation what should we do. Resort to His feet by means of ashrtakshara manthra.

11.sertthadam then kurugur sadagopan sol seerthodai aayiratthu orttha ippatthe

The words of Sadagopa (Nammazvar), who belongs to Thirukkurugur which has many beautiful ponds, extolling the glory of the Lord, are the clarification of the means to salvation.

Sertthadam means beautiful thadaagam, ponds.

Seer means glory thodai refers to the continuity of merits of the Lord.

Orttha refers to the explanation of the goal as the Lord and the means as the prapatthi.