Garland of Guru's Sayings
Guru Vachaka Kovai (
citations)
© Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, India First Edition : 1990 Second Edition : 1996 Third Edition : 2007 Fourth Edition : 2016 CC No. : 1086 ISBN : 978-81-8288-081-8 Published by : V.S.Ramanan
Publisher’s Note
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Introduction
Born to Sri Krishna Iyer of Ramanathapuram in 1890, the child was originally named Sambamurti. However, his official name was C.K.Subramanya Iyer. He, who in later years would sing and pour out verses in torrents, could hardly speak and was almost dumb till the age of five. Having lost his father early in life, he lived in Coimbatore and received his education there.
He grew up in an atmosphere of Tamil learning and evinced a deep love for his mother tongue; consequently he specialised in it and soon became a highly accomplished scholar in this ancient and vibrantly alive language. He was a Pandit- member in the lexicon committee presided over by Dr.Chandler.
Having studied the Tirukkural thoroughly he followed its precepts meticulously in his life. Out of love for Tamil he changed his name to Mugavai Kanna Muruganar (see v. 13 of The Garland), corresponding to his original name.
Not only was he a noted scholar, but also a spiritually oriented nationalist and he was greatly influenced by Gandhiji’s liberation movement. His first volume of poems was “Swatantra Gitam” (‘Songs of Independence’). He first came to Sri Bhagavan in 1923. This darshan and the intense gaze of Sri Bhagavan transformed his being. When thus he came under the spell of the Master, all lesser lights were absorbed in the radiance of His Presence and he never again wrote on any theme other than the glory and the sayings of the Master. Sri Muruganar himself tells us what happened when he came to Sri Bhagavan:
With blazing, bright, unwinking eyes
He gazed and drunk in my whole Being.
Swept off by such enchanting beauty
His utter slave I have become.
To sing His praises, to praise His Presence and to explain His teachings the poet uses words which, whether richly sensuous or austerely intellectual, are invariably appropriate, while his repertory of metrical form is astounding in its vastness, flexibility and power. Like some great temple complex, with its shrines and towers, its water tanks and groves, the immense output of this extraordinarily gifted poet constitutes a massive and worthy monument to the Master, whose mighty message Sri Muruganar manages to convey, because he is himself a consummate and humble scholar, poet, saint.
Sri Muruganar’s self-effacement was total and he sat immortal in the shadow of Ramana’s Feet. He passed away on August 28, 1973 amidst the chanting of the devotees in praise of Sri Arunachala and Sri Ramana.
K.Swaminathan Sri Ramanasramam29.9.1990
Table of Contents
Invocation to the Guru 1
Name and Genesis of this Treatise 4
This Treatise But Restores 8
Author's Humble Apology 10
Dedication 12
The Author 13
PART I - THE QUEST
Ch. Title
Invocation
1. Actuality of the World
2. Unreality of the World
3. Allurement of the World
4. Aridity of the World
5. Playing One's Roles in the World
6. Illusory Appearances (Vivarta)
7. Doctrine of No Creation (Ajata)
8. Why Diverse Theories of Creation
9. Part Played by God
10. The Three Prime Entities
11. Veiling (Tiroda)
12. Individuality (Vyakti)
13. Wrong Identification
14. The Pandit
15. The Poet
16. Futility of Mere Learning
17. Truth of Vedanta
18. The Course of Prarabdha
19. The Power of Prarabdha
20. False Jiva and Self
21. Strength of Vasanas
22. The Ego-Knot
23. The Ego's Strength
24. The Ego's Dance
25. Treachery to the Self
26. Heaven and Hell
27. Terror of Hell (Naraka)
28. Victory over Naraka
29. Turning Inward
30. The Kingdom of God
31. Sivahood
32. Non-Difference of Hari and Hara
33. Sakti and Siva
34. Siva-Worship
35. Meaning of Prostration
36. Image-Worship
37. Sacred Ashes (Vibhuti)
38. Riding the Bull
39. Sakti and Santi
40. Macro and Micro
41. Desire for Thaumaturgic Powers (Siddhis)
42. True Immortality
43. Elixir for Immortality
44. Body-Preservation
45. Of Non-Attachment
46. Awareness IS Detachment
47. Mind's Puissance
48. Inner Purity
49. Of Death
50. Locus of Life
51. The Heart
52. The True Guru
53. Guru's Grace
54. Certitude
55. The Left-Over (Uchishtam)
56. Reverence to the Guru
57. Guru's Greatness
58. Of Satsang
59. The Greatness of Devotees
60. Of Brahma-Vidya (Knowledge of Brahman)
61. The Living Truth in Religions
62. Infinite Vision
63. Ego-Loss
64. The True I
65. Self Awakening
66. Freedom from Sorrow
67. Desirelessness
68. Freedom from Bondage
69. Self-Enquiry
70. True Penance (Tapas)
71. Awareness
72. Nirvana
73. Self-Realization
74. Firm Awareness
75. Enjoyment of Bliss
76. Sleep
77. True Being
78. Ending of Doership
79. Non-Action
80. Self-Surrender
81. How to Treat Enemies
82. Moderation in Life
83. The Sin of Excess
84. Meekness
85. What is Worth Doing
PART II - CONTINUED PRACTICE
Ch. Title 86. Teaching and Learning 87. Mahavakyas 88. The Upanishads 89. Worship 90. Silent Worship 91. Vanity of Argument 92. Maya of Measurement 93. Indirect Knowledge 94. Jiva One Only 95. Knowledge and Ignorance 96. Illusion 97. Waking Dream 98. Different States 99. Deeds Good and Bad 100. Dyads and Triads 101. Sense Pleasures 102. Illusion of the Mind 103. Ignorance 104. Immaturity 105. Forgetfulness 106. Samsara 107. Afflictions 108. Wonderful Maya 109. The Harm of Praise 110. Evil of Egotism 111. Origin of Sorrow 112. The Jiva (Separate Self) 113. The Jiva's Unreality 114. The World's "Reality" 115. Denotative Knowledge 116. Ending Indicative Knowledge 117. Love 118. Embodiment as Form 119. Five-Fold Function 120. Freedom from Doership 121. Jiva's Creation and God's 122. The Process of Neti (Not this) 123. Freedom from Vasanas 124. True Fasting 125. Diet Regulation 126. True Purity 127. Freedom from Desire 128. Sense-Control 129. Conquest of the Senses 130. Asanas 131. Becoming Pure 132. Breath-Control 133. Secret of Karma 134. Japa 135. The True Temple 136. The Holy Name 137. Bhakti 138. Bhakti-Jnana Identity 139. Bhakti-Vichara 140. One-Pointed Devotion 141. Dhyana-Vichara 142. Meditation on Form 143. Meditation on Space 144. Meditation on Time 145. Steady, Continuous Meditation (Nididhydsana) 146. Other Sadhanas 147. Aids to Enquiry 148. Completion of Sadhana 149. Meditation and Discrimination (Viveka) 150. Pure Being (Summa Irutthal) 151. The Separate "I" 152. The Basic Quest 153. Seeker's Conduct 154. Peace 155. Disciple's Conduct 156. Real Compassion for Creatures 157. Rites for Ancestors 158. Service to "Others" 159. Sympathy 160. Question 161. Equality 162. Testimony of Conscience 163. Truthfulness 164. Detachment 165. The Greatness of Renunciation 166. True Renunciation 167. The Whole Mind 168. Destruction of the Ego 169. True Being 170. Who is the Witness ?
PART III - EXPERIENCE OF REALITY
Ch. Title 171. Direct Knowledge 172. Eternal Awareness 173. Nirvikalpa Samadhi 174. Changelessness 175. Solitude 176. Non-Attachment 177. Destruction of Mind 178. The Defunct Mind 179. Omniscience 180. Transcendence of Turiya (Turiyatita) 181. Wholeness and Movement 182. Severing the Knot 183. Fulfilment 184. Non-Existence of Suffering 185. The Pervasiveness of Deep Sleep 186. Waking Sleep 187. Non-Dual Awareness 188. Grace 189. Sat-Chit-Ananda 190. Being 191. All Is Brahman 192. Harmony 193. Childlikeness 194. Union with the Atman 195. The Grandeur of Awareness 196. Cosmic Consciousness 197. The Sky of Awareness 198. The Inner Space 199. Making That Known 200. The Atman 201. The Puissance of the Self 202. Nature of the Self 203. The Grandeur of the Self (Atman) 204. The Self Supreme (Paramatman) 205. Freedom from Fear 206. Advaita (Non-Duality) 207. Atheism 208. True Faith 209. Eternal Freedom 210. Authentic Living 211. The Formless 212. Sahaja Nishta (Those in the Natural State) 213. The Sthitaprajna (Steadfast Awareness) 114. After the Knot is Cut Asunder 215. The Power of the Great Ones 216. Service to the Great Ones 217. Ending of Vasanas 218. Jivanmuktas (Liberated while Alive) 219. Jnanis 220. The Jnani's Actions 221. Self-Abidance 222. Might of Mouna 223. Pure Mouna 224. Supreme Bhakti 225. The Miracle of Jnana 226. Brahman 227. Mukti 228. The Truth Supreme 229. True Being 230. Transcendence of Thought 231. Describing the Experience 232. Equanimity Invocation Section Page Appendix To Verse 882 241 Glossary 243 Index 249
Sri Bhagavan's verses (BH) with their corresponding reference to The Collected Works.
(The number of the verse given with each verse is that of the preceding verse).
BH 1 (125) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.12 BH 2 (169) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.15 BH 3 (171) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.17 BH 4 (182) Dipavali (Occasional v.7) BH 5 (183) Dipavali (Occasional v.8) BH 6 (216) Stray Verse 5 BH 7 (222) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.16 BH 8 (262) Five Verses to the Self, v.03 BH 9 (565) Five Verses to the Self, v.01 BH10 (682) Stray Verse 3 BH11 (702) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.l4 BH12 (706) Stray Verse 2 BH13 (731) Stray Verse 4 BH14 (801) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.39 BH15 (802) Stray Verse 7 BH16 (815) Apology to Hornets BH17 (848) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.13 BH18 (939) The Supplement to The Forty Verses BH19 (958) Sleep While Awake v.32 BH20 (1031) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.28 BH21 (1105) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.31 BH22 (1134) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.30 BH23 (1145) The Supplement to The Forty Verses, v.33 BH24 (1148) Occasional Verse 9 (from the Rama Gita) BH25 (1151) The Forty Verses, v.31 BH26 (1166) Stray Verse 6 (from the Bhagavad Gita) BH27 (1181) Stray Verse 8 (from the Panchadasi) BH28 (1227) Stray Verse 9 (from Gaudapada Karika on the Mandukya Upanishad)