Arunagiri Malai.

Arunagiri Malai

By Guhai Namasivaya

(Translated by Robert Butler)

Benedictory Verse

In composing this garland in praise of Mount Arunagiri

Who dwells in the world as a column of fire,

Sought in vain by the swan and the boar,

We invoke the protection of Lord Ganapati,

The child who leads the elephant hordes,

In whom all good qualities are embodied.

Holy Mount Aruna whom the world reveres,

Through your grace you have brought wisdom

Into the heart of a fool such as I

So that in the flawless glory

Of your musk-drenched holy foot

My spirit might be seeped.

Lord Arunagiri, dispeller of our actions' fruit,

Never have I performed an act deeming it righteous

Nor refrained from one realising its wrongness,

Without you to inspire and guide my every move.

Often will the holy feet

Of tank-girt southern Arunachala's King

Enter my sinner's heart;

A life-giving support upon my lonely journey,

They will fulfil my every aspiration.

Lord Sankara!

With foot and eye

You trampled and burned Yama and Kama.

And now my thoughts have no fit object,

Noble Lord Arunachala,

But your own two feet.

Were I to perform countless evil deeds

That bind the soul,

Those bonds could not grip and hold me,

For I have beheld the lotus foot of Aruna's Lord

Whose glory Mal and lotus-born Brahma sing.

Dispeller of the wicked deeds

Of those who meditate upon you!

Arunagiri's King!

Bridegroom of the gods! When will it be

That my sensual desires are cut away,

And I reach and dwell at your golden foot?

Speak, my Lord? When will it be?

I am a worthless wretch who never yearned

For the bliss of pure consciousness,

Never contemplated in his heart of hearts

That supreme and arduous path.

What way could there be for one such as I

To slough off the burden of former deeds?

What way to praise your golden foot

And wear it as an ornament?

You whose flowery foot unfolds victorious

In our hearts, Aruna's eternal Lord!

In an instant the powerful residues of former deeds

And the soul's threefold impurity

Will all be reduced to ash

If only we fix our minds upon

The bejewelled lotus of the foot.

You who hold dominion over the minds

Of those who love you!

Wise Lord of Arunachala!

King whose liberality is unfailing!

Although I have paid heed to those

Who, desirous of gaining your holy foot,

Have established it within their hearts,

Alone and destitute I cannot cleanse the stain

From my own sinful heart.

Lord of Arunachala, who conquered my heart

On a day so hard to describe!

For a dog such as I it is equally fitting

Whether you thrust away from you

Or gather up and protect

This head that I have laid at your feet.

Lord of Arunachala, provider of sustenance!

Will there be further births

Upon this wide earth

For those who praise you,

Even if they are not free of the effects of former deeds,

Of their mind's wandering and other distinctions?

If they have not abandoned the sense of self?

My heart, we have attained to the knowledge

Of Arunachala's King whom we revere and praise

So that we may worship him in his temple

And glorify him time and time again.

Rejoicing, we have put to flight and banished

All our evil ways.

Since you are my Master

And I am one of your herd,

Divine Lord of Arunachala,

Consider this:

If there is any fault with that herd

The responsibility lies with the Master alone.

If you do not guard me from evil,

It is not I but you alone

The world will blame!

Lord Sankara, dwelling upon Aruna's Mount,

You who never come near the hearts of the deceitful!

For a wretch such as I

Who has not sought the supreme state

Nor laid aside secular works

Nor enshrined a holy teacher in his heart of stone,

What recourse can there be?

Speak!

My spirit, what cause is there for distress

Now that you have spoken the name

Of him who knows no equal?

Now that, grasping their meaning,

You have uttered aloud the five holy letters

Of Arunachala's Lord, the eternal one

Who in former times knew the demon's heart

And punished him?

Our inner eye will blossom, my heart of stone!

As for the worlds that lotus-borne Brahma fashions,

It will be in our power to create them all,

If only we think upon and praise the two feet

Of Arunachala's Lord,

Of him who tore out the great tooth of the sun,

Whom none can approach!

Though we learn to drink the bitter sap of plants

And water choked with dead leaves,

Though we learn to eat in the morning only,

Can anything be gained

Other than what is freely granted

By our Lord and God of Arunachala,

From whose lofty trident

A flower garland hangs?

Speak!

If you ask a fool which is greater,

Impurity or the power of Arunachala's Lord,

He will be convinced that the answer is impurity.

However, the Lord will know those true devotees

Whose minds have grasped the supreme,

And he will enter and dwell within their hearts,

However subtle the impurity.

King whose adornments are manifold!

Arunachala's Lord!

Transcender of time, in whose brow

An eye is set!

My own Father whose throat darkened

As the tide of poison rose!

Will the day come

That I break free

From the round of births?

My heart, if we are chastised

By the good Lord of Arunachala

So that the evil in us is driven out,

Is it to do us harm?

Does the washerman feel any anger

When he beats clothing on a stone

To remove the dirt?

Ever worshipping him and praising him

With melting hearts

And performing sweet service,

His devotees will behold

The two feet of Aruna's Lord

Who bears the chill moon in his locks.

Swiftly they will hasten

Towards their final liberation.

I shall sell my worldly goods,

Bring gifts to a suitable place,

Set them out and make offerings;

Such is the service I now offer you.

Why do you remain thus,

Lord of Arunachala

Without any belief in me?

Immovable Mountain,

You who are ever mindful

Of those who in their hearts

Trust you alone and no other!

Formerly you were known as the Lord

Who watches over those

Who seek his protection.

But what now, my Lord of Arunachala?

Our Master and Lord of Arunachala,

If we do not trust in

The fair lotus of your foot,

If we do not recite the five syllables

Of your noble and holy name

And smear out bodies with the sacred ash that purifies,

to cross the powerful,

Never-ceasing torrent of births

Will be difficult indeed.

You who slew the lion-god Vishnu

Who himself had slain

The huge and warlike demon Hiranya!

Great Lord of Arunachala,

Who swallowed the poison as it arose!

Who is there who could know your form?

Speak!

There are worthless tongues:

The bell has one,

As does a pair of scales.

There are the evil tongues

Of the unrighteous.

Tell me, Arunachala's King,

Is not the noble tongue

That praises your five-lettered name

The only one that knows true sweetness?

There is no general who would dare

To lead his army into battle

Against those who revere the foot

Of our Lord of Arunachala

Whose glory is known through the learned Vedas

And numerous other related works,

Our leader who rides a prancing bull.

Yama knows his foot,

Vishnu, his savage spear and battle axe.

Brahma knows his intent,

Parvati his physical form.

Beyond this,

Who can know the form of Arunachala's Lord?

Speak!

Tell me,

Why those great tomes?

And why the six religious systems?

Why this talk of austerities,

And why these thoughts of fasting

When desire's eternal onslaught

Can be quelled by Aruna'a Lord,

For whom my heart possesses

The greatest desire of all?

You may intone the scriptures;

You may know all there is to know

About the world as it exists

From its beginning to its final end.

But what of that?

Those who have no love

For Mount Aruna's flawless Teacher,

Whose justice ever prevails,

Will remain in bondage,

Condemned in this world and the next.

Unless it is so ordained

By our Lord of Arunachala,

Who creates the universe in its entirety

And then draws it back into himself,

The fevered mind, though it suffer

A hundred thousand painful thoughts,

Will not be one atom better,

Or for that matter, one atom worse.

Taking birth as plant and animal,

Those who have not paid homage

To the foot of the perfect one,

The Lord of Arunachala

Whom even the conquering Kama failed to subdue,

Will wander ceaselessly upon the earth.

The Lord of Arunachala,

He who sports with his royal consort,

Will remain within the hearts

Of those whose one desire

Is to behold him in the guise

Of the blissful dancer of Tillai's hall.

He will not make his home

In the hearts of those

Who despise his friends.

What may be the holy state

Of those whose great treasure

Is Arunachala, eternally glorious,

I do not know.

I am a simple devotee

Who worships his golden foot.

Before I leave this body

Will that divine vision be mine,

Or will it pass away?

The effects of ancient deeds,

Sin and a multitude of afflictions,

Poverty and inescapable death,

All will disappear

For those who stand alone,

Praising him whose forehead bears a third eye,

Our sweet Lord Arunagiri!

You who swallowed the poison

Dripping from a serpent's fang

As if it were sweet ambrosia,

Our Lord of Aruna's Mount!

If you do not take pity on me

And take me to yourself

Like a mother with her new-born child,

A loving father, or a holy teacher,

What other salvation can there be

For a poor wretch such as I?

My spirit, accept the protection

Of the King, who justly ordains

Every birth we must endure

On salvation's path,

Our Lord of Arunachala,

Who cleaves to us

And rules our hearts.

If you have any wavering thoughts,

Put them aside!

Nowhere in this world

Have we seen unique miracles like those

Performed by the sage of Arunachala

Whose glory spreads far and wide.

When he walked upon the earth

He had cause to kill Yama with a kick

And flay the skin of a tiger

Wearing a form no eye could endure.

Listen, my heart, while I tell you

Something wondrous indeed:

Those who have paid homage

To the Lord of Arunachala,

Who wears the dark ocean's poison,

And have immersed themselves

In the holy tank where he once bathed,

Shall never again be immersed,

Mark you well, in the waters of a mother's womb.

Come, Lord of Arunachala,

Grant me my one desire,

Which is to sing your praises!

The whole world will praise

Those who have renounced it,

As long as they in turn praise you.

But if they forget you

The world will revile them

And call them wicked.

To be as rulers of the earth;

To live like the gods in heaven;

To be united with the red lotus of his foot;

Such will be the lot of those

Who meditate upon the name of him

Whose ornaments are human bones

And a cobra with a spreading hood,

Our Lord of Arunachala.

Hard indeed would it be

For anyone to change

What the Lord has ordained.

But the false-hearted of this world

Do not believe it, alas.

They do not seek the goodness

Of Arunagiri's Lord,

But wander from birth to birth,

Suffering in vain.

Those whose tongues speak not

The name of the wise one

Who consumed the ocean's poison,

Our heavenly protector,

The Lord of southern Arunachala,

Will suffer great distress,

Seeking only earthly pleasures,

And speaking to others of pleasure only.

Even if the rains fall

And famine comes,

And the messengers of death stalk the earth,

Those who pay homage to the holy one

Whose munificence is ever unfailing

Towards those who worship his golden foot,

The devotees of Arunachala's Lord,

Will not deviate from their path.

Other than him,

We revere no other God.

As for those who do so,

We consider them worthless.

Those who love earthly things

Will not win our esteem,

But for the Lord of Arunachala,

Our praise will be without limit.

Those who have seen the glory

That Vishnu could not see,

Nor Brahma on his white lotus pad,

Will speak thus:

'Earth's eight-shouldered Godhead, Lord of Arunagiri!

Your noble consort

Shares your very form. See, is it not so.'

Dear heart, of what use is anything

That originates in mental activity?

There are those who, to their grief,

Have no love for Arunachala's fair Lord,

But, imitating the righteous,

Heap garlands at his feet and cry out:

'Lord of the matted locks, our salvation!'

As for us, we shall not thus abuse his name.

For those who have sought refuge

At the feet of the holy one

Whose body is smeared with ash,

He whose name is sweet

Upon the lips of his devotees,

There will be no death.

Nor can there be any sin

For those who praise him.

Searching earth and heaven

As a boar and as a swan,

Did either Vishnu or Brahma

See his head or his foot?

In the end, their knowledge

Of Arunachala's Lord Sankara

Amounted to nothing.

Who else, then, could know him

Through and through,

His beginning and his end?

My heart,

He who sent the three cities

Of his demon enemies

Tumbling down upon the broad earth,

The Lord of Arunachala

Will come to my aid,

Entering my very soul.

What, then, have you to fear?

Speak!

If you devote to Aruna's Lord

One hundredth part of the desire

You lavish on bright-eyed maidens,

You will, without a shadow of doubt,

Discover his true nature, my heart,

And win for yourself eternal life.

Even if the devotees of Aruna's Lord

Embraced evil, committing sinful deeds,

Those deeds would not adhere to them

And grip them in return;

No more than a barren woman

However much she had intercourse,

Would become with child.

Listen, my heart, to this wondrous news,

Never before proclaimed upon the earth:

Those who cross the broad threshold

That fosters the holy service

Of the Primal One, Aruna's Lord,

And make obeisance to him there,

Will never again pass through

The door of a mother's womb.

This you should know.

Lord of Mount Arunagiri,

You who manifest as the sense organs,

Merging inseparably with the five senses,

Dwelling deathlessly

Where no hand can reach

And cast you out,

Tell me, what way is there

To subdue and control all this?

To cut off our desires is the teacher's duty.

Is this any different

From banishing our soul's original defilement?

Lord of Arunachala,

The presence of desire upon this broad earth

Is freely granted.

Is it any different then

To grant that that same desire

Might be destroyed?

What sin can there be

To say that the Lord of Arunachala

Is the creator

Rather than Brahma or Vishnu?

When Lord Siva cut off

One of Brahma's five heads

Was the 'creator' able to recreate that?

Apart from Mother Uma and Father Arunachala

What other family is there for all that lives?

Speak!

All things, diminished at first

Through their birth,

Grow to greatness

By dint of long austerities.

There are some men who seek our father,

The Lord of Arunachala,

Not knowing that he dwells for all time

Within the hearts of those

Who praise him in song

As he dances his dance of bliss.

Such men run hither and thither,

Their minds in confusion,

Saying 'What might his dwelling place be?'

For those who do not fix their thoughts

Upon the red lotus foot of Annamalai's Lord

Whose upraised hand is filled with flames

And who shares his form with the maiden Ambikai,

Every day they devote to spiritual practice

Will be a day spent in vain.

Although I have so often seen

The outward form of Arunachala's Lord

Wearing, as he is wont, the auspicious snake,

My mind and body are sick and dying,

For I have experienced that manifestation

In which he becomes one with my very Self,

And failed to realise the truth of it.

Great teacher, so hard to reach

For Brahma and Vishnu,

Yet so easy for me!

Arunachala's bounteous Lord,

Know this:

That just as a song and its melody

Are eternally one with each other,

Your form never leaves my eye,

Never fades from my sight.

Listen, my heart, it will be to you

As if you surveyed all the encircling earth

Without need of any conveyance

When you are born as a devotee of Arunachala's Lord,

Worshipping the lotus foot of the immaculate One

Who wears the fair rudraksha beads.

Should you aspire to be delivered

From the cycle of pleasure and pain

That has hounded you from ancient times,

You should know, my heart,

That except through the divine presence

Of the Lord of the matted locks,

Who dwells on holy Arunachala,

There can be no escape.

Seeing the fragrant golden foot,

The ruddy features, shining with grace

Of abiding Arunachala's Lord,

Never harbouring a single false desire,

You wander on and on, my heart.

But when will you bathe in bliss' flood?

Ask… When?

Who could exist upon the earth,

Lord of Arunachala,

If you alone did not exist?

Without being born, you are.

Could then anyone die

Once they have taken birth in this world?

See, my heart,

When troubles come,

Arunachala's Lord will rush to the attack,

Protecting his devotees against them,

Just as the hand will instinctively grasp

A garment that is about to become untied.

In this there is no room for doubt.

Upon Mount Arunachala

Where lotus-filled tanks

And paddy fields,

All put forth a crop of pearls,

Lord Sankara, adorned with Uma's form,

You burn up the blossoms of doubt!

How then could it be, that in anger,

You consumed the god of love in flames?

Tell me, how could it be?

Once at our shrine of Kanchipuram,

Accepting my surrender,

The Lord of Arunachala,

He who shares his form with Mother Uma

Placed his foot upon my head

As men looked on,

And made me his own -

Yet still I cannot believe

How this could have been.

As the bellows blow

Iron will soften and run like water,

But even though the minds of the great,

Those who delight in the one, Arunachala's Lord,

Will melt and dissolve,

Such a thing will be very hard indeed

For those of feeble mind

Who have not cut away the bonds of family and clan.

If we hold in our thoughts

The two feet of our father, Lord Arunagiri,

And meditate upon them,

We will obtain liberation,

We will abolish the deep suffering of birth,

We will reach the further shore.

I trusted in the words

That our Teacher and Master,

Lord Arunagiri, spoke to us,

Caring little

For our actions' powerful bonds,

Nor reaping the fruits

Of those good and evil deeds,

We shall dwell, my heart,

In the state of bliss.

I have seen and I have understood

And now I see no more of actions' fruit;

Henceforth my suffering is at an end,

For in the sacred hall of Aruna's Lord

Whom in ancient times Mal and Vishnu sought in vain,

I have seen him sway to the rhythm of his holy dance.

Lord Arunachala whom the moon adorns,

For one such as I

Who has forgotten you

And cherished this lustful body,

I see no means of escape from bondage,

No place where I might take refuge

Unless it is in you.

You who dispel my weakness, Lord of Arunachala,

Will you not grant me one request,

To save this wretch from destruction?

Will you grant that this mind of mine

That is just like a swing,

Rushing one way then the other,

Shall no more pass through the portals of birth?

Lord of Arunachala! I was born,

As my mother bears witness,

And I shall die.

But what can you know of these,

You who were never born?

Tell me!

For the ignorant who have not learned

To merge their thoughts

With the lotus foot of Arunachala's Lord,

What good will it do

To multiply their austerities?

And what difference will it make

If they meditate upon holy books,

Or if they do not?

First One, Arunachala's Lord,

When will the day come

That you place your foot of burnished gold

Upon my sinner's head?

Listen to me, great king!

The heart of one who has no thought of self

Is no different from that of one

Who joyfully fixes his thoughts upon you.

You have heard how all men extol you,

Saying that you will grant liberation

To those who meditate upon you.

I am one who has sung your praises,

Eternal Lord of Arunagiri;

May you grant me this very day

Your golden foot.

If they are forgetful of him,

weighed down by a mountain of troubles,

how shall men comprehend

the words of the fiery Mountain Lord

who appeared as a column of flame,

striking fear into the hearts of Mal and Brahma

as they boasted arrogantly, 'I am the Supreme'?

Lord of Arunachala,

On whom should I, your devotee,

Fix my thoughts

When deep sorrows beset me?

At what nurturing breast might I seek refuge?

Whom should I think upon

With melting heart?

When will the day come, my heart

That you fix yourself at the foot

Of southern Arunachala's Lord

And remain there

Beyond reproach and free of desire,

Like those who have escaped from bondage,

With no desire for gold and jewels,

Free of the troubles of the world.

Not knowing the ways of him

Who drank the ocean's poison,

Having no thought in my mind

Of the lotus feet of Arunachala's Lord,

I was born, alas, into the world

And remain there

Bewildered and exhausted.

Let him pinch his nostrils,

Let him sprinkle the threefold holy waters,

Let him speak out in ringing tones -

When we consider the matter,

Can there be any profit in all this

For a sinner who does not fix his thoughts

Upon Arunachala's Lord?

If I do not trust in the twin feet

Of my father, Arunachala's Lord,

If my thoughts do not turn,

Time and time again, towards him,

What good will it do me to dress in rags?

What benefit shall I derive

From immersing myself in holy waters?

Supreme Lord, all of creation,

Moveable and immoveable, wanders in vain,

Offering no obeisance to you. Arunachala's King,

I have been born,

And may this be my final birth.

Take pity on me

That I may never take birth again.

Could it have been the reward

For chanting the sacred five syllables

And giving faithful service to my Guru

Over many, many lifetimes?

For now I have seen the golden foot

Of our refuge, Arunachala's Lord,

He who does not reveal his foot to all.

The liberation that arises in those devotees

Whose every thought is beyond reproach

And who devote themselves to the Lord of Arunachala,

He who is totally devoid of material form -

Could it ever be vouchsafed to those fools

Who are unable to cut off their attachment

To the three great desires?

Speak!

Did Brahma possess the great distinction

Of never entering the door of the womb?

Or Vishnu, who took on form

And grew to a great height?

Or any of the other gods

Whose sanctity is so great?

Other than my father and Lord of Arunachala

Is anyone so great that death cannot touch him?

Supreme Lord of Arunachala,

The teaching you impart is rare indeed,

Showing us how we may be spared

From entering a mother's womb.

In comparison,

All the teachings of other good men

Appear quite commonplace.

Fiery-eyed One

You whose breast is adorned

With a great garland of kondrai flowers!

Great Teacher!

You who flourish in your fair abode

Upon noble southern Arunachala!

Who is there who could tell your measure,

If you did not, in joy,

Proffer your golden foot And hold us in your sway?

No more shall I endure this illusory body

That is the dwelling place

Of three hundred and sixty maladies.

Lord of Arunachala,

You whose matted locks are adorned

With the waning moon and the River Ganga,

You have abolished birth henceforth

For myself, your devotee.

When will the day come that I am delivered

From the torments of 'I' and 'mine'?

You whose glory is everlasting,

Arunachala's King, our mountain refuge

Who stands before us as the essence

Of all that thought can encompass!

When will the day come that I slough off

The bondage of this physical form?

Lord of Arunachala,

The true and all-pervading supreme!

Before I breathe my last

May my eyes look upon you

As you come close to me,

And show me your golden foot,

Freeing this wretch from delusion

Through your love.

Father Arunachala whom rice fields surround!

May I never leave your presence

And be separated from you.

Free from death

May I magnify your glory

In sweet Tamil hymns.

This much you must grant me.

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