[Advaita-l] Sivaanandalahari -61

[Anbu sivam2]

Sivaanandalahari -61 (1)

अन्कोलम् निजबीजसन्ततिरयस्कान्तोपलम् सूचिका
साध्वि नैजविभुम् लता क्षितिरुहम् सिन्धु: सरिद्वल्लभम्
प्राप्नोतीह यथा तथा पशुपते: पादारविन्दद्वयम्
चेतोवृत्तिरुपेत्य तिष्ठति सदा सा भक्तिरित्युच्यते ॥ ६१ ॥


ankolam nijabIjasantatirayaskAntopalam sUchikA
sAdhvi naijavibhum latA kShitiruham sindhu: saridvallabham
prApnotIha yathA tathA paSupate: pAdAravindadvayam
cetovRuttirupetya tiShThati sadA saa bhaktirityuchyate || 61 ||

Like the real seed progeny reaches for the mother ankola tree,
Like the iron needle reaches for the load stone.
Like the chaste woman reaches for her lord,
Like the tender creeper reaches for near by trees,
Like the river reaches for the sea,
If the spirit of the mind,
Reaches for the lotus feet of Pasupathi,
And stays there always,
Then that state is called devotion.

*Commentary

*
‘Ya sarvEdEvaa: namanthi mumukshava: Brahmavaadhinascha ithi’ says the
Sruthi. It says that Everyone from jeevanmuktha to ordinary praaNi do
namaskaaram to ParamEswara indicating the importance of Bhakthi. Moreover,
Naradha Bhakthi Soothram says: ‘thrisathyasya bhakthirEva ghareeyasee
bhakthirEva ghareeyasee’ underscoring the importance of bhakthi. In this
sloka BhagavathpaadhaaL amplifies the siddhaantha of bhakthi, its greatness
and its swaroopa lakshaNam.

The seeds of angOla tree when they ripen fall on the ground and without
human intervention they race towards the tree. Likewise the needle is
attracted to the magnet by nature. A pathivrathaa gets behind her bharthaa.
A creeper seeks the nearby tree and hugs its way up. The river inexorably
reaches the ocean. In the same way if the mind without frittering itself
surrenders at the lotus feet of Pasupathi bringing peace and quiet to
itself, that would be the utmost Bhakthi. That bhakthi should be beyond
measure.  This is the thaathparyam of the naaradha soothra:

'anirvachaneeyam prEmasvaroopam'.

That is everyone has this anirvachaneeya prEma only with his own aathmaa.
Actually it is the case with sakala praaNis.  Even if he is a fool he will
have utmost prEma only with his own aathmaa.   What we know from this is
that only Aathmaa alone is the substance entirely of Aanandha.  A person
would not place his prEma on a vasthu that is different from aathmaa. People
give up everything when there is haani to the aathma.

(continued in 61 (2) )