11. Lord’s Grace is like the Sun's rays

Teachings to treasure, teachings that transform. 

Thirumoolar Thavamozhi

Motivation

11. Lord's Grace is like the Sun's rays

 

Our Saint Thirumoolar has learned and mastered many forms of science and arts. He is proficient in medicine, chemistry, physics, astronomy, and others. His poems comprise words that  are within the reach of common people. But the wisdom that he shares based on his personal experience are often beyond common man’s knowledge. We can see the astonishing flavor these in several places in our Saint’s works.

To share principles that are beyond common person’s knowledge or intellect, our Saint will point as examples facts that are detectable with common person’s knowledge.

The sun stone is like a magnifying glass. When we keep this stone above a piece of cotton and pass sun light through the stone, the cotton will catch fire.

 

The sun stone has the capability to gather sun’s rays. Cotton has the ability to catch fire. However, if we simply pack the sun stone and cotton together in our bag, does the cotton catch fire ? No.  We need to show the stone where there is sun ! Only then will the stone gather the sun’s light and pass it to the cotton! Taking this natural fact as example our Saint Thirumoolar explains a sacred principle of the self.

 

சூரிய காந்தமும் சூழ்பஞ்சும் போலவே

சூரிய காந்தம் சூழ்பஞ்சைச் சுட்டிடா

 

He says that the individual self (atma) is shrouded by the three types of dirt, is similar to keep the sun stone and cotton wrapped in our bag. The atma which is like the sun stone, cannot burn out the cotton, which is the attachment that binds us!

 

 

சூரியன் சந்நிதி யிற்சுடு மாறுபோல்

ஆரியன் தோற்றமுன் அற்ற மலங்களே.  5

 

Unless and until lord comes down as a divine teacher, transmits his divine knowledge into the individual soul (atma), the three types of dirt, namely ego, karma and illusion, will not be burnt!

 

Like how the sun stone and the cotton are wrapped together, the atma  (the sun stone)is wrapped by  the three types of dirt (cotton) within the body. In order to remove the dirt, what should one do with the sun stone? One should point the sun stone towards the lord who is the embodiment of knowledge. If that is done, the dirt will be burnt out as how the cotton burns out.

சூரிய காந்தம் சூழ்பஞ்சைச் சுட்டிடா

The individual atma cannot by itself, dispose the dirt that binds!

 

சூரியன் சந்நிதி யிற்சுடு மாறுபோல்

ஆரியன் தோற்றமுன் அற்ற மலங்களே.  

 

சூரியன் சந்நிதியில் – in front of the sun.  சுடுமாறுபோல் – as it is burnt. ஆரியன் – the lord’s form as the teacher of divine knowledge.  தோற்றமுன் – when the lords’ benevolent attention flows into the individual soul, by the light of that vision. அற்ற – is used to convey that they will removed undoubtedly. மலங்களே – refers to the three types of dirt that wrap the individual soul. The ending ஏ – emphasizes that they will certainly be removed.

 

If the individual keeps himself firmly in front of the altar of lord who is the teacher of divine knowledge, the dirt that binds is burnt by the radiation of the divine; just like how the sun’s rays coming through a magnifying glass burns the cotton.

 

The philosophy is that according to the state of the individual soul, the lord comes down as teacher and grants the relevant knowledge. Our saint nicely explains in this poem this great truth, in which the divine teacher is compared to the sun, the teacher’s grace is compared to the sun’s rays, the individual atma is compared to the sun stone, and the three types of dirt are the cotton.

To read other translated pages in these posts, see: Thirumoolar

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