2.
பேற்றைத் தவஞ்சற்று மில்லாத வென்னைப் ப்ரபஞ்ச மென்னும்
சேற்றைக் கழிய வழிவிட்ட வாசெஞ் சடாடவிமேல்
ஆற்றைப் பணியை யிதழியைத் தும்பையை யம்புலியின்
கீற்றைப் புனைந்த பெருமான் குமரன்க்ரு பாகரனே.
Petrai, thavam chattrum illaadha ennai : I, without any merit, any arduous effort (penance)
It is worth asking what is thavam, penance, and what is merit, its fruit:
Here are Ramana Maharishi's words:
"Of course, God is required for sadhana. But the end of the Sadhana, even in Bhakti Marga, is attained only after complete surrender. What does it mean, except that effacement of ego results in Self remaining as it always has been? Whatever path one may choose, the 'I' is inescapable, the 'I' that does the nishkama karma, the 'I' that pines for joining the Lord from whom it feels it has been separated, the 'I' that feels it has slipped from its real nature, and so on. The source of this 'I' must be found out. Then all questions will be solved"
The intention is not to claim that this is what Arunagirinathar meant penance and its fruits. This is just by way of looking at what this means, in the light of what I have learnt, theoretically, of course, it goes without saying.
The real effort for us is to be without aggressively egoistical. By surrender, lack of egoism, it means to be without self-consciousness, to be spontaneous in our activities.
To worship God is not merely to praise Him, but to make less of ourselves. Less of our preferences, our advantages in our dealings with God and with fellow men, and in the course of our daily activities. This would be real worship, right?
And our efforts, by whatever way we like, whatever seems easy and happy for us, are directed towards a life of spontaneity and humility: this would be true penance. Because we are not out looking merely for the gratification of our desires.
So, this would be real penance, and its fruit will be the lack of self-consciousness, a lack of need for self-aggrandisement.
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