Pain-killer of Scalpel?

2

அழித்துப் பிறக்கவொட் டாஅயில் வேலன் கவியையன்பால்
எழுத்துப் பிழையறக் கற்கின்றி லீரெரி மூண்டதென்ன
விழித்துப் புகையெழப் பொங்கு வெங் கூற்றன் விடுங் கயிற்றாற்
கழுத்திற் சுருக்கிட் டிழுக்குமன் றோகவி கற்கின்றதே.

"Is the day to learn the hymns the day when the Lord of Death with his staring eyes bursts upon you as a fire explodes with smoke, and pulls your throat, knotted within his rope!"

Here again, the threat of death.

What is God to us? Is he the pain-killer that gives us relief, or a surgeon's scalpel, that removes the malignant disease from us?

I think if when we pray to God to ensure that our projects have a positive outcome, and to free ourselves from pain, we are using God as a pain-killer. But instead, if we look to our state of mind, and pray for independence and freedom from its reactions to adverse circumstances, then God is as a surgeon's scalpel to us.

The Sharp Point of Death

2

அழித்துப் பிறக்கவொட் டாஅயில் வேலன் கவியையன்பால்
எழுத்துப் பிழையறக் கற்கின்றி லீரெரி மூண்டதென்ன
விழித்துப் புகையெழப் பொங்கு வெங் கூற்றன் விடுங் கயிற்றாற்
கழுத்திற் சுருக்கிட் டிழுக்குமன் றோகவி கற்கின்றதே.

This is rather a simple and uncomplicated verse. It underlines the necessity of devotion, citing the reality of death.

Ayil velan kaviyai anbal ezhuthu pizhai ara karkindrileer:  You do not learn with love to praise the one with sharp spear, meaning Lord Muruga.

As long as we have a sense of identity with the body, we cannot but fear our vulnerability, and out of that fear we feel compelled to worship a higher power. Whether that power is a person like us, what kind of personality it has are questions that are not really relevant to our needs. We project whatever we feel impelled to, and whether God is really 'real' is only a theoretical question. Some of us will worship, no matter what our intellect tells us to do.

What matters is that the devotion is not mercenary, but that there is an element of love and sincerity in it. Our devotion should not be for more and more of me and mine, but for less me and for less mine.

All this sounds idealistic, but if our devotion is to help us in the moment of crisis when our psychological investments are threatened, it should be grounded in selflessness and love. In that sense, devotion with an attitude of surrender is a preparation for death, and an acceptance of life as it is- uncertain, verging on destruction.