Chapter 2
Āzhvār advises others to seek the Lord through untainted devotion - (வீடுமின் முற்றவும்)
Knowing this body is not permanent or stable, do surrender one’s mind, speech/vows and all actions to Bhagavān alone; Āzhvār earnestly requests us to remove ego, attachments and the like, then pay obeisance and servitude to the divine feet of Sriman Narayanan whose glory is unexplainable and immeasurable.
உடல் நிலையானது அன்று என்றறிந்து, மனம், வாக்கு, செயல்களை பகவானுக்கே இட்டு, அகங்காரம் பற்று முதலியவற்றை நீக்கி, உயர்வற உயர் நலமுடைய ஸ்ரீமந்நாராயணனின் திருவடிகளை ஆச்ரயிங்கள் என்று ஆழ்வார் ஈண்டு உபதேசிக்கிறார்.
Verses: 2802 to 2812
Grammar: Vaṉjiththuṟai** / வஞ்சித்துறை
Pan: முதிர்ந்த குறிஞ்சி
Timing: NIGHT
Recital benefits: If you constantly think of only Him when you're alive on this earth, then, when you leave your body you will join Him
- Verse 1:
Give up, in toto, [all that militates against holding a rapport with God] and giving up thus, surrender yourself unto (Him) the Custodian [the great Ordainer and Granter] of SriVaikuntam (Moksham / Liberation). - Verse 2:
You will do well to pause for a while and discover for your selves that the bodies the souls get into [and look upon as the media for the enjoyment of sensual pleasures] last no more than the (fleeting) lightning. - Verse 3:
Cutting out, root and branch, all sense of ‘You’ and ‘Yours’ join the Lord; there is nothing as good as that for the Souls [there can be no greater felicity than that]. - Verse 4:
Renouncing all else, seek Him (īśvara) of limitless bliss, very different from the [seemingly] non-existent [fleeting and everchanging] material things and the ever-existing (non-changing) sentient beings [with their limiting adjuncts]. - Verse 5:
Freed from worldly attachments, the Soul attains emancipation [from the erstwhile bondage]; however, shunning that [menacing state of self-enjoyment, known as kaivalya mokṣa], seek firmly the [bliss of eternal service to the Supreme] Lord, with exclusive devotion unto Him. - Verse 6:
Īsaṉ (the Supreme Lord), being solely attached to His devotees, He is ‘All-in-One’ (everything) unto them. And so, [ye worldlings]! hold on to Him and get absorbed in serving Him exclusively. - Verse 7:
Realise that all this exceedingly enchanting cosmic wealth, you behold, is that of Īsaṉ [and that you are but a part of that]; [with this sense of belonging] it behoves you to blend yourself into it. - Verse 8:
With true awareness that the triple faculties of mental apprehension, speech and bodily actions, already at your command, are meant to be solely dedicated to Irai (the Lord), place them at His exclusive service, duly divested of all their erstwhile misplaced attachments and inhibitions. - Verse 9:
Once you (realise your true relationship with God, He, as the Proprietor and you, as His property and) dedicate yourself to Him (with this awakening), all your sins (which kept you away from Him, so long) will cease; (once the cause ceases, the effect, namely, the body which tethers you will automatically cease) await then, the day when the physical body falls off. - Verse 10:
Seek ye, the mighty feet (the sure haven of all) of Nāraṇaṉ, who is, at once, the abode of countless souls of vast excellence and an inexhaustible fountain of bliss, the repository of innumerable auspicious attributes. - Verse 11:
These ten stanzas, out of the thousand, sung in accurate metrical composition, by Caṭakōpaṉ of Tirunakari, with lovely ponds, convey his well-thought-out message (for the uplift and emancipation of mankind).