DakshiNa-mUrti ashTakam Verse 10 (Final Verse)

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Verse No.10

 

sarvAtmatvam-iti sphuTIkRtam-idaM yasmAd-amushmin-stave

tenAsya SravaNAt-tathArtha-mananAd-dhyAnAcca sankIrtanAt /

sarvAtmatva-mahAvibhUti-sahitaM syAdISvaratvaM svataH

siddhyet-tat punarashTadhA pariNataM caiSvaryam-avyAhataM //

 

Translation

 

In this hymn of praise what has been explained is the state of being the

Self of All. By hearing this, by reflecting on its meaning, by meditating on

it and by reciting it one will attain the Lordship certainly, but, along

with the grand attainment of the state of being the Self of All, also, the

unrestrained eight-fold supra-normal powers.

 

Commentary

 

The sarvAtmatvaM, all-Self-hood, that this final verse talks about is in

fact the end of all Spirituality. He who sees Me everywhere, and who sees in

Me everything, to Him I am never lost nor is he lost to Me - so says the

Lord, (Gita, VI - 30):

 

yo mAM paSyati sarvatra sarvaM ca mayi paSyati /

tasyAhaM na praNaSyAmi sa ca me na praNaSyati //

 

It is the vision of One-ness amidst the plurality of experience. Perception

of difference arises because of the recognition of name and form. The

enlightened one however, sees the tile, the stone, the golden brick, all in

the same way: (Gita, 14 - 24):

 

sama-loshTASma-kAncanaH /

 

The normal human being is distracted by the multiplicity of appearances and

behaves like a child which cannot see the wood behind the wooden elephant

and is carried away by the 'elephant'. We are really in a dream state and

refuse to believe there is a more real world outside of our mundane

excitements. We are not able to shake off the glamour of plurality and see

the essential unity in all that we see. We tend to look at the multiplicity

of things only in their separateness and variety of operation. We see the

waves, not the ocean. On the other hand, the scriptures prescribe that we

should:

 

See only the Lord's presence in whatever we see;

Hear only the melody of Krishna's flute in whatever we hear;

Taste only the amRt-like sweetness of the gangA that is flowing from the

head of Lord Siva, in whatever we taste;

Smell only the fragrance of the dust of the Holy Feet of the Mother Goddess,

in whatever we smell; and

Feel only the touch of the abhaya-hasta, of Lord Sri Rama, in whatever we

touch.

 

Commentary and translation by Prof V Krishnamurthy

The website is at:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/2952/gohitvip/63page15.html