Ulladu Narpadu - second mangalam- study group

[Guest guest]

Dear Peter, Dr Krishnamurthi and friends.

 

A most interesting translation of the 40 is the one prepared by K. (Kapali

Sastriar), the brilliant young disciple of Ganapati Muni. The Muni translated

the 40 verses into Sanskrit from Tamil and then supervised an extensive

commentary prepared by K. It was submitted to Bhagavan for his approval and was

confirmed. The commentary is devotional and inspiring.

The book is called Sat-Darshana Bhashya (published by the Ashram), and contains

K's questions to Bhagavan, a long informative philosophical introduction, and

then a commentary and translation on the verses. The Forty Verses were

originally writen as a poem by Bhagavan. All the many translations except this

one, shy away from poetry and play safe with prose, which loses the Rasa

(beauty). But bravely and successfully the young K translated them into English

metered free verse. So the Rasa is maintained. Here is the verse currently under

discussion.

 

THOSE LOSE AT ONCE THEIR SELVES

 

WHO FROM FEAR OF DEATH

 

SEEK REFUGE IN THE LORD

 

CONQUEROR OF DEATH.

 

THEN BY NATURE

 

IMMORTALS ARE THEY.

 

HOW THEN IS THOUGHT OF DEATH TO THEM?

 

-oOo-

 

REGARDS TO ALL,

 

ALAN

 

--- On Tue, 10/2/09, Peter <not_2 wrote:

 

Peter <not_2

Ulladu Narpadu - second mangalam

 

Tuesday, 10 February, 2009, 8:04 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mangalam ii:

 

" Men of pure minds who intensely fear death surrender themselves unto the

Lord of all, the blissful One, the indwelling Self, who has no death nor

birth. By that (surrender) their ego, along with their attachments becomes

extinguished. How can they, who (thus) have won abode in Immortality, have

any thought of death? "

 

------

 

This version of the forty verses can be found in the booklet " REVELATION "

which contains a Sanskrit Version of the Ulladu Narpadu of Bhagavan Sr

Ramana with an English Translation by K. Lakshmana Sarma ( " Who " ).

 

Lakshmana Sarma spent more than twenty years in close association with

Bhagavan Sri Ramana and he made a deep study of His teachings under His

personal guidance. One day in 1928 or 1929 Sri Bhagavan asked Lakshmana

Sarma, " Have you not read Ulladu Narpadu? " Lakshmana Sarma replied that he

had not, because he was unable to understand the classical style of Tamil in

which it was composed, but he eagerly added that he would like to study it

if Sri Bhagavan would graciously teach him the meaning. Thus began the

disciple's close association with his Master. Sri Bhagavan started to

explain to him slowly and in detail the meaning of each verse, and Lakshmana

Sarma, being a lover of Sanskrit, started to compose Sanskrit verses

embodying the meaning of each Tamil verse as it was explained to him. After

composing each verse in Sanskrit, Lakshmana Sarma submitted it to Sri

Bhagavan for correction and approval, and if Sri Bhagavan's approval was not

forthcoming he would recompose the verse as often as was necessary until His

approval was obtained. In this way all the verses of Ulladu Narpadu were

rendered into Sanskrit within a few months. But Lakshmana Sarma was unable

to stop with that. He was so fascinated by the profound import of Ulladu

Narpadu that he felt impelled to go on revising his Sanskrit rendering any

number of times until he was able to make it an almost perfect and faithful

replica of the Tamil original. For two or three years he went on repeatedly

revising his translation with the close help and guidance of Sri Bhagavan,

who always appreciated his sincere efforts and who once remarked, " It is

like a great tapas for him to go on revising his translation so many times. "

Because of his repeated efforts to make such a faithful Sanskrit rendering

of Ulladu Narpadu, Lakshmana Sarma was blessed with the opportunity of

receiving long and pertinent instructions from Sri Bhagavan about the very

core of His teachings. (From the Preface to " Maha Yoga " by Lakshmana

Sarma.)