Songs 201 to 205
Secular Song 201 இன்ப துன்பம்
உதவுவார் என்று
நினைத்தவர் எல்லாம்
உதவாமல் எங்கோ
விலகி செல்வார்
ஒன்றுக்கும் உதவார்
என்று எண்ணினோர்
தேடியே வந்து
உதவியும் செய்வார்
நல்லதே நடக்கும்
என்கிற நம்பிக்கை
கொண்டு வாழ்ந்தால்
நல்லதே நடக்கும்
நடத்த ஒருவன்
நம்மிடை உண்டு
என்று நம்பினால்
நிச்சயம் நடக்கும்
துன்பமும் பாடும்
சூழ்ந்ததே உலகம்
என்பதில் சற்றும்
ஐயமே இல்லை
ஆயினும் அவையே
நிரந்தரம் என்று
வாழ்வை எவரும்
வாழ்வதும் இல்லை
துன்பத்தின் ஊடே
துய்த்திடும் இன்பம்
எத்தனை சிறிதாய்
இருந்த போதும்
துன்பத்தை ஏற்று
பாட்டுகள் சுமந்து
வாழ்ந்திட அவையும்
ஊக்கம் அளிக்கும்
எதிர்மறை எண்ணம்
இல்லாமல் வாழ்வது
எப்போதும் எல்லோருக்கும்
என்றும் நடக்காது
தொடர்ந்து தோல்விகள்
வந்திடும் போது
எதிர்மறை எண்ணத்தை
தவிர்க்க இயலாது
ஆயினும் தோல்வியே
இறுதியும் இல்லை
என்பதை மட்டும்
மனதிலே கொண்டு
தோல்வியின் மூலம்
கற்ற பாடம்
தந்த வழியிலே
வெற்றி அடையணும்
வந்த உதவியை
ஏற்றுக் கொண்டு
முடிந்த உதவிகள்
செய்து கொண்டு
இன்பமும் துன்பமும்
மாறி வருவதே
வாழ்வு என்று
வாழ்ந்திட வேண்டும்
16-7-16, மத்திகிரி, மதியம் 2.50
Secular Song 201 Joy and sorrow
Those who we thought
Would help us
Might leave
And will be gone
Those who we thought that
Is good for nothing
Might come and
Help us in time
If we believe
Only good will happen
That alone
Will come in life
If we strongly believe
That there is one to lead
Surely what we hopped
Would happen in life
There is no doubt that
This world is
A mixture of
Joy and sorrow
But none is living
Thinking that
They alone are
Permanent one
How much the
Joy might be
That we enjoy
Through suffering is insignificant
It will encourage us
To accept troubles
To live accepting
All kinds of burdens
None can live
Without having
Some kind of
Negative thoughts
When defeats
Come continuously
It is not possible
To avoid negative thoughts
But defeat is
Not the final one
Keeping this alone
In our mind
We should strive
To get success
Through the lessons
That we learnt through failures
Accepting the help
That came seeking us
Doing as much help
As much possible to others
We should live
Accepting the fact that
Life is a mixture of
Both joy and sorrow
16-7-16, Mathigiri, 2.50 p.m.
‘Life is a mixture of joy and sorrow’ Kannadasan says in one film song. He has written many songs known as ‘Philosophical songs’ [thattuvapp paadalhal]. Most of such songs were reflections of his own personal life. Rarely one can find a combination of philosopher cum poem with practical life experience like him. He never thought and wrote those philosophical songs. When a scene is narrated to him by the director he will write the song spontaneously and the words will flow. Sometimes he took several weeks and even months to write one poem. Several people find not only solace in his songs and writings but also were encouraged to face the challenges in life to live boldly and positively. I am a great fan of his songs.
Secular Song 202 மனிதம் இழந்தோம்
இழந்தவர் அன்றோ இழப்பை அறிவார்
இழப்பின் வலியை வேறெவர் புரிவார்
அவரவர்க் கென்று இழப்பு இருந்தும்
அடுத்தவர் இழப்பை மற்றவர் புரியார்
பொன் பொருள் இழந்தால் சேர்த்துவிடலாம்
பெயர்-புகழ் இழந்தால் மீட்டும் விடலாம்
மனிதரை இழந்தால் மீண்டும் பெறலாம்
மனதையே இழந்தால் யாரென்ன செய்யலாம்
பொருளின் இழப்பை பிறர் ஈடுசெய்யலாம்
உறவினில் இழப்பை சிலர் சீர் செய்யலாம்
தனிப்பட்ட இழப்பை தாங்கிக் கொள்ளலாம்
தன்னை இழந்தால் எப்படி மீட்கலாம்
மனிதப் பிறவியும் மேன்மை யன்றோ
“மனிதமே” அதனின் மாண்பு அன்றோ
“மனிதம்” இழந்த மனிதனாய் வாழ்ந்தால்
அனைத்து இழப்பினும் கொடுமை யன்றோ
ஆயினும் “மனிதத்” தன்மை இழந்து
அதனையும் அவரே உணராதிருந்து
மனதிலே “மனித” உணர்வை இழந்து
“மனிதமுடனே” மனதையும் இழந்தார்
“மனிதம்” இழந்த மனிதர்களாலே
“மனிதர்” என்ற மாண்பினை இழந்தோம்
எதனைத்தந்து நாமிதை மீட்பது
இழந்த மனதை எப்படி பெறுவது?
17-7-16, மத்திகிரி, மதியம் 2.50
Secular 202 We lost humanness
Only those who lost alone will know about it
Who else can understand the pain of that loss?
Even though each one has her own loss
Others cannot understand the others loss
Material lost can be collected back
Loss of name and fame can be restored
Loss of human relationship too can be regained
But once we lose the ‘heart’ who can do anything?
Others can compensate material lost
Few can help to mend the loss of relationship
Personal loss can be tolerated
But if one loses herself, how can it be redeemed?
Human birth is noble one
‘Humanness’ is its glory
But losing that ‘humanness’ if we live as ‘human’
It is the cruellest of all that we have lost
Yet losing ‘humanness’
And not realizing it
Losing the ‘humanness’ in the heart
Along with ‘humanness’ they lost their heart too
We lost the glory of human (viz., humanness)
Because of those humans who lost that
How to redeem it back at what cost
How to get back the heart that we lost?
17-7-16, Mathigiri, 2.50 pm.
This is my response to Vijayalaxmi’s response to the song 200. Terrorism is a collective failure for the entire humanity. It is not related to one religion or community. We all, collectively as human beings, are responsible for that. Of course as an individual I cannot do anything but to express it through my poems. Majority of the people also remain helpless as a minority who lost their ‘heart’ and ‘humanness’ make the majority feel the pain and the loss of ‘humanness’. In life we have several questions for which we don’t know the answer or we don’t have the answer. Time alone will give it. Till that we all have to live with this shame of loss of ‘humanness’ collectively.
18-7-16
The following is one personal response for this song that I would like to quote:
If time is going to provide an answer to this problem, then do nations have to be bystanders as human and material cost mounts?
No one has the right to disturb our way of life in India which has been cultivated over millennia. We have suffered enough at the hands of colonialists and invaders who forced their way of life and their religions on us.
At least now we have a strong leader and a party that is working towards preserving whatever is left of the way of life for its citizens. Thanks to Bhagawan Muktinath for it.
Regards
M….
18-7-16
Secular Song 203 Don’t spoil
Don’t search unnecessarily
Don’t think to get a clear answer
You will be more confused if you continue to analyse
You will worn out once you get a clear answer
Try to live the life as it comes
Learn to get rid of unnecessary expectations
What has to come will come
If you refuse to accept it only your sorrow will increase
You have to live once you came to this world
You have to accept trials in life
In between you have to undergo pains
You should understand that nothing remains permanently
If you analyses them unnecessarily
Many unclear questions will come
How you ask the unclear questions
You won’t get even the answer which does not exist
Then the unclear questions and the non existing answers
Will become a philosophy which you won’t understand
Once you began to understand that un-understandable philosophy
Again, unnecessary analysis will began
Therefore, don’t analyse unnecessarily
Don’t buy snares by paying from your pocket
Don’t do the sorcery at your own cost (against you)
Don’t spoil the game unnecessarily
Mathigiri, 18-7-16, 2.15 pm.
I am reading the Kashmiri mystic Lal Ded’s poems (Ranjit Hoskote, I Lalla, The Poems of Lal Ded, New Delhi, Penguin Classics, (2011) paper ed. 2013). After reading most of the poems, I sat quietly saying, ‘it is time not to read further, but to think more deeply and analyse my life’. After spending a few seconds quietly trying to analyse my life back and forth, the first thought that came in my mind was ‘don’t try to analyse life, as it is not going to yield anything new. Just live life as it comes. Analyses will paralyze you.’. Then taking that thought I began to write this poem. But after writing two stanzas, I cannot further proceed. So in the night after my regular walk (11.00 to 11.30 pm), I sat again to read, but the same thought again occupied my mind. Then I began to write further. That time I said, ‘if you ask meaningless questions about life, you will only get answers which never exist. Don’t waste your time by thinking and better continue to read the book’. Because as I am reading another interesting book: India’s War: Srinath Raghavan, The Making of Modern South Asia, 1939-1945, New Delhi, Allen Lane by Penguin Books, 2016, a fascinating subject (history) in which I am interested, I wanted not to waste my time in writing poems or analysing the life. So with a humour note I completed this song as I recalled the Tamil proverb: சும்மா இருந்த சங்க ஊதிக் கெடுத்தானா ஆண்டி(Andi [sannyasi] who spoiled the conch by blowing it unnecessarily).
Secular Song 204 ஆறுதல் சொல்லுவீர்
தேடி அலைகிறாள்
தெருவெங்கும் தேடுறாள்
திரும்பி வருவேன்
என்று சொன்னவனை
திசையெங்கும் திரிந்து
அலைந்து தேடுறாள்
இருவிழி நீராலே
வழித்தடம் சேறாச்சு
இளைத்து போனதால்
கைவளை விழுந்தாச்சு
அவிழ்ந்த கூந்தலை
முடித்து நாளாச்சு
ஏதோ பிதற்றுறாள்
என்னவோ கேட்கிறாள்
எவரென்ன சொன்னாலும்
ஏற்க மறுக்கிறாள்
ஏக்கத்தால் தவித்து
மூர்ச்சை ஆகிறாள்
அவளை ஏசாதீர்
வீணே பேசாதீர்
அறியா பருவத்தில்
கொண்ட காதலை
அறியாது வீணாய்
அவதூறு சொல்லாதீர்
பிரிவே அறியாத
பேதைப் பெண்ணவள்
புனிதக் காதலைப்
புரளி செய்யாதீர்
புரிந்து சற்றேனும்
ஆறுதல் சொல்லுவீர்
மத்திகிரி, மதியம், 2.45, 10-7-16
Secular Song 204 Comfort her
She is searching him
Seek after him in the streets
She looks after him
In every nook and corner
The one who promised
That he will come back
The path on which she walked
Become muddy due to her tears
The bangles also left her hands
As she become thin day by day
Several days are gone
Since she has combed her hair
She babbles so many things
Asks several questions
Refused to listen
Whatever others say
And become faint
Due to her longing
Please don’t scold her
any more
Don’t talk
unnecessarily many things
Don’t spread rumours
About her in vain
She is an innocent girl
Who never experienced separation?
Don’t spread ill words
About her holy love
Understanding her condition
Give her some comfort
Mathigiri, 2.45, pm. 10-7-16
When I read another poem of Surdas@, I was struck by the way he can combine bhakti with romantic love. I wonder if there is such literature in any other culture around the world (one exception that I found is Songs of Solomon in Muktiveda). One can find these kinds of poems in almost every regional language of India. Particularly beginning from Tamil Sangam (classical) literature and in various other religious and poetic traditions there are so many such poems. One can see the real touch of life with humour in several Tamil folk songs, which are sung even now.
In religious tradition, particularly in the Azhvar’s poems it is difficult to separate the bhakti, eroticism, romance etc. There are several secular poems of the past which went to the other extreme, which we can find in most of the regional languages.
When I read and think about them, I appreciate the way people in India celebrated every area and aspect of life. This stands very clearly opposite to what we see in some melancholic philosophies which depict the world in a negative way. Others may wonder why I as a single man (or a sannyasi) read or write such poems. But inspiration never thinks about our status and position in life. As I like to read (Tamil) poems, particularly religious and classical ones, I too want to celebrate the beauty of life like them rather than to worry about what others’ opinion about me. Actually this song should go to Bhakti Theology Songs but it is here and let it be here, as I never separate life in watertight compartments.
Over and over, desire strikes inside.
Parted from the blessedness of being with her darling,
Radha stands gazing down the road.
Her eyes well with tears. Her bed brings no rest.
She never combs her hair. (p.411)
Braiding, braiding a string of campa flowers,
Absorbed, she drops it round her neck to her breasts.
The clothes she wore when once she was with Hari—
She won’t take them off even today.
Sur’s Lord, she roams about as if she were lost
And refuses to heed what others asy.— Sur’s Ocean: Poems from the Early Tradition, ed. Kenneth E. Bryant. Trns. John Stratton Hawley, Cambridge, Murty Classical Library of India, 2015, pp. 411 &14
Secular Song 205 இயலாமை
அலுப்பும் சலிப்பும் அனைவருக்கும் வந்திடும்
கோபமும் எரிச்சலும் கூடவே இருந்திடும்
இயலாமை, தள்ளாமை என்றான பின்னே
இவை அனைத்தையும் ஏற்கத்தான் வேண்டும்
ஓடிய வாழ்வின் ஓட்டமும் நின்றபின்
ஒருவித அயர்ச்சி தன்னால வந்திடும்
ஆர்வமுடன் செய்த அனைத்து செயல்களும்
அலுப்புடன் சலிப்பாலே தன்னாலே குறையும்
தன் தேவை பிறர் தேவை தலைமேலே போட்டு
தன்னால் முடியுமென திடமனம் கொண்டு
ஓடி உழைத்து ஓய்ந்த பின்னாலே
உடலோடு உள்ளமும் சோர்ந்து தான் போகும்
காலத்தின் கோலத்தை ஏற்கத்தான் வேண்டும்
கலங்கியே பயனில்லை புரிந்திட வேண்டும்
ஓடும் வரை ஓடட்டும் என்று திடம் கொண்டு
இயன்ற செயல் செய்து வாழத்தான் வேண்டும்
உழைக்கத்தான் பிறந்தான் உலகிலே மனிதனும்
ஓடித்தான் பார்க்கிறான் முடிந்தவரை அவனும்
இலக்கு எதுவென என்று தெரியாமல்
இறுதிவரை அதை நோக்கி ஓடத்தான் வேண்டும்
அலுத்தாலும், சலித்தாலும் மாற்றேதும் இல்லை
அழுதாலும் புரண்டாலும் வழியேதும் இல்லை
வருவதை ஏற்று வாழவே பழகினால்
இயலாமை, தள்ளாமை தன்னாலே போகும்
28-7-16, மத்திகிரி, காலை, 11.00
Secular Song 205 Tiredness/disability
Tiredness and frustration will come for all
Irritation and anger will follow them
Once disability and old age become a reality
We need to accept them all
Once an active life came to an end
Automatically some kind of tiredness will come
All those works done with much enthusiasm
Will come down due to tiredness and frustration
Once accepting responsibility for others and one’s own needs
Thinking that they can accomplish everything
As they toiled beyond their capacity
Along with the body, mind also will become tired
We need to accept the reality of the Time (old age)
We need to understand that there is no point in disturbed
Taking courage that let things go as long as they can go
We need to live doing as much as possible
Man is born to toil on this earth
He too runs as much as possible
Not knowing where is the goal
He needs to run towards it till the end
There is no alternative to this however one is frustrated
Whether one weeps or gets agitated there is no alternative for this
Once we become ready to accept what is going to come
Disability and tiredness will go automatically.
28-7-16, Mathigiri, 11.00 am.
Mere routine sometimes brings a kind of frustration and depression. Particularly in old age, as the life goes as if pre-programmed, they have to accept it calmly and do their best to re-orient their life so that the old age won’t become too much a burden for them and others.
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