Ah!, so very easy is 'Atma Vidya' (the science of self-knowledge)! Ah, so very easy! Pallavi was commenced by Sri Muruganar and rest were
composed by Sri Bhagavan. Even to an ordinary (or weak-minded) person, Self
(the consciousness ‘I am’) is so very real that (in comparison to it) an amalaka fruit in the palm recedes as unreal. (Therefore, so very easy is the science of self! Ah, so very easy!)
Although Self always exists undoubtedly (or indestructibly) as the (sole) reality, the body and world, which are (in truth) unreal, rise and appear as real. When the unreal and dark thoughts (which are the cause of the unreal appearance of the body and world) are destroyed without even an iota (of them) surviving, Self, the sun (of pure consciousness), will shine forth spontaneous in the real Heart-space, (whereupon) the darkness (of ignorance) will vanish, misery will cease, and Bliss will surge up. (Therefore, so very easy is the science of Self! Ah! So very easy!).
Note : Though Self is so very real even to an ordinary person (as stated in the Anupallavi) its real nature is seemingly veiled by the unreal appearance of the body and world. Since body and world are mere thoughts, the cause for their appearance is only the mind, which is the first thought and the root of all other thoughts. This is explained by Bhagavan in more detail in 'Nan Yar' as follows.
What is called mind (manam) is a wondrous power existing in Self (Atma-Swarupam). It projects all thoughts. If we set aside all thoughts and see, there will be no such thing as mind remaining separate; therefore, thought itself is the nature (or form) of the mind. Other than thoughts, there is no such thing as the world. In deep sleep there are no thoughts, (and hence) there is no world; in waking and
dream there are thoughts, (and hence) there is the world also, Just as the spider spins out the thread from within itself and again withdraws it into itself, so the mind projects the world from within itself and again absorbs it into itself. When the mind comes out (rises) from Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears, Self will not appear; and when Self appears (shines), the world will not appear.
That is just as the knowledge of the rope, which is the base, will not be obtained unless the knowledge of the snake, the superimposition, goes, so the realization of Self (Swarupa-Darsanam), which is the base, will not be obtained unless the perception of the world (jagat--drishti) which is a superimposition, ceases. If the mind, which is the cause (and base) of all knowledge (all objective knowledge) and all action, subsides, the perception of the world (jagat-drishti) will cease. The thought ‘This fleshy body alone is I’ is indeed the ‘one thread’ on which the various (other) thoughts are strung. Therefore, if one goes within (by keenly scrutinizing) ‘Who am I’ and what is the place (from which I rise)?’, the thoughts will (all) perish (along with their root, the thought ‘I am this body’), and Self-Knowledge will spontaneously shine forth with in the cave (of the Heart) as ‘I-I’. This (state of Self Knowledge) alone is silence (mouna), the one (non dual) space (of Existence-Consciousness), the abode of bliss, (Therefore, so very easy is the science of Self! Ah! So very easy!)
The words ‘nan ar idam edu’ which are here translated as ‘ Who am I and what is the place?’, may also be translated as ‘What is the place where I dwell?’. The words ‘nan nan’, which are here translated as ‘I-I’, may also be taken to mean ‘I am I’, since in a Tamil sentence such as ‘I am this’ (nan idu irukkiren) the word ‘am’ (irukkiren) is usually dropped.
Note : Though self, the existence – consciousness ‘I am’, is clearly known to even the most ordinary person, it does
not shine as it is due to the mixing of adjuncts (upadhis), which conceal its real nature and make it appear in the form of the mind, the false first person feeling ‘I am this body,’ ‘I
am so-and-so.’ This false first person feeling is a mere thought, and of all thoughts it is the first. All other thoughts, including the body and world, arise only because of this first thought, and they are known as if existing only by this
first thought. Whereas all other thoughts are only insentient objects. Known by the first thought ‘I’, this first thought alone is endowed with a seeming consciousness. How? This
thought is a mixture of the real consciousness ‘I am’ and the unreal, insentient adjuncts such as ‘this body’ and ‘so-and so’, And hence it is called the 'Chit-Jada-Granthi' or the knot
between Self, which is consciousness, and the body, which is insentient. Therefore, since there can be no existence without a consciousness of that existence, all other thoughts depend for their seeming existence upon this first thought 'I am this body.' When this thought is absent, as in deep sleep all other thoughts are also absent and when this thought rises in the waking and dream all other thoughts also rise. This is why Sri Bhagavan says in this verse, “The thoughts are strung.” That is, just as the many flowers of a garland are held together by only one string, so all the many thoughts
that constitute our so called life (which is merely an endless stream of thoughts) exist by depending upon this first person feeling ‘I am the body.’ And just as all the flowers will be
scattered away when the string is out, so all other thoughts will vanish when this first thought ‘I am the body’ is destroyed.
What is the means by which we can cut this string, the first person thought ‘I am so-and-so,’ which is the root-cause of all miseries? Is it difficult or easy to get? No rare powerful weapon and no great strength are required to cut this string. If we simply turn our attention inwards and keenly scrutinize
the mere feeling ‘I’ in order to find out ‘who am I?’ From where does this feeling I arose? That will be sufficient, because at once the ego-feeling ‘I am so-and-so’ will begin to subside, and finally it will disappear altogether without leaving a trace. To illustrate this Sri Bhagavan used to narrate the following story: A sadhu was living in a small old dilapidated
mantapam which was open on one side and which had no door or gate. Once a day he used to walk to the nearby village to beg his food. After receiving sufficient food in his small
pot, he would return to the mantapam, where he would eat half the food. The remaining half he used to keep in his pot in order to have something to eat the following morning.
Though he had nothing with which to cover the pot, when he went to sleep he used safeguard the food by keeping the pot close to his head. Nevertheless, one morning when he woke up he found the pot was empty. The next night, having decided that he should find out who the thief was, he lay down as if asleep but with a firm resolve to remain vigilant. Some hours passed, but no thief entered the mantapam.
Unable to ward off his sleep any longer, by the middle of the night the sadhu finally dozed off to sleep. But he was soon awakened by a lapping sound; opening his eyes he saw a dog licking his pot, so immediately he raised his head, and the dog ran away. The following night therefore, the sadhu was more vigilant, and when the dog silently entered
the mantapam and crept near the pot, he raised his head. At once the dog ran away without touching the food. The third
night the dog came only as far as the entrance of the mantapam; peeping inside, he found that the sadhu was vigilantly observing him, so he again ran away. The fourth night the dog stood on the road some distance from the mantapam, but finding that the sadhu was again watching
him, he sulked away and never returned. Without knowing Self, what is the use if one knows anything else? If one has known Self, then what (else) is there to know? When that Self, which shines without difference (as ‘I am’) in (all the many) different living beings,
is known in oneself, the light of self will flash forth within one self, (as ‘I am that I am’). (This experience of self is) the shining forth of Grace, the destruction of ‘I’ (the ego), and
the blossoming of bliss. (Therefore, so very easy is the science of Self! Ah! So very easy!)
Note : All second and third person objects are merely thoughts which seemingly come into existence only after the rising of the ego, the first person thought ‘I am this body’. When the ego does not rise, all other objects are non-existent .Therefore, since the ego rises only due to one’s not knowing oneself, knowing anything else (any second or third
person object) without knowing oneself is only ignorance When one knows oneself the rising of the ego will be found to be an unreal appearance, and hence the seeming existence of other objects will also be known to be even unreal. That is why Sri Bhagavan says in this verse, “Without knowing Self, what is the use if one knows anything else? If one has known Self, then what else is there to know?”
That which shines without difference in all the different living beings is only the real self, the mere existence consciousness ‘I am’. In order to know the real nature of this consciousness ‘I am’, all one need do is to attend to it within oneself. Since Self-knowledge will automatically
shine forth when one thus attends to this consciousness ‘I am’, and since this consciousness exists and shines in all beings at all times, it is never difficult for anyone to attend to it. Therefore, this consciousness, which always makes it easy for anyone to attain is the very form of divine grace, and to experience it as it is, is the shining forth of Grace. When Grace thus shines forth in the form of true Self -Knowledge, the ego will be destroyed and supreme bliss will be attained.
In order to know any other object, the aid of the mind and the five senses are required. But to know oneself, neither the mind nor the five senses are required, because the real self is in truth ever knowing itself by its own light of consciousness. Since this truth will be known when the mind subsides, knowing Self will be found to be natural and much easier than knowing any other thing. To unfasten the bonds of action (karma) and so on and to bring about the destruction of birth and so on, rather than
any (other) path, this path (of Self-Inquiry) is extremely easy! When one merely remains still, without the least action of speech, mind and body, ah (what a wonder it will be)! The light of Self in the heart will be the eternal experience, fear will not exist, and the ocean of bliss alone will remain shining. (Therefore, so very easy is the science of Self ! Ah! So very easy!) According to Vedanta ‘action and so on‘ (karmadi) denotes the three karmas namely, agamya, prarabdha, and sanchita, and with the afflictions which following in their wake, while according to Saiva Sidhanta, karmadi denotes
the three impurities namely ego (anava), action (karma) delusion (maya). Birth and so on (janmadi) denotes the miseries of life such as birth (janma), disease (vyadhi), old
age and death (mrityu); refer to the Bhagavad Gita 13.8 wherein the latter classification is given. Note : All sadhanas other than Self-Inquiry involve some action to be performed either by the mind, speech or body,
and hence one may experience some difficulty in using these instruments. But in the path of Self-Inquiry taught by Sri Bhagavan no action need be performed by any of these three
instruments, and hence this path is the easiest of all paths. Knowing Self is not an action. Since self is ever naturally knowing itself, knowing self is nothing but being self and hence no action of the mind, speech or body is required to know self. If one merely remains still without performing any action by these three instruments, Self-Knowledge will automatically shine forth. Since all actions of the mind, speech and body are due
only to the rising of thoughts, since all other thoughts rise only because of the rising of the first thought ‘I am this body’, and since (as explained in verse 2) this first thought will
vanish along with all other thoughts when one turns one’s attention towards it, in order to remain still all we need to do is to turn our attention towards the mere feeling ‘I’.
Therefore, knowing Self is so very easy.
In the mind which attends within as it is (that is, which attends to itself as the mere existence consciousness ‘I am’) without thinking of anything else, Self, which is called Annamalai the one (non-dual) reality which shines as the
space even to the mind-space and as the eye even to the mind-eye, which is the eye even to the senses such as the eye, which illumine (the physical elements such as the space) will be seen. (In order to attain this experience) Grace is also needed; (in order to attain that Grace) have love (for Self); (then) Bliss will blossom forth, (Therefore, so very easy is Atma-Vidya! Ah, very easy!)
