12 Spirituality Studies 10-1 Spring 2024 dhyāna means “meditation” or “contemplation”, in this context implying meditation on a name or form of God. The final sentence of this verse, “One than one is superior” (Ta. “uyarvu āhum oṉḏṟil oṉḏṟu”), implies that in this order each is superior to the previous one, so japa is superior to pūjā, and dhyāna is superior to japa. In this context “superior” (Ta. uyarvu) implies more efficacious in purifying the mind. That is, since niṣkāmya pūjā, japa and dhyāna are means to focus and thereby strengthen our love for God, and since meditation is a more effective way to focus our mind on God than japa, and japa is more effective than pūjā, meditation done with love for God is more purifying than japa, and japa is more purifying than pūjā. In the next three verses, 5 to 7, he discusses pūjā, japa and dhyāna each in turn, saying in verse 7 that uninterrupted meditation is superior to interrupted meditation. 9 Being as We Actually Are Is Supreme Devotion to God However, the most crucial verse in this series is verse 8 of Upadēśa Undiyār, in which he says: Rather than anya-bhāva, ananya-bhāva, in which he is I, certainly is the best among all. [13] Anya means “other” and ananya means “not other”, so in this context anya-bhāva means “meditation on God as other than oneself”, whereas ananya-bhāva means “meditation on him as not other than oneself”. The adjectival clause “in which he is I” (Ta. “avaṉ aham āhum”) implies “in which God is understood to be nothing other than I”, thereby clarifying and emphasising the meaning of ananya-bhāva, so “otherless meditation in which he is I” (Ta. “avaṉ aham āhum aṉaṉiya-bhāvam”) implies meditating on nothing other than oneself, “I”, with the firm conviction that God alone is what exists and shines as “I”. In other words, ananya-bhāva is an alternative description of “self-investigation” (Sa. ātma-vicāra), which is the simple practice of attending to or meditating upon nothing other than oneself, and this, says Bhagavan, is “the best among all” (Ta. “aṉaittiṉ-um uttamam”), thereby implying that it is best among all practices of bhakti, best among all kinds of meditation, and best among all means to purify the mind. Whereas meditating on anything other than ourself is an “action” (Sa. karma), a mental activity, because it entails a movement of our mind or attention away from ourself towards something else, meditating on nothing other than oneself is not a karma or mental activity but a cessation of all mental activity, because it entails no movement of our mind or attention away from ourself, and because to the extent to which our attention is focused on ourself alone, we, the meditating ego or mind, will thereby subside and eventually dissolve forever in our own being, “I am”. Therefore the result of meditating on nothing other than ourself is that, by the strength of such meditation, we will subside and remain firmly fixed in our natural state of just being, which transcends all mental activity, as Bhagavan points out in verse 9 of Upadēśa Undiyār: By the strength of meditation, being in the state of being [Sa. sat-bhāva], which transcends meditation [Sa. bhāvanā], alone is the true state of supreme devotion [Sa. para-bhakti tattva]. [14] In this context “by the strength of meditation” (Ta. bhāva balattiṉāl) implies “by the strength of ananya-bhāva”, or in other words, “by the strength of self-attentiveness”, because bhāva refers here to ananya-bhāva (Sa. “meditation on what is not other”, meaning “meditation on ourself alone”), which in the previous verse was said to be “the best among all” (Ta. “aṉaittiṉ-um uttamam”). To the extent to which we attend to nothing other than ourself, we as ego will thereby subside and dissolve back into our natural “state of being” (Sa. sat-bhāva), so by the strength, firmness or intensity of such self-attentiveness we will be in sat-bhāva, which transcends all mental activity, because in this context bhāvanā (Sa. “meditation”) implies meditation in the sense of mental activity. Being in sat-bhāva (Sa. the “state of being”) in this way is para-bhakti tattva, the tattva (Sa. the “very nature”, “reality”, “true state” or “thatness”) of para-bhakti (Sa. “supreme devotion”), because this is the state of complete self-surrender, in which we as ego have subsided and lost ourself entirely in our own being, which is God himself. The “actions” (Sa. karmas) of niṣkāmya pūjā, japa and dhyāna that Bhagavan discussed in verses 3 to 7 are all preliminary practices of bhakti, which must sooner or later lead us to the more advanced practice of ananya-bhāva, meditation on nothing other than ourself alone, with the firm conviction that God alone is what exists and shines as our own being, “I am”, because it is only by the strength of such ananya-bhāva that we as ego will subside and be firmly established in our real “state of being” (Sa. sat-bhāva), thereby losing our separate individuality and being inseparably and eternally one with God.
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