Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Appala Pattu an explanatory paraphrase

In continuation of my previous four articles, which were explanatory
paraphrases of Upadesa Undiyar, Ulladu Narpadu, Ulladu Narpadu
Anubandham and Ekatma Panchakam, the following is the fifth of seven extracts
from the introductory page that I have drafted for Sri Ramanopadesa
Noonmalai:
(Appala-p-pattu), the Appalam Song, is a Tamil song that Sri
Ramana composed for his mother one day in about 1914 or 1915, when she
asked him to help her make some appalams (a thin crisp wafer made of gram
flour and other ingredients, also known
as parpata, pappadam, poppadum or pappad, which can either be fried or
toasted over a naked flame or in hot embers). He responded by composing this
song, in which he compares each of the ingredients, implements and actions
required to make an appalam to the qualities and practices required for us to
experience true self-knowledge.
In the pallavi or refrain (which completes the meaning of the anupallavi and
each of the four verses) he simply says, Making appalam, see; eating it, fulfil
[or destroy] your desire. The appalam that he asks us to prepare is
the appalam of true self-knowledge, and what he asks us to see is who we
really are. By eating thisappalam that is, by experiencing true self-knowledge
we will satisfy our hunger for infinite happiness, and thus we will destroy all
our other desires, which are all just distorted forms of our fundamental desire
for real happiness.
In the anupallavi or sub-refrain he says that, instead of wandering in this
material world craving the fulfilment of other desires, we should satisfy our
hunger for real happiness by preparing and eating the appalam of true selfknowledge in accordance with the unequalled and unsurpassed one [non-dual]
language, which is thetattva or reality that the sadguru (the guru who
teaches sat, being or reality), who is sat-bhoda-sukha (being-consciousnessbliss, or the happiness of true knowledge), said without saying.
The sadguru whom Sri Ramana refers to here is the primal guru Dakshinamurti,
and the unequalled and unsurpassed one language that he said without
saying is silence, which is the true language of non-duality.
In verse 1 he begins to explain how we should make the appalam of true selfknowledge, saying that we should break up black gram, which is the pride I
that grows in the field of five sheaths (the body, life, mind, intellect and the

underlying self-ignorance), which are not self, reducing it to powder as not I in

the hand-mill, which is the jnana-vichara (knowledge-investigation) who am I?.
That is, our ego, which rises in this body as I am this and which Sri Ramana
therefore describes as the pride I that grows in the field of five sheaths, is
compared to black gram, which is the principal ingredient in anappalam, and the
practice of jnana-vichara investigating what our fundamental knowledge I
am really is is compared to the hand-mill in which we should break up this
ego, reducing it to powder as not I.
In verse 2 he says that we should blend the following ingredients with the
pulverised black gram: the juice of square-stalked vine, which is satsanga (clinging to being, or to one who knows and abides as being); cumin,
which is sama (equanimity, tranquillity or calmness); pepper, which
is dama (self-restraint); salt, which isuparati (cessation, which means
renunciation of worldly desires and refraining from indulgence in sensual
enjoyments and worldly actions); and asafoetida, which is
good vasana (propensity, inclination, impulsion or desire) in the heart (or
mind).
In this context (ulla nal vasanai) or the inner good vasana
means the sat-vasana, the desire or inclination just to be, which alone can root
out all our karma-vasanas, our desires to be active.
Having thus described the ingredients and their initial preparation in verses 1
and 2, in verses 3 and 4 Sri Ramana describes the process of cooking
the appalam of true self-knowledge.
In verse 3 he says that in the mortar of our heart we should unceasingly and
without agitation (or confusion) pound the blended ingredients with the pestle
of ul-mukham (introversion or facing inwards) as I [am only] I, and then on
the board, which is sama (evenness or levelness of mind, that is, samadhi),
with the rolling-pin, which is peace, we should continuously, joyfully and
without calippu (weariness, pramada or self-negligence) satisfy our desire by
preparing and eating the appalam of true self-knowledge.
In verse 4 he says that in order to experience ourself as (tane tan),
self alone [is] self (or only I [am] I) in the endless (infinite and eternal)
pan, which is mauna-mudra (the seal, stamp or mark of silence), in the
excellent ghee (or clarified butter) of brahman (the absolute reality), which is
heated byjnanagni (the fire of true knowledge), we should always fry
(the appalam of self-knowledge) as I [am] that [brahman], and should thereby
satisfy our desire by preparing and eating the tanmayaappalam (theappalam that is composed of tat or that, the one absolute reality
called brahman).

Posted by Michael James at 09:00

Labels: absolute reality, Appala Pattu, being, being-consciousness, Bhagavan Sri Ramana
Maharshi, ego, guru, happiness, mind,philosophy of Sri Ramana, practice taught by Sri Ramana, satchit-ananda (being-consciousness-bliss), sat-sanga, self, self-investigation (atma-vichara self-enquiry
self-abidance etc), self-knowledge, silence (mauna), Upadesa Nunmalai, I am, who am I?

2 comments:
Anonymous said...
Thank you Swamy for the explanation.
Raken-Malaysia
14 May 2013 22:39

Anonymous said...
Many thanks for this wonderful write up on appala paattu. Even as
reading this, am also listening to the appal a paatu so melodiously
rendered by a small devoted bhajan group.
kailas
7 November 2013 04:50
Post a Comment

Links to this post

Create a Link

Newer PostOlder PostHo

Today is Wednesday. In the evening Tamizh parayana, the devotees chant Devi Kalottaram, Atma
Vidya Kirtanam, Ekanma
Panchakam and Appala Paattu.
The appala paattu is full of similes. By taking the act of poppadum, a thin round of cake of black gram
flour fried crisp,
Sri Bhagavan teaches us the spiritual instructions for self inquiry.
1.
Try and make some poppadums.
Eat them and your longing satisfy;

Don't roam the world disconsolate.

Heed the word, unique and unspoken
Taught by the teacher true who teaches
The Truth of Being Awareness Bliss.
Try and make some poppadums ... and satisfy.
2.
Take the black gram, ego self,
Growing in the five fold body field
And grind it in the quern,
The wisdom quest of Who am I?
Reducing it to finest flour.
Try and make some poppudms... and satisfy.
2.
Mix it with pirandai juice,
Which is holy company,
And mind control, the cummin seed,
The pepper seed of self restraint,
The salt of non attachment,
And asafoetida, the aroma'
Of virtuous inclination.
Try and make some poppadums ... and satisfy.
3
In the heart mortal place the dough
And with mind pestle inward turned,
Pound it hard with strokes of 'I', 'I',
Then flatten it with the rolling pin
Of stillness on the level slab of Being.
Work away, untiring, steady, cheerful
Try and make some poppudams ... and satisfy.
4.
Put the poppadum in the ghee of Brahman
Held in he pan of infinite silence
And fry it over the fire of knowledge.
Now as I transmuted into That,
Eat and taste the Self as Self,
Abiding as the Self alone.
Take and make some poppadums
.... and satisfy.
(Tr. Prof. K. Swaminathan)