11,12- Rama, eraser of sins, universal cause

In this posting I am presenting the two verses numbers 11 and 12 as they both talk about the word Rama.  Before we enjoy Civavakkiyar's thoughts on the name Rama let us see a little about the symbolism of Rama.  The picture I have presented above is known to many of us.  It depicts Rama, his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana and his helper/devotee, Hanuman.  Rama signifies the Supreme Godhead or Siva.  Sita represents Sakti.  Lakshmana represents the limited soul and Hanuman, the guru.  Rama's bow signifies the sushumna nadi, his arrows, the ten types of breaths that, when directed through the sushumna nadi, confer Universal consciousness. 

In some other explanations Sita is considered the limited soul.  The guru, Hanuman, brings together the limited soul, Sita, who is separated from the Universal soul, Rama.  A guru conveys the knowledge about the Divine to the limited soul (Hanuman brought Rama's ring to Sita) and presence of the limited soul to the Divine soul (he brought Sita's head ornament to Rama).  

The triad, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are said to represent the letters, a, u and m of the pranava, aum.  The depiction of Sita walking between Rama and Lakshmana is said to represent the Supreme consciouness a, the inactive state, prakasha, being followed by the Sakti, u, the active aspect which in turn is followed by m or maya, the supreme creative power of the Divine, the cause for the manifested world.

Verse 11

கதாவுபஞ்ச பாதகங்க ளைத்துறந்த மந்திரம்

இதாம் இதாம் அதல்லஎன்று வைத்துழலும் ஏழைகள்

சதாவிடாமல் ஓதுவார் தமக்குநல்ல மந்திரம்

இதாம் இதாம ராமராம ராமஎன்னும் நாமமே!

Translation:

Ignorant people who roam around saying

The mantra that can remove the five fearsome sins is this, is this and not that!

The potent mantra for those who chant it always and continuously

Is this, is this, Rama, Rama, the name, Rama.

Commentary: 

            Civavākkiyar continues to explain the greatness of the name, Rama, in this verse. He says that ignorant people are in search of a mantra to remove their sins but the only mantra that can do it is the name Rama.   Panca pātakam refers to the five dreadful sins- murder, rape, insulting one’s preceptor, lying and thieving. Chanting the name, Rama, will annul even these deplorable sins.

Verse 12

நானதேது? நீயதேது? நடுவில் நின்றது ஏதடா?

கோனதேது? குருவதேது? கூறிடும் குலாமரே!

ஆனதேது? அழிவதேது? அப்புறத்தில் அப்புறம்

ஈனதேது? ராமராம ராமஎன்ற நாமமே!

Translation:

Who am I? Who are you?  Hey! What is that which stood between?

Who is the king? Who is the preceptor? Please tell, you slaves!

What is created? What is destroyed? Beyond the beyond

What gave birth to all these?  Rāma, Rāma, the name that is verily Rāma!

Commentary:

            In this verse, Civavākkiyar elaborates that everything is Rama.  The limited soul is Rama, the universal soul is Rama, the relationship that stands between them is also Rama; the king, the guru, the created, the destroyed, that which is beyond the beyond-everything is Rama.  The name of the Ultimate Reality, Rama, is the cause for all these.

            In this connection, we may make one observation.  In Tamil Siddha poetry, we find several mystical syllables, a large number of short un-etymological vocables, such as krim, hrim, hum etc. Rama is one such mystical term.  For the uninitiated, these letters remain unintelligible because their meaning does not belong to the rational language, which serves to communicate ordinary experiences.  These mystical syllables are abbreviations of the psychic energies or mystical consciousness located in each cakra.  These sounds reveal their messages during meditation.  To an aspirant or a sādhaka, these syllables including the term “Rama” therefore have a value of secret initiatory language.  Hence, we can safely say that the monosyllables that we find in Siddha poetry are no longer gibberish.  They have a meaning and a message.