Pasuram 4.3.8

Tamil text and transliteration:

என்னது ஆவி மேலையாய் ஏர் கொள் ஏழ் உலகமும்,
துன்னி முற்றும் ஆகி நின்ற சோதி ஞான மூர்த்தியாய்,
உன்னது என்னது ஆவியும், என்னது உன்னது ஆவியும்
இன்ன வண்ணமே நின்றாய் என்று உரைக்க வல்லேனே?

eṉṉatu āvi mēlaiyāy ēr koḷ ēḻ ulakamum,
tuṉṉi muṟṟum āki niṉṟa cōti ñāṉa mūrttiyāy,
uṉṉatu eṉṉatu āviyum, eṉṉatu uṉṉatu āviyum
iṉṉa vaṇṇamē niṉṟāy eṉṟu uraikka vallēṉē?

English translation of verse 4.3.8:

With love intense for my soul, you did, in full, pervade
The lovely worlds seven, all things are but your modes;
Radiant knowledge personified, you have my soul in you blended
And yours in me; how can I express this blending unique indeed?

Notes

(i) The original text lends itself to a two-fold interpretation, namely:

(a) Having secured my soul and thus made it subsist in the real sense, You are mighty pleased and are even inclined to feel that the purpose of Your immanence was achieved only when you got at me. This is like a whole town being besieged, for capturing just one person.

(b) Very keen on getting at me, You pervaded all things in their entirety, to ensure that I don’t slip off, by any means.

(ii) It sounds rather odd that the Lord’s Soul should be at the disposal of the Āḻvār. But the illustrious Yāmunācārya put it straight, by pointing out that there was nothing odd about this, because there is none to inhibit the Lord when, at His volition, He chooses to place Himself at the disposal of one of His subjects. When the individual Soul has to attain the Lord, the former’s ‘Karma’ could operate as the impediment, which has to be cut out, by His grace. In the reverse gear of the Lord subordinating Himself to the Individual, there can be no obstruction whatsoever!