’Tis He

’Tis He

(FROM THE TAMIL HYMN OF NAM-ALVAR)

I

Exalted beyond Exaltation,
Of absolute perfection, the Master,
Who is he? ’Tis He!
Rooting out all ignorance,
Who granteth Grace,
And wisdom which is Good?
Who is he? ’Tis He!
Of Eternals, omniscient Immortals,
Supreme Lord,
Who is he? ’Tis He!
His resplendent Feet
Dispel sorrow and sin:
Them worshipping, rise,
Oh, my mind.

II

Immeasurable is He
By the standard of mind's insight,
Although the mind be rendered
pure, to its inmost core,
Although the mind doth blossom
Like sprouts that shoot forth fresh.
He is not of these
That with the senses are perceived,
Such an One
He is Wisdom's perfect Good!
In the future, past or present
Not One is like unto Him,
Nor indeed has He
A Better or a Peer–
He is the Life of my soul.

III

He cannot be thought of
As not possessing that,
As possessing this:
Of all that are on earth,
Of all that are in Heaven,
His is the Form.
He–the formless spirit–
In all that is sense-perceived
Unperceived dwells
All-present, all-pervading.
Closely near
To That One–
Possessed of all perfection–
We have come.

IV

Each class, each group
In its especial manner
Knows, understands, worships,
Its especial God.
And each such special God,
Is no wise imperfect;
For He, the One Lord of All,
Stands immament in all the Gods,
That those too who worship them
In the prescribed manner
May attain the End.

V

He stands, He sits,
He reclines, He wanders,
He does not stand, He does not sit,
He does not recline nor wander:
Of Him, who can predicate
‘This is His nature’?
Such is the Lord of my steadfast faith.

VI

The stable sky, fire, wind, water, earth,
And all the matter that is fashioned therewith
As all these in their totality,
And in each and everyone of them,
As the soul is in the body,
Concealed, all-pervading
He remains–
The Consumer of all these–
God.

VII

First sky and all other things–
Whose nature the very gods comprehend not,
He became
And He consumed them all.
The supremest supreme,
He burnt the triple citadel,
He taught the ancient Gods.
Destroying, new fashioning
As Hara, as Aja,
He remains Ever.

VIII

If it be said ‘He is,’ He is–
And all these forms are His Form–
If it be said ‘He is not,’
These formless things are His formless Form.
Being and Non-being,
Possessing twofold qualities,
He is,
Eternal, active, pervading All.

IX

In the cool expansive ocean,
In every drop therein,
Pervading, He remains
As if that drop of water
Were an expansive ocean
Whose sky and earth are filled with Him,
And in every little space,
In every little thing,
Unseen, pervasive,
He remains–
Who once consumed all this.