Guru Vachaka Kovai - 465

Since at all times and in all places the unmistakable Self [‘I am’] alone shines eternally as the one Thing, except That, all other things at all times and in all places have to be dismissed as false.

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 504

The uninterrupted shining of Self, the life of life, as the natural consciousness ‘I-I’ in the heart is the nature of God’s giving unbroken upadesa to the worthy disciple.

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 340

Just as one flame appears to be many lights when it is lit in many lamps, so it is the one Self alone which appears to be many different individuals [jivas] when It is seen through many different attributes [upadhis].

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 506, 507, 508

506. For the highly mature souls who seek the supreme sat-chit-ananda in order to free themselves from the scorching heat of birth [and death], it is by the enquiry into only the word ‘Thou’, which [out of the three words ‘That’, ‘Thou’ and ‘Art’] denotes the nature of the individual soul, that the glory of Liberation is attained.

[Sadhu Om: We should remember here Sri Bhagavan’s instruction in verse 32 of 'Ulladu Narpadu' as to what an earnest and sincere disciple should do when he hears the Mahavakya ‘That Thou Art’ from a Guru. As soon as he hears the phrase ‘That Thou Art’, the disciple’s attention should turn to know ‘What am I?’ This is the real aim with which the Mahavakya was revealed. The one important word that stands in the above Mahavakya to turn the disciple’s mind to Self-attention is ‘Thou’. Therefore this verse categorically asserts that out of the three words, ‘Thou’ alone should be taken for scrutiny by a worthy disciple. The following two verses also emphasize the same idea.]

507. Only in order to turn inward the minds of less mature aspirants, which will be favourable for the aforesaid enquiry, [the Vedas] added the other two words ‘That’ [tat] and ‘Art’ [asi] to the word ‘Thou’ [tvam], thereby forming the Mahavakya ‘That Thou Art’ [tat tvam asi]. Thus should you know.

508. Verily the enquiry done within oneself to know the real import denoted by the word ‘Thou’, ‘What is it?’ [‘Who am I?’], is the proper means to know the correct import of the other two words also.

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 519

It is very rare to get full faith in One [God or Guru]. If such a faith blossoms in the heart [due to past merits], do protect and nourish it, since it is similar to a new-born baby, without spoiling it by giving room to any doubts or suspicion, just as, if one possessed the Kamadenu, one would bring it up with great care and love.

[Michael James: The Kamadenu is a divine cow which will give one whatever one desires. Likewise, complete faith in God or Guru will bestow anything and everything upon a devotee. Such is the wonderful power of faith.]

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 362, 363

Only when one’s own Source, the Heart, is known through enquiry, will the false first person, ‘I’, fall down; and only when that false first person falls abashed, will the true First Thing, Self, spring forth in all its Glory.

('Guru Vachaka Kovai' 362)

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When the insubstantial ghost, the ego – which rises from the darkness of ignorance and whose dance is itself all this universe – is enquired into, it disappears like the bridegroom’s friend [in the story], and when it disappears, Self, the Sun, rises up tearing away the darkness of ignorance, Maya.

('Guru Vachaka Kovai' 363)

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Commentary on 'Guru Vachaka Kovai' 363:

Sadhu Om: "A stranger once entered a marriage-house and posed before the bride’s party as the bridegroom’s best friend; and with the bridegroom’s party he posed as if he were a member of the bride’s family. Thus for five days he passed his time happily, eating well and bossing the servants, but on the last day when enquiries began to be made about him, he disappeared. Similarly, the ego rises and poses both as Chit [Consciousness – the nature of Self] or as jada [inertness – the nature of the body], though it truly belongs neither to Self nor to the body. Thus it enjoys its special position until it is enquired into, whereupon it disappears."

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 473, 474

473. Seated in the Heart of everyone as Heart, the Lord will ordain everything according to one’s destiny [prarabdha]. Therefore, if we unswervingly abide in Self, our source, all will happen unerringly.

474. Those who have the strong faith, “He who has planted this tree will water it”, will never be distressed. If he [who planted it] sees the tree drying up, let even that pathetic sight be only his burden.

Michael James: Devotees with great faith in God never feel concern for the needs of their life, because they are so sure that God will never abandon them. Even when it happens that they are not provided with their needs, they do not feel that they are afflicted; they simply endure with it patiently, feeling that it is only God who has to suffer by seeing them troubled. Hence on all occasions they are happy. This verse thus assures that for such devotees there is no misery at all in life.

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 149

The experience of Vedanta is possible only for those who have completely given up all desires. For the desirous it is far away, and they should therefore try to rid themselves of all other desires by the desire for God, who is free from desires.

Sadhu Om: The term Vedanta is commonly understood to mean a particular system of philosophy, but its true meaning is the experience of Jnana which is gained as the conclusion [anta]ofthe Vedas. The desire for sense objects, which are all 2nd or 3rd persons, is directly opposed to the desire for God, and so it is quite clear that God is not merely one among the many 2nd and 3rd personal objects, but that He must be the Reality of the 1st person. Therefore, we should understand that discarding all desires for 2nd and 3rd personal objects and having love for Self alone is the true
devotion towards God.

Verse B13 [731] also asserts this same point.

Attending to Self is devotion to the supreme Lord, because the Lord exists as Self.

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 150

The Wise, who know that all worldly experiences are formed by prarabdha alone, never worry about their life’s requirements. Know that all one’s requirements will be thrust upon one by prarabdha, whether one wills them or not.

Guru Vachaka Kovai - 151

Siva shines within each jiva as the witness, enabling the jiva to experience his prarabdha through Siva’s presence. Whoever knows his nature to be mere being-consciousness, without imagining through ignorance that he is the experiencer of prarabdha, shines as that supreme person, Siva himself.

Siva here denotes Iswara, the personal God, not Sivam, the impersonal absolute consciousness. When he spoke about prarabdha, Bhagavan generally adopted the position that God, Iswara, gave each jiva its prarabdha and also ordained that each jiva must experience the fruits of its actions so long as it identified with the body that was performing the ordained activities.

Bhagavan once defined the true nature of Nirvikalpa samadhi in the following way: 'The mere non-perception of differences [vikalpas] outside is not the real nature of firm Nirvikalpa. Know that the non-rising of differences in the dead mind alone is the true Nirvikalpa. 

Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 893