Even a lifetime is not enough to know Him - mantrA 178

srigurubhyO namahA |
Keeping with the same theme of the transience of youth, the sage declares that even if the ignorant were blessed with extraordinary life span, they would waste the years in delusion and still be unable to know the true principle that is the source of all.

ஆண்டு பலவுங் கழிந்தன அப்பனைப்
பூண்டுகொண் டாரும் புகுந்தறி வாரில்லை
நீண்டன காலங்கள் நீண்டு கொடுக்கினும்
தூண்டு விளக்கின் சுடரறி யாரே. I.4.2.178

 

The years roll; but none the Lord in his bosom holds;
None to probe and perceive Him profound;
Even if Time's thread be to the utmost stretched,
Still they know not the spark that kindles all the lamps around.I.4.2.178

Com - The years roll; numerous years have been spent in ignorance but none the Lord in his bosom holds; None to probe and perceive Him profound; there are hardly any who are able to seek out the supreme, the source of all life and merge it within their hearts and bask in the effulgence of the akhanda oLi (eternal Light) and thus cultivate their spiritual wealth/ higher intelligence. Even if Time's thread be to the utmost stretched, even if they (i.e. the people of the world) were given the rare boon of having an extraordinarily long life lasting centuries on this worldly plane Still they know not the spark that kindles all the lamps around. They would not be able to realise the supreme lord, who is like the risen wick of the lamp that kindles light.

*The term ‘தூண்டு விளக்கின்’ or the spark that kindles refers here to the process of sAdhanA or the spiritual process/actions. The fact that the supreme truth (Lord) is experienced through the carefully kindled and cultivated fire of sAdhanA is illustrated by the sage’s choice of words. Here, we need to understand that by the word sAdhanA we mean those spiritual processes/ techniques that are characterised by the individual aspirant’s dedicated and conscious effort to attain to the supreme. Though the body of the lamp, the wick, the ghee/oil, the flame, are all part of the lamp; the actual process of kindling the wick is what is mainly responsible for increasing the illumination/light. In a similar vein, the aspirant should engage in constant effort to attain knowledge of the self. Coupling this with the first half of the verse we will arrive at the following meaning – That before the years roll on by and before one’s youth and strength are lost to disease and old age, one must seek the right method through which to attain the supreme Lord and be established in His effulgence. 

thirucchitrambalam ||