My mother bore me as
A heavy burden within her
And with a tender melting heart
And breathing vainly many a sigh,
With great pain did she bring me forth
To lie here wailing like a jackal.
Deign for once to tell me, Lord,
What does all this mean!
O the Bringer of Happiness!
(“En Thallayenne akame chumadaay kidathy
Vendullazhinju veruthe neduveerppumittu
Nondingu pettu naripole kidannu koovunnu
Enthaavathingu adiyanonnu aruleedu shambo”):
En Thallayenne akame chumadaay kidathy = My mother bore me as a heavy burden within her during my foetal development period.
Vendullazhinju = And with a tender melting heart my mother suffered several difficulties
Veruthe neduveerppumittu = And breathing vainly many a sigh, my mother also had pleasurable moments awaiting my birth, by the firm belief in Lord.
Nondingu pettu = With great pain did she bring me forth by the Grace of Lord.
Naripole kidannu koovunnu = To lie here wailing like a jackal for various needs.
Enthaavathingu = Deign for once to tell me such dualities, Lord,
Adiyanonnu aruleedu shambo = O Lord, What does all this mysteries mean!
The present verse depicts a peculiar situation of a mother who carries the pain of delivering a child after suffering several difficulties. Although it appears to be a normal biological process, Sree Narayana Guru brings in this verse a very brilliant concept by the phrase “Vendullazhinju veruthe neduveerppumittu nondingu pettu” asserting the convergence of Spiritualism and Materialism.
During foetal development period, the mother will have very pleasurable moments awaiting the birth of the child, even though she has to carry the load of foetus for a relatively longer period of 9 months. As soon as the child comes out from mother’s womb, the crying will start. It is mysterious to analyze these two opposite extremes of mother’s pleasurable moments and the child’s screaming for various needs.
On a logical thinking, there will be no satisfactory answer to this question; but may be stated that it is due to the life cycle of transactional world. Another important aspect is that the basis of life is determinant on the principle of dialectics or integration of opposite poles. Between the two poles, the transactional life’s wheel rotates infinitely. No philosophy or any school of knowledge will have a proper answer to such question. The real and definite answer is ‘firm belief on immeasurable Supreme Truth’. Such substantial conviction can be seen in Sree Narayana Guru’s eloquent silence.
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