Satyam Śivam Sundaram
Aum Amriteshwaryai Namah This was as an assignment for my Guru Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi, regarding Her question of what Satyam Shivam Sundaram is.
Prayer: Ponnamma, whatever knowledge I have within me is what you have given me. May I have the capacity to share those. The earliest documented reference about Satyam Śivam Sundaram goes back to the 17th century when the great poet and bhakta Gosvāmī Tulsīdās finished his work Rāmacaritmānas, the story of Ramayana in the vernacular language of Awadhi to reach the non Sanskrit speakers as well. But this was critized by the Brahmins of Varanasi and made them to test the value of Tulsīdās composition. The Brahmins kept the manuscript of Rāmacaritmānas at the bottom of pile of all holy books in the sanctum sanctorum of the great Vishvanath temple in the night and locked all the doors. In the morning when they opened the doors, they were all dumbstruck. Rāmacaritmānas was found on top of the pile even above Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa. Rāmāyaṇa and the words Satyam Śivam Sundaram were inscribed on the manuscript with the signature of Lord Śiva himself. Therefor Ramcharitmanas seems to be the flawless elucidation of truth, auspiciousness/goodness and beauty. A deeper exposition of each word is below.
SATYAM (TRUTH)
Truth in philosophy is God in religion. All philosophies and all religions give high importance to truth. In Vedanta we can find the explanation of truth in two categories. **1- Absolute Truth – Paramārthika Satyam ** Brahman Satyam, Jagat Mithya. Brahman alone is truth, the world is a mere illusion. From the level of absolute truth, there is only God existing and nothing else. King Janaka dreamt that he was a beggar, dying out of hunger. Finally when he woke up he was only repeating, ‘is that real or is this real’. Ashtāvakra Muni then told him, that neither the dream as a beggar, nor the king in the now is real. Only that which has remained ever present in both the states is real. Truth has an independent existence. Truth has no attributes. When we say I’m Sugata, I’m a student, I’m a daughter, etc. the attributes may vary but the ‘I am’ remains unchanged. Paramārthika Satyam has the power to transform the finite individual into the infinite reality and puts an end to all of our sorrows. But when we don’t know the Truth we mistake the truth with untruth, the unreal for the real and the anātman for the Ātman. Therefor inquiry will change our perception and will make us search for, that which is eternal, unchanging and unmoving. As Mundaka Upaniṣad asserts, ‘Satyamevā Jāyate’, truth alone triumphs. It is our goal in human birth to realize our True Nature, the Absolute Truth (Sat – cit-ānanda)
2- Empirical Truth – Vyāvaharika Satyam. We shall share some aspects of vyāvaharika satyam. We can find nearly in all religions or philosophies that one of the do’s is speaking the truth and honesty in conduct. It is a seekers duty to be truthful in thought, word and deed. Speaking the truth has phenomenal effects on the individual and society. It is spreading goodness and inspires one to follow right conduct. When Sita Māta entered the agni parikśa to prove her chastity, the fire has not done any harm to her. If we are truthful, we will fulfill our given promises and words. Sage Satyavrata took the vow of speaking truth only. And in a crucial situation of saving an injured boar’s life or telling the truth to the hunter, Devi showered Her Grace and came on his tongue, letting him say, ‘That which can see cannot speak and that which speaks cannot see’. This helped him not to break his vow and save the boars life too. Hence even the Divine gives the blessings to a sincere truth-talker.
ŚIVAM
Śivam means auspiciousness or all that is good but also has meanings such as chaitanya – consciousness, shantam – peace, suci – purity, liberation, - mokşa, pavitratā – sacredness and kalyanā – wellbeing. When we come to experience the truth we start living the truth. Satyam in our thoughts, words and actions is Śivam. Osho expresses here beautifully: ‘Truth is the center of the cyclone. But if you experience the truth, the cyclone around you becomes Śivam. It becomes Godliness.’ Śivam is chaitanya, it is the life giver. Just as light is the manifestation of electricity, similarly consciousness is our source to function. Śivam is the sakşi, it is untouched by anything. In jagrat, svapna and suşupti states it is the witness only. Hence it is also purity. As the sakşi of body, mind and intellect it cannot be impure. Śantam Śivam advaitam – consciousness is without a second and is all peace. When there is oneness, there is unity, there peace.
SUNDARAM
Truth is the experience, Śivam is the action that comes out of the experience, and beauty is the flowering of consciousness of the man who has experienced truth. We can see great beings who follow the truth, are beauty personified. Beauty lies in perfection and in the strive for perfection. We see Amma sitting for hours giving darshan, lifting stones, cooking dosas but each movement of Her is in utter beauty, perfection and seems effortless. The Ramayana says that when Lord Rama came to live in Pancavatī, each day Nature became more and more beautiful. It is indeed the presence of the Divine that gives beauty to all. We experience similar things around Amma as well. All Her children have a special beauty and all Her abodes have an attractive feeling. Beauty creates love and love creates a beautiful feeling within. We thus become happy, peaceful, pure, soft, gentle and carrying. Seeing the child we get enchanted with the beauty of its innocence. Amma always reminds us to cultivate a child like innocent heart. It is the child who is unpolluted by any knowledge, not knowing anything; still aware of everything that surrounds him or her, with a deep wonder and a sense of mystery that cannot be explained. Thus sundaram is Śivam as well. Because Lord Śiva is also called Bholenath - the innocent one. While cultivating the heart of a child we basically take the journey to the Divine. Contemplating on Satyam Śivam Sundaram it seems like each precious word is complementing one another and is creating a virtuous cycle which gives the sādhak favorable results in his spiritual progress.
I humbly offer my words at my beloved Amma’s Lotus Feet. Amma’s Sugata Malayalam translation by: Linu Mohan
Sources: Tejomayananda, Swami, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. Osho, Rajneesh, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Talks given from 07/11/87 to 21/11/87 Prajnanananda, P. (2005). Yoga: Pathway to the Divine. Sai Towers Publishing.