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Svadeham arańiḿ krtvá prańavaḿcottarárańim;
Jiṋánanirmathanábhyásat páshaḿ dahati pańd́itah.

[A spiritual aspirant burns the ropes of his páshas (fetters, bondages) by using his body as the arańi (lower piece of wood) and mantra as the uttarárańi (upper piece of wood – the two pieces are rubbed together). An aspirant churns spiritual and mundane knowledge to separate the spiritual from the mundane (as churning separates butter from buttermilk).]

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What should a pandit do? The rśi [sage] says that a pandit should use his deha as arańi.

Svadeham. Sva means “one’s”; deha means “body”. In Sanskrit there are several terms for “body” – deham, shariiram, káyam, tanu – there are so many words. But their meanings are not the same. Tanu – the root verb tan means “to expand”; tanu means “the wonted expansionist”; to expand is its wont, to expand is its characteristic. That is, the body of a babe, the body of a man below thirty-nine years of age, is called tanu. Because up to the age of thirty-nine, the body goes on increasing either internally or externally. And after thirty-nine decay starts, waning starts. So the name for the body after thirty-nine is shariira. To become shiirńa is its svabháva [nature]. To wane is its svabháva. Hence the body of a man after thirty-nine years of age is called shariiram. Shariiram means “[that which is] decaying”, “[that which is] waning”. Another word is káyam. The root verb is ci, and the suffix is [ghaiṋ]. Ci means “to select”, “to choose”, “to pluck”. Now, in this body there is oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, gold, iron, mercury, and so many factors and so many elements. So this body is an assemblage of so many items. Hence it is called káyam. Káyam means “assemblage”. And here in this shloka the word deha has been used. Here the root verb is dih. In Sanskrit dih means “to adorn”, “to decorate”. So deha means “the object that one wants to keep decorated”, which is one’s object of adoration. An ugly-looking man also tries to keep his body well-decorated, thus it is called deha. A man has got maximum attachment for his deha – not for tanu or shariiram or káyam, but for deha. So here the word deha has been used by the rśi, and not shariiram or káyam.

Svadeham arańiḿ krtvá – “The spiritual aspirant should use his deha as arańi.” What is arańi? Arańi means “wood used as fuel”. In ancient times there were no matches. They had to create fire by friction. Now, the main piece of wood was called arańi, and the smaller one used for rubbing was called uttarárańi. So here the spiritual aspirant should use his deha, the main object of his attachment, as arańi, and prańava, that is, his Iśt́a mantra [mantra leading one to the Supreme Goal], as uttarárańi. Do you follow? That is, his physical body, his deha, should be in constant touch with his Iśt́a mantra.

Svadeham arańiḿ krtvá prańavaḿ ca uttarárańim – “using prańava, using the Iśt́a mantra, as uttarárańi”. Now what is its inner import? What is the import? The human body has a particular rhythm; each and every human body has its peculiar rhythm. And that rhythm is a creation of the person’s reactive momenta. So that rhythm separates him from all other objects of this universe. The reactive momenta of two persons are not the same. So the entitative rhythm of a particular man is purely his. And, just now I said, the Iśt́a mantra is to be used as uttarárańi. The Iśt́a mantra has a particular acoustic rhythm. Each and every mantra has its own acoustic rhythm. So the entitative rhythm of the spiritual aspirant must be in constant touch with the incantative rhythm of his Iśt́a mantra. That is, a sádhaka, a spiritual aspirant, should always try to make an adjustment between his entitative rhythm and incantative rhythm. And when that adjustment is established he attains the supreme trance of qualified absorption. And this is his goal. Svadeham arańiḿ krtvá prańavaḿ ca uttarárańiḿ. Why should the prańava be used as uttarárańi? That has now been clearly explained. And after that what will happen? Jiṋánanirmathanábhyásat pásham dahati pańd́itah [“A pandit breaks the fetters by churning knowledge (to separate the spiritual from the mundane)”].

Jiṋánanirmathana. Actually the word jiṋána means “subjectivization of external objectivities”. Jiṋánam – the actual import of the term jiṋánam is “subjectivization of external physicalities, of external objectives”. Now here the rśi [sage, author of the shloka, or couplet] prescribes jiṋánam nirmathanam. Nirmathana means “to churn”. We get butter by churning curd. Now in this jiṋánam there are so many objects – there is name, there is fame, there is money, there is landed property, there are so many items. Now by churning this jiṋánam the spiritual aspirant separates átman, the múlavastu [basic substance], from the impurities, from the mundane impurities. That is, by churning jiṋánam you are to separate the spirit from the impurities. And that’s why nirmathanam is required. And this nirmathanam is being done by – what? By this gharśanakriyá [rubbing] of arańi and uttarárańi. Jiṋánanirmathanábhyásat pásham dahati pańd́itah.

What is the result of the friction, the friction between arańi and uttarárańi? Fire is created. So as a result of this friction what happens? Certainly spiritual fire is created, sádhanágni is created; and what will that sádhanágni do? All the impurities of the mind will cease to exist, will be destroyed; and he who does these things is a pańd́ita.

The word pańd́ita can be used only for such spiritual aspirants and for nobody else. Because pańd́á means “Self-realization”. Pańd́á means “subjective reality”. Pańd́á means “knowing the hub of this Cosmological order”. And he who has acquired pańd́á is a pańd́ita. Just by learning Sanskrit one cannot become a pańd́ita. If one aspires to become a pańd́ita, one will have to know oneself.

Ahaḿ Brahmásmiiti buddhih támitah práptah pańd́itah [“One who has the sense, or intelligence, of knowing that ‘I am Brahma’ is a pańd́ita”]. “I am that characteristic seity” – this supreme realization is called pańd́á. And he who has realized this pańd́á, he who has acquired this pańd́á, is a pańd́ita. You are all sádhakas. I will ask you to obey this order of the rśi, which I also prescribe, and become pańd́itas.

Shubhamastu [May it be auspicious].