“Abhayam Tan Aruluka”: A Window into Amma’s Spiritual Vision

 

Lyrics

abhayam tan aruluka niyen

akataril teliyuka krsna

anayattananda nilavayi

teli manam nalkuka hrttil

paramartha porule, niyen

paritapa kanalanayanayi

kanivin amrtam pozhiyikka

paricil ñan kandu tozhatte

katake kurirulayi kutarum kuttinumilla karunya katalalle ni

karunyam tukukayille?

snehattin tiri nalatte

nilattil nittuka krsna

kanatte kani kanatte

cenutta padatar pùkkal

Translation

Grant me refuge, O Krishna, and manifest Thy presence within me. Be as the unfading full moon, shining in the unclouded sky of my heart.

Thou, Who art the very Essence of Truth, do pour forth the nectar of Thy Grace to extinguish the burning embers of my sorrow.

Vouchsafe me Thy vision, I pray, and permit me to offer my obeisance without further delay.

The forest grows dark, and I am left without companion.

Art Thou not the boundless ocean of compassion?

Wilt Thou not shower Thy Grace upon me?

Extinguish the wick of this lamp of yearning,

O Krishna, and allow me to behold

Thy beautiful Feet, soft and radiant as flowers.

This bhajan “Abhayam Tan Aruluka” is a poignant cry of the soul for divine refuge, love, and deliverance. Though simple in structure and devotional in tone, the song opens a window into Amma’s profound spiritual vision — one rooted in love, surrender, compassion, and inner transformation.

At the heart of the bhajan lies a deep longing for God’s presence: “Give me refuge, O Krishna, and appear within me. Be the unwaning full moon and shine in the clear sky of my heart.” This verse captures Amma’s central teaching that God is not a distant deity but the in-dweller of the heart. True spirituality, she says, is not about external rituals alone, but about discovering the divine light within oneself through meditation, prayer, and self-surrender. The imagery of the full moon radiating in the sky of the heart evokes a state of inner clarity and peace — the fruit of sincere spiritual practice.

The bhajan also reflects Amma’s emphasis on śaraṇāgati, the total surrender to God. The repeated pleas for grace — “Won’t Thou shower Thy Grace?” — and the invocation of the Lord as “the ocean of compassion” underscore Amma’s view of the divine not as a remote judge but as the ever-accessible source of solace. In Amma’s teachings and life alike, compassion is not merely a virtue but the very nature of God. She often reminds us that no matter how broken we may feel, the Divine is always ready to embrace us — provided we open our hearts.

Furthermore, the song’s description of the darkening forest and the absence of companionship speaks to the human condition in the modern age — marked by loneliness, fear, and spiritual alienation. Amma teaches that while the world may offer fleeting pleasures, it is only divine love that can fill the void within. The forest becomes a metaphor for saṁsāra, the ever-shifting wilderness of worldly life, from which the soul seeks deliverance.

Perhaps most moving is the final plea: “Pull out the wick of the lamp of love, O Krishna, and let me behold those beautiful flower-like Feet.” Here, longing itself becomes the lamp — burning with yearning for divine union. Amma often speaks of viraha bhakti, the love that aches in separation from the Beloved, as a powerful force that purifies the heart. The vision of the Lord’s Feet symbolises the culmination of the spiritual journey — darśan, the moment when the veil of illusion is lifted and the soul beholds its eternal refuge.

In “Abhayam Tan Aruluka”, we thus hear not only the voice of a devotee, but the very pulse of Amma’s spiritual philosophy: one in which divine love is the beginning and end of all paths, and in which surrender, humility, and yearning are not signs of weakness, but the soul’s noblest expressions.