Thiruvaimozi 1.3

 

1.patthudaiyavarkkeLiyavanpiRargaLukkuriya

   vitthagan malarmagaL virumbum nam arum peRal adigaL

   matthaRukadai veNNaikaLavil uralidai yaappuNdu 

   etthiRam uralinodu iNaindhirundhEngiyaeLivE

 

 

How can one describe the soulabhya of our Lord, the  beloved of Lakshmi, who is easily available to His devotees but not for those who are without devotion, such an unattainable Lord who was bound to the mortar because He stole butter while being churned and who stood without moving from the mortar to which he was tied around His waist.

 

This pasuram is of special significance not only because it describes the scene of Krishna bound to the mortar and thus showed that he could be bound with love but because on describing His soulabhya thus azvar went into a trance in which he stayed for six months, on uttering the words ’etthiRam’ meaning how great is His soulabhya

 

Patthudaiya – those who have devotion, patthi refers to bhakthi.

 

adiyavarkkeLiyavan- He is easy to get for the devotees. In Ramayana we see that when Ravana tried to lift Lakshmana who was unconscious due to being attacked by SakthyaayuDha in order to carry him to Lanka. He could not lift Lakshmana who became too heavy to lift o for him. After all he was none other than Adhisesha who bears the entire earth and it was no wonder that Ravana could not lift him. But Hanuman was able to lift him without effort which shows that for a devotee can do to the Lord through his love. Valimki  refers to hanuman as suhrd, one with good hear and a friend, which means bhakthi only.

 

Here also in the mortar episode, Yasodha was able to bind Him who cannot be bound through her love. To show that he could not be bound he acted his leela by which the rope Yasodha was trying to bind him was short by two inches, says Bhagavatham , with whatever rope she tried, however long. But seeing her disheveled and ashamed that others would laugh at her He got himself bound, out of mercy to His devotees.

 

Desika describes this saying ulookhale kuthrachith aatthapuNye banDhum sathaam banDhum iyesha maathaa , his mother wished to tie , banDHum iyesha, Him who is banDhum sathaam, of His devotees ( with a pun on the word banDhum meaning tying as well as realative),  to a mortar, ulookHa,  which was aatthapuNya, the mortar has done some punya to acquire that  good fortune that Yasodha wanted to tie Krishna to it.

 

Azvar visualizing scene sees Krishna tied to the mortar and being threatened by Yasodha  and he is standing tied to the mortar and feigning fear with his eyes filled with tears and  azvar exclaims ‘etthiRam,’ and went into a trance thinking on His soulabhya. He seems to be controlled by His devotees which is also His will. In this instance he allowed himself to be bound in order to perform his ela of freeing the sons of Kubera who were waiting for him at the backyard as twin trees.

 

Both in Ramavathara and Krishnavathara we see instances of the Lord’s soulabhya through out but though in Ramavatahra He never disclosed His identity, in krishnavathara He showed clearly His divinity in many instances. But only the devotees who were dasa as well knew His real identity like Vidhura, Uddhava etc. Others like Yasodha and the gopis or the Pandavas with the exception of Sahadeva who bound Him with devotion, they never really remembered His divinity always, which was again the maya of the Lord to facilitate the performance of His leelas.

 

This is why the Lord told in Gita ‘janma karma cha me dhivyam evam yo vetthi thatthvathaH,’ meaning that only those endowed with jnana born a out of bhakthi can understand His births and actions fully. Others think that he is only human like Sisupala and Duryodhana or Ravana as He says in Gita  ‘avajaananthi maam mooDaaH maanusheem thanum aasritham param bhaavam ajaananthaH,’ “Those who have no knowledge about My real nature consider Me as a human being without knowing my divinity.”

 

 

 

2. eLivarum iyalvinan nilai varambila palapirappaay

    oLivaru muzunalam mudhal ila kEdila veedaam

    theLi tharu nilaimai adhu ozivilan muzuvadhum iRaiyon

    aLivarum aruLinOduagatthanan puRatthan amarndhE

 

 

The Lord , IRaiyOn, is by nature easy to attain, and he is not conditioned by His various incarnations. He is the, beginningless and endless self illumined  absolute bliss, oLivarumuzunalam mudhal ila kEdila, and always bestows moksha  by His grace that is infinitely generous, muzuvadhum ozvilan. He is close to His devotees but distant to others.

 

In the first centum azvar said that the Lord is the Supreme  and in the second centum mentions that He is the one to be worshipped because He is the Supreme.In this centum azvar explains His soulabhya. In the last pasuram azvar went into a trance on uttering the words ’etthiRam’ and in this pasuram he elaborates on the soulabhya after regaining his consciousness.

 

The Lord is no doubt beyond the  grasp of all who think of Him as the one who churned the ocean with His 1000 arms and got the amrtha for the devas, which was indicated in the last pasuram as matthurukadai  when taken with vitthagan, which includes all His superhuman exploits in the Krishnavathara in particular. So He was termed as piRargaLukkariyavan. But He is patthudai adiyavarkkeLiyavan, which is made clear by His  being bound to the mortar and acting as the charioteer to Arjuna and messenger of pandavas etc.

 

Azvar says that the Lord is easily available by nature, eLivarum iyalvinan, to all in His incarnations but He is not limited by the conditions pertaining to the birth, nilai varambu ila palapiRappaay, He takes. Even though He acts according to the costume He dons in the particular incarnation it is only acting and not real. To the devotees who know this He is easily attainable, agatthanan, and they get  moksha by experiencing Him, veedu aam thelI tharu nilaimai . But to others who do not know His real nature he is unattainable, puRatthanan, because they are delude into believing that He is the character itself instead of the actor who plays the character.

 

The lord is compared to an elephant which bends down to help those it would like to carry on its back but terrifying to those who are against it. Even the children are able to climb the elephant and it bends low to allow them to do so. Similarly the Lord comes down to our level to elevate us to His level if we are like children and love Him and have absolute faith in Him.

 

3.amaivudai aRaneRi muzuvadhaum uyarvaRa uyarndha

   amaivadai  mudhal kedal idai odivu idai aRa nilam adhuvaam

   amaivudai amararum yaavaiyum yaavarum thanaai

amaivudai naaraNan mayaiyai aRibavar yaare

 

Who can comprehend the maya of Narayana, who is the Brahman , the cause and the substratum of all , which includes the deities like Brahma the creator and Rudra the annihilator, who possess supreme power for performing their dharma and functions such as creation ,mudhal,  annihilation at the end, kedal , as well as the interim annihilation, idai odivu ? Not they nor their creations , sentient and insentient can understand the maya of the Lord.

 

amaivudai= complete. This word, in the first two lines, is used to qualify the devas like Brahma and Rudra who have complete knowledge of their duties, aRaneRi muzuvadhum, and functions, mudhal kedal  odivu idai. They are said to have the complete., amaivudai, power to do it effortlessly, aRa nilam adhu aam.

 

In the next two lines the word amaivudai qualifies the Lord. He is the substratum and the cause of the complete, amaivudai, creations including Brahma.Rudra and others. Amararum yaavaiyum yaavarum thaanaai. His maya is such that no one can understand it fully, amaivudai naaraNan maayaiyai aRibavar yaarE.

 

The Lord is the cause and the universe is His effect which includes Brahma and Rudra and other devas who are also His creations. Hence they do not know Him, their primal cause,  as they are also under the realm of His maya through which he has created everything. The whole world is His manifestation as the Upanishat says, ‘sarvam khalu idham Brahma  thajjjalaan,’  meaning, all this is Brahman, as they originate from and annihilated and protected by Him.

 

The Lord Himself says in Gita, ‘ajopi san avyayaathmaa bhoothaanaam eeSvaropi san;prakrthim svaam aDhishTaya sambhavaami aathmamaayayaa.’(BG-4.3)  “I take on my own prakrthi (maya) and manifest through my own maya, “ In Purushasuktha we have ‘ajaayamaano bahuDhaa vijaayathe,’ meaning ‘the one who is never born takes many manifestations.’ This is the maya of the Lord which no one can comprehend.

 

4.yaarum Or nilaimaiyan ena aRivu ariya emperumaan

   yaarum or nilaimaiyan ena aRivu eLiya emperumaan

   pErum Oraayiram piRa palaudaiya emperumaan

  pErum Or uruvamum uLadhillai iladhillai piNakkE

 

Our Lord, could not be ascertained as such by those who do not know His reality but He is easily known by His devotees. He has thousand names and several forms and there is no controversy about this.

 

Those who lack perception of His real nature could not ascertain His status as such, even if they were knowledgeable otherwise. Ravana with all his vedic learning could not see that Rama was the Supreme Purusha. But to His devotees he is easy to understand. It is because they know that He is the Supreme Being who takes thousand names and forms. Others see His manifestations as different because  due to His maya they are deluded into identifying Him only with the particular form He appears in. As mentioned in the previous verse even Brahma, Rudra and the devas are no exception We see in Bhagavatham that even Brahma and Indra mistook Krishna to be a human and even Rudra was deluded by His mohini avathara. Such was His maya.

 

Even  Dadhibaanda , though knew that Krishna was the Lord Supreme and capable of giving him moksha, did not know Him fully because he thought that Krishna cannot escape if he sat on the curd pot. This is what is described as His soulabhya. He renders Himself to the devotees to be treated as they like.

 

Dhadhibaanda was a milkman and Krishna came into his house and hid inside a curd-pot and told him not to reveal his presence to the  pursuing gopis. Dadhibaanda agreed and sat on the pot where Krishna hid and the gopis came and looked into all the pots except the one Dhadhibaanda sat on, thinking that Krishna would not be in it as Dadhibaanda was sitting on it. After they have gone Krshna called out to Dadhibaanda asking him to get up so that he can come out. Then Dhadhibaanda replied  that he will do so on condition that Krishna will give him moksha. Krishna had no alternative but to promise him that. (This story was told by Mukkur Swamin)

 

So azvar said in the previous verse ‘maayaiyai aribhavar yaarE.’ But he shows His reality to those He chooses to do so, as the Upanishad declares, ‘yamaivesha vrNuthe thenalabhyathe.’ He made Himself  easy to understand to those whom He chooses.

 

Whom will He choose? Those who love Him for His own sake and not even with the expectation of getting moksha. He displayed His reality to a monkey, a huntress and to cowherd maidens.

 

The devotees know that he has thousand  names and forms but He is beyond them. Those with no devotion identify Him with the particular form. And only those who are udhaaseena, indifferent, argue about whether he has many names and forms or not.

 

5.piNakkaRa vaRuvagaicchamayamum neRiyuLLi uRaittha

    kaNakkaRu nalatthanan anthamilaadhi ambhagavaan

    vaNakkudaitthavaneRivazininRu puranerigaLaikkattu

    uNakkumin pasai aRa avanudai uNarvu kondu unarndhe

 

The Lord , who is endowed with infinite auspicious qualities, possesses jnana, bala, aisvarya, veerya, shakthi and tejas, and is eternal , has declared devotion as  the path of salvation to settle all issues regarding  the other paths advocated by the six systems outside the pale of the Vedas. Through devotion and surrender as instructed by the Lord in the Gita, one should uproot the weeds in the form of  other paths and remove the attachment.

 

To the question that even though we know that the Lord is easy to approach, what are the means of attaining Him, Azvar replies in this verse that  it is  to follow what He has advised in the Gita, that is ,the path of devotion.

PiNakku aRa- without any contradiction and argument regarding,

ARuvagai ccahmayam- the six systems of philosophy namely, sankhya. Yoga, Nyaya, bouddha, Jaina and Paasupatha.

 

NeRi uLLi uraittha -   the Lord has showed the right path of devotion in Pancharathra as well as in Gita.

 

kanakkaRu nalatthanan-  refers to His infinite auspicious qualities.

 

Antham il aadhi–without beginning and  end , that is eternal.

 

ambhagavan- the Lord who  is endowed with the six qualities that go with the epithet of bhagavan, namely, aisvrya, overlordship, bala, might, jnana, knowledge, veerya, prowess,  shakthi, power and thejas,  glory.

 

Vanakkudai thavaneRi vazi ninru-  following the path of devotion and surrender.

 

puRaneRigalaikkattu- avoid the other means advocated by the other schools.

 

paSai aRa,  -   to give up attachment. The Lord says in the Gita, ‘rasavarjam rasopyasya param dhrshtvaa nivarthathe.’ Even after one has given up desires and gains self control the propensity to enjoy sensual pleasures remains till he has realized Brahman.

 

avanudai uNarvu kondu unarndhe-     Understanding what He has said in the  Gita. The Lord says in the end of the discourse, ‘manmanaabhava madbhakthaH madyaajee maam namaskuru. Maamea eshyathi.’ With your mind engrossed in Me, be My devotee, worship Me and bow down to Me and you will attain Me alone. This is what is referred to here. In the eleventh chapter  Krishna says ‘naaham vedhaiH na thapasa  na dhaanena  na cha ijyayaa ----bhakthyaathvananyayaa sakyaH,’ meaning that The Lord cannot be seen by learning the Vedas, by penance, by performing sacrifices and by charity etc but only through devotion.

 

6.uNarndhuNarndhu izindhaganRu

uyarndhu uruviyandha innilaimai

uNarndhuNarndhuNarilum

iRainilai unarvu aridhu uyirgaaL

uNarndhu uNarndhu uraitthu uraitthu

ari ayan aran ennum ivarai

uNarndhu uNarndhu uraitthu uraitthu

irainjumin manappattadonRe

 

Oh sentient beings, by knowledge and experience, uNarndhu uNarndhudu, it is possible to understand the real nature of the individual self which is all pervading yet subtle like an atom, izindhaganru uyarndhu uriviyandha. But to understand the real nature of the Lord irainilai uNarvu aridhu, is not easy. By proper enquiry and study and listening, Unarndhu uNarndhu uraitthu uraitthu, to the nature of the three manifestations of the Lord as the creator, Brahma, annihilator, Siva and the protector, Hari,  come to a conclusion and stick to that which appeals to your mind.

 

By reading the sasthras and by contemplation the individual self can be understood as having the jnana as its essential attribute which is contracted in the embodied state and all pervading in its real state and thus it is different from body, mind and intellect. But through these means alone the real nature of the Supreme self cannot be understood.

 

Then how to understand the real nature of the Supreme Self? It is possible, says Azvar. Vedas denote the Brahman by several epithets which are examined and affirmed to denote only Brahman and not the entities mentioned by the Vedanta suthras. Among all the three entities, ari, ayan aran, Hari, the, protector,  Brahma , the creator and Rudra the annihilator, are the most important. After enquiring into these manifestations and listening to the ithihasa and puranas, we have to understand that Narayana, synonymous with the Brahman of the upanishats, is the prime cause of all manifestations.

 

7. onrRenap palavena aRivarum vadivinuL ninRa

    nanRezil naaraNan naanmugan aran ennum ivarai

    onRa num manatthu vaitthu uLLi num iru paSai aRutthu

    nanREn nalam Seivadhu avanidai nammudai naaLE

 

 

Understanding the manifestation of the Lord Narayana as the one and many, and examining the nature of the three manifestations of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, attach yourself with the Lord while this life is there casting off the attachment to others.

 

The Vishnupurana says.

 

srshtisThithyanthakaraNeem brahmavishnusivaathmikaam

sa sajnaam yaathi bhagavaan eka eva janardanaH

 

The one and only Supreme Being, Janardhana, manifests Himself as Brahma the creator, Siva the annihilator and Vishnu , the protector.  Narayana is the One who becomes many, onrena palavena aRivarum vadivil ninRa, and it is difficult to understand whether he is one or many. Only through knowledge and  contemplation, onRa num manatthil vaitthu uLLi, one can give up the attachment to other forms, irupaSai aRutthu, and devote oneself to Him, nanRen nalam seivadhu avanidai, within the span of life, nammudai naaLe.

 

8.naaLum nin Radhu nampazamai angodu vinaiudanE

   maaLum Or kuRaivillai mananaga malamaRakkazuvi

   naLum nam thiruvudai adigaL tham  nalam kazal vaanangi

   maaLumOridatthilum vaNakkodu maaLvadhu nalamE

 

Washing away all impure thoughts to the contrary,malamRakkazuvi, resorting  always to the feet of our Lord who is with Lakshmi, naaLum  nam thiruvudai adigaL tham nalam kazal vaNangi,  our sins accumulated from past lives that torment us always, naaLum ninradhunam pazamai angoduvinai, will be destroyed, maaLum. No bad effects will accrue, Or kuraivillai, to such a devotee. It is better to leave this body with devotion(even if it is not done earlier.)

 

The sins accumulated during our past lives will continue to give us suffering for all lives to come. Only through devotion they can be destroyed. For this,  the Lord persuaded by the divine mother through mercy, gives us the buddhi to do bhakthiyoga as He says in the Gita, ‘dhadhaami buddhiyogam,’ hkthi yoga is possible only when all the wrong thoughts are washed away through the  knowledge that He alone is our saviour.

 

This pasuram gives solace to those who feel that the sins of their past lives are many and their life has been spent in doubt and indecision before the truth that  the Lord is the only solace dawned in their minds. Azvar says in this pasuram that even if they get the firm thought that Naryaana is the only saviour at the end of their life and leave this body with that thought, their sins will be destroyed by their following  the  bhakthi yoga in the next life through the grace of the Lord. Krishna says in the Gita, ‘kountheya prathijaaneehi na me bhakthaH praNasyathi,’ meaning that the devotee of the Lord never comes to harm. This is what is asserted in this pasuram by the words ‘Or kuraivillai.’

 

In the vedantasutra, it is said ,

thadhaDhigamauttharapurvAghayOh asEshavinAsou thadhvyapadhEsAth-(BS-4-1-13) which means

 Attaining that (meditation ) results in non-clinging and destruction of earlier and later sins because it is declared thus. The suthra says that the scripture declares that not only the evil deeds do not   cling but also they are destroyed by the power of knowledge, here the knowledge being  the knowledge about the Lord.

Ramanuja says  in Sribhashya that this statement is not contradictory to the sruti text declaring that the karma must be exhausted only through experience. 'nAbhuktham ksheeyathE karma kalpakotisathairapi.’ There is also a sruthi text 'ksheeyanthE asya karmANi thasmin dhrshtE parAvarE,’ meaning, all karma is destroyed when one knows Brahman. There is no contradiction because the two refer to two different subjects. The first one means that work has the power to produce result which has to be experienced. But the knowledge has the capacity to destroy the power of past karma and to obstruct that of subsequent karma. So both declarations are valid as the power of fire to produce heat and of water to quench it are both valid and not contradictory to each other.

Alavandar says in his sthothrarathna,

Thvadhanghrim uddhiSya kadhaapi kenachith

YaThaa thaThaavaapi sakrth krthonjaliH

Thadhaiva mushNaathi aSubhaani aSeshathaH

Subhaani pushNaathi na jaathu heeyathe

 

When anyone  any time does obeisance to You at least once, even casually, that destroys all his sins and contributes to his welfare and it is never in vain.

 

9.valatthavan thiripuram eritthavan idampera tthundhi

   thalatthezu dhiSaimukhan padaittha nallulagamum thanum

   pulappadappinnumthan ulagatthil agatthanan thane

   solapugil ivai pinnum vayitRuLa ivaiyavan thuyakkE

The maya of the Lord is too wonderful to describe. Rudra, who burnt the three cities, is on  the right half of Him, valatthavan thiripuram eritthavan idampeRa,, while the Creator Brahma has risen  from His navel, thundhi thalatthezu dhisaimukhan Yet the Lord manifests Himself in the worlds created by Brahma, padaittha nallulagamum thaanum pulappada.  Also He has all the worlds together with the creator , Brahma and annihilator, Rudra with in Him, pinnum vayitRuLE(His stomach.)

The power of all the devas and also of Brahma ,the creator and Rudra, the annihilator comes from the Lord, who is the self of all beings. Hence Rudra was able to burn the three cites owned by the three asuras with His help only , the story actually being that Lord Vishnu was the arrow with the tip being  agni  and feathers being vayu. Not only that,  but  the Lord also gave Rudra place in His right half of the body in His manifestation as Sankaranarayana,  Brahma also originated from His navel and acquired the power to create from the Lord . The maya of the Lord  makes the Azvar exclaim is that, not only He gave place to Rudra and Brahma on His body to enable them to perform their allotted functions but also takes  part in the world created by Brahma posing as one of his creations.

This idea is beautifully brought out by Desika in Yadhavabhyudhaya.

Namyasya namathaH kshudhraan varadhasya varaarThinaH

puthraiH pithrmathaH kreedaa kaTham the kena varnyathe

(Yad.1-48)

 

‘ Who can describe your leelaa, by which you bow down to lesser mortals who should worship You, beg favours from those who should be asking You for boons, You act like a son to your own children.’

At the same time while He is appearing in the world in different roles put on by Himself , He is preserving the whole cosmos with all the beings in His stomach including Brahma and Rudra. This indeed is the indescribable maya of the Lord.

 

10.thuyakkaRu madhiyil nal jnaanatthuL amararaitthuyakkum

     mayakkudai maayaaigaL vaanilum periyavan vallan

     puyaRkkaruniRatthanan perunilam kadandhanalladippOdhu

     ayarppilan alattRuvan thazuvuvan vaNanguvan amarndhE

The enchanting maya of the Lord, mayakkudai maayaigaL who is greater than even the space, vaanilum perian,  deludes even the devas, amararaitthuyakkum, who are supposed to have clear conception, madhiyil nal jnaanatthuL, of His glory. I will enjoy Him alone incessantly, amarndhE ayarppilan, and shout His glory,alattruvan, embrace Him, thazuvuvan,  and bow down, vaNanguvan, to Him, of the hue of the cloud , who placed His foot on all without discrimination.

The maya of the Lord is so powerful that even the devas and nithyasuris like Garuda and Anantha are not exceptions and they also become deluded at times even though they are endowed with clear perception of the real nature of the Lord. Azvar further says that the Lord is only merciful to all and does not want to delude anyone but they become so, due to their own ignorance. He put His foot on all beings equally when He took the form of Thrivikrama and hence Azvar declares that He is the greatest, vaanilum periyan.

The reference here is to the instances when even the devas became deluded . Indra during the govardhanoddharaNa and parijaathaapaharaNa episodes, Brahma during vatsapaharana and Rudra, fighting Krishna in support of Banasura and feeling desire for the mohini form of the Lord etc.

The words ayarppilan, alattRuvan , thazuvuvan and vaNanguvan denote the various ways in which Azvar experienced the Lord. The feelings of an ardent devotee is pictured thus in these words.

ayarpilan- Continuous contemplation of nothing else but Him, amarndhE.

alattruvan- the outburst of feeling in being separated from Him and speaking about Him aloud, irrespective of the impression on others, meaning, not being afraid of ridicule or censure.

thazuvuvan- When the Lord comes  the devotee embraces Him as Azvar says in a latter section ‘ini unaippoga viduvadhundO,’ “Will I ever let You go again?”

vaNanguvan- total surrender.

 

11.amarargaL thozudheza alaikadal kadaindhavan thannai

     amarpozil vaLam kurugoor sadagopan kuttREvalgaL

     amarSuvai aayiratthavattRinuL ivai patthum vallaar

     amararodu uyarviRsenRu aRuvar tham piravi anjiRaiyE

Those who learn these ten verses out of the thousand by the azvar  that stand as the verbal offering to the Lord , who churned the ocean to save the devas who prayed to Him, will join the retinue of the Lord consisting of the immortals, being freed from the bondage of samsara.

In mentioning the benefit of reading these ten verses, Azvar remembers the extreme mercy of the Lord in helping the devas when they prayed to Him, amarargaL thozudheza alaikadal kadaindhavan, during the AmrthamaThana. He helped in lifting the mountain, supporting it and also churned along with them and entered into them to give them strength making them free of fatigue. Hence worshipping such an ocean of mercy, it is no wonder that His devotees attain a status equal with the immortals and cut their shakles of karma that creates bondage.

In the first decade Azvar showed the supremacy of the Lord.

In the second, he showed that,

One should cast off the attachment to sense objects and surrender oneself to Him by perceiving the faults of the sensual pleasures, give  up the concept  of I and mine. Attaining the Lord alone is free of defects as compared even to the kaivalyamukthi. The Lord is attached to one and all and all belong to Him only. Worshipping Him with body, mind and speech, (kaayena, manasaa vaachaa) is the means to attain Him and the end also. Finally the Lord is identical with the ashtaaksharamanthra.

In this decade Azvar shows that even though the Lord is supreme and beyond comprehension, He could be attained easily through devotion. He has made Himself accessible through His incarnations, though He retains His supremacy . He cannot be known by His enemies and by those who are indifferent. To know Him is possible through His own words and He should be considered as being above the trinity of Brahma, the creator, VishNu, the protector and Rudra, the annihilator, whose power comes only through Him. It is enough if one realizes this at least at the time of death and bow down to Him, not deluded by His maya during His incarnations, which is so powerful that it deludes  even the clear intellects at times.