ABHANGA
Impossible to have any other liking,
not possible to remember anything else//
it overwhelms the three worlds(1)
anything the ,mind runs after, the juice in it ,is her milk//
its complete, in itself, it is ready for consumption ,always ,at all times(2)
you don’t have to discipline your sense organs, as they run after their sensory objects//
Because there is no place unoccupied, there is no place without her.
it is filled to brim by her milk,(3)
Tuka says,the equidistant- placed feet of lord Vithhala is my pillar of faith//
I have strengthened ,the faith so much ,it is unshakeable now, can’t move away from it anywhere(4)
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I have chosen this abhanga to-day on purpose ,as if ,it is continuation of my previous abhanga. In a way it is. Because the last line of this creation makes a reference using the same word,”KHUNT.
Please allow me to explain the last line first.Tuka says,,
The equidistant planted feet of my, lord Vithhala ,is the firm pillar of my faith. I have, strengthened it tremendously. its impossible now to move away from it.
Shri maharaj is describing his own condition here .He is describing the quality, the status of his own life. why?, The only purpose the saints, sages describe their blissful state of life, is for us to achieve that status. For us to know that such a life is possible, achievable.
They exhort us, to choose the true
happiness, instead of the pleasures which I seek daily.
I have no idea, no experience of that state. I do not believe that such happiness is within my reach.
That’s the only purpose, people like Tukaram maharaj, visit this earth. To teach me, inspire me.
They live a life of a ordinary person, go through all the pangs of life, suffer as we all do, emulate, all the acts a ordinary human undertakes.
But the only extra ordinary thing they do is to leave behind these words, these poems, which by their, sheer magnifiscence,tell us that, they were no ordinary humans. The longevity of these creations ,makes them immortal. The inspirations they have imparted in millions of lives ,make them saints, sages, and we have to believe them. Firm our resolve to follow their words.
The first two words of the last line of this poem are “ SAMA-CHARAN”, in marathi,language.It means equally placed feet, balanced stance.
Lord vithhala is standing on his two feet,equi-distant, at Pandharpur, a fact every saint eulogises.why?.It has a significance. One feet is in this mundane world, of the earthly life, and the other feet is in the spiritual world, the world beyond the sensory pleasures. The world in which the saint, sages live. And both the feet are equi-distant, no inclination, no partiality, towards earthly life, nor an extra weightage to spiritual life. Both have equal status.
In other words, the world of human life, on earth is equal to spiritual world, it is not to be shunned, not to be renounced, but it is to be lived with a balance. The other feet is to be firmly rooted, in spiritual practices, devotion worship .
What is meant by spiritual practice?. Is it any different from daily life??. Is it wrong to eat good food, have the comforts of home, have family, have children?.Is it possible for every human to renounce the life, become ascetic, practice spirituality, in jungles, away from society. Is it what saint Tukaram is preaching. Come let us find out.
The whole poem is a symbolic reference. Shri maharaj is referring lord Vithhala as a cow, the omnipotent, celestial cow.
In ancient scriptures, the cow,Nandeeni, is supposed to have the entire universe within her, here maharaj refers his faith, as that cow. The words, like milk ,are extension of same symbolism.
The first three lines are the description of the state of mind which tukaram maharaj is in. see how he sees,the routine world. How he lives in this daily life. The first line goes as follows.
Its impossible for maharaj to remember anything else,he has no other liking left, because his liking, his preferred joy has filled, all the joys known in these the three worlds.
Is it possible to fill all the three worlds with one’s own desires, likings.
What do I desire, what are my likings, what is that every human being desires, I will try to explain.
My desires are ,nothing but the objects of my sensory satisfaction, I desire ,tasty food, an object of my tongue, I desire good touch, object of my skin, desire good smell, object of my nose, I wish to see good beautiful things, objects of my eyes,
I desire children, object of my reproductive organs.
These are my likings, and the world probably has the same likes, same desires. and maharaj is saying ,that his liking, his desire, has filled the three worlds. What is he referring to?
There is only one universal desire, that fills the three worlds, and that is the desire to be alive to the force ,to the truth ,that keeps the world full of life.
The life force, is the only thing that occupies all the three worlds.shri maharaj has named it Vithhala, you can call it by any name,be it ALLAH, GOD, or life ,any individual choice of name,in any language, any religion, or faith. And this is the desire maharaj harbours.His choice is for the desire that occupies, three worlds, not the body-desires. They are small, limited to individual, though included ,but , are trivial compared to what, he is describing.
He elaborates further about the quality of his liking, his desire.
The first quality he has described is that, it is all encompassing, fills three worlds ,and now in the second line ,he says,
Where ever my mind wanders, whatever the sensory organs, touch,see,hear, the joy they derive from such a contact, is the milk from the udders, of the cow called Vithhala.
And the milk is ready for consumption all the time, ever present.
It is a complete food, never short of anything, all fulfilling.
The simile here is used for the life force that makes it possible for us to enjoy the joy of sensory organs.
You see magnificent nature, beautiful objects, your eyes become happy, but only eyes, your ears, nose and all other organs cannot enjoy the pleasure that the eyes derive. The happiness of eyes cannot fill your stomach, hence the sages call these sense organ joys, as partial joys, and the joy Maharaj is describing has the attribute of, completeness.
Then he has used another word for this joy, It is ever ready, present at all the times, it is free, you don’t have to barter,for it.
The joy which we know comes from eyes, you have to see something to derive it., the object for the eye, has to be present, in front of the eyes, so it is true, for all the other organs, it has to be sought out, may need preparing, may have to pay for it, you may need to exchange something in return for it.
In other words, no joy your body organs, can partake is,everpresent,flowing incessantly, is complete in itself.
In the third line he continues to describe further, about the joy of devotion, the joy of worship, the supreme happiness.
He says, you don’t have to discipline, or guide your sense organs, if they run after this object, called Vithhala,
Why? because anywhere they run the place is filled by lord Vithhala,occupied by the life force named Vithhala,
In other words all the happiness ,one derives from the sense organs, is the same life force, same juice, but not the same quality. Not of the same description which maharaja, has described in the above poem, above abhanga. Shri maharaj has declared in unequivocal words that he enjoys, the supreme joy, he never distances himself from it, it is rooted deep and firm.
What about me?.all the happiness ,I know is short lived. Not full, it is limited to individual organs, it is limited to my body only, I cannot share it with any other human being or living object.
I have to seek it out, it is not ubiqueous,not present all the time. This is not the joy maharaj has described, the attributes he describes are not present in the happiness I know.
But if maharaj has described, it must be there, I trust him, I have to follow his directions till I achieve, till I become eligible.
May all of you, will strive to achieve the same, trusting shri maharajas,words..
(Note- a translation and my own interpretation of the abhanga from tukaram gatha in Marathi.
ATHAVOCHI NEDI AWADI ANIK/BHARONIYA TINHI LOK RAHE//(1)
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