Abhanga 210

This abhang is a gopa-band manual — for any group-of-comrades engaged in real shared-practice / community-life / spiritual-band:

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

An unusually long (10-verse) gopa-band-conversation abhang. The verse is a layered conversation among the comrades, with several voices — proposing, complaining, advising, questioning, concluding. Five themes:

1. All-night vigil register — no-one sleep at home today; we'll all stay awake. The kālā-night is for staying up together. Sleeping is defection.

2. The bhakta's worldly-condition is the funeral-bier register — bhava-rōga loaded on four shoulders, staffs in hand, heads bare, wandering the open. This is the Marathi imagery of a funeral-procession — four pall-bearers carrying the corpse, mourners with shaven-heads. The bhava-rōga is being carried like a corpse. The image is unsparing.

3. The cross-roads-question — who is the brave-one who keeps himself by guarding himself? Sitting at home — who does our work? Two sub-questions: (a) Is self-protection even a brave-strategy? (b) If we sit at home, who does our work? Both push toward engagement.

4. The band-discipline — what looks good among the four, there be definite. Playing easily-hidden is better. Unsuitable ones in such places break-the-games. If sulking comes suddenly, confusion erupts. Quarrel grows in company; take-it-away alone. The band-management rules: be definite where good is, play hidden, sort out unsuitables, manage rūdī, take-quarrel-away alone.

5. All-the-shidori is in your bag — Viṭṭhal in the throat — the closing-claim. After all the discussion: don't go scrounging — all the shidori you need is already in your bag (= the deity has already provisioned). Wake Kānhobā, beg morsels in the plate. The full comrades belch — Viṭṭhal in the throat. The Viṭṭhal-in-the-throat image at the close is the post-feast satisfied digestion — the deity is the post-meal contentment itself. [T]

For someone today

This abhang is a gopa-band manual — for any group-of-comrades engaged in real shared-practice / community-life / spiritual-band:

1. All-night vigil — no defection by sleep. When the kālā-moment is on, the band stays up. Going home to sleep is defection. Sometimes the right-discipline is staying with the comrades through the night.

2. Some-can't-get-the-conversation; he gives accordingly. Not every comrade is at the same conversational-level. The deity gives each what they can take (from belly to lips — i.e., from his interior to his speech, modulated to the receiver).

3. The bhava-rōga is a funeral-procession. The worldly-condition — the four-shoulder-burden of dependents, livelihood, social-position — is carrying-a-corpse. Don't romanticize the householder-load; Tukaram names it as funeral-procession.

4. Self-protection is not bravery. Rākhoni rākhē āpaṇā aisā kaicā śūra? The brave-one is not the one who guards himself. The engaged-one is the brave-one.

5. Cross-roads question: who does our work if we sit? If the engaged-life feels too much, the question is: who does this work if I sit at home? The no-one-else-can recognition is part of the bravery-trigger.

6. Band-management has specific rules. Be definite where good is; play easily-hidden with comrades; sort out unsuitables; if rūdī comes, expect kicks; take-quarrel-away alone. These are practical management-rules for any band.

7. All-the-shidori is in your bag. Don't scrounge externally. The provisioning has already happened. Avaghiyāñcī sidorī tujhē bharali moṭē. Open your bag.

8. The post-feast belch is Viṭṭhal-in-the-throat. The digestion itself is the deity's place. After the kālā, when you belch with satisfaction, the deity is located in the throat. Notice when this register is happening; do not rush past it.

मराठी: ही ओवी एक gopa-band manual — कोणत्याही comrades-group, real shared-practice / community-life / spiritual-band मध्ये असलेल्यांसाठी:

1. All-night vigil — झोप नकोच. कालाचा क्षण चालू असेल — band जागं राहतो. घरी झोपायला जाणं defection. कधी कधी योग्य discipline — रात्रभर comrades सोबत राहणं.

2. काही जणांना संवाद कळत नाही; त्याप्रमाणे देतो. प्रत्येक comrade एकाच conversational-level वर नसतो. देव प्रत्येकाला तेच देतो जे त्यांनी घेऊ शकतात (पोटीचें होटा — interior-to-speech, receiver-नुसार modulated).

3. भव-रोग funeral-procession आहे. Worldly-condition — चार-खांद्याचा dependents-livelihood-social-position चा भार — प्रेत वाहणं. Householder-load romanticize करू नका; तुकाराम नाव देतात funeral-procession.

4. Self-protection bravery नाही. राखोनि राखे आपणा ऐसा कइचा शूर? Brave-one स्वतःचं रक्षण करणारा नाही. Engaged-one brave.

5. Cross-roads प्रश्न: आम्ही बसलो तर आमचं काम कोण करेल? Engaged-life फार वाटत असेल — प्रश्न: घरी बसलो तर हे काम कोण करेल? No-one-else-can recognition bravery-trigger चा भाग.

6. Band-management ला specific rules आहेत. चांगलं कुठे आहे तिथे definite रहा; comrades सोबत easy-hidden play; unsuitables sort out; rūdī आली तर kicks expect; quarrel एकट्याने take-away करा. कोणत्याही band साठी practical management-rules.

7. सगळी शिदोरी तुमच्या पिशवीत. Externally scrounge करू नका. Provisioning आधीच झालंय. अवघियांची सिदोरी तुझे भरली मोटे. पिशवी उघडा.

8. Post-feast ढेकर Viṭṭhal-in-the-throat. Digestion स्वतः देवाची जागा. कालानंतर — समाधानी ढेकर देताना — देव कंठात. हा register कधी होतोय notice करा; rush नका.

Where this applies

• All-night vigil — no defection by sleep.
• Bhava-rōga is a funeral-procession. Don't romanticize.
• Self-protection is not bravery. कइचा शूर?
• All-the-shidori is in your bag. Don't scrounge.
• Viṭṭhal-in-the-throat post-feast. Don't rush past.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448
• Abhanga 2494
• Abhanga 4481
• Abhanga 4482