Abhanga 217

This abhang names a band-coordination protocol:

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A cow-gathering coordination abhang. The pastoral-context: at evening / time to head home, the gopa-band must gather the cows that have wandered or fallen asleep and return them home before the bobhāṭa (noise) draws scolding from the mother (the elder maintaining the homestead). Five movements:

1. या रे करूं गाई जमा — निजलेती काई — come, let's gather; are they sleeping? The opening-coordination. The band's first task at the right time is cow-gathering.

2. बोभाटानें आई घरा गेल्या मारील — by the noise, mother will scold (if home reached). The time-pressure. If we reach home with noise, mother scolds. The quietness of the return is part of the discipline.

3. घाला घाला रे फुकारे — throw out shouts. The cows are alerted by shouts; once alerted, they turn (homeward) of-themselves. The minimum-intervention rule: enough is enough; once sāvadha (alerted), let them turn by themselves.

4. नेणोनियां खेळा — समय समयाच्या वेळा — दुश्चिताजवळा मिळालेति दुश्चित — not knowing the games — the timings of times — the worried joins the worried-near. The failure-mode: if you don't know the games (the cow-gathering protocol) and the timings of times (when to call, when to wait, when to head home), the worry spreads. Duścita (anxious) joins duścita-jvaḷā (the worry-near one) — worry is contagious*.

5. तुका म्हणे शीक — न धरितां लागे भीक — धरा सकळीक — मनेरी धांवा वळतियां — take instruction; not held, begging comes; hold all; race with the mind toward the homing. The closing rule. Take instruction (in the band-protocol); if you don't hold it, you'll be begging (= dependent on others' work). Hold all (instructions); race with the mind toward the homing-cattle (= keep mental-attention on the vaḷatī — the homing-direction).

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names a band-coordination protocol:

1. Time-awareness is part of the discipline. Samaya-samayācyā vēḷā. Knowing when is part of the protocol; not just what. Most coordination-failures are time-failures, not task-failures.

2. Minimum-intervention. Etrāḍhē chi pure — keliyāne sāvadha. Once they are alerted, let them turn of themselves. Don't over-intervene. The enough is when alerted.

3. Worry is contagious. Duścita-javaḷā miḷālēti duścita. The worried-one joins the worried-near-one. If you bring worry into the band, it spreads. Hold the worry yourself; don't transmit.

4. Take instruction or be reduced to begging. Śika — na dharitām lāgē bhīka. The binary: either you learn the protocol or you become a beggar (dependent on others' work). Sika — take the instruction. If you don't, you fall into bhīka (beggary).

5. Hold all instructions; race-with-the-mind toward the homing. Dharā sakaḷīka — manērī dhāvā vaḷatiyā. Two-fold: hold the instructions, and with the mind, race toward the homing-direction. Mental-attention on the vaḷatī (the destination, the way-back-home) is part of the active-discipline.

For today: in any band-coordination — learn the timings (not just the tasks); intervene minimally (alert and let-turn); hold worry yourself (don't spread); take-instruction-or-be-reduced-to-begging; race with the mind toward the destination.

मराठी: ही ओवी एक band-coordination protocol नाव सांगते:

1. Time-awareness discipline चा भाग. समय-समयाच्या वेळा. कधी protocol चा भाग; काय फक्त नाही. बहुतेक coordination-failures time-failures, task-failures नाहीत.

2. Minimum-intervention. एवढें चि पुरे — केलियानें सावध. Alert झाले की — आपोआप वळू द्या. Over-intervene नका. पुरेसं — alert झाल्यावर.

3. चिंता संसर्गजन्य. दुश्चिताजवळा मिळालेति दुश्चित. Worried-one worried-near-one मध्ये मिसळतो. Band मध्ये worry आणली — पसरते. स्वतःकडे ठेवा; transmit करू नका.

4. शीक — न-होई-तर-भिक. शीक — न धरितां लागे भीक. Binary: एकतर protocol शिका किंवा भिकारी व्हाल (दुसऱ्यांच्या कामावर dependent). शीक — instruction घ्या. नाहीतर भीक मध्ये पडता.

5. सर्व instructions hold करा; मनाने vaḷatī कडे race करा. धरा सकळीक — मनेरी धांवा वळतियां. Two-fold: instructions hold करा, आणि मनाने destination कडे race. Vaḷatī (destination, return-direction) कडे mental-attention active-discipline चा भाग.

आज: कोणत्याही band-coordination मध्ये — timings शिका (just tasks नाही); minimally intervene (alert-and-let-turn); worry स्वतः hold करा (spread नका); take-instruction-or-be-reduced-to-begging; मनाने destination कडे race.

Where this applies

• Time-awareness is part of the protocol. Not just task.
• Minimum-intervention. Alert and let-turn.
• Don't spread worry. Hold it yourself.
• Take-instruction-or-beg. Binary discipline.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2377 — English: Gentle, sweet bāla-rūpa — that form from Kāḷī-time.
• Abhanga 2471
• Abhanga 2540 — English: What greatness will I, low one, describe — you become compassionate, kṛpā-ocean.
• Abhanga 4579