संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 239 of 4582

Abhanga 239

This abhang names a recognition-while-present discipline:

When we-didn't-know-when-he-was-near names the post-loss recognition — and you accept this honest claim
When the great juggler tests the false-and-true bhāva — and you have to recognize the testing-mechanic
When now the suffering has no limit — and you have to bear the post-loss intensity

The verse

भ्यालीं जिवा चुकलीं देवा । नाहीं ठावा जवळीं तो ॥१॥ आहाकटा करिती हाय । हात डोकें पिटिती पाय ॥ध्रु.॥ जवळी होतां न कळे आम्हां । गेल्या सीमा नाहीं दुःखा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हा लाघवी मोटा । पाहे खोटा खरा भाव ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: (They) feared for the jīva — missed the deva; he was not nearby. They make lamentation — hāya — beat hands, head, feet. (When he) was near — we did not know(now he is) gone — no limit to suffering. Tuka says: this is the great juggler — he tests the false-and-true bhāva.

मराठी: भ्यालीं जिवा चुकलीं देवा — नाहीं ठावा जवळीं तो. आहाकटा करिती हाय — हात डोकें पिटिती पाय. जवळी होतां न कळे आम्हां — गेल्या सीमा नाहीं दुःखा. तुकाराम म्हणतात — हा लाघवी मोटा — पाहे खोटा खरा भाव.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
भ्यालीं जिवा चुकलीं देवा "(they) bhyālīm (feared) for the jīva — missed the deva"
नाहीं ठावा जवळीं तो "he was not (right) jaḷaḷī (nearby)"
आहाकटा करिती हाय "they make āhā-kaṭā hāya (lamentation)"
हात डोकें पिटिती पाय "beat hands, head, feet"
जवळी होतां न कळे आम्हां "(when) he was near — we did not know"
गेल्या सीमा नाहीं दुःखा "goneno sīmā (limit) to (the) duḥkha (suffering)"
लाघवी मोटा "the great lāghavī (juggler / sleight-of-hand artist)"
पाहे खोटा खरा भाव "(he) tests the khoṭā-kharā (false-and-true) bhāva"

What it means

Continuation of Kāliya-mardana sequence (237-240). Three movements:

  1. भ्यालीं जिवा चुकलीं देवा — नाहीं ठावा जवळीं तोthey feared for the jīva — missed the deva; he was not nearby. The post-leap state: the bhaktas fear for their own life (the jīva) and missed the deva (= lost track of him); he was not nearby. The jīva-fear-and-deva-loss combination.

  2. आहाकटा करिती हाय — हात डोकें पिटिती पायmake lamentation — hāya — beat hands, head, feet. The bodily-grief. Beating-hands-head-feet is the standard Marathi grief-form. Don't abstract this into emotion-only; the body-grief is real.

  3. जवळी होतां न कळे आम्हां — गेल्या सीमा नाहीं दुःखा(when) he was near, we did not know — gone, no limit to suffering. The sharpest claim. The honest-recognition: while he was near, we did not know (= did not recognize, did not appreciate, did not register); now he is gone, the suffering has no limit. The not-knowing-when-near causes the unlimited-suffering-when-gone. (This is structurally about recognition-while-present being the only protection-from-unlimited-suffering-when-gone.)

  4. तुका म्हणे हा लाघवी मोटा — पाहे खोटा खरा भावTuka says: this is the great lāghavī (juggler) — tests the false-and-true bhāva. The closing claim. The deity is lāghavī moṭāthe great juggler / illusionist / sleight-of-hand artist — and the leelā tests the false-and-true bhāva. The crisis-event itself is the test. Those whose bhāva is false — they forget Krishna once gone. Those whose bhāva is true — they suffer-without-limit when gone (the suffering-without-limit is the test-pass). [T]

For someone today

This abhang names a recognition-while-present discipline:

  1. Recognize the deity / the loved-one / the real-presence while it is near*. Jaḷaḷī hotām na kaḷē āmhām. The common-failure: while-near, we don't know — we don't register, appreciate, recognize. The post-loss recognition is too late to prevent the unlimited-suffering*.

  2. The bodily-grief is real and is part of the response. Hāta ḍōkēm piṭitī pāya. Don't abstract grief into mental-emotion-only. The body-beating-hands-head-feet is real. Receive the bodily-form.

  3. The crisis is the test. Hā lāghavī moṭā — pāhē khoṭā-kharā bhāva. The deity is the great juggler; the crisis-leelā is the test of bhāva. False-bhāva forgets when gone; true-bhāva suffers-without-limit when gone. The intensity of the suffering is the test-result. Don't moderate the suffering (= try to feel-less) if your bhāva is true; the suffering-itself is the witness.

  4. This is structurally important: post-loss intensity is the diagnostic of true-bhāva. Don't be ashamed of the unlimited-suffering; recognize it as the test-pass. This does not mean seek-suffering; it means don't suppress-the-honest-suffering when it comes — it is the diagnostic.

For today: while the loved-one is near, recognize fully; if the loved-one goes, allow the bodily-grief and the unlimited-suffering; recognize the crisis-itself is the test of your bhāva.

मराठी: ही ओवी एक recognition-while-present discipline नाव सांगते:

  1. देव / प्रिय-व्यक्ती / real-presence जवळ असताना ओळखा*. जवळी होतां न कळे आम्हां. Common-failure: जवळ असताना — आम्हाला कळत नाहीregister, appreciate, recognize नाही. Post-loss recognition unlimited-suffering रोखायला too late*.

  2. Bodily-grief real आणि response चा भाग. हात डोकें पिटिती पाय. Grief mental-emotion-only मध्ये abstract करू नका. Body-beating-hands-head-feet real. Bodily-form receive करा.

  3. Crisis test आहे. हा लाघवी मोटा — पाहे खोटा खरा भाव. देव great juggler; crisis-leelā bhāva चं test. False-bhāva गेल्यावर विसरतं; true-bhāva गेल्यावर unlimited-suffering. Suffering ची intensity test-result. Suffering moderate करू नका (= less feel करण्याचा प्रयत्न) bhāva true असेल तर; suffering-itself witness.

  4. हे structurally महत्त्वाचं: post-loss intensity true-bhāva चा diagnostic. Unlimited-suffering ची लाज वाटू नका; test-pass म्हणून ओळखा. हे suffering-शोध नाही; honest-suffering आल्यावर suppress करू नका — diagnostic आहे.

आज: प्रिय-व्यक्ती जवळ असताना पूर्णपणे recognize करा; गेला तर bodily-grief आणि unlimited-suffering होऊ द्या; crisis-itself bhāva चं test ओळखा.

Where this applies

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