Abhanga 255
This abhang names a pro-this-life pro-this-body claim that is foundational in warkari-bhakti:
The verse
इहलोकींचा हा देहे । देव इच्छिताती पाहें ॥१॥ धन्य आम्ही जन्मा आलों । दास विठोबाचे जालों ॥ध्रु.॥ आयुष्याच्या या साधनें । सच्चिदानंद पदवी घेणें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे पावठणी । करूं स्वर्गाची निशाणी ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: This deha of iha-loka — the devas covet (it) — see. Blessed are we — came-to-birth — became Viṭhobā's dāsa. With this āyuṣya's sādhana — take the saccidānanda-padavī. Tuka says: I'll make a stepping-stone of svarga's nishāṇī.
मराठी: इहलोकींचा हा देहे — देव इच्छिताती पाहें. धन्य आम्ही जन्मा आलों — दास विठोबाचे जालों. आयुष्याच्या या साधनें — सच्चिदानंद पदवी घेणें. तुकाराम म्हणतात — पावठणी — करूं स्वर्गाची निशाणी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| इहलोकींचा हा देहे | "this deha (body) of iha-loka (this-world)" |
| देव इच्छिताती पाहें | "the devas icchitātī (covet / desire) — see" |
| धन्य आम्ही जन्मा आलों | "blessed are we — came-to-birth" |
| दास विठोबाचे जालों | "became Viṭhobā's dāsa**" |
| आयुष्याच्या या साधनें | "with this āyuṣya's (life-span's) sādhana (practice)" |
| सच्चिदानंद पदवी घेणें | "take the saccidānanda-padavī (status of being-consciousness-bliss)" |
| पावठणी करूं स्वर्गाची निशाणी | "I'll make a pāvaṭaṇī (stepping-stone) of svarga's nishāṇī (banner)" |
What it means
A famous pro-this-body / pro-this-life abhang. Four claims:
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इहलोकींचा हा देहे — देव इच्छिताती पाहें — this body of this-world — the devas covet. The radical reversal of standard religious-ranking. The devas (the high-status cosmic-deities of svarga) — covet this earth-body. The this-life human-body is higher than svarga-deva-life in this register. (Compare 164 vaikuṇṭha has no kālā, 198 Pandhari rejects Vaikuṇṭha, 211 Amarāvatī deserted.)
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धन्य आम्ही जन्मा आलों — दास विठोबाचे जालों — blessed are we — came-to-birth — became Viṭhobā's dāsa. The blessing-claim. The coming-to-birth (in this human-body in this-life) is itself the blessing. And the content of the blessing: became Viṭhobā's dāsa. The iha-loka-deha gives access to the dāsa-of-Viṭhobā role that the devas-of-svarga cannot have.
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आयुष्याच्या या साधनें — सच्चिदानंद पदवी घेणें — with this life-span's sādhana — take the saccidānanda-padavī. The practice-claim. This life-span is enough — for the sādhana to take the saccidānanda-padavī (the seat of being-consciousness-bliss). Don't postpone the sādhana to another life or another world; this life-span is sufficient.
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तुका म्हणे पावठणी — करूं स्वर्गाची निशाणी — Tuka says: I'll make a stepping-stone of svarga's banner. The radical-closing. Pāvaṭaṇī — stepping-stone, foothold. Nishāṇī — banner, flag, mark. Tukaram declares: I'll step on the banner of svarga — i.e., use it as a stepping-stone, not as a goal. Svarga is below this practice, not above it. (This is structurally the same as 164's vaikuṇṭha-rejection; here in foot-on-the-banner image — even sharper.)
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For someone today
This abhang names a pro-this-life pro-this-body claim that is foundational in warkari-bhakti:
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Don't despise the human-body / this-life. Iha-lokīmcā hā dehē — deva icchitātī. The devas covet this. If you have been trained to despise embodied-this-worldly-life as inferior, this abhang corrects the frame. This body is what the devas covet; you already have what they desire.
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Coming-to-birth is itself the blessing. Dhanya āmhī janmā ālōm. Don't think the blessing comes after-attainment; the coming-to-birth was already the blessing. The post-birth task is to become Viṭhobā's dāsa; the birth itself is the qualifying-event.
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This life-span is sufficient. Āyuṣyācyā yā sādhanē. Don't postpone to another life or another world. This life-span is enough for the saccidānanda-padavī. (Compare 173: catch him at-the-place; not in some abstracted-elsewhere.)
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Svarga is a stepping-stone, not a goal. Pāvaṭaṇī karūm svargācī nishāṇī. This is the radical-claim. The banner of svarga (= the highest-prize of standard-religion) — Tukaram declares he will step on it as a foothold for going-further. Svarga is not the destination; it is below the destination.
For today: honor the iha-loka-deha as the gods'-coveted; recognize coming-to-birth as the blessing; don't postpone the sādhana to another life; treat the standard religion's high-prizes as stepping-stones, not goals. The real destination is here, in this body, in this life — the saccidānanda-padavī as Viṭhobā's dāsa.
This abhang is the positive-counterpart to the anti-fake-religion cluster (244-254): if those names what is wrong with the fake-claimants, this names what is right with the bhakta's situation. The bhakta's life-condition is what the gods covet; this is what blessing already-given looks like.
मराठी: ही ओवी एक pro-this-life pro-this-body claim नाव सांगते जो warkari-bhakti मध्ये foundational:
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मानवी-शरीर / या-आयुष्याला despise करू नका. इहलोकींचा हा देहे — देव इच्छिताती. देव हे covet करतात. तुम्ही embodied-this-worldly-life inferior म्हणून despise करायला trained झालात — ओवी frame correct करते. देव coveted असलेलं हे शरीर तुमच्याकडे आधीच आहे; तुम्हाला जे ते desire करतात ते आहे.
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Coming-to-birth स्वतःच blessing. धन्य आम्ही जन्मा आलों. Blessing attainment-नंतर येते समजू नका; जन्म-घेणं हीच blessing. Post-birth task — Viṭhobā चे dāsa बनणं; जन्म स्वतः qualifying-event.
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या आयुष्याची sādhana पुरेशी. आयुष्याच्या या साधनें. दुसऱ्या life-ला किंवा दुसऱ्या world-ला postpone करू नका. या life-span saccidānanda-padavī साठी पुरेशी.
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स्वर्ग stepping-stone, goal नाही. पावठणी करूं स्वर्गाची निशाणी. हा radical-claim. Svarga चं banner (= standard-religion चं highest-prize) — तुकाराम declare करतात की मी त्यावर पाय ठेवीन पुढे जायला foothold म्हणून. Svarga destination नाही; destination च्या खाली.
आज: iha-loka-देह gods'-coveted म्हणून honor करा; coming-to-birth blessing म्हणून recognize करा; sādhana दुसऱ्या life ला postpone करू नका; standard religion चे high-prizes stepping-stones treat करा, goals नाही. Real destination इथे, या शरीरात, या आयुष्यात — Viṭhobā चा dāsa म्हणून saccidānanda-padavī.
ही ओवी anti-fake-religion cluster (244-254) ची positive-counterpart: ते fake-claimants चं काय चूक नाव सांगतात; ही bhakta च्या situation चं काय बरोबर नाव सांगते. Bhakta ची life-condition gods covet करतात; blessing already-given असं दिसतं.
Where this applies
- Iha-loka-deha is gods'-coveted. Don't despise this body / this life.
- Coming-to-birth is the blessing. Already given.
- This life-span is sufficient for saccidānanda-padavī. Don't postpone.
- Svarga is a stepping-stone, not a goal. Foot-on-the-banner.