Abhanga 282

Forgive honest past mistakes but pair that forgiveness with a real boundary, and do not keep close someone who was guided yet still repeats the same serious failure.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A sīmā-setting abhang. Four claims:

1. मागें नेणपणें घडलें तें क्षमा — past not-knowing — forgive. The past-forgiveness. Where not-knowing (neṇa-paṇa) caused failures, forgive. (Compare 258's Hari does not remember the past.)

2. आतां देतों सीमा करूनियां — now I make asīmā(boundary). After-forgiveness, the bhakta sets the boundary. Forgiveness of past + boundary for future.

3. परनारीचें जया घडलें गमन — दावीतो वदन जननीरत — par-nārī-gamana = mother-mating-equivalence. The gravity-claim. Going-to-another-woman (= adultery) is equivalent tomating with the mother. The mother-incest taboo is the highest classical taboo; par-nārī-gamana is at the same level. (Compare 275's equal-seat-with-pūjya = mother-mating; the mother-mating taboo is thegravity-markerfor highest-level violations.)

4. उपदेशा वरी मन नाहीं हातीं — तो आम्हां पुढती पाहूं नये — after the upadeśa, mana not in hand — don't see again. The unforgivable: not the past-failure (forgivable), but the post-upadeśa repeat. If upadeśa was given and the mana is still-not-in-hand (= the person continues the failure-pattern), don't see them forwards. Past-forgiveness has the limit of post-upadeśa-non-change.

5. तुका म्हणे साक्षी असों द्यावें मन — घातली ते आण पाळावया — let the mana be the witness; the āṇa was taken to keep. The closing-rule. Self-witnessing by mana — the mana watches itself. And the āṇa (vow / oath) was taken — to keep. Don't take the āṇa lightly; the vow is for keeping, not for breaking.

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram lays out a clear structure for forgiveness: mistakes made in the past out of ignorance deserve to be forgiven, but forgiveness alone isn't enough — from this point forward he sets a firm boundary. He treats infidelity with total seriousness, ranking it among the gravest violations there is, on par with the deepest taboo he can name. But there's a limit to how far forgiveness extends: if someone has already been guided and taught better, and their heart still hasn't come under their own control, that's a different matter entirely — he says not to keep that person close going forward. He closes by pointing inward: let your own mind stand as witness to itself, and once a vow has been made, it exists to be kept, not broken.

मराठी: तुकाराम क्षमेची एक स्पष्ट रचना मांडतात — अज्ञानामुळे भूतकाळात घडलेल्या चुका माफ केल्या पाहिजेत, पण नुसती क्षमा पुरेशी नाही — आतापासून ते एक ठाम मर्यादा आखतात. परस्त्रीगमनाला ते अत्यंत गांभीर्याने घेतात, आणि त्याला सर्वांत मोठ्या निषिद्ध गोष्टीच्या पातळीवर, म्हणजे मातेशी संबंधाइतक्या गंभीर पातळीवर मानतात. पण क्षमेलाही एक मर्यादा आहे — ज्याला आधीच उपदेश केला गेला आहे, समजावले गेले आहे, आणि तरीही त्याचे मन स्वतःच्या ताब्यात आलेले नाही, ती गोष्ट वेगळी आहे — अशा व्यक्तीला पुढे जवळ ठेवू नये असे ते सांगतात. शेवटी ते आत वळून पाहायला सांगतात — स्वतःचे मनच स्वतःचा साक्षीदार असू द्या, आणि एकदा घेतलेली आण पाळण्यासाठीच असते, मोडण्यासाठी नाही.

Where this applies

• Past not-knowing forgivable. Don't hold against.
• Now set the sīmā. Boundary for future.
• Par-nārī-gamana = mother-mating. Highest taboo-level.
• Post-upadeśa-non-change is unforgivable. Limit of forgiveness.
• Mana is witness; vow is for keeping.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2425 — Surrender every part of your life completely to what you trust most, and let go of the res
• Abhanga 2477 — Like a child too absorbed in play to notice how tired he is, let go and trust the parent c
• Abhanga 2484 — Real devotion can include anger and demand, not just sweetness, because a devotee who trul
• Abhanga 2540 — Even the smallest, most helpless creature that cries out to God in danger is sheltered and