Abhanga 330

You are not walking this path alone — countless saints and seekers have walked this very road before you, so there is comfort in knowing it is well established. Don't wander off into untrodden wilderness looking for some novel shortcut; the old scriptures themselves warn against that. The road is already clear and well-worn, so there is no need to keep asking for directions — simply follow the path that generations have flattened underfoot. The glittering banners and Garuda emblems of the pilgrim procession are the visible proof that you are on the right road, part of a great company rather than a lone explorer.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A short established-paths abhang. Three claims:

1. मारगीं बहुत — या चि गेले साधुसंत — many on the road — sādhu-sants have gone this. The opening-comfort. You are not alone on this path; many have walked, including saints. The path is established.

2. नका जाऊ आडराणें — ऐसीं गर्जती पुराणें — don't go off-track — purāṇas roar this. The warning. Aḍa-rāṇa — off-track wilderness, side-path, untrodden — don't go there. The purāṇas (= the inherited textual-tradition, the saints' biographical-traditions) — roar this warning.

3. चोखाळिल्या वाटा — न लगे पुसाव्या धोपटा — cleared paths — no need to ask about the dhōpaṭa. Cōkhāḷilīyā — well-cleared, well-walked-flat. Dhōpaṭa — the broad well-trodden way. No need to ask directions; the road is obvious.

4. तुका म्हणे झळकती पताका — गरुड टके — Tuka says: pātakas glitter — garuḍa-ṭakē. The warkari-procession image. Pātaka — banner / flag. Garuḍa-ṭakē — the Garuḍa-banners (Vishnu's eagle-mount as the procession-emblem). Glittering banners and Garuḍa-emblems — the visible-marks of the established-warkari-procession.

[T]

For someone today

You are not walking this path alone — countless saints and seekers have walked this very road before you, so there is comfort in knowing it is well established. Don't wander off into untrodden wilderness looking for some novel shortcut; the old scriptures themselves warn against that. The road is already clear and well-worn, so there is no need to keep asking for directions — simply follow the path that generations have flattened underfoot. The glittering banners and Garuda emblems of the pilgrim procession are the visible proof that you are on the right road, part of a great company rather than a lone explorer.

मराठी: या वाटेवर तुम्ही एकटे नाही आहात — असंख्य संत आणि साधकांनी हीच वाट आधी चालली आहे, त्यामुळे ही वाट पक्की, प्रस्थापित आहे याचा दिलासा घ्या. काहीतरी नवीन शोधण्याच्या नादात आडवाटेने, रानावनातून जाऊ नका; पुराणेही हेच बजावतात. वाट आधीच स्पष्ट आणि चांगली तुडवलेली आहे, त्यामुळे वारंवार दिशा विचारण्याची गरज नाही — पिढ्यानपिढ्या ज्या वाटेवरून लोक चालत आले, तीच धरून चाला. वारकरी दिंडीतल्या झळकणाऱ्या पताका आणि गरुडटक्के हेच स्पष्ट प्रमाण आहे की तुम्ही योग्य वाटेवर आहात, एकाकी वाटसरू नसून एका मोठ्या समुदायाचा भाग आहात.

Where this applies

• Many on the path; sants have gone this. Path-establishment.
• Don't go aḍa-rāṇa. Stay on cleared way.
• No need to ask directions. Road is obvious.
• Pātakasglitter;garuḍa-ṭakē. Tradition's confirmation.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2464 — For today: Pāṇḍuranga is sukha-rūpa ; no wandering, no shaving, no sādhana-pressure ; Chan
• Abhanga 2490 — The divine is most reachable through the living presence of a true saint, not through a di
• Abhanga 2494 — Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with