Abhanga 556

At the far edge of the spiritual path, identity, relationship, and even doing and not doing fall away, leaving a person simply as they are, unbroken.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A famous I-am-no-where-no-one's-no-name-form abhang. The saint's-final-state-statement, beyond-categories. Five claims:

1. कांहीं च मी नव्हें कोणिये गांवींचा — एकट ठायींचा ठायीं एक — I am nothing — of no gāva — ēkaṭa — ṭhāyī-cā ṭhāyī — one. The opening-no-place-claim: I amkāhīm-cī navhē(nothing at all) — of nogāva(village); ēkaṭa (alone, single) — at the ṭhāyī-cā ṭhāyī (place-of-place, the very-place itself) — ēka (one).No-place-of-origin; alone-at-the-very-place; one.Saint-belongs-to-no-place-but-the-very-place.

2. नाहीं जात कोठें येत फिरोनियां — अवघें चि वांयांविण बोलें — not jāta — not yēta — all vāyāmvīṇa speak. The no-going-no-coming-claim: notjāta(going) anywhere;not yēta (coming)back; everything — spokenvāyāmvīṇa(idly, without need, in vain). No-going-no-coming; all my speaking is idle. Beyond-samsāra-arc.

3. नाहीं मज कोणी आपुलें दुसरें — कोणाचा मी खरें कांहीं नव्हे — no-one — āpulē-dusarē — of no-one — really. The no-relation-claim: no-one is mine (āpulē) — or other (dusarē) — to me; of no-one — am I — really, in truth. No-relation-of-mine-or-other. Belong-to-no-one-and-no-one-belongs-to-me.

4. नाहीं आम्हां ज्यावें मरावें लागत — आहों अखंडित जैसे तैसे — no jīvāvē-marāvē — akhaṇḍita — as we are. The beyond-life-and-death-claim: we don't have to (lāgata)jīvāvē(live) ormarāvē(die); we areakhaṇḍita(unbroken, continuous) — as we are. No-need-to-live-or-die; we-are-unbroken-as-we-are. Beyond-the-life-death-cycle.

5. तुका म्हणे नांवरूप नाहीं आम्हां — वेगळा ह्या कर्मा अकर्मासी — Tuka says: no nāma-rūpa for us — separate from karma-akarma. The closing-no-name-form-claim: Tuka says: nonāma-rūpa(name-and-form) for us; separate (vēgaḷā) from thiskarma-akarma(action-and-non-action). No-name-form; beyond-karma-akarma-pair. Saint-is-beyond-the-categories.

[T]

For someone today

In this abhang Tukaram describes a state of being where the usual labels stop applying to him. He says he belongs to no particular village, has no one he calls his own and no one who calls him theirs, and does not feel bound by the need to live or die, he simply is, unbroken, as he is. Even his own talking starts to feel unnecessary to him in this state. This is Tukaram speaking from the far edge of his spiritual journey, where identity, relationship, and even the difference between doing and not doing fall away, and it invites you to imagine what it would feel like to no longer be defined by where you are from, who claims you, or what you have done.

मराठी: या ओवीत तुकाराम अशा अवस्थेचे वर्णन करतात जिथे नेहमीचे लेबल त्यांना लागू पडत नाहीत. ते म्हणतात की ते कोणत्याही विशिष्ट गावाचे नाहीत, त्यांचे कोणी स्वतःचे नाही आणि कोणीही त्यांना आपले म्हणत नाही, आणि जगायचे किंवा मरायचे या गरजेने ते बांधलेले वाटत नाहीत, ते फक्त आहेत, अखंड, जसे आहेत तसे. या अवस्थेत त्यांचे स्वतःचे बोलणेसुद्धा त्यांना निरर्थक वाटू लागते. हे तुकाराम त्यांच्या आध्यात्मिक प्रवासाच्या दूरच्या टोकावरून बोलत आहेत, जिथे ओळख, नाते, आणि करणे व न करणे यातला फरकसुद्धा गळून पडतो, आणि तुम्ही कुठले आहात, कोण तुमचा दावा करते, किंवा तुम्ही काय केले यावरून तुमची व्याख्या यापुढे होत नाही असे वाटले तर कसे वाटेल याची कल्पना करायला ही ओवी आमंत्रण देते.

Where this applies

• No gāva; ṭhāyī-cā ṭhāyī. No-belonging.
• No going-coming. Beyond-arc.
• No āpulē-dusarē. Beyond-relation.
• No nāma-rūpa. Beyond-categories.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• 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