संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 725 of 4582

Abhanga 725

English: Cahūm-āśrama-dharma — na rākhatām — karma forms.

When the four-āśrama-dharmas form karma-debt if not kept; bhōḷī-sēvā needs only bhāva — and you have to recognize this register
When tapas, mantra, vrata all break with one error; sat alone is the cause of dharma — and you accept this image
When the rest is load-of-vidhi-niṣēdha — and you receive this final critique

The verse

चहूं आश्रमांचे धर्म । न राखतां जोडे कर्म ॥१॥ तैसी नव्हे भोळी सेवा । एक भाव चि कारण देवा ॥ध्रु.॥ तपें इंद्रियां आघात । क्षणें एका वाताहात ॥२॥ मंत्र चळे थोडा । तरि धड चि होय वेडा ॥३॥ व्रतें करितां सांग । तरी एक चुकतां भंग ॥४॥ धर्म सत्व चि कारण । नाहीं तरी केला सिण ॥५॥ भूतदयेसि आघात । उंचनिच वाताहात ॥६॥ तुका म्हणे दुजें । विधिनिषेधाचें ओझें ॥७॥

Literal translation

English: Cahūm-āśrama-dharmana rākhatāmkarma forms. Not so — bhōḷī-sēvā — one bhāva — only kāraṇadeva. Tapaindriyaāghāta — by one kṣaṇavātāhāta. Mantracaḷē — a little — dhaḍa-ci — utterly vēḍā becomes. Vrata — doing — thoroughly — one error — bhanga. Dharmasat-va alone — kāraṇa — else siṇa. Bhūta-dayāāghātaunca-nica vātāhāta. Tuka says: the rest — vidhi-niṣēdha-ōjhē.

मराठी: चहूं-आश्रमांचे-धर्म — न-राखतां — कर्म जोडे. तसें नाही भोळी सेवा — एक-भाव-च-कारण देवा. तप-त इंद्रियांना आघात — एका-क्षणात वाताहात. मंत्र-थोडा-चळे — धड-च वेडा होतो. व्रत सांगपणें — एक-चुकलं तर भंग. धर्म — सत्व-च-कारण; नाही-तर सिण. भूत-दयेला आघात — उंच-निच वाताहात. Tuka म्हणे: दुजें — विधि-निषेधाचं ओझं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
चहूं आश्रमांचे धर्म "cahūm-āśramadharma"
न राखतां जोडे कर्म "not-kept — karma forms"
तैसी नव्हे भोळी सेवा "not so — bhōḷī-sēvā"
एक भाव चि कारण देवा "one bhāva — only kāraṇadeva"
तपें इंद्रियां आघात "tapaindriyaāghāta"
क्षणें एका वाताहात "kṣaṇavātāhāta"
मंत्र चळे थोडा "mantracaḷē — a-little"
धड चि होय वेडा "becomes — utterly — vēḍā"
व्रतें करितां सांग "vrata — doing — thoroughly"
एक चुकतां भंग "one — error — bhanga"
धर्म सत्व चि कारण "dharmasat-vakāraṇa"
नाहीं तरी केला सिण "else — siṇa"
भूतदयेसि आघात "bhūta-dayāāghāta"
उंचनिच वाताहात "unca-nicavātāhāta"
दुजें विधिनिषेधाचें ओझें "the-rest — vidhi-niṣēdha-ōjhē"

What it means

A formal-religion-fragile-bhōḷī-sēvā-only-bhāva-sat-only-cause-vidhi-niṣēdha-load abhang. Bhōḷī-sēvā-vs-formal-religion register. The structure is a sequence of fragility-of-formal-modes contrasted with the unconditional bhōḷī-sēvā. Seven claims:

  1. चहूं-आश्रम-धर्म — न-राखतां — कर्म जोडे. Āśrama-dharma-fragile-claim. The four-āśrama (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa) dharma; if not kept (na rākhatām), karma (karma-debt, karmic-residue) forms. Āśrama-rules: must be kept perfectly, else karma-debt.

  2. तसं नाही भोळी सेवा — एक-भाव-च-कारण. Bhōḷī-sēvā-needs-only-bhāva-claim. Not so the bhōḷī-sēvā (the simple-minded sēvā); one bhāva alone is the kāraṇa (cause, sufficient-condition). Bhōḷī-sēvā: only-bhāva-needed.

  3. तप-इंद्रियांना-आघात — क्षणांत-वाताहात. Tapas-fragile-claim. In tapa, the indriyas are āghāta (struck, attacked); by one kṣaṇa (moment), all is vātāhāta (scattered, like-wind-scattered). Tapas: one-moment-of-failure-scatters-everything.

  4. मंत्र-चळे-थोडा — धड-च-वेडा. Mantra-fragile-claim. If the mantra slips (caḷē) a little — one becomes utterly vēḍā (mad). Mantra: one-syllable-slip-makes-mad.

  5. व्रत-सांगपणें — एक-चुकलं-भंग. Vrata-fragile-claim. When doing vratas (vows, observances) sānga (thoroughly, completely); one error and (the vrata) is bhanga (broken). Vrata: one-error-breaks-it.

  6. धर्म-सत्व-कारण — नाही-तर-सिण — भूत-दयेला आघात — उंच-निच-वाताहात. Sat-only-cause-and-bhūta-dayā-fragile-claim. Dharma's only kāraṇa is sat-va (the genuine, the truthful); else, just siṇa (toil); bhūta-dayā (mercy-on-beings) is āghāta (struck) by unca-nica (high-low caste-distinctions) which scatter it. Sat-is-the-cause-of-dharma; bhūta-dayā-fragile-when-distinctions-scatter*.

  7. Tuka: दुजें — विधि-निषेध-ओझं. Vidhi-niṣēdha-load-claim. Tuka says: the rest (other-than bhōḷī-sēvā) — load of vidhi-niṣēdha (rules and prohibitions). All-rest-is-load-of-rules-and-prohibitions.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the bhōḷī-sēvā-vs-formal-religion register:

  1. Āśrama-dharma must be kept perfectly, or karma-debt forms. Āśrama-fragile.

  2. Bhōḷī-sēvā needs only one bhāva. Bhōḷī-sēvā-bhāva-only.

  3. Tapas, mantra, vrata: one error breaks them all. Formal-fragile.

  4. Sat is the only cause of dharma; bhūta-dayā fragile under distinctions. Sat-cause.

  5. The rest is load of vidhi-niṣēdha. Vidhi-niṣēdha-load.

For today: every formal-religion mode (āśrama-dharma, tapas, mantra, vrata, even bhūta-dayā) is fragile — one error, and the whole-edifice cracks; only bhōḷī-sēvā — the simple-minded sēvā — needs only one bhāva and is unbreakable; the rest is just load of vidhi-niṣēdha (rules-and-prohibitions)**.

This abhang is Tukaram's bhōḷī-sēvā-vs-formal-religion-and-vidhi-niṣēdha-load registerone of the most-systematic critiques of formal-religion in the corpus. Compare 0712 Viṭhōbā-nāma-and-bhōḷā-wins (Tuka's mudra); same bhōḷā-priority but here organized as a list of failed-formal-modes and the vidhi-niṣēdha-load closing. The vidhi-niṣēdha-ōjhē (load-of-rules-and-prohibitions) is precise: rules-and-prohibitions are themselves a load on the bhakta, not the path.

मराठी: ही ओवी bhōḷī-sēvā-vs-formal-religion register नाव सांगते:

  1. आश्रम-धर्म — कर्म-जोडे. Āśrama-fragile.

  2. Bhōḷī-sēvā — एक-भाव-च-कारण. Bhōḷī-sēvā-bhāva.

  3. तप-मंत्र-व्रत — एक-error-त-break. Formal-fragile.

  4. Sat-च-dharma-कारण; भूत-दया-distinctions-त-fragile. Sat-cause.

  5. दुजें — विधि-निषेध-ओझं. Vidhi-niṣēdha-load.

आज: Formal-religion-modes (āśrama-dharma, tapas, mantra, vrata, bhūta-dayā) सर्व fragile — एक-error-त संपूर्ण-edifice-cracks; फक्त bhōḷī-sēvā — simple-minded-sēvā — एक-bhāva-च-needs आणि unbreakable; दुजे — vidhi-niṣēdha चं-load-च.

Tukaram च-bhōḷī-sēvā-vs-formal-religion-and-vidhi-niṣēdha-load-registerMost-systematic critiques of formal-religion corpus-त पैकी एक. 0712 Viṭhōbā-nāma-and-bhōḷā-wins (Tuka mudra) compare; तीच bhōḷā-priority पण इथे failed-formal-modes-च्या-list आणि vidhi-niṣēdha-load closing-ने organized. Vidhi-niṣēdha-ōjhē precise — rules-prohibitions स्वतः bhakta-वर load, path नाही.

Where this applies

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