Abhanga 814
Stop splitting your mind over rules and past mistakes; simply remember God, guard the hard-won connection you have with him, and accept that some bitterness in practice is what actually cures you.
The verse
नका वांटूं मन विधिनिषेधांसी । स्मरावा मानसीं पांडुरंग ॥१॥ खादलिया अन्ना मासी बोलों नये । अवघें चि जाये एका घांसें ॥ध्रु.॥ जोडी होते परी ते बहु कठिण । करितां जतन सांभाळावें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणें येथें न मना विषाद । निंबेंविण व्याध तुटों नये ॥३॥
Literal translation
Don't — vāṇṭā — mana — vidhi-niṣēdha — remember — mānas — Pāṇḍuranga. Eaten — anna — māsī — don't-speak — all — goes — one mouthful. Jōḍī — bahu kaṭhīṇa — jatana — sāmbhāḷā. Tuka says: viṣāda — don't — here — nimba-without — vyādhi — tūṭōm — not.
मराठी: नका वांटूं मन विधि-निषेधांसि — स्मरावा मानसीं Pāṇḍuranga. खादलिया अन्ना मासी बोलों नये — अवघें-चि जाये एका-घांसें. जोडी होते परी ते बहु-कठिण — करितां जतन, सांभाळावें. Tuka म्हणें: येथें न मना विषाद — निंबेंविण व्याध तुटों नये.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नका वांटूं मन विधिनिषेधांसी | "don't — vāṇṭā — mana — vidhi-niṣēdha" |
| स्मरावा मानसीं पांडुरंग | "remember — mānas — Pāṇḍuranga" |
| खादलिया अन्ना मासी बोलों नये | "eaten — anna — māsī (fly) — don't-speak" |
| अवघें चि जाये एका घांसें | "all — goes — one mouthful" |
| जोडी होते परी ते बहु कठिण | "jōḍī — bahu kaṭhīṇa" |
| करितां जतन सांभाळावें | "jatana — sāmbhāḷā" |
| येथें न मना विषाद | "viṣāda — don't — here" |
| निंबेंविण व्याध तुटों नये | "nimba-without — vyādhi — tūṭōm — not" |
What it means
A don't-divide-mind-vidhi-niṣēdha-remember-Pāṇḍuranga-fly-in-eaten-anna-spoils-jōḍa-hard-preserve-no-viṣāda-no-neem-no-vyādhi-cure abhang. Don't-divide-mind-jōḍa-preserve-no-viṣāda register. Three claims:
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मन-वांटूं-नका — vidhi-niṣēdha — मानसीं-Pāṇḍuranga-स्मरावा. Don't-divide-mind-claim. Don't divide themanaintovidhi-niṣēdha; remember in themānasPāṇḍuranga. Don't-divide-mind-just-remember.
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खादलिया-अन्न-मासी-न-बोलू — एका-घांसें-सर्व-जाये. Fly-in-eaten-anna-claim. Aboutannaalready-eaten, don't speak of (the fly that fell-in); all goes in one mouthful (one fly spoils-the-whole-meal). One-fly-spoils-all. (The image: once you've eaten food with a fly in it, talking about it doesn't help; one fly contaminates the whole. Or: don't dwell on past-mistakes; one bad-element spoils-everything if-dwelt-on.)
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जोडी-होते-कठिण — सांभाळा. Jōḍa-hard-preserve-claim. Thejōḍī(the joining, the connection-with-the-deva) happens but isbahu kaṭhīṇa(very hard); when achieved,sāmbhāḷā(preserve, look-after). Hard-to-achieve-must-preserve.
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Tuka: विषाद-न-मना — निंब-वाचून-व्याध-तुटों-नये. No-viṣāda-without-neem-no-cure-claim. Tuka says: don't takeviṣāda(sorrow / despondency) here; withoutnimba(neem — bitter-medicine),vyādhi(disease) doesn'ttūṭōm(break, cure). Bitter-needed-to-cure-disease. (The bitter-of-effort/discipline is needed; don't let despondency overtake.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram warns against splitting your mind into endless lists of what is allowed and what is forbidden. Instead of debating rules in your head all day, just keep remembering Pandurang. He gives an earthy example: once you have already eaten food and later find out a fly was in it, there is no use complaining, because the whole meal is already gone in that one mouthful; dwelling on it changes nothing. A real connection with God is hard to build, so once you have it, guard it carefully. And do not collapse into despondency when practice feels bitter, because just as a disease is not cured without a bitter medicine like neem, spiritual growth needs some hard, unpleasant discipline before it heals you.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात, मनाला काय करावं आणि काय करू नये याच्या हिशोबात अडकवू नका. दिवसभर नियमांची उजळणी करत बसण्यापेक्षा फक्त पांडुरंगाचं स्मरण करत राहा. ते एक साधं उदाहरण देतात: जेवण खाऊन झाल्यावर त्यात माशी पडली होती हे कळलं, तरी त्याबद्दल तक्रार करण्यात अर्थ नाही, कारण घास आधीच पोटात गेलेला असतो; त्याचा विचार करत राहिल्याने काही बदलत नाही. देवाशी खरं नातं जोडणं फार कठीण असतं, म्हणून एकदा ते जुळलं की ते जपून सांभाळायला हवं. आणि साधना कडू वाटते म्हणून खचून जाऊ नका, कारण जसा आजार कडू औषधाशिवाय म्हणजे कडुनिंबाशिवाय बरा होत नाही, तसंच आध्यात्मिक वाढीसाठीही थोडी कठोर, त्रासदायक शिस्त लागतेच.
Where this applies
- Don't-divide-mind. Discipline.
- Fly-in-anna. Image.
- Bitter-cure. Discipline.