Abhanga 823

Being shown the truth is not the same as walking it yourself, and only steady effort and inner devotion, not the mere sight of someone else's treasure, bring real strength and let your presence quietly do the work.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A lamp-shows-ādi-madhya-anta-yet-yatna-yours-dāsatva-shows-storehouse-but-not-essence-upāya-destroys-sōsa-sattā-bala-to-anga-vacana-itself-works-while-sitting abhang. Lamp-storehouse-vacana-itself-works register. Four claims:

1. दीपें-आदि-मध्य-अंत-दाखविला — हा-तों-आपणापें-यत्न-बरा. Lamp-shows-but-yatna-yours-claim. Thedīpa(lamp) showed (me)ādi-madhya-anta(beginning-middle-end — the whole-temporal-span, or the whole spiritual-trajectory); but-this-itself isāpaṇāpē(your-own-side / your-own-effort); yatna (effort) — barā (well-done, good).The lamp may show, but it's your own well-applied effort that brought-the-light to where it could show. (Or: the lamp = guru/word; what is shown is thetrajectory; but theyatna of seeking-and-walking is the bhakta's-own.)

2. दाशत्वे-धन्याचें-भांडार-दाविलें — परि-सार-नव्हे-एथुनियां. Dāsatva-shows-storehouse-but-not-essence-claim. Throughdāsatva(servant-hood, the attitude-of-being-servant — typical of bhakti), thedhanyā's (master's, owner's)bhāṇḍāra(storehouse, treasury) was-shown; but thesāra(essence, the substance-of-Hari) is-not from-here (= is not obtainable just from being-shown-the-storehouse). Servant-shown-storehouse-but-essence-elsewhere. (Important Vārkarī point: just becoming a dāsa and being-shown the bhāṇḍāra of God's-power isn't the sāra — the sāra is bhāva-itself, not the inventory.)

3. उपायानें-सोस-नासलें — सत्तेने-सत्ता-बळ-अंगा-आलें. Upāya-destroys-sōsa-sattā-bala-comes-claim. Byupāya(means / effort / spiritual-practice), allsōsa(longing-craving — restless-want) wasnāsalā(destroyed); bysattā(theSattā— the existence-as-presence-as-governance — theHari-sattā),sattā-bala(the power-of-being-in-the-sattā) came-to-the-anga(the body, the very-self). Effort-destroys-craving; sattā gives sattā-bala. (The sattā — being-in-Hari's-rule — is what brings the bala (strength) into one's-very-anga.)

4. Tuka: दृष्टि-सकळांच्या-शिरीं — वचन-च-करी-बैसोनियां. Vacana-itself-works-while-sitting-claim. Tuka says: (My)dṛṣṭi(gaze) is on theśiras(heads) of all; thevacana(word, the mere-uttered-word) alone does (the work), while justbaisōniyām(sitting). Sit-and-the-vacana-itself-does-the-work. (Mature-Tuka's claim: he doesn't have to do anything beyond utter — the vacana, by-itself, sitting-still, does the work.)

[T]

For someone today

This verse says that even when a truth is shown to you plainly, like a lamp lighting up the whole path from beginning to end, the walking of that path is still your own well applied effort. Being let into someone else's storehouse of wealth, even through humble service, only shows you the treasure, it does not hand you the essence, that has to grow inside you through your own devotion. Steady practice wears down restless craving, and staying aligned with a living presence larger than yourself brings real strength into your body, not just an idea in your head. In full maturity, you no longer need to strain: your gaze simply rests on everyone with care, and your word, spoken or even just held quietly while you sit, already does the work.

मराठी: या ओवीत सांगितले आहे की एखादे सत्य तुम्हाला दिव्यासारखे स्पष्ट दाखवले गेले, सुरुवातीपासून शेवटापर्यंत, तरी तो मार्ग प्रत्यक्ष चालण्याचे कष्ट तुमचेच असतात. नम्र सेवेतून कोणाच्या तरी भांडाराची झलक मिळाली तरी ती फक्त संपत्ती दाखवते, सार हातात देत नाही — ते तुमच्या स्वतःच्या भक्तीतून आतून वाढावे लागते. सातत्यपूर्ण साधनेने आतली तगमग शमते, आणि स्वतःपेक्षा मोठ्या अस्तित्वाशी जोडलेले राहिल्याने केवळ कल्पना नव्हे तर खरी शक्ती अंगात उतरते. पूर्ण प्रगल्भता आली की मग ओढाताण उरत नाही — तुमची नजर सहज सर्वांवर मायेने राहते, आणि नुसते बसून राहिले तरी तुमचा शब्द आपोआप काम करतो.

Where this applies

• When a teacher or book shows you a truth clearly but you still have to walk the path yourself through your own effort
• When you glimpse someone else's spiritual wealth or wisdom and mistake that glimpse for having the substance yourself
• When years of steady practice are slowly quieting a restless craving you used to feel
• When you've matured enough in practice to wonder whether you still need to strain, or whether simply being present is enough

Related verses

• Abhanga 2374 — Rather than scattering devotion among many lesser deities who demand offerings, Tukaram sa
• Abhanga 2377 — This detailed meditation on Vitthal standing on a brick at Pandharpur, out of love for his
• Abhanga 2387 — Accept whatever life brings with reverence, and place the burden on God rather than carryi
• Abhanga 2402 — For today: happily take rebirths — IF among the Paṇḍharī-Vārkarīs ; Hari-dāsas' company is