Abhanga 893

The path must actually be walked and the mind must be settled like a clear mirror, because hearing about it, feeling devoted to it, or trying to describe it will never substitute for the walking.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A path-must-be-walked-to-reach-the-place-hearing-useless-by-vōjē-I-fall-at-feet-bhāva-isn't-the-way-virgin-mother's-anubhava-can't-be-told-here-clear-mirror-needed-only-then-appears-in-the-bimba abhang. Must-walk-the-path register. Three claims:

1. पंथ-चालावा-ठाया-पाविजे — ऐकिल्या-वांयां — वोजे-पायां-पडतसें — भाव-जाया-वाट-नव्हे. Path-walked-claim. Thepanthamust becālāvā — thatṭhāyaispāvijē; aikilyā vārtā are vāyām; listen, byvōjē (proper-form, courtesy), I fall at (your)pāyā; the bhāva itself is not the jāyāvāṭa. Walk-the-path; hearing-doesn't-suffice; bhāva is not the path-itself. (Subtle distinction: even bhāva (intent / sentiment) doesn't itself carry — the path must be walked.)

2. व्याली-कुमारीचा-अनुभव — सांगतां-येत-नाहीं. Virgin-mother's-anubhava-untellable-claim. (As) theanubhavaof the experiences of avyālī kumārī (an impossibility);when sāngatām, that bhāva doesn't yēta. Inexpressible-experience. (The vyālī kumārī image: a virgin-who-has-given-birth — a paradox / impossibility — is the figure for what cannot be expressed. The bhakti-anubhava is similarly of a kind that resists telling.)

3. Tuka: आरालें — बिंबीं-निवळलें-भासे. Clear-mirror-only-then-appears-claim. Tuka says: here, anārāla (a clear / polished mirror) is needed;only-then it bhāsē (appears) settled in the bimba (the mirror-image).Need-clear-mirror; only-then-the-image-settles-and-appears. (Closing-image: acleared mirroris needed — theunsteady-mirrorwon't show thebimba(image). Only when settled can itappear.)

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram insists that a path has to be walked before you actually arrive anywhere, hearing reports about it is useless, and even good intention or devotion by itself is not the same as the walking. He compares deep spiritual experience to the experience of a virgin who has given birth, an impossible image, because such an experience simply cannot be handed over in words, no matter how carefully someone tries to describe it. His closing image is of a mirror: only when the mirror is clear and steady does the reflection actually appear in it. In the same way, an unsettled mind will not show you anything, no matter how much you have heard about what you are supposed to see.

मराठी: तुकाराम ठामपणे सांगतात की वाट प्रत्यक्ष चालल्याशिवाय ठिकाण गाठता येत नाही, नुसती वार्ता ऐकणं निरुपयोगी आहे, आणि नुसता भावसुद्धा चालण्याची जागा घेऊ शकत नाही. ते खोल आध्यात्मिक अनुभवाची तुलना व्याली-कुमारीच्या अनुभवाशी करतात, एका अशक्यप्राय प्रतिमेशी, कारण असा अनुभव कितीही जपून सांगितला तरी शब्दांत मांडता येत नाही. त्यांची शेवटची प्रतिमा आरशाची आहे: आरसा निवळलेला, स्थिर असेल तरच त्यात प्रतिबिंब दिसतं. तसंच अस्थिर मनाला, कितीही ऐकलं असलं तरी, प्रत्यक्ष काही दिसत नाही.

Where this applies

• When you have read or heard a great deal about a spiritual practice but have never actually done the practice yourself
• When you try to explain a deep personal experience to someone and find that words simply fall short
• When your mind is restless and scattered and you wonder why insight or clarity is not coming, even though you know the teachings
• When you catch yourself substituting good feeling or devotion for actually doing the disciplined work

Related verses

• Abhanga 2425 — Surrender every part of your life completely to what you trust most, and let go of the res
• Abhanga 2477 — Like a child too absorbed in play to notice how tired he is, let go and trust the parent c
• Abhanga 2484 — Real devotion can include anger and demand, not just sweetness, because a devotee who trul
• Abhanga 2540 — Even the smallest, most helpless creature that cries out to God in danger is sheltered and