Abhanga 1299
For today: the simple varma is — take cymbals, drum, and dance; abandon even samādhi-sukha; kīrtana is brahma-rasa; the four muktis serve Hari-dāsas.
The verse
सोपें वर्म आम्हां सांगितलें संतीं । टाळ दिंडी हातीं घेउनि नाचा ॥१॥ समाधीचें सुख सांडा ओंवाळून । ऐसें हें कीर्तन ब्रम्हरस ॥ध्रु.॥ पुढती घडे चढतें सेवन आगळें । भक्तिभाग्यबळें निर्भरता ॥२॥ उपजों चि नये संदेह चित्तासी । मुक्ति चारी दासी हरिदासांच्या ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे मन पावोनि विश्रांती । त्रिविध नासती ताप क्षणें ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: The simple varma told us by the saints — take ṭāḷa-diṇḍī in hand, and dance. The sukha of samādhi — abandon it by ōmvāḷaṇa — such this kīrtana is brahma-rasa. (It) grows again-and-rising — special drinking — by bhakti-bhāgya-baḷa, fullness. Samdēha shouldn't even arise in the citta — the four muktis are dāsīs of Hari-dāsas. Tuka says: when the mind has reached viśrānti — the three taps perish in a kṣaṇa.
मराठी: सोपें वर्म — संतांनीं आम्हांला सांगितलें — टाळ-दिंडी हातीं घेऊन नाचा! समाधीचें सुख — ओंवाळून सांडा — असें-च हें कीर्तन — ब्रह्म-रस. पुढती घडतें — चढतें — सेवन आगळें — भक्ति-भाग्य-बळें — निर्भरता. चित्तीं संदेह उपजूं देऊं नये — चारी मुक्ति — हरि-दासांच्या दासी (आहेत). Tukā म्हणे — मन विश्रांति पावोनी — त्रि-विध ताप — क्षणांत नासतात.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सोपें वर्म आम्हां सांगितलें संतीं | "the simple (sōpē) varma was told to us by the saints" |
| टाळ दिंडी हातीं घेउनि नाचा | "take ṭāḷa (cymbals) and diṇḍī (small-drum) in hand — and dance" |
| समाधीचें सुख सांडा ओंवाळून | "the sukha of samādhi — abandon it by ōmvāḷaṇa (waving-aside)" |
| ऐसें हें कीर्तन ब्रम्हरस | "such (aisē) — this kīrtana is brahma-rasa" |
| पुढती घडे चढतें सेवन आगळें | "(it) repeatedly grows — chaḍhatē (rising) — sēvana āgaḷē (special drinking)" |
| भक्तिभाग्यबळें निर्भरता | "by bhakti-bhāgya-baḷa — nirbharatā (full-fillment)" |
| उपजों चि नये संदेह चित्तासी | "samdēha shouldn't even arise (upajōm) in the citta" |
| मुक्ति चारी दासी हरिदासांच्या | "the four muktis are dāsīs of Hari-dāsas" |
| मन पावोनि विश्रांती | "the mind, having reached viśrānti (rest)" |
| त्रिविध नासती ताप क्षणें | "the three (trividha) taps perish in a kṣaṇa" |
What it means
THE kīrtana-trumps-samādhi abhang — among the most-quoted warkari teachings.
The opening line is the warkari-bhakti formula: sōpē varma āmhām sāngitalēm samtīm — ṭāḷa diṇḍī hātīm ghē'unī nācā — the simple varma the saints taught us — take ṭāḷa-diṇḍī in hand and dance. No yoga, no samādhi-techniques, no āsana-prāṇāyāma — just cymbals, small drum, and dance.
The dhruva is the audacious claim: samādhīcēm sukha sāṇḍā ōmvāḷūn — aisē hē kīrtana brahma-rasa — abandon the sukha of samādhi by ōmvāḷaṇa (waving-it-aside) — such (= so much greater) this kīrtana is brahma-rasa. Samādhi is the highest yogic state in classical traditions; here it's waved-aside as one waves the āratī flame (the same gesture as 1289). Kīrtana — the bhakti-public-singing — is brahma-rasa itself.
The reasoning: mukti cārī dāsī Hari-dāsāñcyām — the four muktis (sālokya, sāmīpya, sārūpya, sāyujya — the four traditional liberations) are dāsīs of Hari-dāsas. The Hari-dāsa (the singer-of-Hari-name) is the master of the four muktis; they serve him as servants.
The closing: mana pāvōnī viśrāntī — trividha nāsatī tāpa kṣaṇē — when the mind has reached viśrānti — the trividha-tāpa (the three sufferings: ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika) perish in a kṣaṇa.
This is the warkari-bhakti at its most distinctive — boldly placing kīrtana above samādhi, above the four muktis, above yoga-techniques.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the simple varma is — take cymbals, drum, and dance; abandon even samādhi-sukha; kīrtana is brahma-rasa; the four muktis serve Hari-dāsas.
Where this applies
- Take-cymbals-drum-and-dance.* Ṭāḷa-diṇḍī-hātīm-nācā.
- Abandon-samādhi-sukha.* Samādhīcēm-sukha-sāṇḍā-ōmvāḷūn.
- Kīrtana-is-brahma-rasa.* Aisē-hē-kīrtana-brahma-rasa.
- Four-muktis-are-dāsīs-of-Hari-dāsas.* Mukti-cārī-dāsī-Hari-dāsāñcyām.
- Three-taps-perish-in-instant.* Trividha-nāsatī-tāpa-kṣaṇē.