Abhanga 1335
For today: the chief teaching is world-is-Deva; but first destroy yourself — only then can you cross this touchstone; the unmanī destroys cause-and-effect.
The verse
जग अवघें देव । मुख्य उपदेशाची ठेव ॥१॥ आधीं आपणयां नासी । तरि उतरे ये कसीं ॥ध्रु.॥ ब्रम्हज्ञानाचें कोठार । तें हें निश्चयें उत्तर ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे ते उन्मनी । नास कारया कारणीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
The world all is Deva — the chief upadeśa-treasure. First destroy yourself — then will you cross to this kasīm. Brahma-jñāna's storehouse — this is the niścaya answer. Tuka says: that unmanī — destroys kārya-kāraṇa.
मराठी: जग अवघें देव — मुख्य उपदेशाची ठेव. आधीं आपणाला-च नाश — तरीच — या कसीं (कसोटीवर) उतरतोस. ब्रह्म-ज्ञानाचें कोठार — तें हें निश्चयें-च उत्तर. Tukā म्हणे — ती उन्मनी (अवस्था) — कार्या-कारणीं नाश-च.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जग अवघें देव | "the world (jaga) — all (avaghē) — is Deva" |
| मुख्य उपदेशाची ठेव | "the mukhya (chief) — upadeśa-ṭhēva (treasure-store of upadeśa)" |
| आधीं आपणयां नासी | "first (ādhīm) — destroy (nāsī) yourself (āpaṇayā)" |
| तरि उतरे ये कसीं | "then (tarī) — will you cross (utarē) — to this kasīm (touchstone)" |
| ब्रम्हज्ञानाचें कोठार | "Brahma-jñāna's kōṭhāra (storehouse)" |
| तें हें निश्चयें उत्तर | "this — is the niścaya (decisive) uttara (answer)" |
| तुका म्हणे ते उन्मनी | "Tuka says — that unmanī (= the supra-manas state)" |
| नास कारया कारणीं | "destroys (nāsa) — kārya-and-kāraṇa (effect-and-cause)" |
What it means
Self-destruction-as-precondition abhang. The opening: jaga avaghē Deva — mukhya upadeśācī ṭhēva — the world is all Deva — the chief upadeśa-treasure. The non-dualist position is restated: world = Deva; this is the primary teaching.
But the precondition: ādhīm āpaṇayā nāsī — tarī utarē yē kasīm — first destroy yourself; only then will you cross to thiskasīm(touchstone). Kasīm is the touchstone-of-gold-testing; only one who has first destroyed himself can be tested-and-found-true on this touchstone of world-is-Deva. Without self-destruction, the world-is-Deva talk is just words (cf. 1283 gharō-gharīm avaghē jālē brahma-jñāna — pari mēḷavaṇa bahu mājī).
The closing technical-name: Tukā mhaṇē tē unmanī — nāsa kāra-yā kāraṇīm — Tuka says — thatunmanī(thesupra-mindstate, classical Yoga'sun-mani-bhāva) — destroyskārya(effect) andkāraṇa(cause). The unmanī state is the destruction of cause-and-effect itself; world-is-Deva is then directly experienced.
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For someone today
For today: the chief teaching isworld-is-Deva; but first destroy yourself — only then can you cross this touchstone; the unmanī destroys cause-and-effect.
Where this applies
- When you can recite spiritual truths fluently but your daily behavior has not changed at all
- When you sense that your own ego and self-interest are the real obstacle blocking a deeper experience of the sacred
- When you want proof that your understanding is real rather than borrowed words
- When you long for a state of mind that is free from the constant grip of cause, effect, and worry