Abhanga 1408
Once you see that what you craved never really existed, you can stop grasping at both gain and loss and simply watch life instead of clutching it.
The verse
नव्हतियाचा सोस होता । झडो आतां पदर ॥१॥ देखणें तें देखियेलें । आतां भलें साक्षित्वें ॥ध्रु.॥ लाभें कळों आली हानि । राहों दोन्हीं निराळीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे एकाएकीं । हा कां लोकीं पसारा ॥३॥
Literal translation
There was sōsa for the navhatiyā — let the padara fall away now. What was to be seen has been seen — now (we are) well in sākṣitva. By lābha, hāni became known — let both stay nirāḷē. Tuka says: all-at-once — why this pasārā in the lōka?
मराठी: नव्हतियाचा — सोस — होता; — झडो — आतां — पदर. देखणें — तें — देखियेलें; — आतां — भलें — साक्षित्वें. लाभें — कळों — आली — हानि; — राहों — दोन्हीं — निराळीं. Tukā म्हणे — एकाएकीं; — हा — कां — लोकीं — पसारा?
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नव्हतियाचा सोस होता | "of (that which) navhatiyā (= what wasn't / non-existent) — there was sōsa (= obsessive desire / addiction)" |
| झडो आतां पदर | "let fall away (jhaḍō) — now — the padara (= corner of cloak / fold)" |
| देखणें तें देखियेलें | "what (was) to be seen — has been seen" |
| आतां भलें साक्षित्वें | "now — well (bhalēm) — in sākṣitva (= witness-state)" |
| लाभें कळों आली हानि | "by lābha (gain) — hāni (loss) — became known (kaḷōm ālī)" |
| राहों दोन्हीं निराळीं | "let stay (rāhōm) — both (dōnnhīm) — nirāḷē (= separate / aloof)" |
| तुका म्हणे एकाएकीं | "Tuka says — all-at-once (ēkā-ēkīm)" |
| हा कां लोकीं पसारा | "this — why (kām) — in the lōka — pasārā (= sprawling stuff / spread-out clutter)?" |
What it means
Craving-for-the-non-existent abhang. The opening retrospective: navhatiyācā sōsa hōtā — jhaḍō ātām padara — there wassōsa(= addiction-like-craving) for thenavhatiyā(= what wasn't / non-existent); — let thepadara(= corner of cloak / theanchaḷfold) —jhaḍō(= fall away) now. The bhakta's clear-eyed look back: I was craving what didn't even exist. The padara — the cloth-fold the gṛhastha uses to gather and hold things — let it fall. (One of the most distilled vairāgya-clarities — the craved-thing was non-existent; the gathering-fold can drop.)
The arrival: dēkhaṇēm tēm dēkhiyēlēm — ātām bhalēm sākṣitvēm — what was to be seen has been seen; — now (we are) well — insākṣitva(witness-state). The to-be-seen has been seen; the bhakta now stands bhalēm sākṣitvēm — well in the witness-mode. (Compare 1399's niścaḷa-dṛṣṭā — same witness-stance.)
The discrimination: lābhēm kaḷōm ālī hāni — rāhōm dōnnhīm nirāḷīm — bylābha(gain) —hāni(loss) — became known; — let both staynirāḷē(= separate / aloof). Profound observation: gain itself revealed loss — once you had something, you noticed the not-having it would be a loss. Now: let both stay nirāḷē — neither courting gain nor fearing loss.
The closing: ēkā-ēkīm — hā kām lōkīm pasārā — all-at-once — why thispasārā(= sprawling-clutter) in thelōka? The whole world's pasārā now appears as unnecessary — all-at-once the bhakta sees it that way. (Compare 1399's Tukā lōkīm nirāḷā — Tuka aloof in the lōka.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: I had craving for what wasn't even there — let the gathering-fold fall; what was to be seen has been seen — now well in the witness-state; gain itself revealed loss — let both stay aloof; why this pasārā in the world?
Where this applies
- When you realize you have spent years chasing something that was never real to begin with
- When you are ready to stop clutching possessions or outcomes and just watch life unfold
- When getting something new makes you suddenly anxious about losing it
- When the busyness and clutter of everyday life start to feel pointless