Abhanga 1607

The one God behind every form and every spiritual practice stands close by at Pandharpur, fills everything without being pinned down, and steadily supports those who depend on him.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Closing-cosmic-Pāṇḍuranga abhang. Closes the vaikuṇṭha-gamana cluster.

The disguise-claim: dhariyēlīm sōṇgēm — yēṇē avaghīm Pāṇḍurangēm — all disguises have been assumed by this Pāṇḍuranga. Sōṇgēm = roles, disguises, masquerades (Marathi-specific). All forms / all roles / all avatāras are Pāṇḍuranga's-assumed-disguises. (= Pāṇḍuranga is the player-of-all-roles — radical pan-Vaiṣṇava-claim.)

The brick-Brahma: tēm hēm Brahma viṭē-vari — ubhēm Candra-bhāgē tirīm — that very Brahma is on the brick — standing at the Candrabhāgā-shore. The Upanishadic-Brahma is identified with the Paṇḍharpur-Viṭṭhal: that-which-the-Vedas-seek-as-Brahma stands here as Viṭṭhal on the brick at the Candrabhāgā river. (Compare 1466 and 1467's similar identifications.)

The pan-pervading: antara vyāpī bāhē — dhāṇḍōḷitām kōṭhē nōhē — pervades inside-and-outside — when sought, not-anywhere. Antara-bāhē = inside-outside; dhāṇḍōḷitām = when searched-thoroughly. The classical-paradox: fills everything yet not-locatable as-an-object.

The goal-of-austerities: yōga-yāga-tapē — jyā-kāraṇē dāna-japē — yoga, yāga, tapas — for whose-cause dāna-japa. The very same Pāṇḍuranga is the goal of all five austerities (yoga, yāga, tapas, dāna, japa).

The bhōga-claim: dilē nēdī jati — bhōga sakaḷa jyā hōtī — once given does-not-take-back — all bhōga is his. Nēdī jati = does not take back (= doesn't undo what's given). All bhōga (= experiential-enjoyment) is his.

The closing: avaghī līḷā pāhē — Tukā mhaṇē dāsām sāhē — all the līḷā he sees — Tuka says: supports the dāsas. Sāhē = bears, supports, sustains. He sees all līḷā / he is the witness of all play; he supports / sustains his dāsas.

This abhang closes the vaikuṇṭha-gamana cluster with a cosmic-Vedic-Vaiṣṇava synthesis: that-Brahma-of-the-Vedas is the Viṭṭhal-on-the-brick; he plays all roles; he is the goal of all austerities; he sustains his dāsas. The bhakta has gone to the māhera; the māhera-Lord is the cosmic-Brahma.

[T]

For someone today

For today: all the disguises have been assumed by this Pāṇḍuranga; that very Brahma stands on the brick at the Candrabhāgā-shore; he pervades inside-and-outside, but when sought, is not found anywhere; he is the goal of yoga, yāga, tapas, and dāna, japa; once given, he does not take back — all enjoyment is his; he sees the whole līḷā — Tuka says — he supports his dāsas.

Where this applies

• When you feel like you have to chase God through rituals or far-off pilgrimages and forget he is standing close by
• When you cannot logically prove or locate God and start doubting whether the search is worth it
• When you worry that a blessing already given to you might somehow be withdrawn
• When you feel unseen or unsupported and need to remember that someone is watching over and sustaining you

Related verses

• Abhanga 2459 — Liberation does not have to be earned through grueling effort or endless searching; it is
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 2469 — Closeness to God is naturally available; the whole of devoted practice comes down to stead
• Abhanga 3871 — Sit in worry-free devotion to one Lord alone, let go of every other ritual and any sense o