Abhanga 1778
Outward devotion done while the heart still clings to worldly desire will not protect you, so face your restlessness honestly and act for your true good now, before time runs out.
The verse
भजन करूं । संसारसंभ्रमें आशा लागे पाठी । तेणें जीवा साटी होईंल तुझ्या ॥१॥ सेकीं नाडसील नाडसील । विषयसंगें अवघा नाडसील । मागुता पडसील भवडोहीं ॥ध्रु.॥ आंत बाह्यात्कारीं । ऐसे जाती चारी दिवस वेगीं ॥२॥ जागा होई करीं हिताचा उपाय । तुका म्हणे हाय करिसी मग ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bhajana we do — but with samsāra-anxiety, desire is on the back — by this, the loss-of-the-jīva will be yours. At-last you'll be fooled, fooled by viṣaya-association, fall-back into the bhava-ḍōha. Inwardly and outwardly, the four days of life pass swiftly. Be awake — do the upāya of hita — Tuka says, otherwise you will say 'alas' afterward.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भजन करूं | "we do bhajana — (but)" |
| संसारसंभ्रमें आशा लागे पाठी | "with samsāra-anxiety — desire is on (our) back" |
| तेणें जीवा साटी होईंल तुझ्या | "by-this — of the jīva — the loss / barter — will be — yours" |
| सेकीं नाडसील नाडसील | "at last — you will be fooled — (emphatic-doubled)" |
| विषयसंगें अवघा नाडसील | "with viṣaya-association — all of you — will be fooled" |
| मागुता पडसील भवडोहीं | "you will fall back — into the bhava-ḍōha (= deep-pool-of-samsāra)" |
| आंत बाह्यात्कारीं | "inwardly — and outwardly" |
| ऐसे जाती चारी दिवस वेगीं | "thus go — the four days (of life) — swiftly" |
| जागा होई करीं हिताचा उपाय | "be awake — do — the upāya of hita (= the means-of-good)" |
| तुका म्हणे हाय करिसी मग | "Tuka says — (otherwise) you will say — hāya (alas) — afterward" |
What it means
Bhajana-with-anxiety-is-loss + four-days-of-life abhang. A warning to the half-bhakta who does bhajana but still carries samsāra-anxiety in the heart.
The opening: bhajana karūm samsāra-sambhramēm āśā lāgē pāṭhī — tēṇē jīvā sāṭī hō'īla tujhyā — we do bhajana but with samsāra-anxiety, desire is on (our) back — by-this, the loss-of-the-jīva will be yours. Sambhrama = bewilderment, agitation; āśā lāgē pāṭhī = desire-clings-on-the-back (= desire-pulls-from-behind even-while-bhajana-happens-in-front); jīvā sāṭī = the jīva's exchange / loss. External-bhajana with internal-anxiety means the jīva-is-still-being-traded-away.
The fooling-line: sēkīm nāḍasīla nāḍasīla — viṣaya-sangēm avaghā nāḍasīla — māgutā paḍasīla bhava-ḍōhīm — at last you'll be fooled, fooled — by viṣaya-association, all of you will be fooled — you will fall back into the bhava-ḍōha. Bhava-ḍōha = the deep-pool of samsāra. The doubled-warning emphasizes the inevitability if the inner-anxiety is not removed.
The four-days-line: āmta bāhyātkārīm — aisē jātī cārī divasa vēgīm — inwardly and outwardly — thus pass the four days swiftly. Cārī divasa = the four-days (= idiomatic for the few-short-days of human-life). Inside-and-outside, the brief-life-passes swiftly. (The ephemerality-of-life register — companion to 1763's forgotten-death.)
The closing: jāgā hō'ī karīm hitācā upāya — Tukā mhaṇē hāya karisī maga — be awake, do the upāya of hita — Tuka says, otherwise you'll say "alas" afterward. Hāya = the cry of regret. Wake-up-and-act now, or regret-after-the-fact.
A companion-warning to abhangs about cārī divasa, krāya-pāyā ghaḍī, sthira-kāya, deha-naśvara. Half-bhakti is no-bhakti when anxiety still leads.
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For someone today
For today: we do bhajana — but with samsāra-anxiety, desire still clings to the back — by this, the jīva's loss will be yours; eventually you'll be fooled, fooled by viṣaya-association, you'll fall back into the deep-pool of samsāra; inwardly and outwardly, the four days of life pass swiftly; wake up — do the means-of-good — Tuka says, otherwise you will say 'alas' afterward.
Where this applies
- When you go to temple or kirtana out of habit but your mind keeps drifting to money, status, or unfinished worldly worries
- When you tell yourself your devotion is sincere even though you are still secretly chasing the same old cravings
- When you keep postponing the inner work you know you need to do, assuming there will always be more time
- When you realize a task or day passed in a blur and wonder where the time went, only after it is gone