Abhanga 1784
For today: the anāhata-dhvani flows in all bodies — but if Rāma isn't on the mouth, how does one cross?; deva is truly in all jīvas — but without seeing the personal-Lord, one doesn't cross; jñāna is in all — truly — but without bhakti, that itself is not brahma; what use the mudrās learned and performed — while the lamp of unmanī is not lit?; Tuka says — don't merely cradle the body — Nārāyaṇa cannot be grasped just by (these) establishing-techniques.
The verse
अनुहात ध्वनि वाहे सकळां पिंडीं । राम नाहीं तोंडीं कैसा तरे ॥१॥ सकळां जीवांमाजी देव आहे खरा । देखिल्या दुसरा विण न तरे ॥ध्रु.॥ ज्ञान सकळांमाजी आहे हें साच । भक्तीविण तें च ब्रम्ह नव्हे ॥२॥ काय मुद्रा कळल्या कराव्या सांगतां । दीप न लगतां उन्मनीचा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे नका पिंडाचें पाळण । स्थापू नारायण आतुडेना ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: Anāhata dhvani flows in all bodies — but Rāma not in the mouth, how does one cross? Deva is truly in all jīvas — but without seeing the dusarā, one does not cross. Jñāna is in all — truly — but without bhakti, that-itself is not brahma. What use the mudrās learned and performed — while the dīpa of unmanī is not lit? Tuka says: don't (merely) cradle the piṇḍa — Nārāyaṇa cannot be grasped (just by) establishing.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अनुहात ध्वनि वाहे सकळां पिंडीं | "anāhata dhvani — flows — in all bodies" |
| राम नाहीं तोंडीं कैसा तरे | "Rāma not in mouth — how does one cross" |
| सकळां जीवांमाजी देव आहे खरा | "in all jīvas — deva — is — truly" |
| देखिल्या दुसरा विण न तरे | "without seeing — the dusarā (= the second / differentiated-Lord) — one does not cross" |
| ज्ञान सकळांमाजी आहे हें साच | "jñāna — in all — is — truly" |
| भक्तीविण तें च ब्रम्ह नव्हे | "without bhakti — that-itself — is not brahma" |
| काय मुद्रा कळल्या कराव्या सांगतां | "what use — the mudrās — if known and performed — while teaching" |
| दीप न लगतां उन्मनीचा | "the dīpa of unmanī — not-being-lit" |
| तुका म्हणे नका पिंडाचें पाळण | "Tuka says — don't — the cradling of the piṇḍa (body)" |
| स्थापू नारायण आतुडेना | "establishing Nārāyaṇa — cannot-be-grasped" |
What it means
Anti-haṭha-yoga + bhakti-as-completion-of-jñāna abhang. A systematic critique of haṭha-yogic claims — taking each haṭha-jñāna claim and correcting it with the bhakti-supplement.
Critique 1 — anāhata-dhvani: anuhata dhvani vāhē sakaḷām piṇḍīm — Rāma nāhīm tōṇḍīm kaisā tarē — anāhata dhvani flows in all bodies — but Rāma not in the mouth, how does one cross?. The anāhata-nāda (= the "unstruck-sound" — the yogic inner-vibration heard in deep meditation) is universally-present in all bodies; but, if Rāma's-Name is not on the mouth, that internal-vibration alone does not save. (= yogic-inner-experience without nāma is incomplete.)
Critique 2 — sarva-dēva-darśana: sakaḷām jīvāmmājī dēva āhē kharā — dēkhilyā dusarā vīṇa na tarē — deva is truly in all jīvas — but without seeing the dusarā, one does not cross. Dusarā = the second / differentiated-Lord (= the personal-Lord, distinct from the omnipresent-essence). Yes, deva is in all (= advaita-position), but unless one sees-the-personal-Lord (= the dusarā = the bhakta's-Viṭhṭhal), liberation doesn't come. (= the dvaita-supplement to advaita is necessary.)
Critique 3 — universal-jñāna: jñāna sakaḷāmmājī āhē hēm sāca — bhaktī-vīṇa tē cha brahma navhē — jñāna is in all — truly — but without bhakti, that-itself is not brahma. Yes, jñāna is universal (Upaniṣadic claim) — but without bhakti, it does not constitute brahma-realization. (= bhakti is the necessary-supplement to jñāna.)
Critique 4 — mudrās without unmanī-dīpa: kāya mudrā kaḷalyā karāvyā sāngatām — dīpa na lagatām unmanīcā — what use the mudrās learned and performed — while the dīpa of unmanī is not lit?. Mudrās = the yogic seals / hand-positions (specific haṭha-yoga techniques like khecharī, śāmbhavī); unmanīcā dīpa = the lamp of the unmanī state (= the supra-mental state, beyond manas). Without the inner-lamp lit, the external-mudrās are useless.
The conclusion: Tukā mhaṇē nakā piṇḍācēm pāḷaṇa — sthāpū Nārāyaṇa ātuḍēnā — Tuka says: don't (merely) cradle the piṇḍa — Nārāyaṇa cannot be grasped (just by) establishing. Piṇḍācēm pāḷaṇa = the cradling-of-the-body (= the haṭha-yogic preoccupation with body-techniques); sthāpū = establishing / placing; ātuḍēnā = cannot-be-grasped, doesn't-come-into-grasp. Don't waste-your-time on body-cradling-techniques alone — that is not how Nārāyaṇa is grasped.
The abhang is a comprehensive Vārkarī-position-paper: anāhata-nāda needs Rāma-nāma; advaita needs dusarā-darśana; jñāna needs bhakti; mudrās need unmanī-dīpa; deha-techniques need Nārāyaṇa-bhakti. Bhakti is the missing-essential in every haṭha-jñāna claim.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the anāhata-dhvani flows in all bodies — but if Rāma isn't on the mouth, how does one cross?; deva is truly in all jīvas — but without seeing the personal-Lord, one doesn't cross; jñāna is in all — truly — but without bhakti, that itself is not brahma; what use the mudrās learned and performed — while the lamp of unmanī is not lit?; Tuka says — don't merely cradle the body — Nārāyaṇa cannot be grasped just by (these) establishing-techniques.
Where this applies
- Anāhata-flows-but-Rāma-on-mouth-needed.* Anuhata-Rāma-tōṇḍī.
- Deva-in-all-but-dusarā-darśana-needed.* Jīva-deva-dusarā-darśana.
- Jñāna-needs-bhakti-to-be-brahma.* Jñāna-bhakti-brahma.
- Mudrās-need-unmanī-dīpa.* Mudrā-unmanī-dīpa.
- Don't-merely-cradle-body-Nārāyaṇa-cannot-be-grasped.* Piṇḍa-pāḷaṇa-Nārāyaṇa-ātuḍēnā.