Abhanga 1951
Honestly admitting, with no excuses, that your own carelessness caused you to drift away is the first real step toward closing the distance.
The verse
होतीं नेणों जालीं कठिणें कठीण । जवळी च मन मनें ग्वाही ॥१॥ आम्ही होतों सोईं सांडिला मारग । घडिलें तें मग तिकून ही ॥ध्रु.॥ निश्चिंतीनें होते पुढिलांची सांडी । न चाले ते कोंडी मायबापा ॥२॥ आम्हां नाहीं त्यांचा घडिला आठव । त्यांचा बहु जीव विखुरला ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे जालें धर्माचें माहेर । पडिलें अंतर आम्हांकूनि ॥४॥
Literal translation
Not knowing, became hard-hard — near, mind is mind's witness. We — left the right path — what happened, happened from there. From carelessness — was leaving-of-future-things — that-doesn't-walk, oh-mother-father. We don't have their remembrance happened — their jīva is much-scattered. Tuka says: māhēra-of-dharma was made — separation has fallen from us.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| होतीं नेणों जालीं कठिणें कठीण | "not knowing — became hard-hard" |
| जवळी च मन मनें ग्वाही | "near — mind is mind's witness" |
| आम्ही होतों सोईं सांडिला मारग | "we — left the right path" |
| घडिलें तें मग तिकून ही | "what happened — happened from there" |
| निश्चिंतीनें होते पुढिलांची सांडी | "from carelessness — leaving-of-future-things" |
| न चाले ते कोंडी मायबापा | "that doesn't walk — the cornering, oh-mother-father" |
| आम्हां नाहीं त्यांचा घडिला आठव | "we don't have — their remembrance happened" |
| त्यांचा बहु जीव विखुरला | "their jīva is much-scattered" |
| तुका म्हणे जालें धर्माचें माहेर | "Tuka says — māhēra-of-dharma was made" |
| पडिलें अंतर आम्हांकूनि | "separation has fallen — from us" |
What it means
We-strayed-from-right-path + māhēra-of-dharma-made-distance abhang.
The opening: hōtīm nēṇōm jālīm kaṭhiṇē kaṭhīṇa — javaḷī cha mana manē gvāhī — not knowing, became hard-hard — near, mind is mind's witness. The mind itself-knows it-has-strayed.
The straying-confession: āmhī hōtōm sō'ī sāṇḍilā mārga — ghaḍilē tē maga tikūna hī — we left the right path — what happened, happened from there. Sō'ī = the right side, the proper path. The bhakta-confesses straying.
The carelessness: niśchintīnē hōtē puḍhilāmcī sāṇḍī — na chālē tē kōṇḍī māyabāpā — from carelessness, was leaving-of-future-things — that doesn't walk, oh-mother-father. From-carelessness-we-let-go-of-the-future (= the-Lord); but-that-doesn't-work, mother-father (= the-Lord-as-parent).
The forgetting-on-the-Lord's-side: āmhām nāhīm tyāñcā ghaḍilā āṭhava — tyāñcā bahu jīva vikhuralā — we don't have their remembrance — their jīva is much-scattered. Reciprocal: we-forgot-them; their-jīva-scattered (= worried/anxious for-us).
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē jālē dharmācē māhēra — paḍilē antara āmhāmkūni — Tuka says: māhēra-of-dharma was made — separation has fallen from us. The māhēra-of-dharma (the spiritual-home of-dharma) was-set-up; but-distance fell-from-us. Pandhari became the-māhēra-of-dharma; but-our-straying-broke-the-connection.
[T]
For someone today
For today: not knowing, became hard-hard — mind is mind's witness; we left the right path — what happened, from there; from carelessness, leaving-of-future — doesn't walk, oh mother-father; we don't have their remembrance — their jīva much-scattered; Tuka says — māhēra of dharma made — separation fell from us.
Where this applies
- When you realize, without anyone telling you, that you have quietly drifted from a commitment or relationship that mattered to you
- When you catch yourself making excuses for neglect instead of simply admitting you let something important slide
- When you realize that your own distraction caused worry or hurt for someone who cares about you
- When you have access to something good, a home, a community, a practice, yet still feel distant from it because of your own choices