Abhanga 1980
The grip of 'I' and 'mine' sets the world on fire with suffering, but the moment you truly wake up, all such divisions melt away like metal in one crucible.
The verse
न दिसे अंतर । गोडी ठायीं निवडितां ॥१॥ जाळविलें जगा । मी हें माझें यासाटीं ॥ध्रु॥ मुसे आल्यावरी । काय निवडे वेगळें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे दोन्ही । निवारलीं जागतां ॥३॥
Literal translation
No inner-difference — sweetness, distinguishing in place. The world burned — for the sake of 'I' and 'mine'. After the muse-mould comes — what stands-out separately? Tuka says: both — eliminated upon waking.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| न दिसे अंतर | "no inner-difference" |
| गोडी ठायीं निवडितां | "sweetness, distinguishing in place" |
| जाळविलें जगा | "the world burned" |
| मी हें माझें यासाटीं | "for the sake of 'I' and 'mine'" |
| मुसे आल्यावरी | "after the muse-mould comes" |
| काय निवडे वेगळें | "what stands-out separately" |
| तुका म्हणे दोन्ही | "Tuka says — both" |
| निवारलीं जागतां | "eliminated upon waking" |
What it means
No-inner-difference-both-eliminated-on-waking abhang. OPENS 4-ABHANG ADVAITA-NON-DIFFERENCE SUB-CLUSTER (1980-1983).
The opening: na disē antara — gōḍī ṭhāyī nivaḍitām — no inner-difference — sweetness, distinguishing in place. No-inner-difference once-the-sweetness is-distinguished-in-place (= abhēda-realization).
The world-burning: jāḷavilē jagā — mī hē mājhē yāsāṭīm — the world burned — for the sake of 'I' and 'mine'. The whole world is-burning because-of-mī-mājhē (I-and-mine) — Tukārām's diagnosis of-suffering: the ego-and-possession.
The mould: musē ālyāvarī — kāya nivaḍē vēgaḷē — after the muse-mould comes, what stands-out separately?. Musē = crucible/mould (where-gold-melts). Once melted-in-the-mould, what-stands-separate? (= all-distinctions melt in-the-divine-crucible).
The closing — both-eliminated: Tukā mhaṇē dōnhī — nivāralī jāgatām — Tuka says: both — eliminated upon waking. Both (= duality, mī-and-tū) are-eliminated upon-waking (jāgatām = upon-awakening). Advaita-realization: upon-waking from-the-dream-of-samsāra, both-sides-of-duality vanish.
[T]
For someone today
For today: no inner-difference — sweetness, distinguishing in place; the world burned — for sake of 'I' and 'mine'; after the muse-mould comes — what stands-out separately; Tuka says — both — eliminated upon waking.
Where this applies
- When you're consumed by possessiveness or comparison, feeling like everything must be mine versus theirs
- When conflict between people traces back to ego and ownership rather than any real difference
- When you catch a glimpse of unity or connection that makes old divisions suddenly feel unimportant
- When you want language for the moment insight or perspective dissolves a long-held grudge or boundary