Abhanga 1981
Once you truly know the divine's nature, devotee and God stop being separate, and self-discovery happens quietly within, ending the restless search elsewhere.
The verse
आम्ही जाणों तुझा भाव । कैंचा भक्त कैंचा देव । बीजा नाहीं ठाव । कैंचें फळ शेवटीं ॥१॥ संपादिलें बहु रूप । कैंचें पुण्य कैंचें पाप । नव्हतों आम्ही आप । आपणासी देखिलें ॥ध्रु.॥ एके ठायीं घरिच्याघरीं । न कळतां जाली चोरी । तेथें तें चि दुरी । जाणें येणें खुंटलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे धरूनि हातीं । उर ठेविली मागुती । एकांतीं लोकांतीं । देवभक्तिसोहळा ॥३॥
Literal translation
We know your bhāva — what bhakta, what Deva? — no place for seed — what fruit at the end? You assumed many forms — what puṇya, what pāpa? — we weren't ourselves — we saw ourselves. At one place — within the home — unknowing, theft happened — there itself, that itself is far — coming-going stopped. Tuka says: holding the hand — placed chest backward — in solitude, in public — Deva-bhakti-celebration.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आम्ही जाणों तुझा भाव | "we know your bhāva" |
| कैंचा भक्त कैंचा देव | "what bhakta — what Deva" |
| बीजा नाहीं ठाव | "no place for seed" |
| कैंचें फळ शेवटीं | "what fruit at the end" |
| संपादिलें बहु रूप | "you assumed many forms" |
| कैंचें पुण्य कैंचें पाप | "what puṇya — what pāpa" |
| नव्हतों आम्ही आप | "we weren't ourselves" |
| आपणासी देखिलें | "we saw ourselves" |
| एके ठायीं घरिच्याघरीं | "at one place — within the home" |
| न कळतां जाली चोरी | "unknowing — theft happened" |
| तेथें तें चि दुरी | "there itself — that itself is far" |
| जाणें येणें खुंटलें | "coming-going stopped" |
| तुका म्हणे धरूनि हातीं | "Tuka says — holding the hand" |
| उर ठेविली मागुती | "placed chest backward" |
| एकांतीं लोकांतीं | "in solitude — in public" |
| देवभक्तिसोहळा | "Deva-bhakti-celebration" |
What it means
What-bhakta-what-Deva + theft-within-the-home abhang. ADVAITA-COLLAPSE.
The opening — the great-collapse: āmhī jāṇōm tujhā bhāva — kaiñchā bhakta kaiñchā Dēva — we know your bhāva — what bhakta, what Deva. The bhakta-Deva-distinction collapses — no-bhakta, no-Deva — once-bhāva-is-known.
The seed-and-fruit: bījā nāhīm ṭhāva — kaiñchē phaḷa śēvaṭīm — no place for seed — what fruit at the end?. No-seed-place, no-final-fruit — the karma-causation collapses too.
The form-assumption: sampādilē bahu rūpa — kaiñchē puṇya kaiñchē pāpa — you assumed many forms — what puṇya, what pāpa?. The Lord-takes-many-forms; puṇya-pāpa-distinctions also-collapse.
The self-seeing: navhatōm āmhī āpa — āpaṇāsī dēkhilē — we weren't ourselves — we saw ourselves. We-weren't-ourselves until-we-saw-ourselves (= sva-darśana = atma-darśana).
The brilliant theft-image: ēkē ṭhāyīm gharichyāgharī — na kaḷatām jālī chōrī — tēthē tē chi durī — jāṇē yēṇē khuṇṭalē — at one place — within the home — unknowing, theft happened — there itself, that itself is far — coming-going stopped. The theft-happened within-the-very-home (= atma-realization happens within-the-self); coming-and-going stops (= ego-displacement happens unknowing — and once it does, the seeker doesn't seek elsewhere).
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē dharūni hātī — ura ṭhēvilī māgutī — ēkānti lōkānti — Dēva-bhakti-sōhaḷā — Tuka says: holding the hand — placed chest backward — in solitude, in public — Deva-bhakti-celebration. Holding-hand, embrace-from-behind; in-solitude-and-public, Deva-bhakti-celebration.
[T]
For someone today
For today: we know your bhāva — what bhakta, what Deva? — no place for seed — what fruit at the end?; you assumed many forms — what puṇya, what pāpa? — we weren't ourselves — saw ourselves; at one place within the home — unknowing, theft happened — there itself, that itself is far — coming-going stopped; Tuka says — holding the hand — chest backward — in solitude, in public — Deva-bhakti-celebration.
Where this applies
- When you're stuck endlessly seeking answers outside yourself instead of looking within
- When your usual categories of right and wrong, sacred and secular feel less useful after a moment of insight
- When a quiet realization suddenly resolves a search you've been on for a long time
- When you want language for feeling equally close to something sacred alone and in a crowd