Abhanga 2038
Devotion without real attention is just an empty shell, and a mind that wanders unchecked, like a dog that has slipped its leash, cannot be reached even by a warning cry.
The verse
जवळी नाहीं चित्ति । काय मांडियेलें प्रेत ॥१॥ कैसा पाहे चद्रिद्राष्टि । दीप स्नेहाच्या शेवटीं ॥ध्रु.॥ कांतेलेंसें श्वान । तैसें दिशा हिंडे मन ॥२॥ त्याचे कानीं हाणे । कोण बोंब तुका म्हणे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Chitta not near — what is set-out is a corpse. How it looks — squint-eyed — the lamp at the end of oil. Like a slipped-dog — thus the mind wanders the directions. Tuka says: strikes his ear — who cries the alarm?
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जवळी नाहीं चित्ति | "chitta not near" |
| काय मांडियेलें प्रेत | "what is set-out is a corpse" |
| कैसा पाहे चद्रिद्राष्टि | "how it looks — squint-eyed" |
| दीप स्नेहाच्या शेवटीं | "the lamp at the end of oil" |
| कांतेलेंसें श्वान | "like a slipped-dog" |
| तैसें दिशा हिंडे मन | "thus the mind wanders the directions" |
| त्याचे कानीं हाणे | "strikes his ear" |
| कोण बोंब तुका म्हणे | "Tuka says — who cries the alarm" |
What it means
No-chitta-makes-the-body-a-corpse + mind-wanders-like-dog abhang.
The opening — corpse-image: javaḷī nāhīm chittī — kāya māṇḍiyēlē prēta — chitta not near — what is set-out is a corpse. Without-chitta-(consciousness/intent) present, the displayed-body is-just-a-corpse. (= kathā-sitting-without-chitta is like setting-out-a-corpse — formally-present but-lifeless).
The dying-lamp: kaisā pāhē chadri-drāṣṭi — dīpa snēhāchyā śēvaṭīm — how it looks — squint-eyed — the lamp at the end of oil. Snēha = oil (also: love). The dying-flame's flicker (chadri-drāṣṭi = squint-vision) — like-a-lamp running-out-of-oil. The chitta-less-bhakti is dying.
The slipped-dog: kāntēlēmsē śvāna — taisē diśā hiṇḍē mana — like a slipped-dog — thus the mind wanders the directions. Kāntēlēmsē = slipped (the leash). The mind without-discipline is-like-an-unleashed-dog — wandering-all-directions.
The alarm: tyāchē kānīm hāṇē — kōṇa bōmba Tukā mhaṇē — Tuka says: strikes his ear — who cries the alarm. Who-can-strike-his-ear-with-warning? (= the dead-chitta cannot-hear the bhakti-alarm).
[T]
For someone today
For today: chitta not near — what is set-out is a corpse; how it looks — squint-eyed — lamp at end of oil; like a slipped-dog — mind wanders the directions; Tuka says — strikes his ear — who cries the alarm?
Where this applies
- When you sit through worship, meditation, or prayer with your mind somewhere else entirely
- When you notice your attention scattering in every direction the moment you try to focus
- When you're going through a religious or spiritual routine purely out of habit, with no real feeling behind it
- When someone tries to warn or wake you up about drifting away from what matters, and you don't even notice