Abhanga 2285
True freedom means being unentangled at the root, like a stone that keeps its own nature no matter what colors surround it.
The verse
उपाधिवेगळे तुम्ही निविऩकार । कांहीं च संसार तुम्हां नाहीं ॥१॥ ऐसें मज करूनि ठेवा नारायणा । समूळ वासना नुरवावी ॥ध्रु.॥ निसंग तुम्हांसी राहणें एकट । नाहीं कटकट साहों येक ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं मिळों येत शिळा । रंगासी सकळा स्पटिकाची ॥३॥
Literal translation
Upādhi-apart, you are nirvikāra — you have no samsāra at all. Make me like this, Nārāyaṇa — don't leave the root-vāsanā. Your niḥsanga staying — alone — no kaṭa-kaṭa to bear, sir. Tuka says: the stone doesn't come to mix — with all colors, that of the crystal.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| उपाधिवेगळे तुम्ही निविऩकार | "upādhi-apart, you are nirvikāra" |
| कांहीं च संसार तुम्हां नाहीं | "you have no samsāra at all" |
| ऐसें मज करूनि ठेवा नारायणा | "make me like this, Nārāyaṇa" |
| समूळ वासना नुरवावी | "don't leave the root-vāsanā" |
| निसंग तुम्हांसी राहणें एकट | "your niḥsanga staying — alone" |
| नाहीं कटकट साहों येक | "no kaṭa-kaṭa (quarrel) to bear, sir" |
| तुका म्हणे नाहीं मिळों येत शिळा | "Tuka says — the stone doesn't come to mix" |
| रंगासी सकळा स्पटिकाची | "with all colors, that of the crystal" |
What it means
You-are-niḥsanga-make-me-like-this + stone-vs-crystal abhang.
The opening — Lord's nirvikāra: upādhi-vēgaḷē tumhī nirvikāra — kāmhīm cha samsāra tumhām nāhīm — upādhi-apart, you are nirvikāra — you have no samsāra at all. Upādhi-vēgaḷē = apart from upādhi. Nirvikāra = unchanging. Apart-from-upādhi, you are nirvikāra; no samsāra at-all for-you.
The prayer to be-made-like-this: aisē maja karūni ṭhēvā Nārāyaṇā — samūḷa vāsanā nuravāvī — make me like this, Nārāyaṇa — don't leave the root-vāsanā. Samūḷa = root-and-all. Make-me like-this, Nārāyaṇa; don't-let-the-root-vāsanā remain.
The niḥsanga-alone: niḥsanga tumhāmsī rāhaṇē ēkaṭa — nāhīm kaṭa-kaṭa sāhōm yēka — your niḥsanga staying — alone — no kaṭa-kaṭa to bear, sir. Your-niḥsanga (un-attachment), staying-alone; no kaṭa-kaṭa (quarrel) to-bear.
THE STONE-vs-CRYSTAL IMAGE: Tukā mhaṇē nāhīm miḷōm yēta śiḷā — rangāsī sakaḷā spaṭikāchī — Tuka says: the stone doesn't come to mix — with all colors, that of the crystal. Śiḷā = stone. Spaṭika = crystal. Ranga = color. The stone doesn't-come-to-mix (with-anything); but-the-crystal mixes-with-all-colors. A striking philosophical-analogy: - the stone (śiḷā) = the niḥsanga (un-attached) Lord — doesn't-take-on-colors, stays-itself - the crystal (spaṭika) = the bhakta or-jīva — takes-on-whatever-color-is-placed-near-it
The bhakta-asks the Lord to-make-him-like-stone (un-attached) — but-currently the bhakta-is-like-crystal, taking-on-every-color-of-sanga.
Or alternatively: the-stone-is-the-bhakta in-his-current-stuck-state-(can't-receive-the-Lord's-color); the-crystal-is-the-bhakta-in-niḥsanga-receptivity (then-takes-on-the-Lord's-color). The image is ambiguously-rich.
[T]
For someone today
For today: upādhi-apart, nirvikāra — no samsāra; make me like this, Nārāyaṇa — don't leave root-vāsanā; your niḥsanga, alone — no quarrel to bear; Tuka says — stone doesn't mix — crystal takes all colors.
Where this applies
- When you notice how much your mood shifts depending on who you are around or what is happening nearby.
- When you try to let go of a craving but keep discovering it has deeper roots than you thought.
- When constant social obligations and small conflicts leave you longing for some solitude.
- When you are trying to decide whether to stay unaffected by outside influence or let yourself be shaped by something greater.