संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2389 of 4582

Abhanga 2389

For today: be without enmity to all beings — this alone is the good sādhana; only then Nārāyaṇa accepts; kin and stranger equal; chitta becomes pure — everything is accomplished .

When you feel anger or ill will building up toward someone who crossed you.

When you notice yourself being kinder to your own people than to outsiders.

When you have to choose between nursing a grudge and simply letting it go.

The verse

निर्वैर व्हावें सर्वभूतांसवें । साधन बरवें हें चि एक ॥१॥ तरी च अंगीकार करिल नारायण । बडबड तो सीण येणेंविण ॥ध्रु.॥ सोइरें पिशुन समान चि घटे । चित्ती पर ओढे उपकारी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे चित्ती जालिया निर्मळ । तरि च सकळ केलें होय ॥३॥

Literal translation

Be without enmity to all beings — this alone is the good sādhana. Only then will Nārāyaṇa accept — without this, mere chatter is exhaustion. Kin and stranger should be equal in the chitta — moves to do upakāra for-the-other. Tuka says: if chitta becomes pure — only then is everything accomplished.

What it means

THE NIRVAIRA-AS-ONE-GREAT-SĀDHANA ABHANG. One of Tukārām's most-cited ethical-lines.

THE OPENING: nirvaira vhāvē sarva-bhūtāmsavē — sādhana baravē hē chi ēka — be without enmity to all beings — this alone is the good sādhana. Nirvaira = without-enmity. Sarva-bhūta = all beings. Be-without-enmity (nirvaira) toward all-beings — this-alone is-the-good-sādhana. One of Tukārām's most-quoted ethical-statements — collapses-all-sādhanas into-one: non-enmity-to-all-beings.

The Nārāyaṇa-acceptance: tarī cha angīkāra karila Nārāyaṇa — baḍabaḍa tō sīṇa yēṇē viṇa — only then will Nārāyaṇa accept — without this, mere chatter is exhaustion. Only-then-will-Nārāyaṇa accept; without-this, mere-chatter is-exhaustion.

The kin-stranger-equal: sō'irē piśuna samāna chi ghaṭē — chitti para ōḍhē upakārī — kin and stranger equal in the chitta — moves to do upakāra for-the-other. In-the-chitta, kin-and-stranger become-equal; moves-to-do upakāra (benefit) for-the-other.

The chitta-purity: Tukā mhaṇē chitti jāliyā nirmaḷa — tari cha sakaḷa kēlē hōya — Tuka says: if chitta becomes pure — only then is everything accomplished. If-the-chitta becomes-pure — only-then is-everything-accomplished.

The teaching: Sādhana is not-elaborate ritual — it-is non-enmity-to-all-beings + chitta-purity. This radically-simplifies the spiritual-path to-an-ethical-core.

[T]

For someone today

For today: be without enmity to all beings — this alone is the good sādhana; only then Nārāyaṇa accepts; kin and stranger equal; chitta becomes pure — everything is accomplished .

Where this applies

When someone has wronged you and you feel the pull to hold a grudge against them
When you catch yourself treating a stranger's needs as less important than a relative's
When your prayers and chanting feel like empty routine because your heart is still full of resentment
When you have a chance to quietly help someone outside your own circle

Bhakti