संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2409 of 4582

Abhanga 2409

Laziness that blocks contemplation grows from mistaking the body for the self, and noticing this in yourself is itself a painful but honest step.

When you catch yourself avoiding prayer or reflection out of sheer sloth

When you realize you've been living as if the body were all you are

When your mind feels worn out from the guilt of neglecting your own contemplation

The verse

कां जी माझे जीवीं । आळस ठेविला गोसावीं ॥१॥ यवढा घात आणीक काय । चिंतनासी अंतराय ॥ध्रु.॥ देहआत्म वंदी । केला घात कुबुद्धी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे मन । कळवळी वाटे सीण ॥३॥

Literal translation

Why, dear — has the gōsāvī placed laziness in my life. Such a big harm, what else — obstruction to contemplation. Body-ātma bound — kubuddhī made the harm. Tuka says: mind — the heart-pain feels exhaustion.

What it means

THE LAZINESS-AS-OBSTRUCTION-TO-CHINTANA ABHANG.

The complaint: kām jī mājhē jīvīm — āḷasa ṭhēvilā gōsāvīm — why, dear, has the gōsāvī placed laziness in my life. Gōsāvī = vocative for the Lord. Āḷasa = laziness, sloth. Why, dear-Lord, have you placed laziness in-my-life? The bhakta blames the-Lord for-the-laziness-that-obstructs-bhakti.

The obstruction: yēvaḍhā ghāta āṇīka kāya — chintanāsī antarāya — such a big harm, what else — obstruction to contemplation. What-bigger harm than-obstruction-to-chintana (contemplation)?

[T]

For someone today

For today: why has the Lord placed laziness in my life; biggest harm — obstruction to contemplation; kubuddhī harms body-ātma; mind's heart-pain feels exhaustion.

Where this applies

When you keep meaning to sit down and pray or meditate but find yourself putting it off day after day
When you notice you care more about comfort of the body than about remembering the divine
When you feel guilty and drained because you know you're avoiding the practice that matters to you
When you want to understand why spiritual effort feels so hard to sustain even when you believe in it

Bhakti