Abhanga 2437
God fills every form and direction, so only the purity of your inner feeling matters, and untangling everyday envy matters more than winning philosophical arguments.
The verse
आडवा तो उभा । असे दाटोनियां प्रभा ॥१॥ देव नाहीं एकविध । एक भाव असे शुद्ध ॥ध्रु.॥ भेदाभेद आटी । नाहीं फार कोठें तुटी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे गोवा । उगवा वेव्हाराचा हेवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Horizontal-is-vertical — radiance crowds. Dēva is not one-kind — only-one bhāva is pure. Bhedābheda dispute — no great break anywhere. Tuka says: entanglement — unravel the worldly-envy.
What it means
THE HORIZONTAL-IS-VERTICAL + ONLY-BHĀVA-PURE ABHANG.
The non-dual paradox: āḍavā tō ubhā — asē dāṭōniyām prabhā — horizontal-is-vertical — radiance crowds. The horizontal IS-the-vertical; radiance crowds-everywhere. All-directions are-one in-the-Lord's-prabhā (radiance).
THE BHĀVA-AS-CRITERION: Dēva nāhīm ēkavidha — ēka bhāva asē śuddha — Dēva is not one-kind — only-one bhāva is pure. Dēva is-not-only-one-kind (i.e., manifests in-many-forms); only-one-thing — bhāva (inner-feeling) — is pure. The forms-vary but the bhāva-is-the-criterion.
The bhedābheda: bhēdābhēda āṭī — nāhīm phāra kōṭhē tuṭī — bhedābheda dispute — no great break anywhere. The bhedābheda-philosophical-dispute (difference-vs-non-difference) has-no-great-break-(genuine-difference) anywhere. A subtle-position: Tukārām suggests the difference-non-difference debate is-not-substantive — all-is-bhāva-mediated.
[T]
For someone today
For today: horizontal IS vertical — radiance everywhere; Dēva is not one-kind — only bhāva is pure ; bhedābheda dispute is not great; unravel the worldly-envy.
Where this applies
- When you're arguing about whose form of worship or belief is the correct one.
- When you get pulled into abstract philosophical debate instead of tending to your own sincerity.
- When you feel envious or competitive about someone else's success, status, or possessions.
- When you assume only one path or tradition can hold something sacred.