संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2494 of 4582

Abhanga 2494

Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and death.

When you wake up dreading an ordinary, uneventful day

When fear of death or loss is weighing on your mind

When you want to bring singing, dancing, and celebration back into your practice of devotion

The verse

आजि आनंदु रे एकी परमानंदु रे । जया श्रुति नेति नेति म्हणती गोविंदु रे ॥१॥ विठोबाचीं वेडीं आम्हां आनंदु सदा । गाऊं नाचों वाऊं टाळी रंजवूं गोविंदा ॥ध्रु.॥ सदा सन सांत आम्हां नित्य दिवाळी । आनंदें निर्भर आमचा कैवारी बळी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं जन्ममरणांचा धाक । संत सनकादिक तें आमचें कवतुक ॥३॥

Literal translation

Today is ānanda — one parama-ānanda — whom śruti call "neti neti" — Gōvinda. Viṭhoba's-mads — always ānanda — sing-dance-strike-cymbal please Gōvinda. Always festival, daily Divāḷī — fearless ānanda — our protector is strong. Tuka says: no fear of birth-death — saints Sanaka etc are our delight.

What it means

THE TODAY-IS-ĀNANDA + DAILY-DIVĀḶĪ FESTIVAL-BHAKTI ABHANG.

THE OPENING: āji ānandu rē ēkī parama-ānandu rē — jayā śruti nēti nēti mhaṇatī Gōvindu rē — today is ānanda — one parama-ānanda — whom śruti call "neti neti" — Gōvinda. TODAY is-ānanda (rejoice!); ONE parama-ānanda; whom-the-śruti call "NETI NETI" — is Gōvinda. The Upaniṣadic neti-neti (not-this, not-this — the negative-path-to-Brahman) is identified-here as GŌVINDA — concrete-bhakti-name for-the-formless-Absolute.

DAILY DIVĀḶĪ: sadā sana sānta āmhām nitya divāḷī — always festival, daily Divāḷī. Sana = festival. Always-festival, daily-Divāḷī. The bhakta lives-in-perpetual-festive-mode — every-day is-Divāḷī (the festival-of-lights).

The fearless-ānanda: nāhīm janma-maraṇāñchā dhāka — santa sanaka-dika tē āmachē kavatuka — no fear of birth-death — saints Sanaka etc are our delight. No fear-of-birth-death; the four-Sanaka-saints (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana, Sanat-kumāra) are-our-delight.

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For someone today

For today: today is ānanda — parama-ānanda — Gōvinda the neti-neti; daily Divāḷī, always festival; no birth-death fear; Sanaka-saints our delight.

Where this applies

When you feel like joy only comes on special occasions or holidays
When you are afraid of death or of what comes after this life
When your devotion feels dry and you want to remember it can be playful, singing and dancing
When someone tries to describe God only through abstract negation and you want something you can actually love and celebrate