Abhanga 2636

If you ever taste the state Tukārām describes — the worry of birth-and-death simply not present in attention; whatever happens, I'll just see it; the five-elements no longer holding the self together as my self; prapañca feeling alien while a deeper kinsman has arrived — this verse is the recognition-language. Visarlōm — forgotten — is the precise word. The state is not won by effort; the worry simply no longer occupies attention, because the parent-relationship with Ananta has taken its place. The verse is also a permission: when prapañca starts to feel pārikhā (alien, stranger), do not anxiously try to reclaim it as your own. The relational geography may be inverting in the right direction.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A short jīvanmukta-touch verse — one of Tukārām's clearest declarations of post-arrival peace. Janma-maraṇāñchī visarlōm chintā — I have forgotten the worry of birth-and-death. Visarlōm (forgotten) — not conquered or transcended, but forgotten. The worry is no longer present in attention. Tūm mājhā Ananta māyabāpa — you, Ananta (the Infinite), are my mother-father. The forgetting is anchored by a relationship: the Infinite has taken the parent-position.

The dhrūpada: hōtīla tē ḍōḷām pāhēna prakāra — bhaya āṇi bhāra nirasalīm — whatever happens, I will see it with my eyes — fear and burden have been dissolved. The jīvanmukta-stance is observational, not anxious. Bhaya (fear) and bhāra (burden) have been nirasalīm (dissolved). The seer remains; the fear-and-burden has gone.

The second verse names the philosophical relocation: ligāḍāchēm mūḷa hōtīm pañca bhūtē — tyāñchēm yām puratēm vibhāgilēm — the root of the tangle (ligāḍa = sticky-mess) was the five elements; they have been fully (puratēm) apportioned (vibhāgilēm). The ligāḍa (the sticky-tangle-of-life) had its source in identification with the five-elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether). When the five-elements are vibhāgilēm (apportioned, partitioned, given to each their place), the tangle is undone.

The close is the seal: jālā prapancha pārikhā — jīvāsī tūm sakhā Pāṇḍurangā — prapañca has become alien (pārikhā = stranger, no-longer-mine); to my jīva, you, Pāṇḍurangā, are sakhā (kinsman). Pārikhā (alien) and sakhā (kinsman) are the two terminal positions: prapañca, which used to be claimed as one's own, has become alien; Pāṇḍuranga, who was once-distant, has become kinsman of the jīva. The relational geography has been inverted.

For someone today

If you ever taste the state Tukārām describes — the worry of birth-and-death simply not present in attention; whatever happens, I'll just see it; the five-elements no longer holding the self together as my self; prapañca feeling alien while a deeper kinsman has arrived — this verse is the recognition-language. Visarlōm — forgotten — is the precise word. The state is not won by effort; the worry simply no longer occupies attention, because the parent-relationship with Ananta has taken its place. The verse is also a permission: when prapañca starts to feel pārikhā (alien, stranger), do not anxiously try to reclaim it as your own. The relational geography may be inverting in the right direction.

Where this applies

• The jīvanmukta-touch state of post-arrival peace
• When the worry of birth-and-death is simply forgotten rather than conquered
• The five-elements feeling apportioned — no longer holding the self together as me
• Prapañca becoming pārikhā while Pāṇḍuranga becomes the sakhā of the jīva