Abhanga 2736
Make your decision about temptation before you're standing in the fire, because deciding in the heat of the moment is how people fall.
The verse
सेजेचा एकांत आगीपाशीं कळे । झांकिलिया डोळे अधःपात ॥१॥
राहो अथवा मग जळो अगीमधीं । निवाडु तो आधीं होऊनि गेला ॥ध्रु.॥
भेणें झडपणी नाहीं येथें दुजें । पादरधिटा ओझें हतियारें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मज नाहीं जी भरवसा । तोवरि सहसा निवाडु तो ॥३॥
Literal translation
Sējēñcā ekānta agīpāśīm kaḷē — thesējā(bed)'sekānta(solitude) is knownnear the fire; jhānkiliyā ḍoḷē adhaḥ-pāta — closed eyes (lead to)adhaḥ-pāta(falling-down). Rāhō athavā mag jaḷō agī-madhīm — nivāḍu tō ādhī hōūnī gēlā — let it remain (rāhō) or let it burn in the fire (agī-madhīm jaḷō) — thenivāḍu(decision) was already made earlier. Bhēṇē jhaḍapaṇī nāhī yēthē dujē — no second-jhaḍapaṇa (sudden-attack-by-fear) is here; pādara-dhiṭā ōjhē hatiyārē — thepādara-dhiṭā(cloth-bound) is a heavy weapon. Tukā says: maja nāhī jī bharavasā — tōvari sahasā nivāḍu tō — I do not havebharavasā(assurance); until then, thenivāḍu(decision) issahasā(sudden).
What it means
A striking preparedness-vs-avoidance verse. Sējēñcā ekānta agīpāśīm kaḷē — jhānkiliyā ḍoḷē adhaḥ-pāta — the bed's solitude is known near the fire — closed-eyes lead to falling-down. The opening image is paradoxical: the bed's-solitude is known near the fire — meaning, only when fire is near (danger close), one knows what real solitude feels like. And jhānkiliyā ḍoḷē (closed-eyes) — refusing to see — leads to adhaḥ-pāta (falling-down). Avoidance-by-closed-eyes is itself the fall.
The dhrūpada delivers the key-principle: rāhō athavā mag jaḷō agī-madhīm — nivāḍu tō ādhī hōūnī gēlā — let it remain or let it burn in the fire — the decision was already made earlier. The crucial-claim: nivāḍu ādhī hōūnī gēlā — the decision had already-happened earlier. The bhakta who has pre-decided does not have to re-decide in the moment of fire; rāhō-athavā-jaḷō (remain-or-burn) is a non-question once the pre-decision is in place.
The second verse: bhēṇē jhaḍapaṇī nāhī yēthē dujē — pādara-dhiṭā ōjhē hatiyārē — no second-jhaḍapaṇa by fear is here — the pādara-dhiṭā is a heavy-weapon. Jhaḍapaṇa (sudden-attack, surprise-pounce) by fear — no second of this here. The pādara-dhiṭā (cloth-bound, perhaps a weapon-wrapped-in-cloth or the garment-bold one) is a heavy-weapon — perhaps an image of the well-prepared-bhakta's-protection.
The close: maja nāhī jī bharavasā — tōvari sahasā nivāḍu tō — I do not havebharavasā(assurance); until then, thenivāḍuissahasā(sudden, by-force). Honest disclaimer: bharavasā (self-assurance) hasn't fully arrived; until it does, the nivāḍu (decision) is sahasā — made forcibly, with effort. The pre-decision-discipline is hard until bharavasā matures.
For someone today
A striking discipline of preparedness. The bed's solitude is only known near fire; closed eyes lead to falling down; let it remain or burn — the decision was already made earlier; no second attack of fear here; I don't yet have assurance — until then, my decision has to be made by force of effort. The central principle: make the decisions in advance, not in the moment of fire. The moment of fire is not the time to deliberate; whoever decides at that moment, falls. The image of closed eyes leading to adhaḥ-pāta is sharp: avoidance is itself the fall.
The honest close — that until bharavasā matures, the nivāḍu is sahasā (forced) — is also useful: deciding in advance feels effortful when assurance hasn't yet matured, but it is still the necessary discipline.
मराठी: पूर्वतयारीच्या शिस्तीबद्दलचा हा एक ठळक अभंग आहे. शय्येचा एकांत आगीजवळच खरा कळतो; डोळे मिटणं म्हणजेच पडणं; ती राहो किंवा आगीत जळो — निर्णय आधीच होऊन गेलेला असतो; इथे भीतीचा दुसरा हल्ला होत नाही; माझ्याकडे अजून पूर्ण भरवसा नाही — तोवर माझा निर्णय कष्टानेच घ्यावा लागतो. यातलं मध्यवर्ती तत्त्व असं आहे: निर्णय आधीच घ्यावेत, आगीच्या क्षणी नव्हे. आगीचा क्षण हा विचार करण्याची वेळ नसते; जो त्या क्षणीच ठरवायला जातो, तो पडतो. 'डोळे मिटले की अधःपात होतो' ही प्रतिमा अगदी नेमकी आहे: टाळणं हेच स्वतः पडणं आहे.
शेवटचा प्रामाणिक भाग — भरवसा पक्का होईपर्यंत निर्णय बळजबरीने, कष्टानेच घ्यावा लागतो — हाही उपयुक्त आहे: भरवसा अजून पक्व झाला नसताना आधीच निर्णय घेणं कष्टाचं वाटतं, पण ती आवश्यक शिस्तच आहे.
Where this applies
- When you're about to face a temptation you know is coming and haven't decided in advance how you'll respond
- When you're tempted to just avoid looking at a danger instead of actually deciding what to do about it
- When a sudden urge or fear hits and you have no prior resolve to fall back on
- When you feel honest that your commitment isn't fully solid yet but you still have to hold the line