Abhanga 2885
Do not obey your mind's every word; break its stubborn stories, hold onto Vitthal instead, and keep yourself under your own control before the mind becomes your ruin.
The verse
होऊं नको कांहीं या मना आधीन । नाइकें वचन याचें कांहीं ॥१॥
हटियाची गोष्टी मोडून टाकावी । सोईं ही धरावी विठोबाची ॥ध्रु.॥
आपुले आधीन करूनियां ठेवा । नाहीं तरि जीवा घातक हें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जाले जे मना आधीन । तयांसी बंधन यम करी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Hōūm nakō kāmhī yā manā ādhīna — don't become subject in any way to this mind; nāike vachana yāñce kāmhī — don't hear any of itsvachana(words). Haṭiyāñcī gōṣṭi mōḍūn ṭākāvī — thehaṭiyāñcī gōṣṭi(stubborn-tale, mind's stubborn-talk) — should be broken-and-cast-aside; sōī hī dharāvī Viṭhōbāñcī — hold thesōī(supporting-side) of Viṭhōbā. Āpule ādhīna karōnīyām ṭhevā — keep (yourself) under your ownādhīna(control); nāhī tari jīvā ghātaka he — otherwise this isjīva-ghātaka(jīva-killer). Tukā says: jāle je manā ādhīna — those who become subject-to-the-mind; tayāmsī bandhana yama karī — to them —yamamakesbandhana(bondage).
What it means
A short mind-discipline verse. Hōūm nakō kāmhī yā manā ādhīna — nāike vachana yāñce kāmhī — don't become subject to this mind — don't hear any of its words. The opening-discipline: the mind is not-to-be-obeyed; don't-listen-to-its-words.
Haṭiyāñcī gōṣṭi mōḍūn ṭākāvī — sōī hī dharāvī Viṭhōbāñcī — the stubborn-mind-tale should be broken-and-cast — hold Viṭhōbā's supporting-side. The strategy: break-the-mind's-stubborn-narrative; replace-with-Viṭhōbā-support.
Āpule ādhīna karōnīyām ṭhevā — nāhī tari jīvā ghātaka he — keep yourself under your own control — otherwise this is jīva-killer. The choice: self-control or jīva-destruction.
Tukā mhaṇe jāle je manā ādhīna — tayāmsī bandhana yama karī — those who become mind-subject — to them yama makes bandhana. The eschatological-claim: mana-ādhīna people are bandhana-bound by yama.
For someone today
A canonical teaching on mind-discipline. Don't become subject to this mind — don't hear any of its words. The stubborn-mind-tale — break and cast aside. Hold Viṭhōbā's supporting-side. Keep yourself under your own control — otherwise this is jīva-killer. Those who become mind-subject — yama binds them. The verse offers a clear discipline against following the mind: don't obey the mind, don't listen to its words, break its stubborn stories, hold onto Viṭhōbā's side instead, and keep yourself under your own control. The diagnostic is that giving in to the mind leads to being bound by yama, so the discipline is to replace the mind's side with Viṭhōbā's side.
मराठी: हे मनोनिग्रहाबद्दलचे एक प्रसिद्ध शिकवण आहे. या मनाच्या आधीन काहीही होऊ नको — याचे कोणतेही वचन ऐकू नको. हट्टी मनाची गोष्ट मोडून टाकावी. विठोबाची सोय धरावी. स्वतःला स्वतःच्याच आधीन ठेवावे — नाहीतर हे जीवघातक आहे. जे मनाच्या आधीन झाले, त्यांना यम बंधन घालतो. हा अभंग मनाच्या मागे न जाण्याची स्पष्ट शिस्त सांगतो : मनाचे ऐकू नको, त्याचे शब्द ऐकू नको, त्याच्या हट्टी गोष्टी मोडून टाक, त्याऐवजी विठोबाची बाजू धर, आणि स्वतःवर स्वतःचा ताबा ठेव. मनाच्या आधीन होणे म्हणजे यमाच्या बंधनात अडकणे, म्हणून मनाची बाजू सोडून विठोबाची बाजू धरणे हीच शिस्त आहे.
Where this applies
- The canonical don't-become-mana-adhīna mind-discipline
- Recognizing the mind's-words as not-to-be-heard
- Hold-Viṭhōbā's-sōī instead — bhakti-side over mind-side
- Mana-ādhīna → yama-bandhana warning