Abhanga 2894
Worry and fear of others' opinions are just excuses for avoiding God, and getting angry at being reminded of the divine name is the surest sign a heart has gone cold as stone.
The verse
कोणा चिंता आड । कोणा लोकलाज नाड ॥१॥
कैंचा राम अभागिया । करी कटकट वांयां ॥ध्रु.॥
स्मरणाचा राग । क्रोधें विटाळलें अंग ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जडा । काय चाले या दगडा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kōṇā chintā āḍa — for one —chintā(anxiety, worry) (is) theāḍa(across, obstacle); kōṇā lōka-lāja nāḍa — for another —lōka-lāja(social-shame) (is) thenāḍa(hold, restraint). Kaichā Rāma abhāgiyā — where is Rāma — for theabhāgiya(unfortunate, ill-fated)?; karī kaṭa-kaṭa vāmyām — (he) doeskaṭa-kaṭa(whining, complaining) vainly. Smaraṇāñcā rāga — (there is)rāga(anger) at (the very act of)smaraṇa(remembering); krōdhe viṭāḷalē anga — the body isviṭāḷalē(defiled, polluted) bykrōdha(anger). Tukā says: jaḍā — (at the)jaḍa(dull, stone-like one); kāya chāle yā dagaḍā — whatchāle(can-be-done) with thisdagaḍa(rock, stone)?
What it means
A 3-verse anti-excuse polemic. Kōṇā chintā āḍa — kōṇā lōka-lāja nāḍa — for one, chintā is the obstacle; for another, lōka-lāja is the block. The diagnostic-pair of bhakti-obstacles: (1) chintā (one's-own-anxiety); (2) lōka-lāja (what-others-think).
Kaichā Rāma abhāgiyā — karī kaṭa-kaṭa vāmyām — for the unfortunate — where is Rāma? — (he) whines vainly. The diagnostic: the abhāgiya doesn't-find-Rāma; he wastes-himself-whining.
Smaraṇāñcā rāga — krōdhe viṭāḷalē anga — anger at (the act of) remembering; the body defiled by anger. The deepest-symptom: the man is so far-gone that he is angry-at-being-reminded (a Tukārām-or-someone-else mentions the Name, and-he-flares-up). His-body-is-polluted-by-anger.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe jaḍā — kāya chāle yā dagaḍā — at the jaḍa — what can be done with this rock? The despair-claim: for the rock-like-one, nothing-can-be-done. The rock doesn't-respond.
For someone today
Tukaram names two excuses people use for never turning to God: some are held back by their own worry, others by what people will think of them. Underneath the excuses is someone who never actually finds Viṭṭhal and just complains about it. The lowest point comes when a person gets angry the moment someone reminds them of the divine name, as if even being reminded is an insult. At that point, Tukaram says bluntly, a person has become like a stone, and nothing more can be done for a stone.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की देवाकडे न वळण्यासाठी लोक दोन सबबी सांगतात, कोणाला स्वतःची चिंता आडवी येते, तर कोणाला लोक काय म्हणतील याची भीती. या सबबींखाली खरं तर असा माणूस असतो जो कधीच विठ्ठलाला भेटत नाही आणि नुसता कुरकुर करत राहतो. सर्वात वाईट अवस्था तेव्हा येते जेव्हा कोणी नामस्मरणाची आठवण करून दिली की माणसाला रागच येतो, जणू आठवण करून देणे हाच अपमान वाटतो. तेव्हा तुकाराम स्पष्ट सांगतात, असा माणूस दगडासारखा जड होतो आणि दगडासाठी काहीच करता येत नाही.
Where this applies
- The what-excuse-keeps-you-from-Rāma? polemic
- Recognizing chintā / lōka-lāja as bhakti-obstacles
- Anger-at-remembering — the deep symptom
- The jaḍa-dagaḍa (rock-like-state) — where nothing-helps