Abhanga 2894
Kōṇā chintā āḍa — for one — chintā (anxiety, worry) (is) the āḍa (across, obstacle); kōṇā lōka-lāja nāḍa — for another — lōka-lāja (social-shame) (is) the nāḍa (hold, restraint).
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) the āḍa (across, obstacle); kōṇā lōka-lāja nāḍa — for another — lōka-lāja (social-shame) (is) the nāḍa (hold, restraint). Kaichā Rāma abhāgiyā — where is Rāma — for the abhāgiya (unfortunate, ill-fated)?; karī kaṭa-kaṭa vāmyām — (he) does kaṭa-kaṭa (whining, complaining) vainly. Smaraṇāñcā rāga — (there is) rāga (anger) at (the very act of) smaraṇa (remembering); krōdhe viṭāḷalē anga — the body is viṭāḷalē (defiled, polluted) by krōdha (anger). Tukā says: jaḍā — (at the) jaḍa (dull, stone-like one); kāya chāle yā dagaḍā — what chāle (can-be-done) with this dagaḍa (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
A useful anti-excuse polemic. For one, chintā is the obstacle; for another, lōka-lāja is the block. For the unfortunate — where is Rāma? — (he) whines vainly. Anger at (the act of) remembering — the body defiled by anger. At the jaḍa — what can be done with this rock? The verse names the four-fold-obstacle-progression: (1) chintā; (2) lōka-lāja; (3) vain-whining; (4) anger-at-remembering. The deepest-symptom is the anger-at-being-reminded — which-is-the-final-rock-state. The verse provides a diagnostic-sequence for spotting how-far-someone-has-fallen.
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