Abhanga 2985
A grieving devotee refuses every spiritual reward, enjoyment, liberation, wisdom, powers, heaven, because only the return of a beloved brother will satisfy him.
The verse
भुिH मुक्ति तुझें जळों ब्रम्हज्ञान । दे माझ्या आणोनी भावा वेगीं ॥१॥
रद्धिी सिद्धी मोक्ष ठेवीं गुंडाळून । दे माझ्या आणून भावा वेगीं ॥ध्रु.॥
नको आपुलिया नेऊं वैकुंठासी । दे माझ्या भावासी आणुन वेगीं ॥२॥
नको होऊं कांहीं होसील प्रसन्न । दे माझ्या आणून भावा वेगीं ॥३॥
तुकयाबंधु म्हणे पाहा हो नाहींतरी । हत्या होईंल शिरीं पांडुरंगा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Bhukti mukti tujhe jaḷō brahma-jñāna — let yourbhukti, mukti, brahma-jñānaburn; de mājhyā āṇōnī bhāvā vegī — give-(me)-by-bringing my brother quickly. Rddhi siddhī mōkṣa ṭhevīm guṇḍāḷūna — pack-up (with cloth) therddhi, siddhi, mokṣa; de mājhyā āṇūna bhāvā vegī — bring my brother quickly. Nakō āpuliyā neūm Vaikuṇṭhāsī — don't take (him) to your Vaikuṇṭha; de mājhyā bhāvāsī āṇuna vegī — bring my brother quickly. Nakō hōūm kāmhī hōsīla prasanna — don't becomeprasanna(pleased-and-giving-blessing) in anything; de mājhyā āṇūna bhāvā vegī — bring my brother quickly. Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe pāhā hō nāhī-tarī — Tukārām's-brother says: look — if not; hatyā hōīla śirī Pāṇḍurangā — hatyā(murder, blood-guilt) will be on (your) head, Pāṇḍurangā.
What it means
A striking 4-verse refusal-of-all-bhakti-rewards verse signed by Tukyā-bandhu. Part of the lament-cluster (2977-2987). This is the most-extreme-demand of the cluster.
The four-fold-refusal: Each verse refuses one-of-the-standard bhakti/yoga-rewards: 1. Burn bhukti, mukti, brahma-jñāna — refuse the three classical-spiritual-attainments 2. Pack-up rddhi-siddhi-mokṣa — pack-them-up (in a cloth-bundle, guṇḍāḷūna), set-them-aside 3. Don't take (him) to Vaikuṇṭha — refuse the Vaikuṇṭha-promotion 4. Don't become prasanna — refuse the standard Lord-becomes-pleased response
Each verse-ends with the same refrain: bring my brother quickly. The bhakta-brother wants-only-one-thing: Tukārām back.
Close (the ultimatum): Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe pāhā hō nāhī-tarī — hatyā hōīla śirī Pāṇḍurangā — Tukārām's-brother says: look — if not — hatyā (blood-guilt) will be on (your) head. The threat: if-you-don't-return-the-brother, you-(the Lord)-will-have-blood-on-your-head. The blood-guilt-threat to-the-Lord-himself is among the most-radical claims in the corpus.
For someone today
This is a striking verse in which Kānhōbā refuses every reward bhakti has to offer, demanding only his brother back. Let your enjoyment, your liberation, your knowledge of Brahman all burn — just bring my brother back to me, quickly. Pack away all your powers, your accomplishments, your final liberation — bring my brother back, quickly. Don't take him off to your Vaikuṇṭha — bring my brother back to me, quickly. Don't bother being pleased with me over anything — just bring my brother back, quickly. Tukārām's brother says: look, if you don't — the blood-guilt of this will fall on your own head, Pāṇḍuranga. Four times over, he refuses every classical reward — enjoyment, liberation, spiritual wisdom, supernatural powers, heaven itself, even the Lord's own pleasure — because none of it matters next to getting his brother back. It is one of the boldest claims in the whole corpus: the relationship with a loved one outweighs every spiritual reward there is.
मराठी: हा एक ठसठशीत अभंग आहे ज्यात कान्होबा भक्तीचे सर्व बक्षिसे नाकारून फक्त आपला भाऊ परत मागतात. तुझे भोग, मुक्ती, ब्रह्मज्ञान जळून जाऊ दे — फक्त माझा भाऊ लवकर परत आण. ऋद्धी-सिद्धी-मोक्ष गुंडाळून बाजूला ठेव — माझा भाऊ लवकर परत आण. त्याला तुझ्या वैकुंठात नेऊ नकोस — माझा भाऊ लवकर परत आण. कशानेही प्रसन्न होऊ नकोस — फक्त माझा भाऊ लवकर परत आण. तुकयाबंधू म्हणतात — बघ, नाहीतर या हत्येचे पाप तुझ्याच शिरावर येईल, पांडुरंगा. चार वेळा ते भक्तीच्या पारंपरिक बक्षिसांना नकार देतात — भोग, मुक्ती, ब्रह्मज्ञान, सिद्धी, स्वर्ग, अगदी देवाची प्रसन्नताही — कारण भावाला परत मिळवण्यापुढे यातले काहीच महत्त्वाचे नाही. हा या संपूर्ण अभंगसंग्रहातील सर्वात धाडसी दाव्यांपैकी एक आहे — प्रिय व्यक्तीशी असलेले नाते हे कोणत्याही आध्यात्मिक बक्षिसापेक्षा मोठे आहे.
Where this applies
- When you have lost someone and every spiritual comfort offered to you feels beside the point
- When people tell you to accept blessings or promotions instead of the one thing you actually need
- When you would trade every achievement or reward you have earned to get back someone you love
- When grief makes you say something bold and unfiltered to whatever or whoever you believe is in charge