Abhanga 3012
What first looks like loss can turn out to be an imperishable gift, once devotion reveals the wealth hidden inside it.
The verse
माझ्या भावें केली जोडी । न सरेसी कल्पकोडी । आणियेलें धाडी । घालुनि अवघें वैकुंठ ॥१॥
आतां न लगे यावें जावें । कोठें कांहीं च करावें । जन्मोजन्मीं खावें । सुखें बैसोनसें जालें ॥ध्रु.॥
असंख्य संख्या नाहीं पार । आनंदें दाटलें अंबर । न माये अपार । त्रिभुवनीं सांटवितां ॥२॥
अवघें भरलें सदोदित । जाले सुखाचे पर्वत । तुकयाबंधु म्हणे परमार्थ । धन अद्भुत सांपडलें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mājhyā bhāve kelī jōḍī — by (my)bhāva(brother — = Tukārām) — (the)jōḍī(joining, connection) made; na saresī kalpa-kōḍī — (it) won't-be-spent inkalpa-kōḍi(millions of eons); āṇiyele dhāḍī ghālunī avaghe Vaikuṇṭha — (he) has brought, throwing-(it)-down, the whole Vaikuṇṭha. Ātām na lage yāve jāve — kōṭhe kāmhī cha karāve — now there is no coming-or-going — anywhere — anything to do; janmō-janmī khāve — sukhe baisō-naśe jāle — life-after-life we eat — happily-sitting it has-become. Asankhya sankhyā nāhī pāra — uncountable — count — has-no-limit; ānande dāṭale ambara — ānanda filled theambara(sky); na māye apāra — doesn't-fit —apāra(immeasurable); tribhuvanī sāmṭavitām — to gather in the three-worlds. Avaghe bharale sadōdita — everything filled,sadōdita(always-rising); jāle sukhāñce parvata — sukha's mountains have happened; tukayā-bandhu mhaṇe paramārtha — dhana adbhuta sāpaḍale — Tukārām's-brother says:paramārtha—adbhuta-dhana(wonderful-wealth) has been found.
What it means
A CLUSTER TONAL-SHIFT verse by Tukyā-bandhu. NON-Tukārām. This-is-the-pivotal-verse-of-the-cluster where Kānhōbā moves from-protest-and-grief to-RESOLUTION.
The discovery: Tukārām's-departure was actually a-bringing-of-Vaikuṇṭha-to-the-family. The brother realizes-that by Tukārām's-effort, a jōḍī (connection-to-Vaikuṇṭha) has been made; it will-last kalpa-koṭis; the whole-Vaikuṇṭha has been brought-down for-the-family. Therefore: no-more-coming-or-going; life-after-life we-eat-happily-sitting; uncountable-bliss; sukha-mountains; paramārtha-dhana-adbhuta-found.
This is the resolution-of-the-cluster: the brother who-seemed-lost has actually-blessed-the-family with cosmic-paramārtha-wealth.
For someone today
This is the turning point of Kānhobā's cluster of laments: after all the grief, he finally sees things differently. He realizes that through his brother Tukārām's devotion, a connection was formed that will last for millions of ages — Tukārām brought the whole of Vaikuṇṭha down for the family, not merely took himself away. Now there's no more restless coming and going, no more searching; life after life, he can simply sit and be fed, at peace. Joy fills the sky beyond counting, more than the three worlds could hold, and everything overflows like mountains of happiness. Tukārām's brother declares he has found an astonishing spiritual wealth. It shows how what first looks like loss can turn out to be a lasting gift, once devotion reveals the wealth hidden inside it.
मराठी: हा कान्होबाच्या विलापमालिकेतील निर्णायक वळणाचा क्षण आहे — इतक्या दुःखानंतर त्याला अखेर गोष्टी वेगळ्या दिसू लागतात. त्याला जाणवते की भाऊ तुकारामांच्या भक्तीमुळे असे नाते जोडले गेले आहे जे कोट्यवधी युगेही संपणार नाही — तुकारामांनी केवळ स्वतःला नेले नाही, तर संपूर्ण वैकुंठच कुटुंबासाठी उतरवून आणले. आता कुठे जाण्या-येण्याची गरज उरली नाही, शोध संपला आहे; जन्मोजन्मी शांतपणे बसून खाता येईल असे झाले आहे. आकाशभर मोजता न येणारा आनंद भरून राहिला आहे, तो त्रिभुवनातही मावत नाही, आणि सर्वत्र सुखाचे डोंगर उभे राहिले आहेत. तुकारामांचा भाऊ म्हणतो की त्याला अद्भुत परमार्थ-धन सापडले आहे. भक्ती आतले धन उघड करते तेव्हा प्रथमदर्शनी नुकसान वाटणारी गोष्ट अखेर चिरंतन देणगी ठरते, हेच हा अभंग सांगतो.
Where this applies
- When a painful loss slowly reveals itself as having given you something lasting.
- When you stop searching outward because you sense you already have enough.
- When grief turns unexpectedly into a sense of overflowing gratitude.
- When you realize someone else's devotion or sacrifice quietly became a gift to your whole family.