Abhanga 3350
Being shown the right path is not the same as feeling accompanied, since guidance alone does not remove the fear and loneliness of walking through darkness by yourself.
The verse
ओस जाल्या मज भिंगुळवाणें । जीवलग नेणें मज कोणी ॥१॥
भय वाटे देखें श्वापदांचे भार । नव्हे मज धीर पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
अंधकारापुढे न चलवे वाट । लागतील खुंटे कांटे अंगा ॥२॥
एकला निःसंग फांकती मारग । होतों नव्हे लाग चालावया ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे वाट दावूनि सद्ग‍ु । राहि हा दुरू पांडुरंग ॥४॥
Literal translation
Ōsa jālyā maja bhinguḷavāṇe — in deserted (places), I feel bhinguḷavāṇē; jīvalaga neṇe maja kōṇī — I know no jīvalaga. Bhaya vāṭe dekhe śvāpadāmñce bhāra — fear sees śvāpada-bhāra; navhe maja dhīra Pāṇḍurangā — no dhīra, Pāṇḍurangā. Amdhakārā-puḍhe na chalave vāṭa — the path ahead can't be walked in darkness; lāgatīla khuṇṭe kāṇṭe angā — khuṇṭas-kāṇṭas stick to anga. Ekalā niḥsamga phāmkatī māraga — alone-niḥsamga, the paths fork; hōtōm navhe lāga chālāvayā — can't walk. Tukā mhaṇe vāṭa dāvūnī sadguru — Tukā says: sadguru showed path; rāhi hā durū Pāṇḍuranga — Pāṇḍuranga stays far.
What it means
A 4-verse forest-of-samsāra image. The bhakta is alone-in-the-forest, fearful-of-beasts, in-darkness, paths-forking. The sadguru showed the path; but Pāṇḍuranga himself stays far.
For someone today
Tukārām paints himself lost and alone, as if in a deserted, empty place with no one dear to him nearby. He feels afraid, sensing the presence of wild beasts, and admits he finds no courage in himself, calling out to Pāṇḍuranga. Ahead of him the path is swallowed in darkness, and thorns and stumps catch at his body as he goes. Alone, unattached, he reaches a place where the road forks and he can no longer find his way forward. He says his sadguru has shown him the path, but Pāṇḍuranga himself still feels far away. Being shown the way is not the same as being accompanied — only the Lord's own nearness can truly settle the heart.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्वतःला एका ओसाड, निर्जन जागी हरवलेला आणि एकटा दाखवतात, जिथे जवळचे कोणीच नाही. हिंस्र श्वापदांची भीती वाटते, आणि पांडुरंगा, माझ्यात धीरच उरलेला नाही, असे ते म्हणतात. पुढची वाट अंधारात दिसेनाशी होते, आणि चालताना काटे-खुंटे अंगाला बोचतात. एकटे, निःसंग असताना वाट अनेक ठिकाणी फुटते आणि पुढे कसे जावे हे कळेनासे होते. सद्गुरूंनी वाट दाखवली खरी, पण पांडुरंग स्वतः अजूनही दूरच वाटतो, असे तुकाराम म्हणतात. केवळ वाट दाखवणे पुरेसे नसते — खरी शांती फक्त देवाच्या प्रत्यक्ष सान्निध्यानेच मिळते, हीच या अभंगाची शिकवण आहे.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's forest-of-samsāra; sadguru-showed-path; Lord-stays-far image