Abhanga 3661
Honestly noticing how easily your mind forgets and drifts, even during focused effort, and how habitual busyness has colored it, is itself a form of self-awareness.
The verse
एकविध वृित्त न राहे अंतरीं । स्मरणीं च हरी विस्मृति ॥१॥
कैसा हा नवलाव वाटतो अनुभवें । मज माझ्या जीवें साक्षित्वेसी ॥ध्रु.॥
न राहे निश्चळि जागवितां मन । किती क्षीणेंक्षीणें सावरावें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे बहु केले वेवसाव । तेणें रंगें जीव रंगलासे ॥३॥
Literal translation
One-fold-vrtti-doesn't-stay-in-antara — even-in-smaraṇa-Hari-vismrti. What-navalāva — my-jīva-the-sākṣitva. Doesn't-stay-niśchaḷ-when-woken — many-kṣīṇa-attempts-to-sāvarāvē. Tukā: did-much-vēvasāva — by-that-color-jīva-colored.
What it means
A striking-honest 3-verse candid self-observation. The one-fold state doesn't stay in my antara; even when I'm doing smaraṇa, Hari (gives) forgetfulness; my own jīva witnesses this wonder; the mana doesn't stay still even when woken; how many tiny attempts to gather it up? The work-I've-done has colored the jīva. Compare 3507 (svabhāva-uncontrollable), 3637 (5-verse self-confession).
For someone today
Tukaram makes an honest, almost startled confession: his mind cannot hold a single steady state for long, and even while trying to remember God, he catches himself forgetting. He watches this happen in his own life like a witness observing something strange about himself. His mind refuses to stay calm even when he consciously tries to wake it up and focus, needing constant small efforts just to gather it back together. He notices that years spent busy with worldly work have left their color on his inner life, shaping how his mind behaves.
मराठी: तुकाराम अगदी प्रामाणिक, आश्चर्यचकित करणारी कबुली देतात, त्यांचे मन एका स्थिर स्थितीत जास्त काळ राहू शकत नाही, आणि देवाचे स्मरण करतानाही ते विसरून जातात हे त्यांच्या लक्षात येते. आपल्याच जीवनात हे घडताना ते जणू साक्षीदार म्हणून पाहतात. मन जाणीवपूर्वक जागे करण्याचा प्रयत्न केला तरी ते शांत राहत नाही, ते पुन्हा एकत्र आणण्यासाठी सतत छोटे छोटे प्रयत्न करावे लागतात. वर्षानुवर्षे संसारातील कामांत गुंतल्याने आपल्या मनावर त्याचा रंग चढला आहे हे त्यांना जाणवते.
Where this applies
- When you try to meditate or pray and notice your attention slipping away again and again
- When you catch yourself forgetting the very thing you meant to keep in mind
- When you need constant small corrections just to bring your focus back to center
- When you notice how years of busy routine or work have quietly shaped your state of mind