Abhanga 4247
Let go of clinging to the outer form of life to taste the sweetness within it, and once devotion has changed you like a roasted seed, you are free of the anxious cycle of striving and can see the divine filling everything.
The verse
गुळ सांडुनि गोडी घ्यावी । मीठ सांडुनि चवि चाखावी ॥१॥
ऐसा प्रपंच सांडुनि घ्यावा । मग परमार्थ जोडावा ॥ध्रु.॥
साकरेचा नव्हे ऊंस । आम्हां कैंचा गर्भवास ॥२॥
बीज भाजुनि केली लाही । जन्ममरण आम्हांसि नाहीं ॥३॥
आकारासी कैंचा ठाव । देह प्रत्यक्ष जाला वाव ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे अवघें जग । सर्वां घटीं पांडुरंग ॥५॥
Literal translation
Abandon-guḷa-take-gōḍī — abandon-salt-take-savor. Abandon-prapancha-take-paramārtha. Sugar-not-of-cane — no-garbha-vāsa. Bīja-roasted-popped — no-janma-maraṇa. No-place-for-ākāra — deha-became-vāva. Tukā: whole-jagat — Pāṇḍuranga-in-every-ghaṭa.
What it means
THE canonical 5-verse jīvanmukta-cosmology text. Abandon the jaggery and take the sweetness; abandon the salt and taste the savor. So, abandon the prapancha (and take the essence) — then strive for paramārtha. We are sugar — not from any sugar-cane; what garbha-residence is for us? The seed is roasted and popped — no birth-death is ours. Where is the place for form? The body has actually become vacant. Tukā says: the whole world — in every ghaṭa, Pāṇḍuranga. The 5-stage cosmological-progression: (1) gōḍī-without-guḷa-substrate (essence-without-substance), (2) prapancha-essence-without-prapancha-form, (3) sugar-without-cane = no-source = no-garbha-vāsa, (4) bīja-bhājuni-laī — once-roasted-the-seed-cannot-germinate = no-janma-maraṇa, (5) deha-itself-became-void → Pāṇḍuranga-in-every-ghaṭa. The bīja-roasted-into-popped-corn metaphor is striking — a popped grain cannot sprout, just as a bhakta roasted-by-Hari-Nāma cannot take rebirth. Pair with 2867 (ṭhevilē-Anantē equanimity), 2922 (karma-became-Nārāyaṇa), 4240 (agni-rūpa-pāpa-puṇya-doesn't-touch).
For someone today
To taste real sweetness you have to set the raw jaggery aside; to taste real savor you have to set the salt aside. In the same way, Tukaram says, let go of your grip on the daily business of life so you can find the essence underneath it, and then turn toward what truly matters. Once devotion has fully changed you, you are like a roasted seed that can never sprout again, so the anxious cycle of striving, failing, and starting over is finally over. Look clearly and you will find that the divine is not far away at all, but fills every ordinary vessel of the world, including you.
मराठी: खऱ्या गोडीची चव घ्यायची असेल तर गूळ बाजूला ठेवावा लागतो; खऱ्या चवीचा आस्वाद घ्यायचा असेल तर मीठ बाजूला ठेवावे लागते. त्याचप्रमाणे तुकाराम म्हणतात, रोजच्या प्रपंचाला घट्ट धरून ठेवण्याऐवजी ते सोडून द्या, म्हणजे त्याखालचे खरे सार सापडेल आणि मग खऱ्या अर्थाच्या दिशेने वळता येईल. एकदा भक्तीने तुम्ही पूर्णपणे बदलून गेलात की तुम्ही भाजलेल्या बीजासारखे होता, जे पुन्हा कधी उगवत नाही, त्यामुळे पुन्हा पुन्हा धडपडण्याचा आणि हरण्याचा फेरा संपतो. स्पष्ट नजरेने पाहिले तर लक्षात येते की पांडुरंग दूर कुठेतरी नसून प्रत्येक सामान्य घटात, म्हणजे तुमच्यातही भरलेला आहे.
Where this applies
- When you cling to money, possessions, or status and mistake the container for the real richness inside it
- When you feel ready to loosen your grip on daily obligations and turn toward inner practice
- When you are afraid that devotion just means another cycle of trying and failing all over again
- When you go searching for God somewhere distant and forget the divine is already present in the people and things around you