Abhanga 4499
Tukaram describes the gopis so absorbed in Krishna that they forget caste and social distinctions entirely, showing that deep enough devotion dissolves the walls we normally build between people.
The verse
तुका म्हणे पुन्हा न येती मागुत्या । कृष्णासीं खेळतां दिवस गमे ॥१॥
दिवस राती कांहीं नाठवे तयांसी । पाहातां मुखासी कृष्णाचिया ॥२॥
याच्या मुखें नये डोळयासी वीट । राहिले हे नीट ताटस्थ चि ॥३॥
[...]
विसरल्या आम्हीं कोणीये जातीच्या । वर्णा ही चहूंच्या एक जाल्या ॥७॥
[...]
त्याणीं केला हरि सासुरें माहेर । बंधु हे कुमर दीर भावें ॥१३॥
भावना राहिली एकाचिये ठायीं । तुका म्हणे पायीं गोविंदाचे ॥१४॥
Literal translation
14-verse extended-narrative continuing from 4498. The gopīs, having taken-Krṣṇa, don't-return. Days-pass-watching-his-face; eyes don't-tire; body-stands-tāṭastha (trance); indriyas forget-their-work. They-forgot thirst, hunger, home, door, where-they-are, time. forgot-jāti-they-were-from; all-four-varṇas became-one. They-play-bhātuke (children's-games) with-Krṣṇa fearlessly. They-make-Hari their sāsare (in-law-house), māhera (mother's-home), bandhu (brother), kumara (son), dīra (brother-in-law) — all-relations. Bhāvana rested-at-one-place — Tukā says — at-Govinda's-feet.
What it means
A canonical forgot-jāti-and-varṇa trance-description text. The gopikās' Krṣṇa-trance dissolves social-categories — all-four-varṇas became-one. The bhakti-state transcends conventional-distinctions.
For someone today
Tukaram describes the gopis so absorbed in gazing at Krishna's face that days pass without their noticing, their eyes never tiring, their bodies standing perfectly still as if frozen, and their ordinary senses forgetting their usual tasks. In that state they forget thirst, hunger, home, even what time or season it is, and remarkably they forget which caste or social category they belong to, so that all distinctions of birth simply dissolve into one shared devotion. They play together like carefree children, imagining Krishna as every kind of relation, a husband, a mother's home, a brother, a son, whatever relationship their heart needs in that moment, because their whole being has settled at his feet. This shows that deep enough devotion erases the social walls we normally build between people.
मराठी: तुकाराम गोपींचे वर्णन करतात, ज्या कृष्णाच्या मुखाकडे इतक्या तल्लीन होऊन पाहतात की दिवसच्या दिवस उलटून जातात हे त्यांना कळतही नाही, त्यांचे डोळे कधीच थकत नाहीत, त्यांचे शरीर स्तब्ध उभे राहते जणू गोठल्यासारखे, आणि त्यांच्या सामान्य इंद्रियांना आपले नेहमीचे काम विसरून जाते. त्या अवस्थेत त्यांना तहान, भूक, घर, अगदी वेळ किंवा ऋतू कोणता हेही आठवत नाही, आणि आश्चर्याची गोष्ट म्हणजे त्या कोणत्या जातीच्या किंवा वर्णाच्या आहेत हेही विसरतात, त्यामुळे जन्माने ठरलेले सगळे भेद एकाच सामायिक भक्तीत विरघळून जातात. त्या लहान मुलांसारख्या निर्धास्तपणे एकत्र खेळतात, कृष्णाला वेगवेगळ्या नात्यांच्या रूपात कल्पितात, कधी पती, कधी माहेर, कधी भाऊ, कधी मुलगा, त्यांच्या मनाला त्या क्षणी जे नाते हवे असेल ते, कारण त्यांचे संपूर्ण अस्तित्व त्याच्या चरणी स्थिरावलेले असते. यातून हेच दिसते की पुरेशी खोल भक्ती आपण सामान्यतः लोकांमध्ये उभारलेल्या सामाजिक भिंती पुसून टाकते.
Where this applies
- When you become so absorbed in something meaningful that time, hunger, and ordinary concerns simply fall away
- When social divisions of caste, class, or background keep you separate from people you could otherwise feel close to
- When you notice that shared devotion or shared joy dissolves the usual distance between strangers
- When you want language for a relationship with the divine that shifts between many roles, protector, friend, family, depending on what your heart needs