Mangalvedhe Bhoomi Santaanchi: Part 4

 

The Saints of Mangalvedhe ( मंगळवेढे)

Part 4

Johar maaybaap johar 

Johar maaybaap Johar

Tumchyaa maharaacha mee mahar

Bahu bhukela zalo

Tumchya ushtyasathi aalo 

Bahu keli aas 

Tumchya dasacha mee das

Chokha mhane paati aanili

Tumchya ushtya saathi 

This is another short and sweet abhanga of Sant Chokhamela. It was composed towards the end of his lifetime. 

Here he addresses Lord Vitthala as his Mother and Father( maay baap) and pays obeisance with the salutation Johar. 

Salutations oh Lord , to you who are both my mother as well as my father. 

I am the lowliest of the lowly out of all your people.

I have been terribly hungry

And come seeking the leftovers from your plate. 

I have yearned for a long time 

To be a servant to your most loyal servants.

Chokha hereby announces that he has carried a large bowl

To collect your leftovers.

This abhanga depicts many facets of Chokhamela’s personality and life.

He makes reference to his low caste, the caste of Mahars who were in those times considered outcastes. Their humble dwellings or shanties were designated outside the main town or city. Their tasks were dirty and such that other people considered offensive. They cleaned toilets, gutters, roads, carried trash, disposed off dead animals. Several times they survived on the flesh of dead animals or rotting foods. They were barred from entering homes of their superiors as well as from entering temples and other holy places. They were not allowed to physically touch other people above their ranks. If they happened to touch anyone outside of their community, even accidentally, they were punished severely for it. The person who was touched had to be “purified “ or at least go take a bath, even if they had just come out of a shower. They were not paid for the work they were asked to do and had to survive on whatever little they were offered. Thus generations after generations had been subjected to humiliation, hardships, deprivation and a life of gross injustice. Circumstances had instilled a deep humility in them. They had learned the hard way that any attempt to talk back or revolt against the oppression would invite harsher punishment. Hence there was a tone of submission in their language and demeanor. 

The same tone of utmost humility and surrender is heard in this abhanga. Except this is not addressed to the tyrants in society and also not coming from the imposed subjugation. Instead here the submission is to the Divine Lord Vitthala. This is an ardent and faithful devotee offering himself to his master. He has rightfully diverted the inherent tone of submission towards a master who is both merciful and powerful than the humans around him. 

In the bhakti sampraday ( community or followers of the devotional movement) there is great reverence for true devotees of God. Even if one himself or herself is a devotee, he or she submits himself to acknowledge the greatness of another. 

As Sant Tukaram famously said “ ek meka lagatil payi re”( these devotees bow at the feet of each other.) I experienced this during the wari last month. 

It is a sign of letting go one’s ego and recognizing the divinity in the other person. 

Thus if one devotee has set aside his ego and surrendered to Vitthala and admitted that he is a lowly person ( symbolically referring to himself as a mahar), another devotee does not try to be superior to this one. He considers himself even lowlier. Maharacha mahar! 

Almost like a competition between them to be smaller than each other. 

In that context here Chokhoba is telling Vitthala that I am lower than the lowest of your devotees.

Legend has it that one day Chokhoba witnessed an incident from the doorstep of Namdev’s disciple Janabai who was herself a great devotee of Vitthala. That day she was engrossed in some chores when Vitthala came to her asking for food. She pointed to a covered platter and asked him to help himself. Vitthala ate from the plate and then invited Janabai to eat from the same plate. She indulged. Chokhoba felt a bit envious and wished he had the same fortune to eat from Vithoba’s plate. This serves as the context for the next line in this abhanga. He wants the same experience as other saints and his contemporaries who experience a close relationship with God.

I have been hungry…and come for your leftovers. 

The hunger is used here as a metaphor for intense devotional aspiration. It is not necessarily or entirely referring to hunger for food. The devotee is seeking the love, grace and illumination from the Lord. He has spent years in the spiritual path and has reached a state of desperation. Whatever little that remains, after you have enjoyed from your vast creation, and after you have bestowed your grace upon your dearest devotees, I will be content to accept those leftovers. I don’t seek enjoyments of worldly things anymore. Whatever you think is best for me I will take it as prasad. 

It also refers to taking the wisdom from the saints/ devotees who have tasted the blessings directly from the Lord. Ushta. This word in Marathi refers to food that has been touched by fingers and mouth by someone. Normally a sense of hygiene would imply against consuming anything that is touched by another. Except you don’t hold such reservations when eating from your mother’s plate, or from someone you are close to. In spiritual terms the ushta of spiritually advanced persons is considered highly precious, something to be coveted. For a devotee it is a matter of great fortune to consume leftovers that have been already tasted by God or a guru or saint. It requires giving up your ego and holding utmost reverence to be able to accept such food. Ego of the physical body is the hardest to overcome. Once you get past that, it becomes a lot easier to keep aside intellectual pride and accept the wisdom of self realized souls. 

You can see here how egoless Chokha has become. He sees himself as the lowliest of the Lord’s servants and is willing to subsist on leftovers from a plate consumed by God and/or his superior devotees. 

He has longed for most of his life to be a servant to God and to HIS devotees. Bahu keli aas, tumchya daasaacha mi daas! 

And what’s more, he has come prepared for their leftovers! To receive the blessings! 

Chokha mhane paati aanili 

Tumchya ushtya saathi

I have brought a bowl, a large container, to collect the leftovers. Whatever grace, whatever wisdom the saints bestow or you Oh Vitthala shower on me, I am prepared to receive it. All my senses are on an alert at every moment to receive whatever little you give me.

Johar maay baap johar 

My salutations to you oh my mother and father! 

Chokhoba, the humble man, who for most of his life was treated with such cruelty and indignity, who was ridiculed for belonging to a lower caste, and who was denied formal education, has given us a perfect picture of what an ideal devotee of God looks like. When a person thinks I am the biggest devotee, I know all the scriptures, I have learnt everything, other devotees need to recognize me and bow down to me, that is the biggest lie their mind is telling them and they in turn are telling the world. Let this abhanga be a reminder for us to remain humble and ready to receive God’s grace at all times. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Saree is a cotton patola.