Taatiche Abhang: Abhang 2-1

 

Taatiche Abhang

Abhang 2-1

Part 1

योगी पावन मनाचा।साही अपराध जनाचा ॥१॥

विश्व रागें झाले वन्ही। संती सुखें व्हावें पाणी ॥२॥

शब्द शस्त्रं झालें क्लेश । संती मानावा उपदेश ॥३॥

विश्व पट ब्रह्म दोरा। ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥

A yogi with a pure mind bears the wrong of others.

While the world rages akin to wildfire as a result of relentless desires and anger, a saint brings relief with his cool and content demeanor, much like water has a natural tendency to extinguish fire and also to keep its level.

Hurtful words from people can be a cause for anguish. Yet a saintly person should take it as a valuable lesson.

The fabric of all creation is woven with the thread of Bramha or The Divine Truth.

Realize this and open the door O Dnyaaneshwara!

This abhang contains just four lines yet infinite wisdom lies in them. Each word deserves some discussion for better understanding.

योगी पावन मनाचा।साही अपराध जनाचा ॥१॥

Yogi paawan manaachaa II

saahi aparaadh janaachaa II1II

Yogi=  A follower on the path of yoga. A man of self control.

Paawan= pure, pious, blessed

Manaachaa= of mind, at heart

Saahi= bears, tolerates, sustains, endures

Aparaadh= crime, atrocities, wrongdoing 

Janaacha = of the people, of others

योगी पावन मनाचा

In the opening line of this abhanga Muktabai addresses Dnyaaneshwar as Yogi with additional qualification of paawan manaachaa, one with a pure mind.

Who is a yogi? 

One who has disciplined his body and senses. Who reins in his desires and pleasures. Who has perfect control over his speech and thoughts. Whose soul is in harmony with the universal soul. 

All the siblings were yogis of the highest order and Dnyaaneshwar was no exception.

There can be someone who has controlled his body and senses through practice or force but it does not guarantee purity of heart. 

There are many yogis who have acquired special powers through the practice of yoga but they use these for personal aggrandizement or other hidden motives. 

Once Vivekananda stood on the banks of a river where he met a yogi. The latter recognized Vivekananda and asked “people talk so much about you, what powers have you acquired from your spiritual practice?” Vivekananda humbly said I have no magical powers. The yogi laughed  mockingly and tried to impress Vivekananda by walking a few feet above the river from one shore to the other and back. Vivekananda pointed to a boatman nearby and said ”This man can cross the river without any special yogic powers. That too not alone. He can row several people across.”. The yogi realized the worthlessness of his powers and thus having been humbled he acknowledged the greatness and humility of Vivekananda.

In the lifetime of Dnyaaneshwar and his siblings there was a yogi by the name of Chaangdev who had lived 1400 years through practice of yoga. He was jealous of the adulation and praise showered on these siblings. Trying to test their spiritual knowledge he sent an empty letter to them.  Muktabai is credited for taming his arrogance. On this occasion she is said to have remarked that after 1400 years of penance Chaangdev remained “empty” (kora). In response to Chaangdev’s empty letter Dnyaaneshwar wrote 65 brilliant verses which are famously known as Chaangdev paashasti ( Changdev’s 65). 

Later Chaangdev came to meet them riding on a tiger to show them his powers. Dnyaaneshwar responded by approaching him on a brick wall on which he and his siblings were seated. Through yogic powers he could make that inanimate wall move from its place and fly into air to reach where Chaangdev was waiting for them. Chaangdev surrendered and wanted to become a disciple of Dnyaaneshwar. Dnyaneshwar suggested that Muktabai was better suited to be his Guru and so it happened. After Dnyaaneshwar’s samadhi, Chaangdev became instrumental in setting the tradition of the annual wari to Pandharpur with Dnyaaneshwar’s palkhi from Alandi.

Muktabai was young when the moving wall incident happened. She was so excited about it that later she urged Dnyaaneshwar to have it as their vehicle to go around from place to place. At that time Dnyaaneshwar chided her and said that yogic powers are not meant to be used for personal convenience or to be shown off to others. He had used it that one time simply to counter Chaangdev’s arrogance. To use it randomly would be misuse of the power.

Muktabai emphasizes in the abhanga that Dnyaaneshwar is not just a yogi but one with a pure heart. He can use appropriate judgment regarding when and where to use his yogic prowess. He has humility and cares for others. There is no hidden agenda, craving for power or desires for pleasure in him. He has not only gained control over his body and senses but also his mind and intellect. 

Many yogis succumb to their downfall because they fail to control their minds. Somewhere they get lured by power, fame, prestige or pleasures. Unless they have surrendered themselves to the service of the Almighty they do not reach the highest spiritual order.

With utmost devotion to complement his austerity Dnyaaneshwar was a perfect yogi. A yogi of the highest order.

साही अपराध जनाचा ॥१॥

In Abhang 1 we discussed the famous line by Sant Tukaram :

ज्याचे अंगी मोठेपण। तया यातना कठीण।।

( one who has greatness gets much pain.)

A yogi of the highest order must endure the follies of the world. He must learn to tolerate and forgive people, no matter how unfair they are.

 The Bible mentions that Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”( when he was about to be crucified.)

A story from the life of Sant Tukaram aptly highlights the virtue. There was a priest named Mambaji who was jealous of Tukaram’s popularity and abhangas. He would abuse Tukaram verbally at every opportunity yet every evening come and attend Tukaram’s keertan at the temple. He would steal Tukaram’s compositions and claim them to be his own.

One day in a fit of jealousy and rage about the growing followers of Tukaram, Mambaji beat up Tukaram mercilessly with a thorny stick. Tukaram was bleeding from all over but did not retaliate. That evening he still proceeded with his keertan. When he looked up Mambaji was not seen at his usual spot in the far corner. So Tukaram paused his keertan and went to Mambaji’s house to check on him. “ Is your hand hurt from beating me?” he asked with genuine concern. Mambaji realized that Tukaram’s goodness was not a facade.The man was a true saint. Thereafter Mambaji apologized for all his actions and became a follower of Tukaram. He too is credited for carrying forward the tradition of palkhi each year from Dehu to honor the legacy of Sant Tukaram. 

Here Muktabai, age 9, is reminding her older brother, that you are a yogi of the highest order. And you must therefore continue to forgive and forget the hurtful words of others and the wrongs they repeatedly thrust upon you. You cannot behave like ordinary people. 

Qualities:

Self control ( mind and actions)

Purity of mind

Tolerance 

Forgiveness 

Lack of retaliation 

Contentment 

Blissful

Peacefulness 

Welcoming criticism as valued lesson 

Taking words in positive light 

Using difficulty to advantage 

Humility 

Seeing and revering God in all creation 

Further discussion:

Exercising control over one’s self is prescribed as a requisite for perfection in the doctrine of the Bhagwad Gita. A man who can’t control lust and greed, inappropriate behavior or speech cannot become eligible for attaining the highest state of consciousness because his attention is locked in worldly objects and physical appeasement. Thus optimally managing one’s physical tendencies and thought processes is a basic requirement for a yogi. 

Ironically the initial stage of gaining control over one’s physical body carries a danger of feeding one’s ego. The very purpose of the exercises in self control is to purify the mind. However if one is not careful there is a risk of achieving quite contrary results. Mind can become more and more tangled with arrogance, ambition, delusion and desire for power. With these traits comes irritability, lowered tolerance and easy anger. 

If you have to make progress, slowly but surely one must get down to removing these knots from the mind like one would entangle one’s hair.  For this constant vigilance on one’s thoughts and speech is called for. Wrong thoughts must be diligently combed out. Only then mind can be kept pure.