Taatiche Abhang: Abhang 3

 

Taatiche Abhang :Abhang 3

Shorter version:

सुखसागरी वास झाला ।

उंच नीच काय त्याला ॥१॥

अहो आपण जैंसे व्हावें ।

देवें तैसेंचि करावें ॥२॥

ऐसा नटनाटय खेळ ।

स्थिर नाही एकवेळ ॥३॥

एकापासुनी अनेक झाले ।

त्यासी पाहिजे सांभाळिले ॥४॥

शून्य साक्षित्वें समजावें ।

वेद ओंकाराच्या नावें ॥५॥

एकें उंचपण केले ।

एक अभिमानें गेलें ॥६॥

इतकें टाकुनी शांती धरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥७॥

One who resides in the ocean of bliss how could he possibly be affected by ideas of superior and inferior? 

Whatever a person strives to be, so he becomes.

The Divine play consisting of actors on the world stage is forever in a state of change. 

From one have emerged many. We need to care for them all, care for each other.

One must meditate upon the AUM uttered by the Vedas and witness the Reality that is devoid of thoughts and things. The Truth that is seemingly empty can be only experienced subjectively. 

The minute the ego raises its head and gets idea of superiority, the person faces his downfall.

Understand this and abandon all egoism to attain lasting peace. 

Open the door oh Dnyaaneshwara!

सुखसागरी  in the ocean of bliss

वास residence 

झाला  happened

उंच नीच high and low 

काय what

त्याला for him

अहो O ( Dnyaaneshwar)

आपण we

जैंसे how

व्हावें ( wish to ) become 

देवें god or fate

तैसेंचि likewise

करावें will do

ऐसा Such

नटनाटय actor mediated drama

खेळ game, play

स्थिर steady

नाही not

एकवेळ one moment 

एकापासुनी from one

अनेक many

झाले became/ happened

त्यासी They/ for them

पाहिजे must

सांभाळिले be cared for 

शून्य zero

साक्षित्वें through witness 

समजावें should be understood 

वेद Vedas

ओंकाराच्या by Omkaar 

नावें by name

एकें one

उंचपण tallness

 केले did

एक one

अभिमानें by pride

गेलें went

इतकें so much

टाकुनी discarding 

शांती peace

धरा hold

ताटी door 

उघडा open

ज्ञानेश्वरा Dnyaaneshwara 

From the beginning of this series we have seen how the young Muktabai is painting the contrast between ordinary people and saints. She is continually giving pointers to rise above the threshold of the ordinary human tendencies. 

We saw in the last abhang how she drew the attention to the substance of creation rather than individual entities. From here she continues the conversation. 

If the entire creation is singularly woven with the thread of divine consciousness that leaves no room for inequality. It also leaves no place for unhappiness. A man who chances upon an entire gold mine when looking for gold objects would have nothing more to ask for. A person who has permanently reached the source of all things would have everything there is to desire. So Muktabai refers to that destination as ocean of bliss. Talking of an ocean, every drop of it would have the same consistency, same taste, same amount of salt. Hence she makes the point:

सुखसागरी वास झाला ।

उंच नीच काय त्याला ॥१॥

Having transcended ordinary human understanding where different entities are designated based on their form, the yogi or saint reaches a state where everyone and everything is of equal value. No person has more importance than another. Comfort and discomfort, praise and criticism, wealth and poverty, friend and foe, success and failure are changing faces of the same reality. The man of realization has no interest or preference in either of the two options in any pair of opposites. He welcomes whatever comes to his share.

However he must still watch the trend of his own thoughts like a parent watching over young children. In the present situation Dnyaaneshwar risked entertaining thoughts of anger and resentment towards the elements in society that treated him and his siblings badly. So his sister is alerting him to the danger that such thinking would degrade him. 

अहो आपण जैंसे व्हावें ।

देवें तैसेंचि करावें ॥२॥

Life is not going to remain as bad as it is forever. Good times will follow bad times and those too cannot stay permanently. But you mustn’t let your integrity and understanding be compromised with changing circumstances. Every person is enacting a role in the divine play whether or not they are aware of it. Those that are aware don’t take things personally.

ऐसा नटनाटय खेळ ।

स्थिर नाही एकवेळ ॥३॥

The result of getting to the bottom of all visible creation is that one realizes that everything and every being is born out of the same source. We are all related to each other as one divine family or Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. Therefore it becomes our responsibility to care for each other.

एकापासुनी अनेक झाले ।

त्यासी पाहिजे सांभाळिले ॥४॥

If I was asked to identify one sentence out of the entire series that had a lasting effect on me it is this line. 

This sentence is aimed towards the man or people who were unkind to Dnyaaneshwar and his family. True they are not good to us, she says. Yet they are children of the same God as us. Therefore we must still take care of them, be kind to them and show them the path to goodness. 

This magnanimity of heart was later expressed in Dnyaaneshwar’s words in the Pasayadan. 

Duritanche timir javo ( may the evil lose their ignorance and change their wrong ways).

शून्य साक्षित्वें समजावें ।

वेद ओंकाराच्या नावें ॥५॥

To be able to remain unperturbed in the midst of the upheavals in the world one must reach a state of detachment not just from the world of objects but also the thoughts in the mind. After all the objects are inert by themselves. It is the thoughts and emotions that tag on to the proceedings of the world that cause our restlessness. To be able to understand that we are pure consciousness we must be able to become a witness to the thoughts, emotions and objects. 

Normally we have acquired a complex identity for ourselves that includes our thinking, feelings and physical attributes. Yet there is scientific evidence, logical inference and attestation from spiritual texts such as Upanishads which are part of the Vedas that we are beyond these attributes.

Various texts like the Vedas and Bhagwad Gita have proclaimed that the primordial sound consisting of three syllables A,U,M, together forming the audible sound OM and referred to as Omkaar, is equivalent to the infinite reality underlying the universe and also the source of all manifest universe. Hence a person seeking to experience the ultimate reality is advised to meditate on the Omkaar. In that exercise you attempt to fold back all thoughts and emotions into the OM and witness a state of zero thoughts yet totally pregnant with awareness. These scriptures mention this as the fourth state of consciousness, referring to it as Turiya state, in addition to the waking state, dream state and deep sleep state. Majority of us have ,if at all, only heard of the Turiya state, never experienced it. All spiritual exercises are aimed at transcending from the waking state( jagruti) to Turiya. 

( Recommended reading : Mandukya Upanishad for elaboration on Om).

This is perhaps the most difficult part of the Taatiche abhang to comprehend for people who are new to adhyatma.

एकें उंचपण केले ।

एक अभिमानें गेलें ॥६॥

Commonest mistake people make as they make progress in any field is to acquire pride. The ego will tend to raise its head most unexpectedly from time to time. Good looks, better education and expanded knowledge, wealth, fame and attention, position of power and such things cause the ego to be bolstered. A strong ego works against self improvement. If one seeks to achieve perfection and reach a state of pure consciousness then it is important to strive for humility. Old tendencies fight against new ones. Ego is the biggest enemy in the path of spiritual enlightenment or personal growth. Many aspirants see a downfall due to false pride.

इतकें टाकुनी शांती धरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥७॥

Hence let not ego stand in the way of your progress. Let it go if you want real and lasting peace, advises  Muktabai. Hold on firmly to humility and open the door dear brother.