Taatiche Abhang: Abhang 4

 


Taatiche Abhang: Abhang 4



 – वरी भगवा झाला नामें


वरी भगवा झाला नामें 

अंतरीं वश्य केला कामें ॥१॥

त्याला म्हणूं नये साधू 

जगीं विटंबना बाधू ॥२॥

आपआपणा शोधून घ्यावें  

विवेक नांदे त्याच्या सवें ॥३॥

आशा दंभ अवघें आवरा 

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥


Many purported saints don saffron robes for namesake. 

But within their hearts they are slaves to desires and greed. 

Such people must not be called saints.

They are a disgrace in this world.

One must search within and find the real self. 

Such person attains to steady wisdom.

Control all false expectations and self deception.

Open the door oh Dnyaaneshwara!


वरी On the surface or outside 

भगवा saffron colored 

झाला became 

नामें  for namesake 

अंतरीं within

वश्य captured, controlled 

केला made

कामें  by desires, greed

त्याला Him

म्हणूं call, refer to 

नये should not

साधू  ascetic, monk

जगीं in the world 

विटंबना disgrace 

बाधू affliction 

आपआपणा by oneself 

शोधून find

घ्यावें make effort 

विवेक wisdom, power of wise discrimination 

नांदे rests

त्याच्या him/ his

सवें with

आशा hopes ( in this context false hopes)

दंभ  hypocrisy, falsehood 

अवघें entirely 

आवरा avoid,clean up, resist, get hold of, eliminate 

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा Open the door O Dnyaaneshwara 


वरी भगवा झाला नामें 

अंतरीं वश्य केला कामें ॥१॥


In the course of the spiritual journey a seeker arrives at many junctures from time to time. There are moments of victory and moments of defeat. There are also treacherous moments of being misled into believing that one has reached the destination. Or arriving at false conclusions regarding what entails being an ascetic. 


In the earlier sections Muktabai laid out several virtues that a true seeker must possess and alerted Dnyaaneshwar to some pitfalls he should avoid. Now she is turning the focus on perhaps the deepest ditch one can dig himself and pull others into. And that is falsely posing as a saint and misleading people to believe in that lie.


The exercise of transforming from an ordinary human to a person of higher consciousness is mainly in the inner laboratory of the mind. Outer behavior and appearance is expected to be a consequence of the inner change but does not always keep pace with the progress made within. There is often a lag time between change in understanding and change in behavior. Outer appearance is certainly not proof of the state of mind within the person. 


A kid who gets accepted to medical school acquires a white coat and a stethoscope at the very beginning. People look at him with admiration and some even think he knows medicine and ask him an opinion about their symptoms. The real danger is when he believes he is a doctor at that stage and starts giving medical advice to those who approach him. Worse than that is when he solicits clients by advertising that he is a doctor when he is only a student and lacks experience.


A person who has newly set on the path of spiritual practice with a goal towards spiritual enlightenment is like the medical student in the example above. To identify with fellow seekers he dons saffron robes, wears wooden sandals, puts necklaces made out of rudraksh or tulsi beads around the neck, a vermillion mark on the forehead and ties the hair into a bun on top of his head. Then looks in the mirror. Bingo ! I am now a perfect sadhu! He believes what his mind conjures. And so do naive people who see him in that attire. 


Suddenly his life changes. People start bringing him food and gifts. They donate him a piece of land and provide to build him an ashram. They flock to listen to his sermons. He is smart enough to elucidate from various sacred texts and his audience is also bright enough to understand the speeches and feels good after listening to it. Everyone is happy. So where’s the problem?


The problem is that everything that’s happening is a sham, like the doctor described earlier. His words of advice are not going to cure the sick. Neither are they going to promote spiritual progress of the teacher nor lead to any meaningful change in the followers. What it is going to do instead is create a habit for expectations, insatiable desires and greed on both sides. The sadhu will be getting used to attention, pampering, luxurious gifts and respect. The followers will be expecting him to solve all their worldly problems. The minute they are disillusioned and find that he has no powers to solve their problems they will abandon him. His fury will know no bounds once his privileges are gone. In one instant he will transform from king to beggar.


त्याला म्हणूं नये साधू 

जगीं विटंबना बाधू ॥२॥


The onus of accepting the right person as preceptor and following in his footsteps lies on each student or seeker. The capability of the teacher must not be judged by his attire or even his words. One must beware of impersonators and smooth talkers. 


What are most important are his qualifications. A teacher in the path of self realization must have gained control over his own needs and wants. He must have no expectations from the student, not even of receiving service from the student. He must have no interest in the world of objects and treat them as distractions. He must be committed to the goal of resting in pure consciousness and not succumbing to anger or getting affected by situations of gain or loss, happiness or sorrow. He must lead by example. A good teacher (sat-guru) is described as one who does not always fulfil the wishes of his students or followers but rather reduces their desires, teaches them contentment, kindness and selfless service. Any other teaching that does not bring such transformation will inevitably result in disgrace and downfall, both for the teacher and the taught. 


Here Muktabai is throwing a word of caution to her very qualified brother to remain genuine within himself with the values and principles that make a true ascetic. And from their conversation it is a lesson for anyone else who listens to make a note of these words of wisdom and be careful as we follow in their footsteps.


आपआपणा शोधून घ्यावें  

विवेक नांदे त्याच्या सवें ॥३॥


Constant self search is essential to avoid getting derailed from the track towards salvation or enlightenment. 


When anger takes hold, a thought must arise to find what was at the root of the anger. It is not difficult to identify the cause when we look within us. Did I get angry because my point of view was countered ? Was it because I was denied something? Was it because I was slighted? Was it because things didn’t turn out how I had anticipated? 

That allows for correction. Does my point of view need to be revisited and revised to become more inclusive, more equitable or more useful? What was the basis for me holding a certain expectation or desire that led to anger? Was it for a selfish reason or for greater purpose?


When an interaction with another person doesn’t go smoothly it helps to sit down and think over it. What could have been done differently to make it better? Or conversely, if something went without hiccups, what factors contributed to the success? 


These internal exercises are what will keep the account books clean. The muscle required for such exercises is called Vivek or ability to discern right from wrong, selfless from selfish, pure from impure.


आपआपणा शोधून घ्यावें  

This literally translates into : One must find oneself!

The subject matter of study of self or such study itself is called Adhyatma(अध्यात्म). 

There can’t be a crash course in adhyatma. Such study is a slow and steady process. 


Searching for our true self has a deeper meaning in the spiritual context. The stage zero or shunya mentioned in the earlier abhang where there is only existence-consciousness-bliss and no identification with thought, emotion or matter is the pure self. Finding and resting in that state is the goal of all spiritual endeavor. The study of self( adhyatma )involves a lot of elimination( matter, emotion, thought) to reach the core essence of oneself.


When we study any subject the introduction to the study material can happen through a teacher and sometimes even in a group setting with other students. However when it is time for taking a test each student’s understanding is assessed without the aid of the teacher or classmates. For this each student must have spent time on his own to assimilate the information gathered in the class. Without thorough assimilation information does not transform into knowledge. Without practical application knowledge does not convert into behavior. Without continued behavioral reinforcement the practical knowledge does not become permanent.


Just like empathy is inherent to stage zero, so is wisdom or vivek. Empathy and wisdom are what constitute spiritual wealth. If the self inside is lost, everything is lost. If we have searched the self within and kept it protected from wandering under the sway of various outside forces, our wealth is safe with us. Wisdom dwells with such pure individual constantly.

विवेक नांदे त्याच्या सवें 


And as seen earlier, such wisdom can dwell constantly only with the continuing practice of abiding in pure awareness.


आशा दंभ अवघें आवरा 

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥


The direction to the pure awareness or stage zero is inwards and directly opposite to the direction leading to the world of objects. To claim that we are seekers of God consciousness and simultaneously have our attention fixated on the world of objects is contradictory. This is called hypocrisy or दंभ. 


Of all forces that can make the spiritual seeker in us lose our way, the most powerful are worldly expectations and desires. 


To endorse, preach or claim one thing and do the opposite is hypocrisy. It doesn’t take time for people to notice it. It is best if we notice our hypocrisy first and don’t tout what we are unable to follow. 


The wise man would first take full control of his mind and behavior before leading another person.  In the spiritual context, before someone can accept the title of saint or guru he/ she must remove all traces of personal desires, prejudices and hypocrisy.


An important thing to note here is that self control is a dynamic process. 

आशा दंभ अवघें आवरा. 

Here आवरा really implies आवरून धरा.

Avaghe means entirely. It is an all or none game.

Be vigilant at all times. Do not allow the slightest material interest to stealthily enter the mind. If you fall asleep on the job the mind will have a field day. In an instant a man of self control can become a man controlled by his desires. What Muktabai refers to as अंतरीं वश्य केला कामें .


Rise above petty misgivings, expectations of respect and favors from others and the slightest deviation outside pure awareness if you wish to show the right path to the world. Be genuine and then step outside O brother Dnyaaneshwara, says Muktabai. 


Qualities:

Overcoming desires, greed

Recognizing fabrication of mind, false identity 

Finding real self 

Steady wisdom 

Differentiating between true and fake saints

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