Taatiche Abhang: Abhang 8

 

Taatiche Abhang 

Abhang 8

८ – सुखसागर आपण व्हावें

सुखसागर आपण व्हावें ।

जग बोधें निववावें ॥१॥

बोधा करुं नये अंतर ।

साधू नाहिं आपपर ॥२॥

जीव जीवासी पैं दयावा ।

मग करुं नये हेवा ॥३॥

तरणोपाय चित्तीं धरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥

Having passed through all trials you will attain to the state of perfection and yourself become the ocean of bliss. Once you reach that state you ought to spread the divine knowledge to uplift and comfort others.

A true saint must not hold back spreading divine wisdom 

And has no concept of mine and not mine. All are equal in his eyes. All are future saints. 

He ought to dedicate his life for others

And never have second thoughts about it. 

Hold the mission close to your heart to redeem others 

Open the door oh Dnyaaneshwara!

सुखसागर  ocean of bliss

आपण we/ you 

व्हावें become 

जग the world 

बोधें through knowledge arising from experience 

निववावें cool down, satisfy 

बोधा teaching

करुं do

नये not

अंतर defer, hesitate, delay, distance 

साधू (for a) saint

नाहिं ( there is)no

आपपर mine and not mine ( separate categories)

जीव life, heart

जीवासी to life, soul

पैं for

दयावा should be given

मग then

करुं do

नये not

हेवा envy

तरणोपाय means to swim, survive, prevent from sinking

चित्तीं in the heart

धरा hold

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा open the door o Dnyaaneshwara 

Discussion:

सुखसागर आपण व्हावें ।

जग बोधें निववावें ॥१॥

Up to this point Muktabai drew Dnyaaneshwar’s attention towards self emancipation from a life of ignorance. That state of pure existence-consciousness-bliss is repeatedly hammered as the ultimate goal for any seeker to achieve. At that point the goal and seeker become one. The river that reaches the ocean becomes the ocean. Does the journey end there? Does the individual have no connection left with the world from that moment? 

It is likely to create a notion that once the seeker becomes steadfast in pure consciousness all obligations towards the world would be dissolved. If Dnyaaneshwar has become enlightened by Muktabai’s words already he can stay put inside the hut even though he is no longer angry. There is no need for him to come out because his goal is reached. 

Lest Dnyaaneshwar arrive at such conclusion, Muktabai is prompt to clarify that, while one task is completed upon enlightenment, the next task is calling. It is not in character for a saintly person to be selfish and enjoy the fruits of his work by himself. All the finer lessons learned, the pitfalls noted, the challenges encountered, the skills developed,experiences gained and benefits found must be shared with the next generation that will walk on that road. When a hungry guest stands at the door of a well fed man it is a moral duty to extend food to fulfill the hunger of the other man. While many souls are struggling to find meaning, purpose and happiness in the world it is the moral duty of an enlightened person to help them reach the same state of fulfillment that he has reached.

Two words in this couplet need special attention . बोधें निववावे 

Bodh is knowledge. It is not to be confused with advice or information. Advice is a directive to some form of action or strategy which is not always based on facts. Knowledge in its strict sense is also not information. One can have information without knowledge. In fact most of what we read and believe we know is information. Knowledge is what is ascertained from experience and therefore based on verified facts. It can be shared from the original source to another but does not become knowledge for the latter until he too verifies it. Until then it remains as information with the latter. 

Nivavaave is an interesting term.When water is boiled and allowed to sit, it gradually comes to room temperature without extra effort. It is a spontaneous but not instantaneous process. 

बोधें निववावे 

When we put the two words together it signifies a very unique process and situation. Remember the sentence from the second abhang from this series.

विश्व रागें झाले वन्ही।

The world is burning due to raging desires that are hard to fulfill and from the heat of anger. Minds are boiling. 

In such a situation the words of insight from an enlightened man prompt the afflicted person to pause and contemplate on the wise words. The truth in the words is universal and eternal. Neither the man of knowledge nor the man of ignorance has created that wisdom nor really acquired it from elsewhere. They have it within them eternally. One has become aware of it earlier than the other and through discussion he is simply facilitating the other to become aware. As the person gradually becomes aware of the truth in the words through contemplation, and assimilates it as deep understanding, his turbulent mind calms down. 

बोधा करुं नये अंतर ।

साधू नाहिं आपपर ॥२॥

In the example of the man above instead of one hungry guest at the door if there were two that showed up, one his own son and the other an acquaintance, what would the man do? Would he treat one different from the other? Would he reserve favorite items for his son and lesser ones for the other man ? Would he keep the man waiting until he is done feeding the son? 

If the man is an enlightened soul he would make absolutely no distinction between the two. Both would be seated together with love and respect and offered whatever is there at home. 

Similarly a true saint does not hold back his knowledge from anyone based on their caste, creed, gender, race and such differences. All have access to what he knows. How they benefit from it will depend on their qualifications.

Tukaram Maharaj has on several occasions through his writings( abhangas) condemned the practice of sharing spiritual knowledge for a fee. Such were the high standards of the saints in those days. Counting money as price for divine knowledge was considered an act of irreverence for the knowledge that was priceless and timeless. Divine knowledge is not a commodity to be branded or considered intellectual property belonging to any one. 

Sadly these days big names, whether individuals or organizations, offer talks and seminars on spiritual knowledge for handsome fees. Their lifestyles thrive on the trade of knowledge that does not belong to them. There was no dearth of naive people nor of opportunists  during Tukaram Maharaj’s time and there is no dearth of both these in present times. Along with that it remains eternally true that no money can ever buy knowledge. What money can buy is information. And what the so called Gurus sell is information. A true seeker needn’t have money at any time. A true teacher would not ask for money at any time. 

जीव जीवासी पैं दयावा ।

मग करुं नये हेवा ॥३॥

Life is a precious commodity. There is nothing more precious than life. The only thing that makes life more precious than it already is, is when it is applied towards service of others. The light from a lamp burns longer when it lights another lamp. 

Shri Krishna has declared in the Bhagwad Gita ( chapter four, verse 38) that nothing in this world is purer than knowledge.

न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते | 

na hi jñānena sadṛiśhaṁ pavitramiha vidyate

He implores Arjun, exactly how Muktabai here is persuading Dnyaaneshwar, to resume his worldly duties, but this time, equipped with deeper insights. To do one’s duty in the spirit of service and thereby without any expectations or reservations. The ultimate reward for such work will be immortality by means of enlightenment.
तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्ध: कालेनात्मनि विन्दति || 38||
tatsvayaṁ yogasansiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati

In the present couplet Muktabai is saying :

जीव जीवासी पैं दयावा ।

Jeev should be dedicated for another jeev!

In the Pasaaydaan Dnyaaneshwar has prayed 

भूतां परस्परें पडो

मैत्र जीवांचें

Maitra Jeevaache ! 

May all beings be connected with bonds of true friendship.

Jeev can mean life. Jeev can also mean heart and soul. And it can also mean ‘all you have’. With that it implies love. You can give someone everything you have when there is love. 

When one thinks over this it is evident that she is suggesting to have a generosity of purpose in one’s life. In Dnyaaneshwar’s case the wealth he had was divine knowledge. Don’t withhold it from the world, Muktabai is telling him. Do it in the spirit of love and friendship, in the spirit of universal brotherhood. 

Then she tags another piece of advice to it. 

मग करुं नये हेवा !

Many times one does a spontaneous good deed to another considering him as an equal. Circumstances change with time. The other person sees better days and suddenly the attitude of good will and friendship changes to envy. Envy restrains charity in thought and action.

Envy is the emotion of an unrefined mind. With evolution comes love. And when there is pure love there is no place for envy. Thus when you see the other person is in need of something you don’t think twice before helping out. Muktabai here is advising Dnyaaneshwar to always raise the bar for himself to nurture unconditional love for all people. 

Don’t allow envy to withhold you from sharing what you can give the world or to any individual.

Tukaram Maharaj famously declared :

Amha ghari dhan shabdanchich ratne. आम्हां घरीं धन शब्दाचीं रत्नें ! In my home the wealth is words that are equivalent to precious gems. 

True to his character, all lifelong he lavished all the gems in his possession to enrich the lives of the downtrodden.

As did Dnyaaneshwar. In the short life he lived in the mortal body he laid down everything in the immortal writings in the form of the Bhavartha Deepika ( popularly known as the Dnyaaneshwari), Amrutanubhav, Chhangdev Pasashti and several abhangas. 

तरणोपाय चित्तीं धरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥

But before he arrived at the full realization of the purpose of his life, and stood up with resolve to fulfill it, his little sister was instrumental in bringing his focus back to it.

She concludes this abhanga asking him to hold तरणोपाय which is the “means to float” close to his heart. What is she referring to here? 

The verb tarane तरणे means to float or swim on water. If you are in deep waters and you can’t swim you will drown. Hence it is essential that you acquire the skills to swim and stay afloat. 

Here the waters are “the river of life”. It has an unpredictable and frequently turbulent flow. As it heads to the “ ocean of bliss” it has to cover several miles and take many curves and dips till the water gains a permanent place to be. As long as one has a mortal body he/she is in this river. The flow completely stops only upon dissolution of the body. 

In the discourse so far she has already pointed out the several dangers that lurk at every turn which threaten to drown an amateur swimmer. Greed, anger, infatuation, egoism, anxiety, lack of faith, lack of tolerance, laziness, lack of focus are some of them. She is advising him to equip himself with the necessary skills and tools to dodge these dangers, so he can reach his destination and not drown en route. 

With these cautionary words she tells him to open the door and step out from locked quarters. 

Qualities discussed:

Gain knowledge of self

Share that knowledge with others to lift them out of spiritual slumber

Service 

Equanimity