Taatiche Abhang: Abhang 10

Taatiche Abhang 

Abhang 10

१० – गिरीगव्हारे कशासाठीं

गिरीगव्हारे कशासाठीं ।
रागें पुरवीली पाठी II१II
ऐसा नसावा संन्यासी ।
परमार्थाचा जो कां द्वेषी  ॥२॥
घर बांधिलें डोंगरीं ।
विषया हिंडे दारोदारीं ॥३॥
काय केला योगधर्म ।
नाही अंतरी निष्काम ॥४॥
गंगाजळ ह्रदय करा ।
ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥५॥

Why retreat to the top of mountains while you carry a baggage of anger and desires ?

A renunciate must be committed to spirituality, not detest it.

Some seekers build a home in the remote mountains seeking solitude. Yet their mind wanders seeking pleasure from one place to another.

What is the use of yogic practice when the heart lacks dispassion?

Keep your heart pure like the waters of the Ganges and open the door oh Dnyaaneshwara!

गिरीगव्हारे in the mountains 

कशासाठीं why
रागें anger, unfulfilled desires

पुरवीली followed

पाठी behind
ऐसा such

नसावा shouldn’t be

संन्यासी a renunciate
परमार्थाचा towards God or God’s philosophy/ teachings 

जो कां  who is

द्वेषी a hater
घर house

बांधिलें built

डोंगरीं in the mountains 
विषया in pursuit of desires, material interests 

हिंडे wanders

दारोदारीं door to door 
काय why

 केला done

योगधर्म spiritual practice
नाही not

अंतरी within

निष्काम free of desires
गंगाजळ holy waters of Ganga

ह्रदय heart 

करा make
ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा open the door O Dnyaaneshwara 

Discussion:

This abhang ruthlessly tears apart the rampant hypocrisy and misconceptions that pervade in the domain of spiritual pursuits.

गिरीगव्हारे कशासाठीं ।
रागें पुरवीली पाठी II१II

Some purported saints abandon their families and proceed to the mountains to pursue their spiritual quests. But they carry with them the entire baggage of desires, hatred and anger.

They believe that escaping from crowds is a mark of renunciation. Time and again the saints have proclaimed that the true sign of renunciation is a heart that is emptied of desires. Being content within oneself, harboring no misgivings towards anyone or any situation is true renunciation.

Not infrequently, people take decisions that are based upon presumption, inadequate evidence or incomplete understanding of themselves and the situation. How many times people quit their first job because they find it difficult to manage ? How many walk out of their first relationship without even trying to make it work? The second innings at a new place or with a new person often bring the exact same experience. That’s when they are likely to realize that the problem was within themselves and not the situation.

A student or follower of spiritual enlightenment needs solitude on a regular basis for introspection and contemplation. But working on reducing desires and anger are separate and essential exercises. The best laboratory for these is when surrounded by material objects and people who think differently than you. If you never faced temptation you can never learn to resist temptation. If you were never challenged with a difference of opinion you would never learn to negotiate and try to find a mutually acceptable solution. 

It has been my experience that if you want to sincerely assess your own spiritual progress watch your reactions with people closest to you. There mostly there is a lack of inhibition. It is in such unguarded territory that the lowest of your instincts manifest. If you want to observe your best behavior observe it in the presence of someone with authority or someone you think highly of. Then seek a middle ground where you don’t need to be different at different times. Whether under guard or not, the same response would come from you at any given time. This response would be based on good understanding of circumstances, sound reasoning, ample empathy and respect and purpose towards larger good.

Without success in taking full control over desire, passion and anger it is premature to escape into permanent isolation. Both good and bad potential can remain untapped in isolation. It can even be dangerous sometimes. It is certainly not proof of true detachment. Spiritual insights gained in isolation can be theoretical at best with no practical application unless shared in some way with others.

 Charity in thought begins at home. If you can’t be charitable to your near and dear ones then you can never attain spiritual insights moving away from them. 

ऐसा नसावा संन्यासी ।
परमार्थाचा जो कां द्वेषी  ॥२॥

To be a spiritual seeker one has to embrace the totality of the teachings. The conclusion of the study of the spirit is that God exists in all beings. One who detests people, detests God. To disregard cardinal principles of spiritual ethics indicates lack of love for the word of God. It is a red flag when you see self proclaimed Gurus display unregulated behavior. Outward living adjustments without inner work are futile. Such ascetic’s spiritual practice is a farce. An act of deception and hypocrisy.

घर बांधिलें डोंगरीं ।
विषया हिंडे दारोदारीं ॥३॥

Muktabai continues to rip apart the hypocrisy of the fake sadhus. Someone retreats to the mountains to seek peace and solitude while his mind roams seeking worldly pleasures and possessions. He is really neither detached nor has one pointed devotion to God. Desires and renunciation are contradictory to each other.

There is a story of a guru and his disciple. The latter says his mind is distracted by too many things and he can’t focus on meditation while staying with the guru. So the guru tells him to go and meditate in the forest. Obeying the order the student goes deep into a remote forest and sits to meditate under a tree. That night it rains and he is soaked. In daylight he finds some sticks, grass and leaves and builds a small hut for himself to stay. He resumes meditation in the quiet shelter of his home. A mouse sneaks in and chews at his garment. He decides to keep a cat to protect the hut from rats. The cat needs milk. So he walks to the nearest village to get the milk. Daily trip to the village begins to take his time from meditation. So he gets a cow and keeps it tied to a tree outside his hut. Now the cow needs caring. The farmer who gave him the cow says to him I have a daughter who I will give you in marriage. She will not only take care of your home, your cow and cat but also cook for you so you can focus on your meditation. A few years later the guru comes to look for his disciple. He finds that the young man who came to the forest with no belongings has settled into a cozy hut with wife, a cat and a cow and is spending the day caring for his young children. 

The story underscores the reality how desires can multiply wherever you go unless nipped in the bud right where you stand. 

काय केला योगधर्म ।
नाही अंतरी निष्काम ॥४॥

The concept of religious or spiritual practice is often distorted. Many people claim to be devotees of God, regularly visit temples, go on pilgrimages, listen to sermons, observe fasting, distribute food to the poor, sing hymns in praise of God, read scripture, talk about scriptural texts, offer respect to holy men, say prayers regularly. But everything is lip service. Often the service is done with a spirit of a business transaction with God. I will fast for these days and in return you grant me a son. I will take this pilgrimage to please you so you cure me of this illness. Let my business succeed and I’ll donate a portion of my profits to your temple. There is always a material need to be fulfilled. The so called spiritual exercise does not influence any meaningful internal change in terms of weakening the ego, overcoming duality, practicing kindness and forgiveness, overcoming laziness, rising above insults and sorrows, discarding greed and anger, reducing wants,needs and acquisitions. Year after year the surface practices go on and the essence of all practices remains beyond reach. 

What is the use of such superficial practices, asks Muktabai, when you are not ready to take off your attention from material enjoyment and personal gain? 

गंगाजळ ह्रदय करा ।
ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥५॥

We have discussed the many qualities of water that one can learn from. Gangajal, the water from the holy river Ganga has all the properties of ordinary water plus more. It is often sprinkled upon people or places to purify them. People travel thousands of miles to bathe in it to wipe out their sins. It is offered as a last sip in the mouth of a dying or dead man with the faith that it will confer a better afterlife or even immortality. It is symbolic of anything that is 100% pure in itself and has the power to purify whatever it comes in contact with.

A heart that is equivalent of gangajal is one that has been cleansed out of toxic elements such as deception, anger, selfishness, envy, greed, arrogance, hatred, prejudice etc . It is infused with love, compassion, faith and wisdom. It can be completely trusted. It will purify anyone who comes into contact with it. Just a tiny sprinkle ( of wisdom) from it will bring about a good change in one who receives it. Thus it benefits more than just the person with such pure heart.

After describing the phony spiritual seekers and their hidden agendas, Muktabai holds faith in her brother and prays that hypocrisy and faults don’t brush on him. Always keep your heart pure like the waters of the Ganges she tells him. Clean out the small impurity that has polluted your mind right now and come out of the hut. Your work waits for you.

Qualities:

Relinquish desires, greed, hatred and anger if spiritual progress has to occur.