Taatiche Abhang : Abhang 9


Taatiche Abhang 

Abhang 9

 – सांडी कल्पना उपाधी


सांडी कल्पना उपाधी 
तीच साधूला समाधी ॥१॥
वाद घालावा कवणाला 
अवघा द्वैताचा हो घाला ॥२॥
पुढे उमजेना काय 
उडत्याचे खाली पाय ॥३॥
एक मन चेष्टा करी 
भूतें बापुंडी शेजारी ॥४॥
अवघी ईश्वराची करणी 
काय तेथें केलें कोणीं ॥५॥
पुन्हा शुद्ध मार्ग धरा 
ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥६॥


To give up ideas of false imagination and identity 

is equivalent of attaining salvation for a saint.


Arguments stand on the premise of duality. Any tendency to argue about a matter is best avoided knowing that duality is a product of ignorance.

Arguing will lead to more and more confusion and the person will sink further into ignorance. 

A man who is aware of non dual nature of all existence sees no value in arguing, because another man of knowledge will not argue with him and a man of ignorance cannot be made to understand the point. 


Noone can read the future because it is a blank slate. One thing that is certain is that anyone who takes flight must eventually land on his feet.( on the ground). In other words wisdom lies in staying grounded at all times. 


One can control sense organs but the mind is much too powerful to be brought under control. All people are powerless in front of the mind. If they assume responsibility to control the mind they fail miserably. It hits back at them fiercely. 


Mind is God’s creation and it is best surrendered to Him. Whatever goes on in life is also God’s creation. Who can escape it?


Keep on your path with a pure conscience like you have always done.

And open the door oh Dnyaaneshwara!

सांडी Drop. Let go.

कल्पना imagined, baseless thoughts 

उपाधी adjunct identity, supplemental qualification 
तीच that very

साधूला for a saint

समाधी meditative state 
वाद argument 

घालावा carry out 

 कवणाला with whom 
अवघा entirely 

द्वैताचा of duality

हो is 

घाला great mischief 
पुढे ahead 

उमजेना not known 

काय what
उडत्याचे the flier’s 

खाली down 

पाय feet
एक one

मन mind 

चेष्टा teasing, actions

 करी does
भूतें living beings 

बापुंडी helpless, powerless, feeble

 शेजारी next to, beside
अवघी entirely 

ईश्वराची God’s

करणी creation 
काय what

तेथें there

केलें done

 कोणीं by whom
पुन्हा again

शुद्ध pure

मार्ग path

धरा take, choose
ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा open the door O Dnyaaneshwara 


Discussion:

सांडी कल्पना उपाधी 
तीच साधूला समाधी ॥१॥

In spiritual practice samadhi is considered the highest meditative state where the person, with practice, subdues thoughts, controls his breath, and relinquishes identification with the physical and mental layers to exist in a state of pure awareness. This is usually a temporary state, where the individual excuses himself into a place of solitude, sits in a steady posture, controls his breathing and gradually frees himself from the gross and subtle bodies. With practice he is able to abide in this state for longer stretches. 

In the intervals between this practice he is again at normal level of consciousness identifying with the physical body, mind and intellect complex. During these “normal” periods all the tendencies of the respective sheaths namely bodily activities, thought patterns, emotions etc continue as before. 


Muktabai holds a different view on samadhi. Her definition of samadhi for a person of pure heart is to continually live without identifying with mental creations or superimposed qualifications such as I am this body, I am good looking, I am educated, I am smart, I am a painter etc. It is a state of being, devoid of being someone. When that additional identity of being someone is deleted,, doership is automatically removed from actions. The entire act is attributable to Prakriti or Primordial Nature. Indeed even when a person believes he is the doer it is Prakriti with her gunas that is carrying out all his activities and everything else in the universe. By giving up doership he simply becomes aware that the ego was not necessary for the act.


This in no way implies that the person would not respond with appropriate emotion or intelligence. It simply means that the conscious principle within him sees these functions as distinct from itself. While the awareness can influence modification in the functions of mind and body, the activities do not modify the awareness. Also the functions, being set free from the control of the ego, get tempered by a wisdom that connects them in a healthy way with other beings.


The above two lines carry deep spiritual truths to be contemplated upon. A sincere mental exercise will bring profound clarity and realizations. 


The clarity can occasionally be disturbing because it uncovers the dark side of oneself. But in the long run this is therapeutic because unless identified it cannot be corrected or eliminated. Thus regular practice of allowing oneself to remain in pure awareness and observing the workings of the mind helps purify thinking and behaviors. 

Identifying upadhis or qualifications attached to oneself is an exercise to recognize the ego in its ugly fatness. Trimming down these unnecessary upadhis( titles) is essential to exist in pure awareness at all times. 


वाद घालावा कवणाला 
अवघा द्वैताचा हो घाला ॥२॥


Man argues with another only when he believes that the other person is a separate entity. This is the case with duality. Hence arguing with one another is the mischief of duality. 


With regular practice of observing and trimming thoughts and personal titles one becomes less attached to fixed ideologies and more accepting of differing views. Intellectual differences become more palatable and compatible when viewed from the level of pure awareness. In contrast, from the level of intellect one would be identified with one specific point of view and would reject another, thus creating a conflict. 


From the perspective of pure awareness if there is disagreement between two parties it would pose a novel dilemma. Who would be arguing with who? To believe that there are two separate entities in the argument would be simply duality(Maya) playing mischief with the thinking process. Simply recognizing this trick would put a stop on any argument. Only silence can be the appropriate response in the midst of opposing opinions. 


A wise man would think to himself, how much does it really matter to hold on to a particular opinion? What is at stake? Is the opponent’s opinion harmful for the majority that is needs to be opposed? With logical thinking such man of wisdom can choose which battles to fight and which to defer. 



पुढे उमजेना काय 
उडत्याचे खाली पाय ॥३॥


Certain things that follow rules of Mother Nature are predictable. For example the sequence of seasons can be foreseen. The phases of the moon can be accurately estimated. Eclipses can be timed precisely. But individual destinies cannot be predicted with certainty. Majority people are not gifted with clairvoyance. What the future holds is anyone’s guess. 


Ups and downs are part of life. What goes up, comes down. While one is soaring high above everyone the thrill of the flight may make a person giddy-headed (figuratively speaking) and to forget ground realities. One may take pride in the wings but no one ever made a safe landing on wings. Landing is always on the feet. Everyone stands on equal ground. This should remind us of the value of humility and to not take life and its highs for granted.


 Coming under the microscope of pure consciousness paired with sound reasoning fantasies, delusions and realities are clearly sorted out.


This particular couplet has immense practical application in today’s world which is riddled by anxiety. Most people, at some point or other, tend to wonder, imagine or worry about the future. At best it can be an educated guess. It is thus important to remember that nobody knows the future with certainty. Meditative practice allows you to identify one’s anxiety. When you recognize that your mind is consumed by worry about the future you can devise ways to diffuse the tendency to worry. Prepare yourself with conscious strategy to respond positively towards any potential possibilities. Learn to separate scenarios that are purely imagined vs stand on credible facts. Give importance to reasoning more than baseless assumptions. And practice patience, how much ever difficult it seems. Sometimes one has to simply wait till the future arrives in the present moment. Humility, patience, fortitude, continued effective effort and faith become great assets in such situations. 


एक मन चेष्टा करी 
भूतें बापुंडी शेजारी ॥४॥


The mind is always the toughest of all to bring under control. It is like a wild monkey whose mischief is impossible to predict. Any person trying to control the antics of his mind proves entirely powerless.


The nineteenth century poetess  Bahinabai Chaudhary has succinctly described the mind as :

Mana vadhaay vadhaay

Ubhyaa pikaatala dhor !

An unruly mind is like an animal playing havoc in the midst of a field with crop ready for harvest. The entire season’s efforts can be reduced to dust if the animal is not controlled.

Such untamed mind is likely to be carried away by shameful behaviors like deceit, infatuation, arrogance or lawlessness and bring disgrace to a life that was lived well until then. There is much at stake when mind runs amok. Yet it must be admitted that the best of men could become victims of their own minds and may lack the capacity to entirely prevent this.


In this context it becomes pertinent to emphasize the importance of the company we keep. If we remain constantly surrounded by wise and good people the dangers of landing into trouble due to our mind’s mischief would be much reduced. 



अवघी ईश्वराची करणी 
काय तेथें केलें कोणीं ॥५॥


देवा, कसं देलं मन
आसं नहीं दुनियांत !
आसा कसा रे यवगी
काय तुझी करामत !


Bahinabai in her poem admits to God that the mind is indeed one of a kind. How did you create it? It is such a marvel ! 


Both mind and ego are byproducts of ignorance( avidya). Ignorance nurtures them and they nurture each other. Due to this symbiotic relationship it is nearly impossible for the ego to take control of and subdue the mind. 

Only the Creator knows the control buttons for ignorance and its offspring namely ego and mind. Turning the mind towards higher consciousness is the one and only way to bring it under control. 

Until the surrender happens one is taking a big risk. The wild bull can toss an amateur trying to hold it by the horns and fling him into air only to watch him fall flat on the face!


पुन्हा शुद्ध मार्ग धरा 
ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥६॥

After getting a taste of the wild games that the mind plays, a wise man would recognize his limitations and promptly surrender to the higher consciousness. Having surrendered the ego and stripped himself off all false qualifications, he would carry on from there attending to his assigned duties with a clearer conscience and more humility. The selfless execution of duties will continue to further purify him. Every setback, every subsequent unexpected derailment should be seen as a pause for reflection and opportunity for renewed focus and return to a noble life.

With such resolve and understanding , open the door O Dnyaaneshwara and get back on your path of truth, Muktabai tells him. 


Qualities:

Rise above false ideas of mind and false identity, mental limitations 

Humility 

Avoid arguments 

Choose your battles wisely 

Know everything is divine play

Live life with a pure heart 



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