Aakalp Ayushya

 आकल्प आयुष्य व्हावे तया कुळा।

माझियां सकलां हरिच्या दासा ।।१।।

कल्पनेची बाधा न हो कोणे काळी ।

ही संतमंडळी सुखी असो।।२।।

अहंकाराचा वारा न लागो राजसा।

माझ्या विष्णुदासा भाविकांसी।।३।।

नामा म्हणे तयां असावे कल्याण।

ज्या मुखी निधान पांडुरंग।।४

- संत नामदेव

Do the saints have desires? 

Yes. Just not for themselves. 

Pasayadan of Sant Dnyaaneshwar and Sant Namdev are perfect examples of what the saints wish for. They wish auspicious things for the entire universe. No one is singled out. No one is excluded. 

Ordinary people see good people and bad people. Saints see good and bad in people.They know with certainty what is good and what is evil. 

Themselves having a bird’s eye view of the world they recognize both, light and darkness in the world. For them everyone is equally eligible for moving from darkness to light and each one is equally at risk for moving from light to darkness. 

They wish for everyone to inch towards the light and away from darkness. 

They know the pitfalls in a human journey. 

In the above abhang Sant Namdev is making a wish to Panduranga. 

आकल्प आयुष्य व्हावे तया कुळा।

माझियां सकलां हरिच्या दासा ।।१।।

May your clan( कुळ) live as long as your creation exists. 

God’s clan!

Theoretically all living creatures are God’s clan. 

Those who don’t believe in God exclude themselves from this clan. God doesn’t need to include or exclude anyone. Everyone is part of it by default. 

It is individual ego that exercises the free will given to it and decides whether to be included or excluded. 

The design is such that God honors free will. If you don’t believe in serving God you are allowed to have your way. If you believe in serving God, you are welcome to do so. 

On behalf of all servants of God, Namdev prays that they get a long life. May they live as long. His long? आकल्प!  Not 100 years, not a few lifetimes, but as long as creation itself exists.He refers to God’s servants as his own people. 

कल्पनेची बाधा न हो कोणे काळी ।

ही संतमंडळी सुखी असो।।२।।

Furthermore he wants the best for them. ही संतमंडळी सुखी असो. Let these saintly people be happy always. Most people pray for their folks to be happy. So if Namdev prays for happiness for all there is nothing extraordinary about it. What is extraordinary about Namdev and other saints is that they see the root of all happiness and also causes for ruining happiness. Therefore instead of simply wishing for everyone’s happiness, Namdev is supplementing with desire to remove the primary source of suffering. 

कल्पनेची बाधा न हो कोणे काळी

Kalpana is imagination. Idea. Thought. 

May nobody suffer due to thoughts! 

Primary reason most people are unhappy is because of wrong thinking. Right thinking rarely causes problems. 

Realistic people tend to not get disturbed easily. It is the delusions that spell trouble. May no one be ever afflicted by delusions. 

All this is understandable at ordinary levels of thinking. Let’s see at deeper level.

The conclusion of inner search into one’s true identity is that it transcends all thought. 

The simultaneous deduction from this conclusion is that everything other than our true identity falls under the purview of thought. It is all imaginary. The perceived reality of everything is conferred by the true self.

The natural state( pure self) intrinsically is bliss. Everything below or outside of this transcendental state of bliss is inferior and perceived in varying degrees of that bliss depending on purity of the thought or, to put it differently, upon how far removed from reality it is. 

May not imagination inflict pain, is essentially what Namdev is praying for when he says  कल्पनेची बाधा न हो कोणे काळी! This is possible when that individual has found his/ her true transcendental self. Thought or imagination can stop harassing only when you separate yourself from it. 

Most people are identified with their thoughts.

Most people find it difficult to buy into the concepts such as you are beyond your thoughts, your thoughts are not you, how you see yourself is not real, what you see is not real etc.

We have grown up believing we are real, other people are real, the world we see is real. It is our unshakable truth. However, to keep asserting that how we think or believe is true and anything that contradicts it is bogus, implies whatever the saints and ancient spiritual texts like Upanishads, Bramha Sutras etc.. are saying are lies.

 If that denial works for you, it’s fine. As mentioned earlier, we have been granted a free will.

With that same free will if we allow even the faintest benefit of doubt to the saints, we will begin to examine our own beliefs and assumptions. I am not calling for doubting our beliefs but simply examining them, having a good debate about the claims of the scriptures and arriving at independent fresh conclusions rather than the stale, unquestioned ideas we have lived with until this point. 

Only with such enquiry is it possible to realize that our pure self and our thoughts are separable. And that our self has the power to influence our thoughts. 

We are turning tables when thoughts stop influencing us. 

Happiness becomes something we can control. 

In the abhang, Namdev is praying for the saintly community to be blessed with happiness.

ही संतमंडळी सुखी असो! 

The truth is that by elevating themselves to the level of saints these people automatically acquire unparalleled joy. 

Namdev’s words can be interpreted as he hopes the ones at the threshold of self realization do not keep wavering between their eternal blissful self and the imperfections of previous identities. That they permanently settle in their pure self and experience unhindered joy. 

As complex as it all seems, a discerning mind can see that Panduranga is nothing but the blissful pure self. Namdev has disidentified with his mortal self and recognized his pure self and thus become identical with Panduranga. By proposing for us to find our true identity he is implying that each of us realizes our identity with Panduranga. This is essentially the foundation of Advaita philosophy. Every entity in the visible universe has a single shared identity. 

अहंकाराचा वारा न लागो राजसा।

माझ्या विष्णुदासा भाविकांसी।।३।।

All of us possess an ego with our physical identity. Some egos are stronger than others. The ego is the executor of the free will that is built into us. When the ego assumes much arrogance and begins to use the free will indiscriminately it starts to cause trouble for the person and others. A strong ego often fails to see other’s point of view. It often disrespects others and aggrandizes itself. This creates a vicious circle where the individual creates a greater rift between themselves and others. With harmony disturbed, joy is diminished in day to day life. Thus ultimately a strengthened ego proves counterproductive to the quest for happiness and self realization.

With full understanding of this, Namdev prays that no one be afflicted by ego. May the harmful air of arrogance not touch anyone. Especially those who are passionate about life and living. राजसा !Why so?

Passionate people are achievers. With every achievement comes self appropriation. Self appropriation builds ego. Thus sooner or later, achievements with a sense of doership work negatively. The negative impact of achievement interferes with bliss. Those who are servants of God cannot be building their ego and trying to submit to the will of God. The two things contradict each other. Therefore the sincere devotees assign the doership of all their actions to their deity. Not with partial sincerity. Mother Nature uses their body, mind and intellect according to Her Will and the ego simply chooses to not cause any obstruction in the path. This is what surrender looks like. To let the divine plan play out. 

नामा म्हणे तयां असावे कल्याण।

ज्या मुखी निधान पांडुरंग।।४

Namdev concludes with the thought that may there always remain auspiciousness for those for whom Panduranga is the ultimate goal and only wealth. 

As seen in the earlier discussion, a servant of God dedicates his/ her life in thought, word and deed to God. Therefore it is only fair that all auspicious things be granted for such an individual. Having enacted every thought, word and deed for the benefit of all, such a person cannot incur sin and has no interest in accruing personal merit. He/ she becomes the embodiment of auspiciousness.

नामा म्हणे तयां असावे कल्याण।

ज्या मुखी निधान पांडुरंग।।४

Rare is that individual whose thoughts and actions are in the same place as his words, when he utters the name representing God. His old identity is existent only as a vestige, a non-essential entity. He/she is an indivisible part of the creation and creator.

Now circle back to the beginning thought of this abhang. 

आकल्प आयुष्य व्हावे तया कुळा।

माझियां सकलां हरिच्या दासा ।।१।।

One who has surrendered himself (to the creator or to the pure being who is responsible for the manifest universe) and thus become an indivisible part of the entire creation can only be expected to live as long as creation exists. It is absurd to think or believe that he/she can die before the creation dissolves.

A take home message from the deeper understanding of this abhang could be that whoever seeks immortality would have to become an indivisible part of the ultimate reality and for that the old idea of being a separate entity will have to be relinquished. Individual free will would need to be completely and irrevocably merged into the will of the one indivisible reality. At no point does it say that free thinking needs to be merged with one thinking. There is no such thing as one thinking. Free thinking must be protected, honored, and retained at any cost. The difference between free thinking and merging with universal will must be understood or it can be catastrophic. Free thinking individuals with opposing views respect each other if their views are not merged with their egos. In those cases, irrespective of whether they know it or not, their wills are merged with the universal will. It is only an ego that is capable of disrespecting. The pure self is incapable of disrespect.