71 BEnglish Post on Abhanga :I feel like that I should recite only the name of Vithathalaa| and I should see only Lord Viththalaa || 1||
 Blog address : http: // tukaramasteachings.blogsopt.in
 Contact mail address is rgphadke@gmail.com For Marathi Readers a separate post 71 A has been added..

बोलावा विठ्ठल पहावा विठ्ठल । करावा विठ्ठल जीवभाव ॥ १॥

येणें सोस मन झालें हांवभरी । परत माघारी येते नाही ॥ २॥

बंधना पासूनी उकलली गांठी । देत आलो मिठी सावकाश ॥ ३॥

तुका म्हणें देह भरला विठ्ठलें । कामक्रोध केलें घर रितें ॥ ४॥

Verbatim Meaning :-

I feel like that I should speak only the name of Vithathalaa| and

I should see only Lord Viththalaa || 1||

my mind is filled with this kind of intense desire. . It is not ready to do any other activity. || 2||

Because I ma hugging my VitHThala , I have reached this state of mind, ( and as a result) all my bindings are now removed( I am free) || 3||

Tuka says that my full mind and body are filled by only Viththala , and therefore the vices namaly Anger, and Desires have left this body || 4||

Background interpretation for deriving the mnmeaning of this abhanga :-

There are two ways for the interpretation of the meaning of this abhanga

1. The Abhanga describes the state of mind of Sant Tukarama after he had realization of Lord Panduranga .We can only aspire to reach this state some day. Hence I am not writing about this aspect.
2. However this abhanaga can be treated as the preaching and guidance from Sant Tukarama Maharaj and can be interpreted as describing the method for performing / doing the action of Namasmarana ( Remembering the Name of Lord) during the time when one is awake, so that one will reach the aspired state of Liberation.

At this stage I recollect the below given verses written by a famous saint by name Sant Namadeva. ( His verses are very well known and are found to be present even in the Guru-Granthsahib – The holy words of Sikh gurus treated as the divine presence )

1^st Verse :-

Under your control speak the Vedas| The Sun shines in the sky due to your strength || 1||

I have surrendered to you, knowing that you are the sole owner of the Universe || 2 ||

The clouds shower the rain, stay at the peaks of mountains, the wind blows due to your grace || 3||

Nama says that nothing in this world moves without your express will || 4||

2^nd Verse :-

Achchutaa, Anantaa, Shridharaa, maadhavaa | O' Divine Panduranga || 1|| Krishnaa, Vishnu, Govindaa, Vamanaa | O Narayana you have assumed various Names ( for yourself) || 2||.

Mukundaa, Muraari, pradyumnaa, Keshavaa | (are ) your other names O Sadashiva || 3||

You are Formless and are appearing with form | I Namadevaa , meditate on you continuously || 4||

The meaning of both theses verses is obvious and simple to understand; hence there is no need to say anything more about these verses.However for the sake of completion of the discussion , it can be said that these Verses describe to us the true Nature of The Divine Lord. 

The Divine is actually formless and unrecognizable by our five sense organs. But because of the love for his devotees He has assumed various forms; so that the devotees can address Him.

( The different names by which He is addressed by different Saints are Shri Rama-Prabhu by Samartha Ramadasa, Panduranga by Sains Jyaneshvara, Namnadev and Tukararam, Srikrishna by Meerabai) Namadeva Maharaj has addressed Him by many names in the above verses.

Namadev Maharaj says at the end of above verses that he continuously meditates on Him

Meaning of the Abhanga:-

Tukarama Maharaj has described to us; the method for continuously Meditating on the Lord in the abhanga .

In the first stanza Tukaram Maharaj says that when one speaks, one should say the name of VithThalaa ( God) , and when one sees the world;one should see that Lord only is present in everything one sees or experiences.

Following points will enable us to understand the above advise.

Consider a Pot-maker's case. In order to make a Pot,  he needs the Mud, and water as the material.  He has to have ability and strength,as well as the knowledge of the process of making a pot, and lastly he has to perform the action and put his efforts. In short unless Three aspects namely ( Doer, Material, and Imagination ) are present a Pot can not be made.

Considering the Creation of the Universe, there has to be material available for making the stars , There has to be existance of some one who knows what to make and how to make it, and  some energy has to be available to convert the the imagination to  a Reality.

The Nasadiya Sukta states that at the beginning there was nothing but the Divine( We say Parabrahmana) . Then Dinvine had the First Desire to multiply ( Adisankalpam OUM) . From this; initially  the five elements and the three Qualities( Satva, Rajas and Tamas) were generated . Then the Divine added His own portion and thus was created our Universe.

Therefore one can say that the Divine Himself became the Material for the Universe, and then were created various entities ( Humans, Gods, Animals , and all other forms) .

This thought enables us to understand that He is present in everything whether it is live or otherwise.

Therefore “ Deal with every living being with love ( Since The Divine is present in them) , talk with everybody with Love , understand that He is present in every thing. “ is the message here.

This kind of feeling of love for everything ; will arise in our mind only when we have a passion for meeting the Divine. Once one is fully convinced that only the Divine can free one from all the pains experienced in this world; then only a possibility exists for developing deep love for Him .

Tukarama Maharaj says that He has developed such love for Him and he has intense desire in his mind for meeting his beloved Panduranga.

When the mind is solely occupied with the thoughts about God; then such a devotee experiences the presence of Him , in every being. The result of such a state of mind is the purification of mind itself. All the thoughts of Anger, Desires etc vanish. 

One now lives completely as per the wish of the Divine. The desires such as “ This should happen , This must not happen, etc. are no longer present in the mind. There are no wants thus there is no dissatisfaction. One derives intense satisfaction. also we will worry no more about anything since there is a firm conviction that every thing is happening for one's welfare .Shri. Bhagavadgeeta  describes  this  state   in one single word

 “ Sthitpradyana “

Of-course; it is not possible to reach this stage in a days practice. One 255555555555555555555has to put efforts continuously and tirelessly  Simplest method is to remember His name continuously , and have faith that everything that happens is as per the desire of Divine , and hence for the welfare only.

We can examine ourselves whether we are able to keep our mind on these two aspect. This self examination is to be done as often as possible and if we observe that the efforts  are lacking then one has to put further efforts and also  pray to the Divine to give the strength of sustaining our efforts.

Teachings of the Abhanga :-

We should try our level best to put these efforts into practice daily. This I think is the teaching of this abhanga. 

Print this Article