Tukaram

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Tukaram

 

Brahmins, zealously hid this wealth of knowledge from the masses.

Sanskrit the language of our scriptures was known to an elite few.

Rituals that supposedly gained admission into the inner sanctum of God

were unaffordable for the ordinary man. At this this juncture

Vaishnavism had its birth in Bharat. Bhakti yoga or the yoga of

Devotion rose in splendour. From the ranks of the common man then

appeared radiant souls. They flung open these doors for any desirous

ones to follow. Sant Gyanesvar opened the Bhagavad Geeta with his

Gyaneshvari in Marathi. Then followed Namdev and Eknath. With his

melodic abhangs that contain " indestructible truths " Gyanba Tukaram

affixed the golden kalash to the Temple of Bhakti and the Varkari

Sampradaya of Maharashtra. This kalash was placed on behalf of those

that sow and reap the grain, that hammer and chisel away the leather,

that pound the pulses, that lay the bricks for a dwelling, that sweep

the dust away. To these folks the dry language of Advaita where

Negation not Affirmation, where Oneness not Multiplicity where sterile

Acute Reasoning not Living Life in Full was stressed, had no relevance

.. Service at the feet of a personal God was more meaningful than

Knowledge of Self and Soul. To them Tukaram's songs made sense when he

said-

Nako brhmagyaan aathma sthitthi bhaava

Mee bhaktha thu deva aisey karee.

Daavee* roop maja gopikaa ramana.

Teyvu* dey charanaavaree maatthaa.

 

His devotion to the deity at Pandharpur was unique. Vittala was his

real family, therefore he would affectionately call him Ba or Ayi. His

songs have the flavour of simple saguna upasana. For that reason the

farmer, the housewife, the cobbler and the tailor could sing these as

they toiled.

His dependency on the Lord was total, not tempered by circumstances.

He was fully aware of the wave produced by the ocean, the Creator is

connected yet different from the Created. In the song Thu maajhey

maavulee mey thujhey leynkaru…. he implores the Mother not to distance

the baby. The baby needs to know that the Mother is there for him. In

the second stanza he shows desperat need for divine nourishment that

the calf feels. The milkman of life should not cheat him of that. The

young fawn needs guidance in its travels therefore that thread of

guidance should not be broken. The human being as he weaves in and out

of life, experiences tremendous fragility. Tukaram asks for the

substratum of hay so that the egg may hatch. In his explorations it is

possible that man may step into danger. Tukaram begs his Vittala to

protect him with the vigilant eye of the tortoise over its young. Thus

will he be saved from sinking into the bondage of sansaar.

Typical of the Varkari sampradaya where samaj seva (service to the

community) and hari sankirtan (group worship through music) was the

Way, Tukaram made it his call to work for group enlightenment rather

than just for himself. In that sense he was very much a bodhisattva.

I wind up the thread and release the kite to the sky.

I have pawned myself to preserve my selfhood.

My debt is secure with interest.

Where there is seed there will the sprout be.

Preserving its capacity for growth.

Tuka says I serve with certainty that

God is not other than me.

He proved to the world with his own life that one does not need to

abandon the life of a householder to climb to the highest rung of the

spiritual ladder. The caliber of this saint was that of one ever ready

for " jyoti sey jyot milana " . In other words the individual, the jiva

was enlightened enough to merge with the Divine Light, which he indeed

concretized.

Geetaa jeyney upadey shili, tey hey vittavari maavulee.

Vittala amuchey jivana, aagama nigama sthaana.

Tho haa nandaacha baalamukunda, thaanha mhanavee paramananda.

Vishvo* key janithaa kahey yashodaa maathaa.

Paanduranga dhyaanee, panduranga manee.

Jaagrathee* svapnee* paanduranga….

The great lord who gave the Geeta is the familiar,approachable, the

covetable, beautiful Vittala of Tukaram. While many resort to the

Agamas and Nigamas, Tukaram finds Vittala as the sole foundation for

all sources of spiritual knowledge. The son of Nandagopa , a puranic

reference is indeed the Paramatman ,the ultimate of Advaita, for the

saint. The progenitor of the Universe can be brought down, through the

marvels of bhakti, as one who would call Yasoda as Mother. All this is

possible because Panduranga alone features in his thoughts and during

meditation. Panduranga is the thread that connects this saint through

his waking and sleeping states.

Gems from Tukaram

1. Devotees reveal the glory of God just as gold reveals the

brilliance of a gem.

2. Understanding the Vedas is difficult even for scholars. Nama japa,

reciting the names of God, on the other hand is so easy. Nama japa

therefore is more glorious than the Vedas.

3. By making it a habit to chant names- divine we are simply reminding

ourselves of our pure heritage. The Divine Pair common to all creation

are our real parents.

4. If the mind has thoughts of the Husband of Lakshmi, why have such a

mind share space with unnecessary thoughts?

5. Fire is good to ward off the cold, yet we must not embrace it. The

cobra is worshipped yet we better not touch it. If all men are

habitations of God then must we not fall to everyones' feet? That

being the case, learn to love and pray from the distance of respect.

Stay in awe of the Lord.

6. You can never reach the Goal Divine by yourself. For running away

from God like a coward you will certainly run into difficulties.

Getting consumed by one's courage means you will fall from great

heights. Depending solely on your intellect you are bound to remain

dissatisfied. Receive His grace therefore through nama japa, if you

wish to reach the Goal.

7. Make nama japa your home. Make nama japa your treasury. Take nama

japa as a challenge to death and limitations of time. You do not even

need to rinse your mouth to taste the sweetness of the names of the Lord.

Basic Tenets of His Message

1. Make God the Center of your life. Walk the Path of Love. Serve

mankind and thus see God in all.

2. Cast away one's clothes of traditions that one has inherited for

often those can bind you from growing in Love of God.

3. He did not favour elaborate rituals, displays of asceticism and

pre-occupation with austerities. He would say -even dogs come in

saffron colour and bears have matted fur. If living in caves is being

spiritual then rats do who inhabit caves must be doing sadhana.

4. He was opposed to the acquiring of siddhis as these were

obstructions to authentic sadhana.

5. Faith in Providence was crucial to sadhana. He believed that He who

facilitates the milk from the breast for the infant and the one

permits the bursting of foliage from the branches will certainly take

care of me.

6. Most important of all was the Privilege of being a Bhakta and to

exercise in life, nama japa. He would say that even God does not know

the value of his name. Even God is not aware of the power of his name.

How can he be ? The lotus cannot smell its own fragrance, only the bee

can. The cow knows not the sweetness of its milk, only the calf can.

The oyster knows not the value of its pearl, only the jeweler can.

Tukaram was a boatman. His rowing was done with his kirtans. His boat

was devotion as he practiced day in and day out. In his group

sankirtanas that he held at various places he willingly encouraged

passengers to climb into his boat. He would ferry them across the

River of Life.

Stages in the Upasana of Tukaram

 

Selected abhangs have been translated in order to highlight the main

stages in Tukaram's Path of Devotion. There is no abrupt cutting off

from stage to stage instead what we have is a smooth and natural

unfolding like the petals of a flower.

Stage 1

There is a strong indication of an intimate relationship with God. His

choice of ishta devata is Vittala. It is a very private and personal

encounter. A father, a mother, a brother, a sister, a husband, a wife,

a son or a daughter can all maintain this intimacy with the divine

without breaking their living natural bonds. No one needs to know what

goes on between the devotee and the Divine!

I went into the woods with Govinda,

All alone.

This experience was mine, solely mine.

Do not call me a wayward woman.

I did not bond with a bad man.

No other path did I see.

I solicited him boldly therefore.

Reverently I embraced him and lay by his bed.

With familiarity he held me and I endured.

A child did I conceive as a lawful, married wife.

Why do I need to speak of that to you?

Tuka says -She ended her speech thus,

Protecting herself and Govinda.

For long she had desired this.

The Vow of Vows was thus fulfilled.

 

Stage 2

Tukaram experiences only the Infinite Love of God in everything mundane.

He sees His hand in all affairs.

He recognizes that the Lord alone is truly personal to each and yet to

everyone.

The omnipresence, the omniscience and the omnipotence of the Lord is a

daily experience for him.

We have allowed Hari to sit in the midst of our gathering.

Every man who looks at him, sees him really face to face.

He enjoys all their works.

The morsels of food that they offer.

Are picked readily from their palms by him.

As they ask, he answers them.

They take whatever he gives.

This is the Mystery between the giver and the receiver.

A third cannot perceive it.

Tuka says - Oh God you delight in loving all.

Never do you ever drop poison in the hearts of any.

 

Stage 3

Tukaram's behaviour no longer conforms to that of the world. The

upasana has solidified. The intimacy has run deep into his fibre of being.

We have no fondness for life.

Not even for our own life.

Much less that of others

In another song he says

The lessons you taught me I remembered well,

As l long as I was a stranger to Hari.

At last I have lost all sense of " my " body.

Who is there, then to consider your instructions?

 

Stage 4

The jivatvam or individuality is no longer there in reality for him.

All creatures are divine to me.

I have transcended Time and Space.

I shall never be born again.

I am smaller than an atom.

Yet have I expanded beyond Space itself.

What is left of Tuka, is only for

The benefit of others.