Mysticism in Tukaram’s Abhangs

Chetan Sonawane

Abstract
As a poet-saint of the Bhakti-movement, Tukaram posed a challenge to the
contemporary social order by writing his abhangs in colloquial Marathi. Only the
Brahmins were allowed to sing the praises of Vitthal and only Sanskrit was used as the
language of religious scriptures. Tukaram’s abhangs enabled the poor peasants to
worship their Lord. His mysticism is deeply rooted in the acceptance of reality. As
Tukaram seeks a union with Vitthal, he expresses a wide range of emotions in his
abhangs. He acknowledges as well as doubts the existence of God. He becomes
ecstatic about his union with Vitthal, and he also says that he has been tricked into
serving Vitthal. The paper examines how Tukaram’s mystical poems express the
spiritual anguish of a devotee seeking a union with Vitthal.

Mysticism and religion are closely interrelated. The mystic often seeks a direct
experience of the Divine. Mystical temper and religious devotion reinforce each
other in religious mysticism. The unity of the self with God is the goal of religious
mystics. Poetry is an effective medium to express mystical and religious experience.
Religious devotion and mystical contemplation are not opposed to each other. Dr
Johnson, T.S.Eliot and T.E.Hulme have challenged the value of religious poetry.
Dr. Johnson finds religious activity and poetry incompatible.T.S.Eliot observes
that the poets who write religious poetry are not major poets. As major passions
are left out, devotional poetry becomes limited in range.For T.E.Hulme, an image of
the natural man is not projected in devotional poetry. The value of religious verse
has been interpreted differently by different critics. (Dhar1-3). These critics made
these observations in the context of English religious poetry. These comments
cannot be applied to the poetry of poet-saints of Maharashtra. There is a wide
range of emotions in the poems of poet-saints. These poet-saints have been
accorded the status of major poets in Marathi literature. Their poetry exhibits a

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perfect blend of poetic talent and religious faith. These poets actually laid the
foundation of Marathi literature. I propose to analyze two sections,”Being in
Turmoil” and “Absolutely Being”, fromSays Tuka-1: Selected Poetry of Tukaram
translated by DilipChitre.I would analyze how Tukaram’s mystical poems express
the spiritual anguish of a devotee seeking a union with the Absolute. I would also
study how the act of writing religious poetry in colloquial Marathi was an act of
rebellion.
Tukaram was a major poet-saint of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra. The
devotees of this movement have a direct relationship with Vitthal, their deity. They
worship Vitthal without any mediator. The Varkaris1sing the praises of Vitthal and
have a dialogue with the Lord. Apart from Tukaram, Jnandev, Namdeo, Janabai,
ChokhaMela have written poems addressed to Vitthal. The tone of Bhakti poetry
is informal and intimate. A Bhakti poet uses the first and the second person
singular pronouns in his/her poetry. God is given a human form. There is a family
or community bond between a Bhaktand Vitthal. The only reward for the Bhakt is
an act of worship (Chitre 264). Tukaram was born in 1608 and disappeared without
leaving a trace in 1650. He was born a Shudra. Tukaram encroached upon Brahmin
monopoly by writing religious poetry in colloquial Marathi. Brahmins alone had
the right to learn Sanskrit and to read religious scriptures. The thirteenth century
Marathi poet, Jnandev, had already challenged the Brahmin monopoly by using
Marathi for writing religious scriptures. He belonged to a varkaritradition. Tukaram
violated two norms. To write in Marathi was the violation of the first norm. Writing
poetry on religious themes was the violation of the second norm. The second
violation was more serious. Tukaram defied the norms and continued to write
poetry in Vitthal’s praise. He had to face the anger of orthodox Brahmins (xv). He
was deeply critical of the degeneration of Brahminical Hinduism. He has made
scathing comments on bigotry and obscurantism, profiteering and profligacy in
the name of religion in his abhangs2. As a realist, his hatred of superstitions was
absolute. He also comprehended the nature of language. He believed that language
could be used to deceive people. He did not spare god-men and gurus in his
abhangs. For him, the individual could attain spiritual liberation on his own. He did
not need a mediator. Commenting on Tukaram’s mysticism, DilipChitre writes: “His
mysticism was not rooted in a rejection of reality but rather in a spirited response
to it after its total acceptance as a basic fact of life. Tukaram’s hard common sense
is not contradicted by his mysticism: the two reinforce each other (xxvi)”.
The first section, “Being in Turmoil”, depicts Tukaram’sspiritual journey. In
the first abhang, Tukaram says that the presence of God can be felt when God
comes like a meteorite to shatter your home. When a catastrophe wipes out the
devotee, God visits the devotee. God visits the devotee when his language is
stripped naked, and it cannot be clothed in falsehood again. God visits the devotee
when his humanness is shattered, and it cannot be pieced together again: “When
you are/Beyond all hope/When you call/Nothing your own/Be sure/God is visiting
you/ When you are robbed/ Of the whole world/And your voice/Becomes eloquent/

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Be sure/God is visiting you” (109-10). As God consumes the whole of him, Tukaram
rages. Tukaram had to face many obstacles when he began to worship Vitthal. The
upper caste people slandered him. He refers to this pain in the following abhang:
“I’ve lost/My community/All doors are/Slammed/In my face/This is my lot/I accept
it/Says Tuka/God has done/What’s best for me” (111). Tukaram wants to go to
God’s own town to seek relief. He wants to tell God what he has gone through. He
wants to give himself in Vitthal’s charge as Vitthal is the ocean of bliss for him. He
wants to remain close to God; he wants to stay put at Vitthal’s feet: “The beloved
babies of God, Says Tuka, we are” (112). Tukaram brings out a contrast between
the infinite nature of Vittal and the finite world of his worship in his next abhang.
Although Vitthal resides in the fourteen universes, Tukaram fits Vitthal in a frame
to worship Him. Although Vitthal has no form, Tukaram worships his idol. Although
Vitthal cannot be described in words, Tukaram sings songs addressed to Him:
“Says Tuka, O god, become limited/To pay me a little attention” (113). For Tukaram,
Vitthal has no permanent address. Vitthal is found in the strangest of places. He
uses paradox to describe Vitthal: “You are neither awake/Nor asleep/You seem to
be starving/But you have no appetite” (114). Tukaram does not want to know how
Vitthal is; he just wants to describe Him. Tukaram worships as well as quarrels with
Vitthal. He expresses his desire to hit Vitthal. He calls Vitthal a lizard, a toad and a
tiger. These metaphors express different moods of the devotee. He also calls Vitthal
a coward: “When you face/A stronger-willed/Assault/You just/Turn tail/You attack/
Only the weak/Who/Try to run away” (115). Tukaram wants Vitthal to get out of
his way. For him, Vitthal is neither man nor woman. Vitthal ceases to be even a thing
for him. Like Tennyson, he seems to be wavering in his faith. To worship or not to
worship Vitthal is his dilemma. There is no one to raise his sagging morale. He is
neither a philosopher nor a pundit. He is just a destitute. As a shudra, he is not
allowed to sing the praises of Vitthal. The upper castes will pounce on him if he
sings the praises of Vitthal. He describes his predicament: “I am in this tormenting
double-bind:/To sing of you or not to sing./Says Tuka, now that all people are
distanced from me,/Should I continue to be or end my being?” (117). The
contemporary caste-ridden society prohibited the lower castes from singing the
praises of Vitthal. Only the Brahmins had this right. Tukaram challenged the
contemporary social order by singing his abhangs. Tukaram says that Vitthal
does not forgive his devotees when they go wrong. He punishes them. He wants
Vitthal to give the devotees their rights. This awareness of rights was remarkable
in the seventeenth century. Tukaram wants Vitthal to create a just world. Tukaram
does not want any magical powers from Vitthal. He does not expect anything from
the Lord. He does not want his desire to become a barrier between Vitthal and him
(118). For Tukaram, Vitthal is not finite; Vitthal is formless; Vitthal is invisible,
Vitthal does not change, Vitthal has not property; Vitthal is pure being. Tukaram’s
worship sways between praise and criticism: “How eagerly have you grabbed all
the best epithets/For yourself! And how mean you are/When it comes to your
wretched devotee?” (119). Tukaram is quite radical in his worship of Vitthal. He

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does not want to lie at Vittal’s feet; he wants Vittal to lie at his feet: “Such a topsy-
turvy sight/Will surely cause me great delight/What other gift of greater value/
Can one receive from you?/Do not refuse O Vitthal, says Tuka, Set an example”
(120). The relationship between a devotee and God acquires a different meaning in
his abhangs. Tukaram says that he has foundVitthal’s true character. He has been
tricked into serving Vitthal. Vitthal has made Tukaram eloquent because He wants
to be praised by Tukaram. As Tukaram is a grocer by profession, he cannot be
cheated at a bargain: “Says Tuka, how do you expect me to dance in ecstasy/
Before experiencing you?” (121).As Tukaram is not able to see God, he expresses
his frustration. He says that he will have nothing more to do with Vitthal: When
one tries to seek your true identity,/You begin to play hide and seek./Says Tuka,/
You are full of mischief” (123). He does not want to utter Vitthal’s name again. He
does not want to use any more words in Vitthal’s praise. As he sings the praises of
Vitthal, he finds flaws in his own speech. He does not want to visit Vitthal’s temple
any more (124). Tukaram also expresses his anger. If Vitthal wanted to be alone,
Vitthal should not have made false passes at Tukaram. Vitthal gave him a sermon
and made him come out of his house. When Tukaram went to visit Vitthal, Vitthal
shut his door and locked it on Tukaram. Vitthal has turned out all the lights and has
posted a guard at the door. Tukaram is desperate to meet Vitthal(126). He can
endure neither the day nor the night. He goes on singing the praises of Vitthal. His
words are wasted like the wind. He is humiliated by Vitthal’s indifference. He is
angry with Vitthal: “My mind cried to itself; /It chokes; and then it is spent. /Says
Tuka, after all, You are omniscient!/How can I argue my hopeless case?” (127).As
there is no distance between Vitthal and him, he wants Vitthal to deal directly with
him: “Why do you need a third one as witness/When we stand face to face/” (128).
He reaffirms his faith in Vitthal in his next abhang. He understands that one must
become like Vitthal to serve Him. He realizes that he is also beyond desire like
Vitthal: “It is like a thief/Against the Master Thief:/Who will rob whom? /We are
testing our skills” (129). He again blames God for his misfortunes. He does not
want anything from Vitthal now as Vitthal has never helped him. Vitthal just closes
his eyes and seals his lips: “What sort of dumb God are you/Who needs to be told
what ought to be done?/Says Tuka, I have already met my worst/You knew it was
coming, yet what did you do?” (130). Tukaram’s faith in Vitthal is again restored in
his next abhang. He wants Vitthal to forgive him his mischief. Since he spoke with
the intimacy of a child, he does not want Vitthal to use any harsh words for him:
“When a child tries to grasp a flame in its hand,/It is innocent: it’s the mother who
pulls it back/Says Tuka, O lord, you are an expert at leaving/Each one to face the
music of his own” (131). Tukaram compares himself with a warrior on the warpath.
He does not want to look back. He urges Vitthal to give him courage. He thinks that
he has been alienated from Vitthal by worldly life. Vitthal’s name is the only weapon
he has: “I carry the weapon of Your Name/That’s all I am armed with./Says Tuka,
were I to retreat from here/It will be a matter of shame, You know!”.

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 In the next section,”Absolutely Being”, Tukaram describes his union with
Vitthal. Tukaram says that his prayers have been answered, and his longing has
vanished as he has become one with Vitthal (221). He loses his identity after his
union with Vitthal. He loses his origin. He stays alone in his own place. He does
not visit any place: “I do not visit/Any place/I neither come/Nor go/ I talk? To
emptiness” (222). He feels that he does not belong to anybody and nobody belongs
to him. The language of mystical poetry is paradoxical. Paradox remains a major
literary device in Tukaram’sabhangs: “I do not/Have to live/I do not/Have to die/
I am/Undivided; Says Tuka/ I have no name/Or form/I am neither active/Nor
passive” (222). Another example of paradox is seen in the following abhang: “Too
scarce to occupy an atom/Tuka is vast as the sky” (224). Tukaram dissolves God,
the self and the world to be one luminous being. Tukaram wants to use a language
of silence. For him, “being” does not mean “being among people”. He thinks that
he is alone though he is surrounded by people. He severs all connections between
ends and means. He says that he is not what he seems to be (228). Metaphor is
another important device that Tukaram uses. Vitthal’s name becomes a sail for him
to cross “the ocean of apparent life” (230). Hari’s name becomes his sword; it
becomes his horse. He wants to use Hari’s name to destroy “the chariot of worldly
life” (230). Next, Hari’s name becomes bow and arrow. Death runs away from its
battle with Tukaram. Hari’s name enables him to rule the earth, the nether world
and the heaven. Tukaram says that he has become the right hand of Vitthal (230).
Tukaram also throws light on his language. His words are universal. His words
cannot be confined to one country. His words influence all the people. His language
is that of “cosmic being”. Words become weapons. Tukaram uses another metaphor
to say that God speaks through him: “One who carries the quiver/ Just shoots his
arrows; Says Tuka, it is not I who aim:/God hits you” (231). In his next abhang, he
describes his union with Vitthal. The language he uses is highly metaphorical: “I
have built my nest in Narayana./My joy does not cease” (232). In his union with
Vitthal, he compresses his space and does not leave any room for himself: “Says
Tuka, we are contained together. /We do not split for one moment” (232). Life
becomes an ocean for him and his union with Vitthal becomes a shore:”I entered
the ocean of worldly experience/ To emerge dancing at the other shore” (233). His
life has become “a most pleasurable game” after he tied his name to Vitthal’s name.
He has already become one with Vitthal: “Says Tuka, what reaches people is/The
call of my residual speech.” (233). Tukaram says that his house is in an empty
space now; he lives in formless eternity. He has become one with a reality devoid
of illusions. He experiences a wholeness that cannot be broken into pieces. He
loses his ego and attains immutability and purity (234). Life and death cease to
have any meaning for him. No form can enclose his space. His body becomes God.
His relationship with Vitthal is like that of a child and mother. The following metaphor
illustrates that his life would never be the same again: “Sugar does not become/
Sugarcane again./We will never grow. In another womb”(235). Sugarcane may

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symbolize worldly life; sugar may symbolize spiritual life. Pandurang is omnipresent
for Tukaram; he finds Pandurang in everything (235).
Tukaram’s union with Vitthalmakes all time and space auspicious for him. The
light of knowledge destroys the night of ignorance. He cannot distinguish between
pleasure and pain. He begins to welcome misfortune; he feels that he would gain
something from misfortune. He feels that there is a blessing in everything in the
world: “Says Tuka, every living thing/Is now my blessing” (237). There is also a
note of irreverence in some of his abhangs: “For me God is dead./Let him be for
those who need him” (238). In this abhang, Tukaram does not want to talk about
God any more. He does not even want to name him. He says that God and Tuka
have killed each other. He has wasted his whole life in the worship of Vitthal. He
wants to be quiet now (238). Describing the influence of Vitthal on his life, Tuka
says that he is gone beyond mortality: “I am deathless./The home is erased./The
base is wiped out./The hollow body has been emptied.” (239). The emptying of the
hollow body is again paradoxical. Mankind and wilderness become the same for
him. He sees his parents, Vitthal and Rakhumai, everywhere. There is no division
between the forest and the city for him. He does not remember pain or pleasure:
“Tuka dances in absolute wonder” (240). He wants to sing of Vitthal forever; he
wants to raise his slogan forever; he wants to tell the story of Vitthala forever. His
joy knows no bounds: “I wear the jewels of pure joy./I rock to the ecstatic beat of
freedom” (241). He loses all sensory perceptions. He forgets who he is. He does
not even feel that he has a body. His union with Vitthal becomes complete. He says
that good and evil cannot enter him as he has become a form of fire (241). Tukaram
becomes so thirsty that he drinks up his thirst. He becomes so hungry that he eats
his hunger. He loses his self in the pursuit of Vitthal. He does not have any desire.
His mind collapses at Vitthal’s feet. In the next abhang, Tukaram calls Vitthal
greedy as he consumes Bhakti/devotion of his devotees. Whoever worships
Vitthal loses his identity and becomes one with him: “Those who take on Hari’s
hue/Leave behind no residue” (243). Tukaram wants to leave the physical world to
serve Vitthal. He urges Vitthal to take him away from this material world. He wants
to go back to the source. This source is Vitthal. He wants to speak only “Vitthal”,
wants to see only Vitthal. Vitthal becomes his life and soul: “I have untied the knot
where it was fastened the hardest; /I am free to embrace Him as long as I wish:/
Says Tuka, there’s no room for desire and rage in me, My entire body is filled with
Vitthal” (245). Tukaram wants to dance on the beat that comes from Vitthal. He is
just a puppet on a string; Vitthal makes him swing. Vitthal envelops him completely
(246). Tukaram is grateful to Pandurang for giving him a poetic talent. He wants to
serve God with this talent. Tukaram’sabhangs are rich in the use of metaphors:
“The tide of love that swells in my body,/Never ebbs, but sweeps even higher”
(247). In his next abhang, Tukaram and Vitthal become one. Tukaram says that
there is no difference between Vitthal and Tuka: “You are exactly my shape and
size/You stretch me as you will/I am really inside you/You serve yourself out of me/
Inside you I stay very still/Inside me is your strong will” (248). Tukaram thinks that

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Vithhal speaks through his mouth. Vitthal and Tukaram are identical; only their
names have got mixed up. Tukaram was lonely earlier. Vitthal has become his
companion now: “He hides His own body in mine/To give me company” (249).
Tukaram uses a metaphor of theatre in his next abhang. Tukaram says that Vitthal
created this drama and its actors out of his love of theatre. He suspects that the
tiger and the cow are both wooden puppets created by God. The tiger could
symbolize bestiality, and the cow could symbolize kindness. One can draw a parallel
between Tukaram’s metaphor of tiger and cow and Blake’s metaphor of tiger and
lamb. For Tukaram, the only meaning of God’s play is that nothing is divisible:
“one light is many flames” (251). When Tukaram finds the mirror empty, it shows
that he has lost his identity and has become one with Vitthal.
It would be apt to conclude with DilipChitre’s comment on Tukaram’s mysticism:
“Tukaram is interested in a godlike experience of being where there is boundary
between the subjective and the objective, the personal and the impersonal, the
individual and the cosmic. He sees his own consciousness as a cosmic event
rooted in the everyday world but stretching infinitely to the deceptive limits of
awareness” (xxix).

Notes

1 Varkaris make a “vari”, which in Marathi means, pilgrimage to Pandharpur to

attend the Ashadi and the Kartiki festivals of Vitthal.
2 Abhang is the name of a Marathi metre that is composed of four lines; each line has
three to eight syllables. Abhang was the favouritemetre of the Varkari poets.

Works Cited

Dhar, A.N. Mysticism in Literature. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 1985. Print.
Tukaram. Says Tuka-1: Selected Poetry of Tukaram. Trans. DilipChitre. Pune: Sontheimer
Cultural Association, 1991. Print.

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