Single-pointed mind, even in hatred
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
द्वेषाचिया ध्यानें हरिरूप जाले । भाव हारपले देहादिक॥1॥
देहादिक कर्में अभिमान वाढे । तया कंसा जोडे नारायण ॥2॥
नारायण जोडे एकविध भावें । तुका ह्मणे जीवें जाणें लागे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Through the meditation of hatred, he became Hari's form. All sense of body, deeds, and ego dissolved. By deeds and ego, one only accumulates more. But through single-pointed focus, even in hatred, Kamsa attained Narayana. Says Tuka, Narayana is attained through single-minded devotion alone. One must give one's entire being.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Through the meditation of hatred, he took on Hari's form. The sense of body and the rest dissolved. By bodily deeds and ego, one only piles up more. But to that Kamsa, Narayana was joined. Narayana is joined through a single-pointed feeling. Tuka says: one must come to know it with one's whole being.
What it means
This short abhanga states the principle behind Kamsa's strange fate. Constant fear and hatred of Krishna worked on Kamsa like a fierce meditation, until his ordinary sense of body and ego fell away and he was joined to Narayana. Tukaram contrasts this with the usual path of busy deeds and ego, which only adds to bondage. The point he presses is about the mind's singleness: God is reached through undivided attention, and that union must finally be known with the whole being, not merely thought about.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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