Tati Ugda Dnyaneshwara
Making of a Yogi
Part XI
(Additional Verses)
- देह त्याग करी जो कोणी
देह त्याग करी जो कोणी । साधु सज्जना छळी वाणी ॥१॥
स्वये सुखें सूख मागे । पाहे दुःख वाहे मागें ॥२॥
सांडूनियां आठा भ्रांती । धरिली आठा कामक्रोधीं ॥३॥
तापसां अवघ्या सुखसारा । ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥
Deha tyāga karī jo koṇī । sādhu sajjanā chaḷī vāṇī ॥1॥
Svaye sukhẽ sūkh māge । pāhe duḥkh vāhe māge ॥2॥
Sāṇḍūniyā āṭhā bhrāntī । dharilī āṭhā kāmakrodhīṃ ॥3॥
Tāpasāṃ avaghā sukhasārā । tāṭī ughaḍā Jñāneśvarā ॥4॥
Beyond Outer Renunciation
What if one casts away this body, forsaking the world?
What if noble words are spoken, while the inner mind is curled?
Seeking pleasure for oneself, one pursues fleeting delight;
Yet suffering follows close behind, unseen in the night.
One illusion may be abandoned, another embraced instead;
Desire and anger may still rule the heart and head.
The essence of all austerity is happiness deep and pure—
O Jnaneshwara, open the door!
- देह त्याग करी जो कोणी । साधु सज्जना छळी वाणी ॥१॥
He who renounces or abandons body-consciousness (or causes self-mortification) is still troubled by the harsh words directed at holy and righteous souls.
- Deha Tyaga (देह त्याग): Literally, Deha Tyaga means giving up the body, but in Vedantic terms, Muktabai refers to Deha-bhana tyaga—relinquishing attachment to the physical body and ego.
- Sadhu Sajjana Chhali Vani (साधु सज्जना छळी वाणी): She highlights a paradox: a seeker might claim to have transcended the physical body through asceticism, yet if the bitter taunts (Chhali Vani) of ignorant people still cause emotional distress or retreat, the identification with the self-image (Ego) is still active.
External renunciation does not necessarily mean inner purification.
- स्वये सुखें सूख मागे। पाहे दुःख वाहे मागें ॥२॥
On one hand, the mind naturally seeks its own bliss; yet on the other, it drags the baggage of past pain and suffering along with it.
- Swaye Sukhe Sukha Mage (स्वये सुखें सूख मागे): The true nature of the Self (Atman) is pure bliss (Satchidananda). Naturally, the soul longs for this inherent peace.
- Pahe Dukha Vahe Mage (पाहे दुःख वाहे मागें): However, when one pays attention to worldly insults, one ends up carrying a heavy burden of past grievances (Dukha). Muktabai coaxes Dnyaneshwar to let go of this backwards-looking sorrow and abide in his natural state of bliss.
In other words, the very pursuit of pleasure can become the cause of suffering.
- सांडूनियां आठा भ्रांती । धरिली आठा कामक्रोधीं ॥३॥
Instead of casting away the eightfold illusions (delusions), one inadvertently clings to the eight internal enemies driven by desire and anger.
- Aatha Bhranti (आठा भ्रांती): Refers to the major illusions or misapprehensions (Maha-moha/Bhranti) in Vedanta that obscure the non-dual Truth—such as identifying the Self with the body, mind, or intellect, and seeing multiplicity instead of oneness.
- Aatha Kama-Krodhi (आठा कामक्रोधी): Refers to the internal obstacles (Shad-ripus and their expansions, traditionally grouped as forms of desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, envy, etc.). Muktabai warns that brooding over insults causes the mind to fall back into the trap of Kama (desire for validation) and Krodha (righteous anger/resentment), obscuring true wisdom.
One may imagine that one has renounced the world, while inwardly still being bound.
- तापसां अवघ्या सुखसारा । ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥
You are the very essence of bliss for all ascetics and seekers! Open the door, O Dnyaneshwar!
- Tapasa Avaghya Sukhasara (तापसां अवघ्या सुखसारा): Muktabai elevates her brother by reminding him of his true nature. He is not an ordinary victim of village gossip; he is Sukhasara—the ultimate essence of spiritual joy for all seekers and practitioners (Tapasvis).
- Tati Ughada Dnyaneshwara (ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा): She delivers her core refrain: an embodiment of universal bliss cannot remain locked away in isolation due to worldly delusions. He must open the door and shine his light upon the world.
The central teaching: What has actually been renounced?
This is where the verse becomes extremely relevant to our study of Sudha Bhavana.
Muktabai begins with:
देह त्याग करी जो कोणी
Someone may renounce the deha. But does renouncing the body, household, possessions or worldly life automatically purify the Bhava?
No.
The body can be in a forest while the mind remains in the marketplace. The body can wear the clothes of a renunciate while the mind remains full of:
- desire,
- anger,
- pride,
- comparison,
- expectation,
- attachment.
Therefore the real question is not: “What have I left?”
but:
“What is still operating within me?”
That is precisely the direction in which Bhagavan’s teaching takes us.
बाह्य त्याग आणि अंतःकरणाची शुद्धी
There is a distinction we should make very clearly: देहत्याग ≠ भावशुद्धी
Renouncing the body or external circumstances is one thing. Purifying the Bhava is something much deeper.
A person may leave everything externally and still carry the entire world inside the mind. Another person may remain fully engaged in family, work and worldly responsibilities and yet develop a remarkably pure Bhava. We have King Janaka, who was a king but a Yogi while he did all his duties as a king.
This is especially important when we connect this verse with Bhagavan’s principle of “Duty First.”
The spiritual life does not necessarily require escape from Prapancha. The real question is whether Prapancha has entered and captured the Antahkarana.
“स्वये सुखें सूख मागे”
This line deserves careful attention: स्वये सुखें सूख मागे । पाहे दुःख वाहे मागें ॥
We spend much of life pursuing happiness. But Muktabai asks us to look at what accompanies that pursuit.
Suppose I want something.
I obtain it.
There is happiness.
But then:
“Will I retain it?”
Fear appears.
Then:
“What if I lose it?”
Attachment appears.
Someone else gets something better.
Comparison appears.
Someone prevents me from getting what I want.
Anger appears.
So the chain becomes:
कामना → प्राप्ती → आसक्ति → भय → क्रोध → दुःख
The very thing we expected to produce lasting happiness has produced another form of bondage.
This is why Sudha Bhavana is so important. The purification is not merely about making ourselves morally “good.”
It is about understanding how the mind creates its own bondage.
“सांडूनियां आठा भ्रांती”
The word भ्रांती is crucial. सांडूनियां आठा भ्रांती । धरिली आठा कामक्रोधीं ॥
One illusion is abandoned, and another is embraced. This is a subtle spiritual warning.
We may say:
“I have given up worldly attachments.”
But have we replaced them with:
“I am a great spiritual person”?
That itself can become another ego.
We may give up wealth but become attached to status. We may give up possessions but become attached to opinions. We may give up ordinary pleasures but become attached to spiritual experiences. We may give up worldly ambition but become attached to the feeling:
“I am more advanced than others.”
The outer form has changed.
The inner Bhava has not.
This is why Muktabai goes directly to: कामक्रोधीं
Desire and anger are not merely two isolated emotions. They are indicators of अशुद्ध भाव.
This gives us a beautiful definition of Sudha Bhavana
From this verse, we can say: Sudha Bhavana is not the absence of worldly activity. It is the purification of the inner motive and orientation behind our activity.
When desire arises, we become aware of it. When anger arises, we become aware of it. When ego arises, we become aware of it. Instead of immediately identifying with it:
“I am angry.”
we begin to see:
“Anger has arisen in the mind.”
That little shift is enormously important.
The Buddhi begins to observe the Manas.
And gradually, Bhavana becomes purified.
Connection with Bhagavan Nityananda
This is where the verse speaks very strongly in the language of Bhagavan. Bhagavan did not encourage seekers merely to collect spiritual experiences or outwardly imitate a saint. His emphasis was repeatedly on the purification of the inner instrument.
That makes this verse almost a warning:
Do not mistake the outer form of spirituality for spiritual transformation.
A person can perform tapas and still be angry. A person can perform puja and still be consumed by desire. A person can speak about God and still be dominated by ego. A person can renounce possessions and still possess enormous “I-ness.”
Therefore, the real test is: Has the Bhava become pure?
This takes us directly back to the previous verse:
शुद्ध ज्याचा भाव झाला । दुरी नाही देव त्याला ॥
The two verses therefore complement each other beautifully.
Verse 6:
Purify the Bhava → God is not distant.
Verse 7:
Do not mistake external renunciation for purification of Bhava.
That is a very important progression.
Why does Muktabai end with “ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा”?
Again she says:
ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥
“Open the door, Jnaneshwara.”
What is this door?
At one level, it is the literal door of the hut in the traditional narrative. But spiritually, we can contemplate it as the door of consciousness.
The door is closed by:
- desire,
- anger,
- ego,
- delusion,
- identification,
- impurity of Bhava.
When these are understood and purified, the door opens. And what is found on the other side? Not something newly acquired.
The Truth that was already there.
This connects beautifully with the previous: जीव मुदल ठायीचे ठायीं
The Jiva is fundamentally where it always was.
The door has to open.
“तापसां अवघ्या सुखसारा”
This last line is also worth dwelling upon:
तापसां अवघ्या सुखसारा
The word तापस comes from tapas — disciplined spiritual effort.
But what is the fruit of tapas? Not merely hardship. Not merely endurance. Not merely austerity.
The ultimate fruit is Sukha-sara — the essence of happiness.
And this is not the temporary happiness produced by obtaining what the mind wants. It is the happiness that comes when the wanting mind itself becomes quiet.
That is a profound distinction.
Ordinary happiness: “I got what I wanted.”
Spiritual happiness: “The wanting has become quiet.”
And beyond even that: “I discover that my essential nature is not dependent upon what I get or do not get.”
That is where this verse touches Nijaswaroop.
A deeper synthesis with our Sudha Bhavana study
These two Muktabai verses give us an exceptionally clear sequence:
शंभर साधन
↓
Many external practices
देह त्याग
↓
Even external renunciation
कामक्रोध
↓
Yet inner impurities remain
शुद्ध भाव
↓
The heart becomes purified
दुरी नाही देव
↓
The sense of separation diminishes
जीव मुदल ठायीचे ठायीं
↓
The Jiva recognises its original nature
ताटी उघडा
↓
The inner door opens
This is very close to the entire movement we have been exploring in Sudha Bhavana → Bhakti → Guru Krupa → Nijaswaroop.
And there is one especially important lesson for us: Sadhana should not become another possession of the ego.
“I have done so much japa.”
“I have read so many scriptures.”
“I have attended so many satsangs.”
“I have had so many experiences.”
These may all have value.
But Muktabai asks us to look deeper:
What has happened to my Bhava?
That is the real audit of spiritual life. And perhaps that is why this little verse is far more radical than it first appears. It is not attacking sannyasa, tapas, or sadhana. It is asking us to distinguish the appearance of renunciation from the transformation of the heart.
That transformation — the movement from अशुद्ध भाव to शुद्ध भाव — is precisely where I would place Sudha Bhavana in our study of Bhagavan’s teachings.
This is another powerful verse attributed to Muktabai, and it takes the Sudha Bhavana teaching one step further. The key movement here is from false renunciation → hidden desire → anger and lust → recognition of the real source of suffering.
