Tati Ugda Dnyaneshwara

Making of a Yogi

Part X

(Additional Verses)

Additional Abhangas — A Further Journey

While studying the Tātīche Abhang of Shree Mukta Bai, I came across a few more verses that seem to carry the same spirit and vision. I am not certain whether all of these verses were actually composed by Mukta Bai herself. Rather than making an attribution without sufficient evidence, I would prefer to look at them as part of the wider stream of teachings that has grown around this sacred tradition.

We find something similar with Bhaja Govindam. While the principal verses are attributed to Shree Adi Shankaracharya, several additional verses were composed by his disciples and others who were inspired by his teaching. Their inclusion in the tradition itself speaks of the profound impact and continuing relevance of the original work.

Perhaps the Tātīche Abhang too has grown in a similar manner. Other seekers, devotees and aspirants may have expressed, in their own words, insights arising from the same spiritual vision of Shree Mukta Bai.

For our purpose, therefore, the question of authorship need not diminish the value of these verses. What matters is the Sāra—the essence of the teaching contained in them.

These additional abhangas take us further into a subject that is very close to our present study: What does it take to become a Yogi?

They help us look more deeply into Sudha Bhavana, the purification of the inner being; into the transformation of the mind and heart; and into the discipline, discrimination and devotion that a young aspirant must cultivate on the path.

The making of a Yogi is not merely a matter of adopting an outward way of life. It is an inner transformation—from desire to purity, from restlessness to stillness, from ego to surrender, and ultimately from the sense of individuality to the recognition of one’s Nijaswaroop.

Let us therefore approach these verses with the same spirit with which we have studied the Tātīche Abhang: not merely as poetry to be understood, but as guidance to be contemplated and lived.

Perhaps, through these simple words, the compassionate voice of Mukta Bai continues to speak to every young aspirant:

Purify the Bhava.
Make the mind still.
Walk the path with discrimination and devotion.
And discover the Yogi within.

10. अवघी साधन हातवटी

अवघी साधन हातवटी ।
शंभर साधन हातवटी । मोलें मिळत नाही हाटीं ॥
शुद्ध ज्याचा भाव झाला । दुरी नाही देव त्याला ॥
कोणी कोणास शिकवावे । सार साधुनिया घ्यावे ॥
लडिवाळ मुक्ताबाई । जीव मुदल ठायीचे ठायीं ॥
तुम्ही तरुनी विश्व तारा । ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

Avaghī sādhan hāṭavaṭī ।
Śaṃbhar sādhan hāṭavaṭī । moleṃ miḷat nāhī hāṭīṃ ॥
Śuddha jyācā bhāva jhālā । durī nāhī deva tyālā ॥
Koṇī koṇās śikavāve । sār sādhuniyā ghyāve ॥
Laḍivāḷ Muktābāī । jīva mudal ṭhāyīce ṭhāyī ॥
Tumhī tarunī viśva tārā । tāṭī ughaḍā Jñāneśvarā ॥

10. The Pure Heart

All the arts of seeking, all the paths of prayer,
Are not wares to be bought in the marketplace fair.

When the heart is purified, God is no longer far;
The Lord whom you seek is already where you are.

Who can teach another the Truth that must be known?
Take the essence within, and make it your own.

O tender Muktabai, the soul has never strayed;
It rests in its Source, where it has always stayed.

You who have crossed the ocean, carry the world across—
O Jnaneshwara, open the door!

अवघी साधन हातवटी। / शंभर साधन हातवटी । मोलें मिळत नाही हाटीं ॥

All spiritual practices are ultimately a matter of inner knack or mastery. Hundreds of methods are just techniques—and this mastery cannot be bought in any marketplace.

Sadhan-Hatvati (साधन हातवटी): Hatvati means “skill of the hand,” a knack, or an intuitive technique. Spiritual practices (Sadhana)—whether rituals, austerities, scriptural study, or yoga—are not mechanical labour. They require an inner art, a subtle shift of perspective.
Mole Milt Nahi Hati (मोलें मिळत नाही हाटीं): True spiritual transformation or Sadhan-Hatvati cannot be commercialised or purchased in a bazaar (Haat). It is an internal breakthrough, independent of external wealth or elaborate rituals.

“Avaghī sādhan hāṭavaṭī”

The whole of spiritual practice is an inner art — a knack that has to be lived.

A hundred different spiritual practices may be available, but their true value cannot simply be bought in the marketplace.

शुद्ध ज्याचा भाव झाला । दुरी नाही देव त्याला ॥

For the one whose inner feeling (Bhava) has become pure, God is never far away.

Shuddha Bhava (शुद्ध भाव): Muktabai distils all complex spiritual paths down to one essential core: purity of intent and feeling (Bhava). When ego, malice, and grievance dissolve, the distance between the seeker and the Divine evaporates.
Duri Nahi Dev (दुरी नाही देव): God is not a distant entity sitting in a far-off heaven requiring complex travel; He is immediately present the moment the heart becomes clear.

When one’s inner feeling (bhava) becomes pure, God is no longer distant from that person.

कोणी कोणास शिकवावे । सार साधुनिया घ्यावे ॥

Who is really teaching whom here? Let us simply extract the essential essence.

Sara Sadhuniya Ghyave (सार साधुनिया घ्यावे): In an act of profound spiritual humility, Muktabai acknowledges the irony of a younger sister giving spiritual advice to an incarnation of wisdom like Dnyaneshwar. She implies: “I am not playing the guru to you; let us both look past outer words/circumstances and hold fast to the ultimate Essence (Sara).”

Who is really in a position to teach whom?
One must practise, assimilate and take for oneself the essential truth — the सार (sāra).

लडिवाळ मुक्ताबाई । जीव मुदल ठायीचे ठायीं ॥

Your loving, affectionate Muktabai says: when the individual soul (Jiva) rests in its original home, it realizes its identity with the Source.

Ladiwal (लडिवाळ): She softens her tone, speaking as the loving, spoiled younger sister (Ladiwal) who claims the right to coax her brother.

Jiva Mudal Thayiche Thayi (जीव मुदल ठायीचे ठायीं): Mudal means capital, principal, or original root state. When the individual soul (Jiva) ceases to wander in grief, anger, or duality, it rests naturally in its native place (Thayiche Thayi)—the Heart-space (Hridayakasha) or Brahman

The loving, playful Muktabai says:

The individual soul (jīva) is fundamentally rooted in its original place; its true nature has not gone anywhere.

तुम्ही तरुनी विश्व तारा । ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

You have already crossed the ocean of samsara; now liberate the world. Open the door, O Dnyaneshwar!

Taru-ni Vishva Tara (तुम्ही तरुनी विश्व तारा): This is the climax of her appeal. Muktabai reminds Dnyaneshwar that a saint does not live or suffer for himself. Having already attained liberation (Taruni), his remaining duty on Earth is to act as a bridge for the rest of humanity (Vishva Tara).
Tati Ughda Dnyaneshwara (ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा): She asks him to unbolt not just the physical wooden door of his hut, but to remove the barrier between himself and the suffering world waiting outside for his grace.

Therefore, O Jnaneshwara,
having crossed over yourself, carry the whole world across — open the door!

The heart of the Abhang: शुद्ध ज्याचा भाव झाला

शुद्ध ज्याचा भाव झाला । दुरी नाही देव त्याला ॥

“For one whose bhava has become pure, God is not distant.”

Notice what Muktabai does not say. She does not say:

one who has performed a hundred rituals,
one who has mastered many scriptures,
one who has acquired siddhis,
one who has travelled to many holy places,
one who has accumulated spiritual experiences.

She goes directly to भाव — Bhavana.

Sudha Bhavana is not merely “having good feelings.”

It is the purification of the heart’s inner orientation. When bhavana is purified, the distance between “I” and “God” begins to disappear. The problem was never that God was actually far away. The problem was the impurity in our perception that created the experience of separation.

That is why the statement is so powerful: दुरी नाही देव त्याला.

Not “God comes near him.”

But:

There is no distance between him and God.

The difference is subtle but profound.

“शंभर साधन… मोलें मिळत नाही हाटीं”

शंभर साधन हातवटी । मोलें मिळत नाही हाटीं ॥

We can understand this as a gentle warning against spiritual accumulation.

There can be a hundred methods:

japa,
tapa,
pilgrimage,
puja,
meditation,
scriptural study,
pranayama,
rituals,
austerities.

But the essence of sadhana cannot be purchased in the marketplace. Why?

Because the transformation has to happen within, this connects beautifully with Bhagavan Nityananda’s teaching as we have been studying it. Bhagavan repeatedly brought the seeker back from the external to the internal.

The question is not:

“How many things have I done spiritually?”

but:

“What has happened to my Bhavana?”

Has the mind become purer? Has the heart become quieter? Has attachment diminished? Has ego softened? Has the sense of separateness reduced? Has one’s relationship with the Sadguru become more अनन्यशरण — complete surrender?

That is the real measure of sadhana.

“कोणी कोणास शिकवावे”

This is another remarkable statement:

कोणी कोणास शिकवावे । सार साधुनिया घ्यावे ॥

“Who is to teach whom? One should practise and assimilate the essence.”

Muktabai is not rejecting the Guru or teaching. Rather, she is pointing to something deeper:

Nobody can perform your inner transformation for you.

A Sadguru can show the way. A scripture can reveal the truth. A saint can awaken us.

A teaching can point toward the Self. But ultimately, we have to assimilate the सार.

This is very close to Bhagavan’s way.

Bhagavan’s presence itself was the teaching. His words could be extremely simple, sometimes even apparently ordinary. But the seeker had to receive them inwardly.

The difference between hearing a teaching and living a teaching is precisely the difference between information and transformation.

“जीव मुदल ठायीचे ठायीं”

This is perhaps the most profound line after the shuddha bhava statement:

जीव मुदल ठायीचे ठायीं ॥

A beautiful way of understanding it is: The jiva, in its essential nature, has never really left its original abode.

Where is that original place? The Self.

The jiva appears to have become separated, wandering in samsara, searching for God, searching for peace, searching for liberation. But from the highest standpoint, nothing has actually happened to the Self.

This takes us directly into the territory of Nijaswaroop. The journey is therefore not really:

“I must go somewhere to find God.”

It is:

“I must remove what prevents me from recognising what already is.”

That is why Sudha Bhavana becomes so important. When the Bhavana becomes purified, the coverings become thinner, and the already-present truth becomes evident. And then comes the extraordinary conclusion

तुम्ही तरुनी विश्व तारा । ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

“You have crossed over; now carry the world across. O Jnaneshwara, open the door!”

There is a beautiful progression here.

First:

Purify your Bhava.

Then:

Discover the essential truth.

Then:

Recognise that the Jiva has never truly left its original abode.

And finally:

Open the door for others.

This is not merely liberation for oneself.

The realised one becomes a doorway through which others can also awaken.

And this gives a beautiful dimension to Guru Krupa.

Connection with Bhagavan Nityananda

There is an especially interesting parallel here.

Muktabai says: शुद्ध ज्याचा भाव झाला । दुरी नाही देव त्याला ॥

Bhagavan’s teaching, as we have been contemplating it, repeatedly directs us toward purification of the inner instrument, rather than fascination with extraordinary experiences.

This gives us a very useful formulation:

Sudha Bhavana →

purification of the heart →

disappearance of distance →

recognition of Nijaswaroop.

The Sadguru does not necessarily give us something that we do not possess.

Rather, Sadguru Krupa removes the obstruction to recognising what is already there.

This is why the teachings concern Bhavana, Bhakti, Buddhi and Heart.

The Buddhi discriminates.

The Manas becomes quiet.

The Bhavana becomes pure.

The Bhakti becomes one-pointed.

And the Heart recognises its own source.

One particularly beautiful insight

External sadhana is the preparation.
Sudha Bhavana is the purification.
Bhakti is the movement of the heart toward the Sadguru.
Guru Krupa removes the sense of separation.
And Nijaswaroop is discovered to have been there all along.

That makes “दुरी नाही देव त्याला” almost a definition of the culmination of Sudha Bhavana.

God does not become nearer.

Our illusion of distance disappears.

And perhaps this is exactly why Muktabai begins by saying that the essence of sadhana cannot be bought in the marketplace. The real sadhana is not something added to us from outside. It is an inner transformation of Bhava.

The whole abhang, in one sentence:

When the Bhava becomes pure, the seeker discovers that what he was seeking as God was never truly separate from him; therefore, rather than accumulating countless external practices, he should assimilate the essential truth and become a doorway for others.

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.