{"id":8431,"date":"2024-06-14T07:06:10","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T14:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=8431"},"modified":"2024-06-14T07:06:10","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T14:06:10","slug":"tukaram-smaller-than-the-smallest-mote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/14\/tukaram-smaller-than-the-smallest-mote\/","title":{"rendered":"Tukaram – Smaller than the smallest mote"},"content":{"rendered":"

Smaller than the smallest mote
\nby Tukaram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Ivan M. Granger<\/font><\/p>\n

Smaller than the smallest mote,
\nAll embracing as the heavens,
\nI finally see the world as it is \u2014
\nAll appearance but a dream.
\nRealizing the true nature of things,
\nI drop my mask like a snake shedding its skin.
\nI leave the three-fold nature of things behind me,
\nas I pass beyond them.
\nMiraculously, this dull clay has been shaped, formed into a lamp
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and begins to shine!
\nFilled with that radiance, I Tuka
\nLive to light the world.<\/em><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Alejandro<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

I am rebounding from the oral surgery, but it went well. I already notice the difference of no longer carrying the hidden weight of a dental infection in the body. That endless dance of balance with the body and the light that shines through it\u2026<\/p>\n

I like this short abhang by the great Vishnu devotee, Tukaram.<\/p>\n

I finally see the world as it is \u2014
\nAll appearance but a dream.<\/i><\/p>\n

The experience of sudden opening is very much like waking up. We thought we saw clearly within our dream, but then we surprise ourselves by actually opening our eyes.<\/p>\n

It is as if we have been drifting through life in a dream state and just not known it. Nothing around us has changed, but we finally, truly see things as they are. The dream-like barrier of mental filters and projections that has stifled our perception for so long falls away like a heavy blanket. We blink, look around, and are surprised to realize we\u2019ve been in a sort of half-seeing trance all our life\u2026 and now we are awake.<\/p>\n

Realizing the true nature of things,
\nI drop my mask like a snake shedding its skin.<\/i><\/p>\n

Not only do we see the world through a filter upon the awareness, we also raise this same veil across our own faces. We mask ourselves \u2014 from ourselves, from others, most of all, from the Divine. We hide ourselves and become aliens within our own being.<\/p>\n

Real spiritual opening occurs when we become honest and humble with ourselves (\u201csmaller than the smallest mote\u201d), when we drop our games and evasions, when we allow ourselves to be naked. That is when we truly come to know ourselves. The reality is more stunning than we imagined: In that supreme humility, we discover that we are immense, boundaryless beings. We finally see that we are \u201call embracing as the heavens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miraculously, this dull clay has been shaped, formed into a lamp
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and begins to shine!<\/i><\/p>\n

Alive to this new, ageless sense of self, one is bathed in light, filled with light. Light pours through you. Somehow, miraculously, this dense body has been refashioned into a vessel through which that light shines.<\/p>\n

Filled with that radiance, I Tuka
\nLive to light the world.<\/i><\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Tukaram<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nReal Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nLove Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nSays Tuka: Selected Poetry of Tukaram<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nWild Poets of Ecstasy: An Anthology of Ecstatic Verse<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"Tukaram,<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nTukaram<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

India (1608 \u2013 1649) Timeline<\/a>
\nYoga \/ Hindu<\/a> : Vaishnava (Krishna\/Rama)<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Tukaram was born in Maharashtra, in the western region of India, to a lower caste Shudra family. Despite being of a lower caste, the family was wealthy by rural standards.<\/p>\n

When Tukaram was thirteen, his father fell ill and the boy had to take on the responsibility of supporting his family. Soon after, both parents died.<\/p>\n

Hardships continued to follow Tukaram. His first wife died during a famine, and his second wife had no respect for his devotion to God.<\/p>\n

Contrary to the traditional Hindu model of receiving spiritual initiation from a guru, Tukaram was initiated in a dream by Lord Hari (Krishna\/Vishnu) Himself.<\/p>\n

When Tukaram sensed his end was approaching, he stepped into a river, as many other saints have done. It is said that his rug and instruments returned to shore, but his body was never found. Devotees believe he was taken bodily to heaven.<\/p>\n

During Tukaram\u2019s relatively short life, he was constantly singing devotional hymns called abhangs. He composed over 5,000 of these hymns. Many of his songs are autobiographical.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Tukaram<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smaller than the smallest mote by Tukaram English version by Ivan M. Granger Smaller than the smallest mote, All embracing as the heavens, I finally see the world as it is \u2014 All appearance but a dream. Realizing the true nature of things, I drop my mask like a snake shedding its skin. I leave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14,777,836,60,831,2559,813,1599],"class_list":["post-8431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-hindu-poetry","tag-illusion","tag-lamp","tag-light","tag-seeing","tag-tuka","tag-tukaram","tag-vishnu-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8432,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8431\/revisions\/8432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}