Abhanga 42
Time runs out for nothing. The people you are most entangled with are the ones who will let go at the end. Calculate the real gain.
The verse
हरीच्या जागरणा । जातां कां रे नये मना ॥१॥ कोठें पाहासील तुटी । आयुष्य वेचे फुकासाटीं ॥२॥ ज्यांची तुज गुंती । ते तों मोकलिती अंतीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बरा । लाभ काय तो विचारा ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Why does the mind not want to come to Hari's vigil? Where will you find your loss noticed? Life is spent for nothing. Those whom you are entangled with — they let go at the end. Tuka says: consider what the real gain is.
मराठी: हरीच्या जागरणाला जायला मनाला का वाटत नाही? कुठे तुम्हाला नुकसान दिसेल? आयुष्य फुकट जातं. ज्यांच्याशी तुम्ही गुंतलात ते शेवटी तुम्हाला सोडून देतात. तुकाराम म्हणतात — खरा लाभ काय आहे ते विचार करा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| हरीच्या जागरणा | "to Hari's vigil" |
| जातां कां रे नये मना | "why does the mind not want to go?" |
| कोठें पाहासील तुटी | "where will you find the loss?" (i.e., it goes unnoticed) |
| आयुष्य वेचे फुकासाटीं | "life is spent for nothing" |
| ज्यांची तुज गुंती | "those you are entangled with" |
| ते तों मोकलिती अंतीं | "they let go at the end" |
| बरा लाभ काय तो विचारा | "consider what the real gain is" |
What it means
A short urgency abhang. The opening question is direct: why does the mind not want to go? The answer Tukaram offers is that the postponement is invisible loss — कोठें पाहासील तुटी — where will you find the loss noticed? The loss is not dramatic; it is the slow leakage of life into nothing. The middle line is the sharpest: the people you have been investing in (ज्यांची तुज गुंती) will let go at the end (मोकलिती अंतीं). At the deathbed, the entanglements release their claim and the bhakta who had no other relationship is left with nothing. The verse is a calculation argument: which investments will still be there at the moment that matters? [T]
For someone today
English: This abhang is the verse for the moment when you keep telling yourself I'll start the practice when I have more time. Tukaram's claim is precise: the postponement is itself the loss, and it goes uncounted. आयुष्य वेचे फुकासाटीं — life is spent for nothing. The cure is not finding more time; it is going to the practice now. The other claim — that the people you are most entangled with will let go at the end — is not a critique of relationships; it is a calculation about what kind of investment endures past the threshold. The bhakti-investment endures; many others don't.
मराठी: ही ओवी अशा क्षणासाठी जेव्हा तुम्ही सतत म्हणता अधिक वेळ मिळेल तेव्हा सुरू करेन. तुकारामांचा दावा अचूक: postponement हाच तोटा, आणि तो मोजला जात नाही. आयुष्य वेचे फुकासाटीं. उपाय अधिक वेळ नाही — आता साधनेला जाणं. दुसरा दावा — तुम्ही ज्यांच्याशी जास्त गुंतलात ते शेवटी सोडून देतात — हे नात्यांची टीका नाही; हे गणित आहे — कोणती गुंतवणूक उंबरठ्यापलीकडे टिकते. भक्ती-गुंतवणूक टिकते; अनेक इतर नाही.
Where this applies
- When you're postponing practice 'until you have time'. Postponement is the loss. Go now.
- When you're investing heavily in relationships you suspect won't endure. Tukaram's calculation is harsh but precise.
- When you have to ask: what is the real gain. बरा लाभ काय तो विचारा.