Abhanga 72
The bhakta's compassion includes anxiety for those not on the path. This abhang is permission to worry about the unreached without feeling that the worry is condescension. Tukaram does not say "they will be punished"; he says I do not know. The not-knowing is the honest position. The agitation about the not-knowing is the love. If you find yourself worried about a friend or family member who has no practice — Tukaram's verse is the precedent. Worry. Don't pretend to know what their fate is; don't pretend not to care.
The verse
एकादशीव्रत सोमवार न करिती । कोण त्यांची गति होइल नेणों ॥१॥ काय करूं बहु वाटे तळमळ । आंधळीं सकळ बहिर्मुख ॥ध्रु.॥ हरिहरां नाहीं बोटभरी वाती । कोण त्यांची गति होईल नेणों ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं नारायणीं प्रीति । कोण त्यांची गति होइल नेणों ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Those who do not keep ekadashi-fast or Monday-fast — what their fate will be, I do not know. What shall I do? I feel great agitation; all are blind and outward-facing. (They) do not have a finger-thick wick (lamp) for Hari-Hara — what their fate will be, I do not know. Tuka says: those without love for Narayana — what their fate will be, I do not know.
मराठी: एकादशीव्रत-सोमवार न करणारे — त्यांची गती काय होईल — माहीत नाही. काय करू — खूप तळमळ वाटते; सगळे आंधळे, बहिर्मुख. हरि-हरांना बोटभर वातही नाही — गती काय होईल — माहीत नाही. तुकाराम म्हणतात — नारायणावर प्रीती नाही — गती काय होईल — माहीत नाही.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| एकादशीव्रत सोमवार न करिती | "those who don't keep ekadashi-fast or Monday-fast" |
| कोण त्यांची गति होइल नेणों | "what their fate will be — I do not know" (refrain) |
| काय करूं बहु वाटे तळमळ | "what shall I do — I feel much agitation" |
| आंधळीं सकळ बहिर्मुख | "all are blind, outward-facing" |
| बोटभरी वाती | "a finger-thick wick" (i.e., the smallest possible offering) |
What it means
The repeated refrain कोण त्यांची गति होइल नेणों — what their fate will be, I do not know — is the abhang's emotional engine. Tukaram is anxious about the unreached, not triumphant about his own arrival. The तळमळ (agitation) is the bhakta's compassion-anxiety: those without practice are blind-and-outward-facing; without even the smallest wick of devotion; without love for Narayana — and Tukaram does not pretend to know what becomes of them, but the not-knowing itself agitates him. [T]
For someone today
The bhakta's compassion includes anxiety for those not on the path. This abhang is permission to worry about the unreached without feeling that the worry is condescension. Tukaram does not say "they will be punished"; he says I do not know. The not-knowing is the honest position. The agitation about the not-knowing is the love. If you find yourself worried about a friend or family member who has no practice — Tukaram's verse is the precedent. Worry. Don't pretend to know what their fate is; don't pretend not to care.
The harder reading: balance this with 0019 and 0021 (the don't-bring-them-on warnings). Worrying is one thing; dragging is another. The compassion-anxiety is appropriate; the recruitment-pressure is not.
मराठी: भक्ताची करुणा न पोहोचलेल्यांची चिंता समाविष्ट करते. ही ओवी चिंता करायची परवानगी आहे — चिंता म्हणजे condescension अशी भावना न ठेवता. तुकाराम म्हणत नाही "त्यांना शिक्षा होईल"; ते म्हणतात मला माहीत नाही. न-कळणं हीच प्रामाणिक स्थिती. न-कळण्याबद्दल agitation प्रेम आहे. साधना नसलेल्या मित्र-कुटुंबाची चिंता वाटत असेल — तुकारामांची ओवी precedent. चिंता करा. त्यांचं भविष्य माहीत आहे असं ढोंग करू नका; काळजी नाही असंही ढोंग करू नका.
कठीण वाचन — ही ०००१९ आणि ०००२१ (don't-bring-them-on) सोबत संतुलित. चिंता एक गोष्ट; ओढून आणणं वेगळं. करुणा-चिंता योग्य; recruitment-दबाव नाही.
Where this applies
- Worrying about people not on a practice path. Tukaram's precedent — worry is love.
- The refrain what's their fate rising about someone. Don't suppress it. Don't act on it as recruitment.
- Balancing with 0019/0021. Worry yes; drag no.