संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 187 of 4582

Abhanga 187

English: Very fine, very fine — with him, the field has fodder.

When you've discovered that with this presence — fodder appears — and you have to recognize the with-him-comes logic

When taking the back-side (following) is the right posture — and you have to honor the follow-not-lead register

When being practiced makes you make-others-practiced by contagion — and you recognize this is the deepest spread-mode

The verse

बहु बरा बहु बरा । यासांगातें मळि चारा ॥१॥ म्हणोनि जीवेंसाठीं । घेतली कान्होबाची पाठी ॥ध्रु.॥ बरवा बरवा दिसे । समागम याचा निमिषें ॥२॥ पुढती पुढती तुका । सोंकला सोंकवितो लोकां ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Very fine, very fine — with him, the field has fodder. Hence for life — I took Kānhobā's back-side (= followed him). Fine, fine looks his company — in (even) a moment. More and more, Tuka — became practiced and is making people practiced.

मराठी: बहु बरा, बहु बरा — यासांगातें मळी-चारा. म्हणूनि जीवासाठी — कान्होबाची पाठी घेतली. बरवा-बरवा दिसतो — त्याचा समागम निमिषभर. पुढती-पुढती तुका — सोंकला, सोंकवितो लोकां.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
बहु बरा बहु बरा	"very fine, very fine"
यासांगातें मळि चारा	"with him — the field has fodder"
म्हणोनि जीवेंसाठीं	"hence, for (one's) life"
घेतली कान्होबाची पाठी	"I took Kānhobā's pāṭhī (back-side / following)"
बरवा बरवा दिसे	"fine, fine he looks"
समागम याचा निमिषें	"his samāgama (company) — in a moment"
पुढती पुढती तुका	"more and more, Tuka"
सोंकला सोंकवितो लोकां	"(became) sokaḷe and is making people sokaḷe"

What it means

A continuation-of-186 long-comrade abhang with a structural twist — the contagion-of-being-practiced. Three claims:

बहु बरा — यासांगातें मळि चारा — very fine — with him, the field has fodder. The with-him-comes logic: Krishna's presence makes the field provide. The bhakta does not need to arrange the supply separately; being-with-Krishna is the supply-condition.
जीवेंसाठीं — घेतली कान्होबाची पाठी — for life — I took Kānhobā's back. Pāṭhī (back-side) means following-position. The bhakta has chosen the follow-position for life — not co-equal, not lead, but behind.
समागम याचा निमिषें — बरवा बरवा — his company in a moment is fine. Niamiṣē — for a moment. Even one moment of his company is fine. The duration-required-for-quality is zero.
The closing claim is the central one: सोंकला सोंकवितो लोकां — (became) practiced and is making people practiced. The sokaḷe (habituated) state is contagious. Tuka becoming practiced-with-Krishna makes him practice-bringer to others. This is the spread-mode of bhakti: not by teaching, not by argument, but by contagion of being-practiced. [T]

For someone today

This abhang names three structural properties of with-the-real-presence:

Fodder appears with him. यासांगातें मळि चारा. When the real-presence is in your life, the supply-conditions arrange themselves. You do not need to separately solve the provision-problem. Don't confuse this with not-working; the work happens, but with-him it produces fodder-on-the-field. Without him, the same work somehow doesn't.
Take the back-side (follow). पाठी घेतली — life-decision to follow. Co-equality and lead-positions both miss the relation. The bhakta is behind. This is not low-status; it is the posture-from-which-the-fodder-comes.
A moment of company is enough. निमिषें बरवा. The duration-test fails. Even one moment of real-company is fine. Stop measuring quantity-of-time-with-the-loved-one; measure quality-of-the-niamiṣa.
Becoming practiced makes you practice-bringer. सोंकला सोंकवितो लोकां. This is the deepest claim: the spread of bhakti is not by teaching, but by contagion of habit. If you have become practiced — sokaḷe — you automatically make others sokaḷe without trying. Conversely: if you are trying-to-make-others-practiced without yourself being sokaḷe, you fail.

For today: stop trying to bring people into the practice; first become sokaḷe yourself; the spread happens by contagion. And when you find the real-presence, take the back-side, follow, and notice the fodder-appearing.

मराठी: ही ओवी real-presence-सह तीन structural properties नाव सांगते:

त्याच्यासह चारा* येतो. यासांगातें मळी-चारा. Real-presence आयुष्यात — supply-conditions स्वतः arrange होतात. Provision-problem separately solve करायला लागत नाही. न-काम-करण्याशी confuse करू नका; काम होतं, पण त्याच्यासह fodder-on-the-field produce होतो. त्याच्याशिवाय तेच काम कसंतरी होत नाही*.
पाठी घ्या (follow). पाठी घेतली — life-decision follow करायचं. Co-equality आणि lead-position दोन्ही relation miss करतात. Bhakta मागे. Low-status नाही; fodder-येणारी posture.
क्षणाची संगत पुरेशी. निमिषें बरवा. Duration-test fail होतो. एक क्षण real-company पुरेसा. प्रिय-व्यक्तीसह वेळ-quantity मोजणं थांबवा; निमिषाची quality मोजा.
सोंकला झालात — सोंकवितो लोकां. सर्वात खोलवरचा दावा: bhakti चा spread teaching ने नाही — सवयीच्या contagion ने. सोंकला झालात — आपोआप इतरांना सोंकले करता. उलट: स्वतः सोंकला नसताना इतरांना सोंकले करण्याचा प्रयत्न — fail.

आज: लोकांना practice मध्ये आणण्याचा प्रयत्न थांबवा; आधी स्वतः सोंकले व्हा; spread contagion ने होतो. आणि real-presence सापडली — पाठी घ्या, follow करा, fodder-येताना notice करा.

Where this applies

With-him-fodder-comes logic. Recognize the supply-condition.
Take the back-side, life-decision. Follow-posture.
A moment of company is enough. निमिषें बरवा.
Spread is by contagion of practiced-state, not teaching. Become sokaḷe first.