Abhanga 219

This abhang names a precise employee-stance:

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A take-the-share / set-me-to-work abhang. Four claims:

1. येइल तें घेइन भागा — नव्हे जोगा दुसरिया — I'll take what comes as my share; it is not jōga (re-directable) to another. The no-redirection discipline. The bhakta does not try to redirect his share to another (= does not try to transfer his portion to a third-party). Take what comes — without re-routing.

2. आवडी ते तुम्ही जाणा — बहु गुणांसारिखी — (my) āvaḍī — you know — great according to guṇa. The bhakta does not specify the āvaḍī; the deva knows. And the guṇa-based-greatness — the match-of-quality between bhakta and the share — is the deva's calculation. Stop specifying-your-preference; the deva knows.

3. मज घेती डांगवरी — सवें हरि नसलिया — (they) take me on theḍānga— without Hari's company. The failure-mode: without Hari's company (savē = together-ness, accompaniment), I am taken on the ḍānga — the long-stride / the trap-lock (compare 174's hutuhutu: whoever falls into hand becomes the ḍhāng). The bhakta is captured / locked / forced into long-strides by external forces when Hari is not with him. The with-Hari condition is the protection from the ḍānga.

4. तुका म्हणे राबवा देवा — करीन सेवा सांगितली — Tuka says: deva, set me to work, I'll do the service told. The closing-plea. Rābavā — set-to-work, employ, exercise. Don't leave me unemployed; put me to work. And the work is the service-told — not the service-I-decide. The employee-stance: you assign, I execute.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names a precise employee-stance:

1. Take what comes — don't redirect. Yeīla tē gheīna bhāgā — navhē jōga dusariyā. When your share arrives, take it. Don't try to re-route it to a third-party (whether out of false-modesty, generosity-strategy, or avoidance). Take what comes.

2. Don't specify your preference — the deva knows. Āvaḍī tē tumhī jāṇā. Most bhaktas specify their āvaḍī and then complain about what they got. Tukaram's claim: the deva knows your āvaḍī better than you can specify. Stop specifying; take.

3. Without Hari, you are taken on the ḍānga. Savem Hari nasaliyā. When you are without Hari's company, you are captured into long strides — forced into commitments, locked-into-arrangements, captured-by-circumstances. The with-Hari condition is the protection. Notice when the ḍānga-capture is happening — that's the symptom that Hari is not with you in that activity.

4. Set me to work — I'll do the told-service. Rābavā devā — karīna sevā sāngitalī. The employee-stance is precise. Don't sit unemployed in front of the deity; ask to be set to work. And do what is told, not what you decide. This is not servility; it is clear employment-relationship.

For today: take what comes (no redirection); stop specifying preferences (deva knows); notice the ḍānga-capture as the symptom of Hari-absence; be employed and execute the told-service.

मराठी: ही ओवी एक नेमकी सेवक-भूमिका सांगते.

1. जे येतं ते घ्या — दुसरीकडे वळवू नका. तुमचा वाटा येतो, तेव्हा तो घ्या. खोट्या नम्रतेतून, उदारतेच्या डावपेचातून किंवा टाळाटाळीतून तो तिसऱ्याकडे वळवण्याचा प्रयत्न करू नका. जे येतं ते घ्या.

2. आपली आवड सांगत बसू नका — देवाला ती आधीच माहीत असते. बहुतेक भक्त आपली आवड सांगतात आणि नंतर जे मिळालं त्याबद्दल तक्रार करतात. तुकारामांचं म्हणणं आहे — देवाला तुमची आवड तुमच्यापेक्षा जास्त माहीत असते. आवड सांगणं थांबवा; फक्त घ्या.

3. हरीची सोबत नसेल, तर तुम्ही लांबलचक ओढाताणीत सापडता. हरीची सोबत नसताना तुम्ही अशा परिस्थितीत सापडता जिथे बांधिलकी, अडकलेली गुंतागुंत आणि परिस्थितीचा विळखा तुम्हाला जखडतो. हरीची सोबत असणं हेच त्यापासूनचं रक्षण आहे. ही ओढाताण कधी जाणवते ते लक्षात घ्या — हरी त्या ठिकाणी नाही, हेच त्याचं लक्षण आहे.

4. मला कामाला लावा — सांगितलेली सेवा मी करेन. ही सेवकाची भूमिका अगदी स्पष्ट आहे. देवासमोर रिकामे बसू नका; कामाला लावण्याची विनंती करा. आणि जे सांगितलं तेच करा, तुम्ही स्वतः ठरवलेलं नाही. ही गुलामगिरी नाही; ही स्पष्ट सेवक-नात्याची भूमिका आहे.

आज एवढंच — जे येतं ते घ्या (वळवू नका); आवड सांगणं थांबवा (देवाला माहीत आहे); हरीच्या अनुपस्थितीचं लक्षण म्हणून ती ओढाताण ओळखा; आणि कामाला लागून सांगितलेली सेवा पार पाडा.

Where this applies

• Take what comes — no redirection. Honest receipt.
• Stop specifying preference. Deva knows.
• Ḍānga-capture = Hari-absence symptom. Diagnostic.
• Employee-stance: set-me-to-work. Clear employment-relation.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 4497 — Tukaram describes a life so soaked in devotion that Krishna's presence fills every ordinar