Abhanga 241

Closeness to the divine comes through simple, sincere love, not cleverness or advanced technique, and God stays near ordinary, plainspoken devotees rather than the calculating wise.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A direct anti-elite-spirituality abhang. Four claims:

1. हरि गोपाळांसवें सकळां — भेटे गळ्या गळा मेळवूनी — Hari with all gopālas — meets neck-with-neck-joined. The full-embrace. Gaḷā-gaḷā melaṇūnī — the neck-with-neck-joined embrace — is the physical-form of meeting. Full physical-intimate embrace, not symbolic-distant.

2. भाविकें त्यांची आवडी मोठी — सांगे गोष्टी जीविंचिया — the bhāvika's love is great — (he) tells things-of-the-jīva. The content of the meeting: gōṣṭī jīvīmciyā — things-of-the-jīva, intimate inner-things. Not cosmic-doctrines — intimate-personal-things.

3. योगियांच्या ध्याना जो नये — भाकरी त्यांच्या मागोनि खाये — (he) who does not come into the yogis' dhyāna — eats their bhakari, asking. The radical claim. The yogis' dhyāna (the formal-meditation of advanced-practitioners) — Krishna does not come into it. The same Krishna eats the bhāvikas' bhakari (everyday-bread) by asking for it. The yogis-don't-get; the bhāvikas-get-asked-from.

4. तुका म्हणे असे शाहाणियां दुरी — बोबडियां दास कामारी — Tuka says: (he) is far from the wise — slave-servant of the lisping-ones. The closing direct-claim. Śāhāṇiyām dūrī — far from the wise (the calculating, the careful, the rationally-precise). Bobaḍiyām dāsa-kāmārī — slave-servant of the lisping-ones (those who cannot speak well, the inarticulate, the unsophisticated). The deity's posture is anti-elite.

[T] [Compare 222 (all-skilled begs for innocence), 220 (lisping-word pleases the master), 233 (wise distant, innocents close).]

For someone today

This abhang makes a direct anti-elite claim about spiritual closeness. Hari embraces his devotees neck to neck, fully and physically — not as a distant symbolic gesture — and what he shares with them is intimate, personal talk, not lofty cosmic doctrine. He doesn't necessarily show up in the formal meditation of accomplished yogis, so don't be intimidated by technique or specialist practice; instead, he asks for the humble everyday bread of ordinary devotees. Tuka says he stays far from the calculating and clever, and close as a servant to the plainspoken and unsophisticated — so don't chase wisdom or cleverness to get near him, be simple and sincere instead.

मराठी: ही ओवी थेट, उच्चभ्रूविरोधी अशी एक गोष्ट सांगते — देवाची जवळीक कशी मिळते. हरी आपल्या भक्तांना गळ्याला गळा लावून, पूर्ण आणि प्रत्यक्ष मिठी मारतो — हे काही दुरून केलेलं प्रतीकात्मक वंदन नाही — आणि तो त्यांच्याशी जे बोलतो ते आतल्या, आपल्या मनातल्या गोष्टी असतात, मोठे तात्त्विक सिद्धांत नव्हेत. तो सिद्ध योग्यांच्या औपचारिक ध्यानात मात्र नेहमी सापडेलच असं नाही, त्यामुळे तंत्र किंवा साधनेच्या प्रगल्भतेने दबून जाऊ नका; उलट तो साध्या भक्तांची रोजची भाकरी मागतो. तुकाराम म्हणतात की देव हुशार, गणिती लोकांपासून दूर राहतो आणि साध्या, बोबड्या बोलणाऱ्या भक्तांचा जणू सेवकच बनतो — म्हणून देवाच्या जवळ जाण्यासाठी शहाणपणाच्या मागे लागू नका, साधे आणि प्रामाणिक राहा.

Where this applies

• Neck-with-neck embrace. Physical-intimate.
• Content is jīva-things, not cosmic-doctrines.
• Deity not in the yogis' dhyāna. Don't be intimidated by technique.
• Far from the wise, slave-servant of the lisping. Don't aspire to wisdom for closeness.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2374 — Rather than scattering devotion among many lesser deities who demand offerings, Tukaram sa
• Abhanga 2377 — This detailed meditation on Vitthal standing on a brick at Pandharpur, out of love for his
• Abhanga 2387 — Accept whatever life brings with reverence, and place the burden on God rather than carryi
• Abhanga 2402 — For today: happily take rebirths — IF among the Paṇḍharī-Vārkarīs ; Hari-dāsas' company is