Abhanga 264
This abhang names a kin-redefinition register that is important and difficult:
The verse
ते माझे सोयरे सज्जन सांगाती । पाय आठविती विठोबाचे ॥१॥ येरा मानी विधि पाळणापुरतें । देवाचीं तीं भूतें म्हणोनियां ॥ध्रु.॥ सर्वभावें जालों वैष्णवांचा दास । करीन त्यांच्या आस उच्छिष्टाची ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे जैसे मानती हरिदास । तैशी नाहीं आस आणिकांची ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: They are my kin, gentlefolk, comrades — those who remember Viṭhobā's feet. The others — by vidhi, only for pāḷaṇa — they are deva's beings, that's all. Sarva-bhāvē I became the dāsa of the vaiṣṇavas — I will desire their uṣṭa-leftovers. Tuka says: as the Hari-dāsas are valued — there is no such desire for others.
मराठी: ते माझे सोयरे सज्जन सांगाती — पाय आठविती विठोबाचे. येरा मानी विधि पाळणापुरतें — देवाचीं तीं भूतें म्हणोनियां. सर्वभावें जालों वैष्णवांचा दास — करीन त्यांच्या आस उच्छिष्टाची. तुकाराम म्हणतात — जैसे मानती हरिदास — तैशी नाहीं आस आणिकांची.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ते माझे सोयरे सज्जन सांगाती | "they are my sōyarē (kin), sajjana (gentlefolk), sāngātī (comrades)" |
| पाय आठविती विठोबाचे | "who remember the feet of Viṭhobā" |
| येरा मानी विधि पाळणापुरतें | "the yērā (others) — I observe (them) by vidhi (rule) — only for pāḷaṇa (keeping / observance)" |
| देवाचीं तीं भूतें म्हणोनियां | "they are the deva's beings, as I count them" |
| सर्वभावें जालों वैष्णवांचा दास | "sarva-bhāvē (with whole-feeling) — became the dāsa of the vaiṣṇavas" |
| करीन त्यांच्या आस उच्छिष्टाची | "I will desire (āsa) their uṣṭa-leftovers**" |
| जैसे मानती हरिदास | "as the Hari-dāsas are valued" |
| तैशी नाहीं आस आणिकांची | "such desire is not (there) for others" |
What it means
A redefining-kin-by-bhakti abhang. Three claims:
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ते माझे सोयरे सज्जन सांगाती — पाय आठविती विठोबाचे — they are my kin, gentlefolk, comrades — those who remember Viṭhobā's feet. The redefinition. The bhakta's real-kin are not blood-relatives; they are those who remember Viṭhobā's feet. Bhakti-affinity replaces blood-affinity as the kin-criterion.
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येरा मानी विधि पाळणापुरतें — देवाचीं तीं भूतें म्हणोनियां — the others — by vidhi, only for pālaṇa — they are deva's beings, that's all. The rest of humanity (= those not-remembering Viṭhobā's feet) are related to me only by vidhi (rule) — not by sōyarē-bond. I observe vidhi-toward-them only because they are deva's beings (= the deity made them, so I respect that). Beyond vidhi-respect, no kin-bond.
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सर्वभावें जालों वैष्णवांचा दास — करीन त्यांच्या आस उच्छिष्टाची — sarva-bhāvē — became the dāsa of vaiṣṇavas — I will desire their uṣṭa-leftovers. The commitment-to-the-vaiṣṇavas. Sarva-bhāvē — with whole-feeling. Dāsa — servant. And uṣṭa-leftovers — the highest-honor in the bhakti-frame: eating the vaiṣṇavas' leftovers as prasāda (compare 200's gods cannot get the ucchiṣṭa; cowherds have it).
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तुका म्हणे जैसे मानती हरिदास — तैशी नाहीं आस आणिकांची — Tuka says: as the Hari-dāsas are valued — no such desire for others. The exclusive-commitment. Hari-dāsas (= servants-of-Hari, the bhakta-band) are valued; no other desire is comparable. The desire-asymmetry is structural.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang names a kin-redefinition register that is important and difficult:
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Real kin = those who remember the feet (the bhakti-criterion). Pāya āṭhavitī Viṭhobāce. Not blood, not caste, not ethnicity, not nation, not class — bhakti-orientation is the kin-criterion. This is not anti-blood-family; it names what real-kin means in the bhakti-frame.
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Others by vidhi only, deva's beings. Yērā mānī vidhi pāḷaṇāpuratēm — devācīm tīm bhūtē. The non-bhakti-others are still deva's beings and so vidhi-respect is owed. But no sōyarē-bond, no comrade-status, no whole-feeling commitment. Vidhi-respect is the limit. (This is important nuance: Tukaram does not say to disregard or harm the others; only that the kin-bond is asymmetric — full with bhakta-band, vidhi-only with others.)
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Sarva-bhāvē commitment to the vaiṣṇavas. With whole-feeling, dāsa of the vaiṣṇavas; desire their uṣṭa-leftovers. The full-commitment is to the bhakta-band. The uṣṭa-leftover-desire is the honor-marker: you want their leftovers, not just to be near them.
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Exclusive-desire. Tukā mhaṇē — taisī nāhīm āsa āṇikāñcī. The desire-for-Hari-dāsas is not extensible to others. Don't dilute; the exclusivity is structural.
For today: honestly recognize who your real-kin are by bhakti-criterion; vidhi-respect for the others (don't disregard, don't harm); sarva-bhāvē commitment to the bhakta-band; uṣṭa-leftover desire as the honor-marker; don't dilute the desire onto others.
This is not anti-humanitarian; vidhi-respect is owed to all-beings. It is anti-uniform-affinity. The bhakta-band is primary kin; others are deva's beings to be respected by rule. The two are both real, asymmetric, and held together.
मराठी: ही ओवी एक kin-redefinition register नाव सांगते जी महत्त्वाची आणि कठीण आहे:
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Real kin = ज्यांना पाय (bhakti-criterion) आठवतात. पाय आठविती विठोबाचे. Blood, caste, ethnicity, nation, class नाही — bhakti-orientation kin-criterion. Anti-blood-family नाही; bhakti-frame मध्ये real-kin म्हणजे काय नाव सांगते.
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इतर फक्त vidhi-ने, देवाची भूतं. येरा मानी विधि पाळणापुरतें — देवाचीं तीं भूतें. Non-bhakti-others अजूनही देवाची भूतं आहेत — vidhi-respect owed. पण सोयरे-bond नाही, comrade-status नाही, whole-feeling commitment नाही. Vidhi-respect मर्यादा.
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सर्वभावे commitment वैष्णवांना. Whole-feeling, vaiṣṇavas चे dāsa; त्यांचे uṣṭa-leftovers desire करा. Full-commitment — bhakta-band ला. Uṣṭa-leftover-desire honor-marker: तुम्हाला त्यांचे leftovers हवे, फक्त जवळ असणं नाही.
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Exclusive-desire. जैसे मानती हरिदास — तैशी नाहीं आस आणिकांची. Hari-dāsas साठीची desire इतरांवर extensible नाही. Dilute करू नका; exclusivity structural.
आज: honestly तुमचे real-kin bhakti-criterion ने ओळखा; इतरांसाठी vidhi-respect (disregard नाही, हानी नाही); bhakta-band ला सर्वभावे commitment; uṣṭa-leftover desire honor-marker म्हणून; desire इतरांवर dilute करू नका.
Anti-humanitarian नाही; vidhi-respect सर्व-beings ला owed. Anti-uniform-affinity आहे. Bhakta-band primary kin; इतर देवाची-भूतं — rule-by-respect. दोन्ही real, asymmetric, एकत्र held.
Where this applies
- Real kin = bhakti-criterion. Not blood / caste.
- Vidhi-respect for others. Not disregard, not full-bond.
- Sarva-bhāvē commitment to the bhakta-band. Whole-feeling.
- Uṣṭa-leftover desire. Honor-marker.
- Don't dilute the desire. Exclusive.