संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 274 of 4582

Abhanga 274

This abhang names three patience-related rules:

When you've been crying for honor / recognition — and the abhang says who asks by demand?

When what the deva gives is sweet — what is demanded is bitter — and you accept this register

When patience makes the diamond — and you receive this slow-formation image

The verse

रडोनियां मान । कोण मागतां भूषण ॥१॥ देवें दिलें तरी गोड । राहे रुचि आणि कोड ॥ध्रु.॥ लावितां लावणी । विके भीके केज्या दानी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे धीरा । विण कैसा होतो हिरा ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Crying for honor — who, by demanding, gets the bhūṣaṇa? What the deva gives — that is sweet; ruci and koḍa remain. Planting the lavaṇī — (it) sells by begging, by-charity. Tuka says: without dhīra — how does the hira form?

मराठी: रडोनियां मान — कोण मागतां भूषण? देवें दिलें तरी गोड — राहे रुचि आणि कोड. लावितां लावणी — विके भीके केज्या दानी. तुकाराम म्हणतात — धीरा — विण कैसा होतो हिरा?

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
रडोनियां मान	"crying for māna (honor)"
कोण मागतां भूषण	"who, by demanding, (gets) bhūṣaṇa (ornament / honor-mark)?"
देवें दिलें तरी गोड	"what the deva gives — that is sweet**"
राहे रुचि आणि कोड	"ruci (taste) and koḍa (charm / riddle) remain"
लावितां लावणी	"planting the lavaṇī (sapling cutting)"
विके भीके केज्या दानी	"sells by begging — by-charity / ke-jyā-dāni**"
धीरा विण कैसा होतो हिरा	"without dhīra (patience) — how does the hira (diamond) form?"

What it means

A short patience-cultivation abhang. Three claims:

रडोनियां मान — कोण मागतां भूषण — crying for honor — who gets bhūṣaṇa by demanding? The demand-mode does not produce honor. Crying-and-demanding for the bhūṣaṇa (the honor-ornament) gets no one nothing. Honor is not granted on demand.
देवें दिलें तरी गोड — राहे रुचि आणि कोड — what the deva gives — that is sweet; ruci and koḍa remain. The deva-given is sweet; the deva-given retains ruci (taste / pleasure) and koḍa (charm / mystery / riddle). The demanded is bitter and resolved-too-quickly; the deva-given is sweet and retains-charm.
लावितां लावणी — विके भीके केज्या दानी — planting the lavaṇī — sells by begging, by-charity. Opaque-line. Possible reading: if you plant the lavaṇī (sapling cutting / produce), the harvest sells by begging, by-charity-eaten — i.e., the harvest is given-as-charity, not sold-for-price. The lavaṇī produces what is given freely, not demanded for price.
तुका म्हणे धीरा विण कैसा होतो हिरा — Tuka says: without dhīra — how does the hira form? The closing-image. Hira (diamond) and dhīra (patience) rhyme; the image-claim: without patience, no diamond. The diamond-formation requires slow-pressure-over-time. Demand cannot speed it. (Compare 173 force does not catch Hari; sama-bhāva catches; same principle.)

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names three patience-related rules:

Crying-for-honor doesn't produce honor. Raḍonīyām māna — kōṇa māgatā bhūṣaṇa? Honor is not granted on demand. The demand-mode actively prevents the granting. (Compare 219's don't specify your preference; deva knows.)
The deva-given is sweet; the demanded is bitter. Devēm dilēm tarī gōḍa. What comes by giving (= deva-given, freely-given) has ruci-and-koḍa (taste-and-charm). What comes by demand lacks both. The form-of-arrival determines the quality-of-the-thing.
Planted-cuttings sell by charity, not by price. Lāvitām lāvaṇī — vikē bhīkē kē-jyā-dāni. If you plant the lavaṇī (= do the slow-work of cultivation), the harvest is given-as-charity. The cultivation-mode and demand-mode are different economies. The cultivation-economy is the gift-economy; the demand-economy is the price-economy. They do not mix.
Without dhīra, no hira. Dhīrā vīṇa kaisā hōtō hirā? The closing-rule: patience over time produces the diamond. There is no diamond without patience. Demand-impatience cannot produce it. Slow-pressure-over-time is the forming-mechanism.

For today: don't cry-for-honor; recognize the demand-mode prevents the granting; let the deva-given come (it is sweet, with ruci-and-koḍa); cultivate (plant the lavaṇī, do the slow-work) and the harvest will come as gift; patience over time forms the diamond.

This abhang is important psychologically: it names the demand-mode-that-prevents-the-thing, and the patience-mode-that-allows-the-thing. Most psychological / spiritual / relational difficulties involve demand-mode prevention; the cure is the patience-mode that allows.

मराठी: ही ओवी तीन patience-related rules नाव सांगते:

Honor साठी रडणं honor produce करत नाही. रडोनियां मान — कोण मागतां भूषण? Honor demand वर grant होत नाही. Demand-mode actually granting प्रतिबंधित करतो.
देव-दिलेलं गोड; demand केलेलं कडू. देवें दिलें तरी गोड. Giving-ने येणारं (= देव-दिलेलं, freely-given) ला ruci-and-koḍa (taste-and-charm). Demand-ने येणारं दोन्ही नसतं. Form-of-arrival quality-of-the-thing determine करतो.
Planted-cuttings charity-ने विकतात, price-ने नाही. लावितां लावणी — विके भीके केज्या दानी. Lavaṇī plant केली (= cultivation चं slow-work केलं) — harvest charity-म्हणून दिला जातो. Cultivation-mode आणि demand-mode वेगळ्या economies. Cultivation-economy gift-economy; demand-economy price-economy. Mix होत नाहीत.
धीर-शिवाय हिरा नाही. धीरा विण कैसा होतो हिरा? Closing-rule: time-over patience diamond produce करते. Patience-शिवाय diamond नाही. Demand-impatience produce करू शकत नाही. Slow-pressure-over-time forming-mechanism.

आज: honor साठी रडू नका; demand-mode granting प्रतिबंधित करतो ओळखा; देव-दिलेलं येऊ द्या (ते गोड, ruci-and-koḍa सह); cultivate करा (lavaṇī plant करा, slow-work करा) — harvest gift-म्हणून येईल; time-over patience diamond form करते.

Psychologically महत्त्वाचं: demand-mode-that-prevents-the-thing आणि patience-mode-that-allows-the-thing नाव सांगते. बहुतेक psychological / spiritual / relational difficulties मध्ये demand-mode prevention आहे; cure patience-mode that allows.

Where this applies

Crying-for-honor doesn't produce honor. Demand-mode prevents.
Deva-given is sweet; demanded is bitter. Form determines quality.
Cultivation-economy ≠ demand-economy. Don't mix.
Without dhīra, no hira. Patience forms the diamond.