संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 327 of 4582

Abhanga 327

This abhang names the company-and-cultivation rule:

When company-determines-direction — and you have to recognize this register
When what falls into chitta fills its share — and you accept this chitta-receptivity claim
When upadeśa is only the seed; āvaḍī's-strength is the cultivation — and you receive this distinction

The verse

देव होईजेत देवाचे संगती । पतन पंगती जगाचिया ॥१॥ दोहींकडे दोन्ही वाहातील वाटा । करितील सांटा आपुलाला ॥ध्रु.॥ दाखविले परी नाहीं वर्जिजेतां । आला तो तो चित्ता भाग भरा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे अंगीं आवडीचें बळ । उपदेश मूळबीजमात्र ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Become deva by deva's sangati; patana by world's pangati. Both-sides — both vāṭā flow; each makes its own sāṭā. Shown — but not varjijetā; what fell into chitta — fills its bhāga. Tuka says: the strength of āvaḍī in the body — upadeśa is only mūla-bīja-mātra.

मराठी: देव होईजेत देवाचे संगती — पतन पंगती जगाचिया. दोहींकडे दोन्ही वाहातील वाटा — करितील सांटा आपुलाला. दाखविले परी नाहीं वर्जिजेतां — आला तो तो चित्ता भाग भरा. तुकाराम म्हणतां — अंगीं आवडीचें बळ — उपदेश मूळबीजमात्र.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
देव होईजेत देवाचे संगती "become deva by deva's sangati**"
पतन पंगती जगाचिया "patana by world's pangati (table-setting / company)"
दोहींकडे दोन्ही वाहातील वाटा "both-sides — both vāṭā (paths) flow"
करितील सांटा आपुलाला "each makes its own sāṭā**"
दाखविले परी नाहीं वर्जिजेतां "shown — but not varjijetā (avoided)"
आला तो तो चित्ता भाग भरा "what fell into chitta — fills its bhāga**"
अंगीं आवडीचें बळ "the strength of āvaḍī in the body"
उपदेश मूळबीजमात्र "upadeśa is only mūla-bīja-mātra (root-seed)"

What it means

A company-and-cultivation abhang. Four claims:

  1. देव होईजेत देवाचे संगती — पतन पंगती जगाचियाbecome deva by deva's sangati; patana by world's pangati. The opening rule. Sangati (company) determines becoming. Deva-sangati makes deva; world-pangati (= world's table-fellowship / pursuit) makes patana. (Compare 247 cumbaḷī associates with cumbaḷī; 264 real-kin remember Viṭhobā's feet.)

  2. दोहींकडे दोन्ही वाहातील वाटा — करितील सांटा आपुलालाboth-sides flow on both-paths; each makes own sāṭā. The parallel-paths claim. Both directions have flowing-paths; each path-takers make their own sāṭā (storage / accumulation). The paths are real on both-sides; you choose which direction you flow.

  3. दाखविले परी नाहीं वर्जिजेतां — आला तो तो चित्ता भाग भराshown — but not avoided; what fell into chitta fills its share. The receptivity-claim. Upadeśa is shown (= preached, demonstrated); but the response is not automatic-avoidance of the wrong-path. What falls into chitta fills its bhāgathe chitta absorbs whatever it lets-in, and that fills its share of becoming. The chitta's receptivity determines what gets absorbed.

  4. तुका म्हणे अंगीं आवडीचें बळ — उपदेश मूळबीजमात्रTuka says: the strength of āvaḍī in the body — upadeśa is only mūla-bīja-mātra. The closing-rule. Āvaḍī (preference, taste, inclination) in the body has strength; upadeśa is only mūla-bīja-mātra (only the root-seed). The seed is given by upadeśa; the cultivation by the body's-āvaḍī. (Compare 299 kāraṇa abhyāsa; 325 kamāī shows prakāra.)

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the company-and-cultivation rule:

  1. Sangati determines becoming. Deva-sangati = becoming deva; world-pangati = patana. The company you keep determines what you become. (Practical: examine your daily company-keeping.)

  2. Both paths flow; you choose which side. Dōhīmkaḍē dōnhī vāhātīla vāṭā. The paths are not asymmetric in availability; both are available, flowing, accumulating-each-side. The choice is real; the paths are real.

  3. Chitta-receptivity determines absorption. Āla tō tō chittā bhāga bharā. Upadeśa is shown to all; but only what falls into chitta gets absorbed. Receptivity is variable. (Compare 305 bad-sañcita prevents reception; 308 no-bhāva — argument futile.)

  4. Upadeśa is only the seed; āvaḍī's-strength is the cultivation. Upadeśa mūla-bīja-mātra; angī āvaḍīcē baḷa. The upadeśa-seed is given by-the-teacher; the cultivation is the body's-āvaḍī-strength. Both are required; neither alone suffices.

For today: examine your sangati for direction; recognize that both paths flow; check your chitta's receptivity to good-input; recognize that upadeśa is only the seed — your āvaḍī-cultivation determines the harvest.

This abhang is important methodologically: it places upadeśa as seed and āvaḍī as cultivation. The teacher gives the seed; the student cultivates by their own preference-strength.

मराठी: ही ओवी company-and-cultivation rule नाव सांगते:

  1. Sangati becoming determine करते. Deva-sangati = becoming deva; world-pangati = patana. तुम्ही ठेवलेली company तुम्ही काय बनता determine करते.

  2. दोन्ही paths flow करतात; तुम्ही कोणती side निवडता. दोहींकडे दोन्ही वाहातील वाटा. Paths availability मध्ये asymmetric नाहीत; दोन्ही available, flowing, accumulating-each-side. Choice real; paths real.

  3. Chitta-receptivity absorption determine करते. आला तो तो चित्ता भाग भरा. Upadeśa सर्वांना दाखवलं जातं; पण फक्त जे chitta मध्ये पडतं ते absorbed होतं. Receptivity variable.

  4. Upadeśa फक्त seed; āvaḍī-strength cultivation. उपदेश मूळबीजमात्र; अंगीं आवडीचें बळ. Teacher-कडून upadeśa-seed मिळतं; cultivation body-च्या-āvaḍī-strength ने. दोन्ही आवश्यक; एकट्याने suffice होत नाही.

आज: तुमची sangati direction साठी examine करा; दोन्ही paths flow करतात ओळखा; तुमच्या chitta ची receptivity good-input साठी check करा; upadeśa फक्त seed — तुमची āvaḍī-cultivation harvest determine करते ओळखा.

Methodologically महत्त्वाचं: upadeśa-as-seed आणि āvaḍī-as-cultivation. Teacher seed देतो; student आपल्या preference-strength ने cultivate करतो.

Where this applies

Related verses