Abhanga 514

You can speak to God as a spoiled child speaks to a mother, without polished words or certain devotion, and still be met with compassion and freed from your own tangles.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A famous Viṭhā-bāī-as-mother-prema-bhātukēm abhang. The Viṭhā-bāī (the deity-as-feminine, bāī = mother / lady) is a Tukaram-distinctive recoding of Pāṇḍuranga as mother-figure. Four claims:

1. आरुष शब्द बोलों मनीं न धरावें कांहीं — लडिवाळ बाळकें तूं चि आमुचि आई — speak āruṣa words — don't hold in mind — laḍivāḷa-bāḷaka — You alone our āī. The opening-claim: if we speakāruṣa(rough, crude, ill-formed) words — don't hold anything inmana; we arelaḍivāḷa-bāḷaka(pampered, spoiled-children); You alone are ourāī(mother). Pampered-child-speech-license. Mothers-don't-hold-rough-words-against-pampered-children.

2. देई गे विठाबाई प्रेमभातुकें — अवघियां कवतुकें लहानां थोरां सकळां — give, dear Viṭhā-bāī — prema-bhātukēm — to all by kavatuka — lahānā-thōrā all. The prema-bhātukēm-petition: give, dearViṭhā-bāī—prema-bhātukēm(the love-snack, the snack-of-love); to all bykavatuka(delight, fondness); lahānā-thōrā (small-and-big) all.Mother-give-the-snack-of-love-to-all-the-children. Thebhātukēm image: small-snacks-given-to-children-by-mother is the perfect icon of casual-everyday-love.

3. असो नसो भाव आलों तुझिया ठाया — पाहे कृपादृष्टी आतां पंढरीराया — bhāva or not — came to Your ṭhāya — see kṛpā-dṛṣṭi now, Pandharī-rāyā. The bhāva-or-not-claim: whetherbhāva(sentiment, devotion) is present or not — we have come to Yourṭhāya(place); see (pāhē) us withkṛpā-dṛṣṭi(compassionate-glance) now,Pandharī-rāyā. Don't-test-our-bhāva; just-look-with-kṛpā. The bhakta confesses uncertain-bhāva and asks for kṛpā-dṛṣṭi anyway.

4. तुका म्हणे आम्ही तुझीं वेडीं वांकुडीं — नामें भवपाश आतां आपुलिया तोडीं — Tuka says: we are Your veḍī-vānkuḍī — by nāma — break the bhava-pāśa Yourself. The closing-confession-and-delegation: Tuka says: we are Yourveḍī-vānkuḍī(foolish-and-crooked, mad-and-twisted); bynāma—break the bhava-pāśa (samsāra-binding) — āpulīyā (Yourself).We-are-Your-foolish-crooked-children; You-Yourself-break-our-bhava-pāśa-by-Your-nāma.Self-bondage-broken-by-deva's-own-name.

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram speaks to Viṭhābāī, picturing God as a mother, the way a spoiled child speaks freely to its mother without fearing that rough or clumsy words will be held against it. He asks her for a simple snack of love, the everyday affection a mother hands out to all her children alike, young and old. He admits he isn't even sure whether he has real devotion in his heart, but he comes to her presence anyway and asks to be seen with compassionate eyes regardless. Finally he confesses that he and the other devotees are foolish and stumbling, and asks her to use her own name to cut through their worldly entanglements herself, rather than claiming he can free himself through his own effort.

मराठी: तुकाराम विठाबाईंशी बोलतात, देवाला आई म्हणून पाहतात — जसं लाडावलेलं मूल आईशी मोकळेपणाने बोलतं, खडबडीत किंवा चुकीचे शब्द बोलले तरी आईच्या मनात राहणार नाहीत याची खात्री बाळगून. ते तिच्याकडे प्रेमाचा एक साधा घास मागतात — जसा आई सगळ्या मुलांना, लहान असो वा मोठं, सहज प्रेमाने देते. आपल्या मनात खरी भक्ती आहे की नाही याचीही त्यांना खात्री नाही, तरीही ते तिच्या समोर येतात आणि तरीही कृपादृष्टीने पाहावं अशी विनंती करतात. शेवटी ते कबूल करतात की ते आणि इतर भक्त वेडे आणि अडखळणारे आहेत, आणि स्वतःच्या प्रयत्नाने मुक्त होण्याचा दावा न करता, तिने स्वतःच्या नावाने त्यांचे संसाराचे बंध तोडावेत अशी विनंती करतात.

Where this applies

• Laḍivāḷa-bāḷaka—Viṭhā-bāī. Pampered-child-speech.
• Prema-bhātukēm for all. Universal-mother-snack.
• Bhāvauncertain —kṛpā-dṛṣṭi. Don't-self-disqualify.
• Veḍī-vānkuḍī—nāmabreaksbhava-pāśa. Deva-Himself.

Related verses

• 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
• Abhanga 2401 — When liberation already feels secure, the only thing left to want is the sweetness of lovi