Abhanga 699
It is honest and right to admit you do not know how to meditate or worship, and to ask directly to be given the same real experience the great devotees were given, not just instructions.
The verse
कैसें करूं ध्यान कैसा पाहों तुज । वर्म दावीं मज याचकासी ॥१॥ कैसी भक्ति करूं सांग तुझी सेवा । कोण्या भावें देवा आतुडसी ॥ध्रु.॥ कैसी कीर्ती वाणूं कैसा लक्षा आणूं । जाणूं हा कवण कैसा तुज ॥२॥ कैसा गाऊं गीतीं कैसा ध्याऊं चित्ती । कैसी स्थिती मती दावीं मज ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे जैसें दास केलें देवा । तैसें हें अनुभवा आणीं मज ॥४॥
Literal translation
How shall I do dhyāna? — how see You? — varma dāvī — to yācaka (me). How shall I do bhakti? — tell — Your sēvā — by which bhāva are You ātuḍasi? How shall I vāṇa the kīrti? — how bring to lakṣa? — how shall I know — who and how You are? How sing in gīti? — how meditate in citta? — which sthiti-mati — show me? Tuka says: as You made (other) dāsa, deva — make me into the same anubhava.
मराठी: कसं ध्यान करूं — कसं तुज पाहूं? — वर्म दाखव — मज याचकाला. कशी भक्ति करूं — सांग तुझी सेवा — कोणत्या भावें, देवा, आतुडसी?. कशी कीर्ती वाणूं — कसं लक्षा आणूं — कसं तुज जाणूं?. कसं गाऊं गीतीं — कसं ध्याऊं चित्ती — कशी स्थिती-मती दाखवा मज?. Tuka म्हणे: जसा दास केला, देवा — तसं ह्यां अनुभवा आण मज.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कैसें करूं ध्यान | "how — dhyāna — do" |
| कैसा पाहों तुज | "how — see — You" |
| वर्म दावीं मज याचकासी | "varma dāvī — yācaka (me)" |
| कैसी भक्ति करूं | "how — bhakti — do" |
| सांग तुझी सेवा | "tell — Your sēvā" |
| कोण्या भावें देवा आतुडसी | "by which bhāva — ātuḍasi" |
| कैसी कीर्ती वाणूं | "how kīrti praise" |
| कैसा लक्षा आणूं | "how — bring to lakṣa" |
| जाणूं हा कवण कैसा तुज | "how — know — who — how — You" |
| कैसा गाऊं गीतीं | "how sing — gīta" |
| कैसा ध्याऊं चित्ती | "how meditate citta" |
| कैसी स्थिती मती दावीं मज | "which sthiti-mati — show me" |
| जैसें दास केलें देवा | "as — dāsa made — deva" |
| तैसें हें अनुभवा आणीं मज | "such — into anubhava — bring me" |
What it means
A kaisē-karūm-dhyāna-pāhōm-varma-dāvī-make-me-into-anubhava-of-dāsas abhang. Kaisē-karūm-petition register. The structure is repeated kaisē (how) questions, ending in: make me into the anubhava of (other) dāsas.
-
कसं ध्यान — कसं पाहूं — वर्म दाखव — याचकाला. Dhyāna-and-darśana-petition-claim. How shall I dodhyāna? — how see You? — show thevarma(secret, the inner-method) — to me, theyācaka(petitioner).
-
कशी भक्ति — सेवा — कोणत्या भावें आतुडसी. Bhakti-and-bhāva-petition-claim. How shall I dobhakti? — tell, Yoursēvā— by whichbhāvaare Youātuḍasi(caught, attained)?. Tell-me-which-bhāva-catches-You.
-
कशी कीर्ति — लक्षा — कसं तुज जाणूं. Kīrti-and-knowing-claim. How shall I praisekīrti? — bring tolakṣa? — know You?.
-
कसं गीतीं गाऊं — ध्याऊं चित्ती — कशी स्थिति-मती दाखव. Gīta-citta-sthiti-mati-claim. How sing? How meditate? Whichsthiti-mati(state-and-stance / mind-state) show me?.
-
Tuka: जसा दास केला, तसं अनुभवा आण. Make-me-into-the-anubhava-of-dāsas-claim. Tuka says: as You made (other)dāsa(servants — Prahlāda, Dhruva, Vidura, etc.),deva— make me into that sameanubhava(experience). Take-me-into-the-experience-of-the-paradigmatic-dāsas.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram comes as a plain petitioner and asks God to show him the secret: how does one truly meditate, how does one truly see You? He asks what kind of devotion, what kind of feeling, actually reaches and holds God's attention. He asks how to praise, how to keep God in mind, how to sing of Him, how to hold Him in the heart — please show what inner state and understanding that takes. And finally he asks for more than instructions: just as You once gave that living experience to Your great devotees, give the same experience to me too.
मराठी: तुकाराम एका साध्या याचकाप्रमाणे देवाकडे विनवणी करतात की, खरे ध्यान कसे करावे, तुला खरोखर कसे पाहावे हे गुपित मला दाखव. कोणत्या भावाने खरी भक्ती घडते, कोणत्या भावाने तू खरोखर गवसतोस, हे सांग अशी ते विचारणा करतात. कीर्ती कशी गावी, तुला मनात कसे धरावे, गीतात कसे गावे, चित्तात कसे ध्यावे — कोणती मनःस्थिती आणि समज यासाठी लागते, हे मला दाखव अशी ते मागणी करतात. आणि शेवटी ते केवळ उपदेश मागत नाहीत — जसा अनुभव तू आपल्या थोर भक्तांना दिलास, तोच अनुभव मलाही दे, अशी ते साद घालतात.
Where this applies
- Varma-dāvī. Show-secret.
- By-which-bhāva-attained. Bhāva-question.
- Knowing-petition. Multiple-modes.
- Anubhava-of-dāsas. Final-petition.