Abhanga 748
Scriptures cannot grasp God the way sincere devotion can; the form you love becomes the form that meets you, and calling with real feeling brings a real, quick response.
The verse
नेणती वेद श्रुति कोणी । आम्हां भाविकां वांचुनी ॥१॥ रूप आवडे आम्हांशी । तैसी जोडी हृषीकेशी ॥ध्रु.॥ आम्हीं भावें बळिवंत । तुज घालूं हृदयांत ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तुज धाक । देतां पावसील हाक ॥३॥
Literal translation
Vēda-Śruti — don't-know — anyone — except — us — bhāvikas. Rūpa — loved — by us — taisī — jōḍī — Hṛṣīkēśa. We — bhāve — baliyāvanta — hṛdaya — put. Tuka says: dhāka — given — pāvasīla — hāka.
मराठी: Veda-श्रुति कोणी न-जाणती — आम्हां भाविकांविना. रूप आम्हाला आवडतं — तीच Hari जोडी. आम्ही भावें बळिवंत — तुज हृदयांत घालूं. Tuka म्हणे: तुज धाक — हाक दिली की पावसील.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नेणती वेद श्रुति कोणी | "Vēda-Śruti — don't-know — anyone" |
| आम्हां भाविकां वांचुनी | "us — bhāvikas — except" |
| रूप आवडे आम्हांशी | "rūpa — loved — by us" |
| तैसी जोडी हृषीकेशी | "taisī — jōḍī — Hṛṣīkēśa" |
| आम्हीं भावें बळिवंत | "we — bhāve — baliyāvanta" |
| तुज घालूं हृदयांत | "You — put — in hṛdaya" |
| तुज धाक देतां पावसील हाक | "You — dhāka — given — pāvasīla — hāka" |
What it means
A Vedas-Śrutis-don't-know-bhāvikas-do-rūpa-loved-Hari-fits-by-bhāva-put-You-in-heart-call-arrive abhang. Bhāvikas-stronger-than-Vedas register. Three claims:
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Veda-Śruti-न-जाणती — आम्हां-भाविकांविना — रूप-आम्हाला-आवडतं — Hari-तीच-जोडी. Vedas-don't-know-bhāvikas-do-Hari-fits-claim. Vedas and Śrutis — don't know (the deity) — except us, the bhāvikas; therūpawe love —Hṛṣīkēśafits-with-us in that very-rūpa. Bhāvikas-know-Hari-fits-the-rūpa-we-love.
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आम्ही-भावें-बळिवंत — तुज-हृदयांत-घालूं. By-bhāva-baliyāvanta-put-You-in-heart-claim. We arebhāve baliyāvanta (powerful-by-bhāva)—we put You in (our) hṛdaya. Bhāva-makes-us-powerful-and-we-put-You-in-our-heart.
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Tuka: तुज-धाक — हाक-दिली-की पावसील. Call-arrives-claim. Tuka says:(this) gives You dhāka (urgency, pressure, even-fear-of-being-late);when hāka (a call, a shout) is given — You pāvasīla (will arrive, you-arrive).Call-given-You-arrive-with-urgency.
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For someone today
Even the great scriptures cannot fully capture the divine; only the ordinary devotee's heart of loving conviction gets there. Whatever form of God you love most is the very form that meets you, because your feeling makes the connection real, not scholarship. Your devotion has real power, strong enough to place the divine inside your own heart. And when you call out, that connection means you don't wait long for a response.
मराठी: वेद आणि श्रुतीसुद्धा परमेश्वराला पूर्णपणे जाणू शकत नाहीत — फक्त मनापासून भक्ती करणाऱ्या भाविकाच्या श्रद्धेलाच ते जमतं. तुम्हाला जे रूप आवडतं, तेच रूप परमेश्वर तुमच्यासाठी धारण करतो, कारण खरा संबंध पांडित्यातून नाही तर भावनेतून घडतो. तुमच्या भक्तीत खरी ताकद आहे — इतकी की तुम्ही परमेश्वराला तुमच्या हृदयात स्थान देऊ शकता. आणि तुम्ही हाक मारलीत की तो लगेच धावून येतो, वाट पाहायला लावत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel intimidated by scholars or scripture and think you need more knowledge to truly connect with the divine.
- When you wonder if your personal, informal way of praying or picturing God really counts.
- When you feel unseen and want reassurance that heartfelt calling out actually reaches something real.
- When you doubt whether ordinary devotion has any power compared to intellectual mastery.