Abhanga 779
A pure, sincere heart makes worship real even through a simple image, and unwavering faith matters more than following every rule, because the divine responds to the sincerity of the devotee's heart.
The verse
धन्य भावशीळ । ज्याचें हृदय निर्मळ ॥१॥ पूजी प्रतिमेचे देव । संत म्हणती तेथें भाव ॥ध्रु.॥ विधिनिषेध नेणती । एक निष्ठा धरुनी चित्तीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तैसें देवा । होणें लागे त्यांच्या भावा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Dhanya — bhāva-śīla — hṛdaya nirmaḷa. Worship — pratimā-deva — santas say — bhāva. Vidhi-niṣēdha — don't-know — one niṣṭhā — citta. Tuka says: thus — deva — hōṇē lāgē — their bhāva.
मराठी: धन्य भाव-शील — ज्यांचं हृदय निर्मळ. पूजी प्रतिमेचे देव — संत म्हणती तेथें भाव. विधि-निषेध नेणती — एक निष्ठा धरुनी चित्तीं. Tuka म्हणे: तैसें देवा — होणें लागे त्यांच्या भावा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| धन्य भावशीळ | "dhanya — bhāva-śīla" |
| ज्याचें हृदय निर्मळ | "whose — hṛdaya nirmaḷa" |
| पूजी प्रतिमेचे देव | "worship — pratimā-deva" |
| संत म्हणती तेथें भाव | "santas say — there — bhāva" |
| विधिनिषेध नेणती | "vidhi-niṣēdha — don't-know" |
| एक निष्ठा धरुनी चित्तीं | "one niṣṭhā — citta" |
| तुका म्हणे तैसें देवा | "Tuka — thus — deva" |
| होणें लागे त्यांच्या भावा | "hōṇē lāgē — their bhāva" |
What it means
A bhāva-śīla-blessed-pratimā-pūjā-no-vidhi-niṣēdha-deva-becomes-as-their-bhāva abhang. Bhāva-śīla-pratimā-pūjā register. Three claims:
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Dhanya-bhāva-śīla — हृदय-निर्मळ — pratimā-pūjā — santa-तेथें-भाव. Blessed-bhāva-śīla-pratimā-bhāva-there-claim. Blessed are thebhāva-śīla(those whose nature is bhāva, who-naturally-have-bhāva); whosehṛdayaisnirmaḷa(clean, pure); they worshippratimā-deva(the deva-as-image, themūrti-form / painted-form); santas say:there is bhāva there (= the bhāva-śīla worshipping-the-pratimā has real bhāva there, regardless-of-philosophical-debate-about-pratimā-being-just-image).Bhāva-śīla-pratimā-pūjā-bhāva-there-as-santas-say.
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Vidhi-niṣēdha-नेणती — एक-निष्ठा-citta-त. No-vidhi-niṣēdha-one-niṣṭhā-claim. They don't knowvidhi-niṣēdha(rules-and-prohibitions); holding oneniṣṭhā(firm-conviction, single-pointed-faith) in thecitta. No-rules-just-one-niṣṭhā.
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Tuka: तैसें देवा — त्यांच्या-भावा-होणें-लागे. Deva-becomes-as-their-bhāva-claim. Tuka says: thus, deva — has-to-become as theirbhāva. Deva-becomes-as-bhakta's-bhāva. (This is the precise claim: the deva must take-on the form-and-mode of the bhakta's bhāva. Pratimā-pūjā with bhāva makes the deva become that form.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram says that people with a naturally pure, faithful heart are blessed. When they worship an image of God, the saints affirm there is real feeling and presence in that worship, whatever critics say about it being just a statue or just a picture. These devotees don't get tangled up in rules about what's permitted and what isn't; they simply hold one unwavering faith in their heart. And the striking claim is this: God has to become whatever that devotee's heart holds him to be, sincerity itself shapes the divine response.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की ज्यांचे मन स्वभावतःच निर्मळ आणि भावपूर्ण आहे ते धन्य होत. असे लोक जेव्हा एखाद्या प्रतिमेची पूजा करतात, तेव्हा तिथे खरा भाव असतोच, असे संत म्हणतात, मग टीकाकार त्या मूर्तीला नुसता दगड किंवा नुसते चित्र म्हणोत. हे भक्त कुठले नियम पाळायचे आणि कुठले नाही यात अडकत नाहीत; ते फक्त एकच अढळ श्रद्धा हृदयात धरतात. आणि यातील महत्त्वाचा मुद्दा असा की देवाला भक्ताच्या भावाप्रमाणेच व्हावे लागते, भक्ताच्या मनातील प्रामाणिक भावच देवाच्या प्रतिसादाला आकार देतो.
Where this applies
- Bhāva-śīla. Blessed.
- Pratimā—bhāva there. Vindication.
- Deva — as theirbhāva. Saguṇa.