Abhanga 1215
God is more eager to help you than you are to be helped, so let go of your backup hopes and trust him fully.
The verse
बहु उतावीळ भक्तीचिया काजा । होसी केशीराजा मायबापा ॥१॥ तुझ्या पायीं मज जालासे विश्वास । म्हणोनियां आस मोकलिली ॥ध्रु.॥ ॠषि मुनि सद्धि साधक अपार । कळला विचार त्यांसी तुझा ॥२॥ नाहीं नास तें सुख दिलें तयांस । जाले जे उदास सर्वभावें ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे सुख न माये मानसीं । धरिले जीवेंसी पाय तुझे ॥४॥
Literal translation
You are very eager (utāvīḷa) for the bhakta's task — O Kēśirāja, māyabāpa. Viśvāsa has come at your feet to me — therefore I have released (all other) āsa. Countless ṛṣi-muni-siddha-sādhakas — to them your vicāra has come to be known. To those who became udāsa with all-bhava, you gave imperishable sukha. Tuka says: the sukha does not fit in the mānasa — I have grasped your feet with the very jīva.
मराठी: भक्ताच्या कामासाठीं तुम्ही फार उतावीळ — हे केशीराज, मायबाप. तुझ्या पायीं मला विश्वास आला — म्हणून आस (इतर आधार) मोकलले. ऋषि-मुनि-सिद्ध-साधक — असंख्य — त्यांना तुझा विचार समजला. ज्यांनी सर्वभावें उदासीनता धरली — त्यांना नाश-नसलेलें सुख दिलें. Tukā म्हणे — सुख मनांत मावत नाहीं — तुझे पाय जीवानें-च धरले.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बहु उतावीळ भक्तीचिया काजा | "very eager (utāvīḷa) for the bhakta's task" |
| होसी केशीराजा मायबापा | "you are, O Kēśirāja, māyabāpa" |
| तुझ्या पायीं मज जालासे विश्वास | "viśvāsa (confidence) has come (at) your feet to me" |
| म्हणोनियां आस मोकलिली | "therefore I have released (mōkalilī) hope (= other refuges)" |
| ॠषि मुनि सद्धि साधक अपार | "ṛṣi-muni-siddha-sādhakas, countless" |
| कळला विचार त्यांसी तुझा | "to them, your vicāra has come to be known" |
| नाहीं नास तें सुख दिलें तयांस | "imperishable (no-nāśa) sukha was given to them" |
| जाले जे उदास सर्वभावें | "those who became udāsa (detached) sarva-bhāvē (with all bhāva)" |
| सुख न माये मानसीं | "the sukha doesn't fit in the mānasa" |
| धरिले जीवेंसी पाय तुझे | "I have grasped your feet with the very jīva (jīvē-sī)" |
What it means
The bhakta-eager pairing. The opening assertion bahu utāvīḷa bhakti-cyā kājā — Hari is more eager than the bhakta for the bhakta's task. The Kēśirāja (Kṛṣṇa, who slew Keśin) is also māyabāpa — mother-and-father — and like a parent he is impatient to do the child's work.
The exchange follows: Tuka has viśvāsa at Hari's feet, so he releases all other āsa (alternative hopes/refuges). The ṛṣi-muni-siddha-sādhaka tradition is invoked as witness: countless of them have known this same vicāra. To the udāsa-sarva-bhāvē (those who became detached with full heart), Hari gave nāśa-nahīm tēm sukha (imperishable sukha).
The closing — sukha na māyē mānasīm — the joy doesn't fit in the mind, dharilē jīvē-sī pāya tujhē — I held your feet not just with hands but with the very jīva. Jīvē-sī is more intimate than jīvanē — with the jīva, the holding-and-being-held are inseparable.
[T]
For someone today
For today: Hari is more eager for your work than you are; release every other hope, hold his feet with the very jīva, and the sukha won't fit in your mind.
Where this applies
- When you are waiting anxiously for help and worry God is slow to respond, though he may actually be more eager than you.
- When you are holding onto several backup plans instead of placing full trust in one thing.
- When you feel alone in an intense spiritual longing and wonder if anyone else has ever felt this way.
- When you let go of everything and feel a joy too large to fit into words or thought.