Abhanga 1662
Someone whose mind is truly fixed on God stops longing for liberation, uses their strength to help others, treats everyone with equal compassion, and turns wherever they live into heaven.
The verse
मुक्तिपांग नाहीं विष्णुचिया दासां । संसार तो कैसा न देखती ॥१॥ बैसला गोविंद जडोनियां चित्ती । आदि ते चि अंतीं अवसान ॥ध्रु.॥ भोग नारायणा देऊनि निराळीं । ओविया मंगळीं तो चि गाती ॥२॥ बळ बुद्धी त्यांची उपकारासाटीं । अमृत तें पोटी सांटवलें ॥३॥ दयावेंत तरी देवा च सारिखीं । आपुलीं पारखीं नोळखती ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे त्यांचा जीव तो चि देव । वैकुंठ तो ठाव वसती तो ॥५॥
Literal translation
No mukti-longing for Viṣṇu's-dāsas — they don't see the samsāra at all. Govinda has settled firmly in chitta — beginning, middle, end. Giving bhōga to Nārāyaṇa, standing-apart — they sing only mangala-ovis. Their bala-buddhi for upakāra — amṛta stored in belly. Compassionate like Deva himself — don't distinguish own from outsiders. Tuka says: their jīva is Deva itself — Vaikuṇṭha, that place where they dwell.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मुक्तिपांग नाहीं विष्णुचिया दासां | "mukti-longing — not — to Viṣṇu's-dāsas" |
| संसार तो कैसा न देखती | "samsāra — how — don't see" |
| बैसला गोविंद जडोनियां चित्ती | "has settled — Govinda — firmly — in chitta" |
| आदि ते चि अंतीं अवसान | "beginning, end, middle — that very" |
| भोग नारायणा देऊनि निराळीं | "bhōga — to Nārāyaṇa — giving — standing-apart" |
| ओविया मंगळीं तो चि गाती | "ovis — mangala — that very — they sing" |
| बळ बुद्धी त्यांची उपकारासाटीं | "bala-buddhi — theirs — for upakāra" |
| अमृत तें पोटी सांटवलें | "amṛta — in belly — stored" |
| दयावेंत तरी देवा च सारिखीं | "compassionate — like Deva himself" |
| आपुलीं पारखीं नोळखती | "own, outsiders — don't distinguish" |
| तुका म्हणे त्यांचा जीव तो चि देव | "Tuka says — their jīva — that very — Deva" |
| वैकुंठ तो ठाव वसती तो | "Vaikuṇṭha — that place — they dwell" |
What it means
Viṣṇu-dāsa-as-Deva-himself + dwelling-place-as-Vaikuṇṭha abhang. A 5-verse portrait of the realized-bhakta.
Mark 1 — no mukti-longing: mukti-pānga nāhīm Viṣṇuciyā dāsām — samsāra tō kaisā na dēkhatī — no mukti-longing for Viṣṇu's-dāsas — they don't see samsāra. Pānga = longing-claim. They don't even see samsāra (= samsāra is not a problem they need solving by mukti).
Mark 2 — Govinda firmly in chitta: baisalā Govinda jaḍōniyām chittī — ādi tē chi antīm avasāna — Govinda has settled firmly in chitta — beginning, end, middle (avasāna). In all three-temporal-junctures, Govinda alone.
Mark 3 — bhōga to Nārāyaṇa, standing-apart: bhōga Nārāyaṇā dē'uni nirāḷīm — ōviyā mangaḷīm tō chi gātī — giving bhōga (= experience / enjoyment) to Nārāyaṇa, standing-apart — they sing only mangala-ovis. Whatever experience comes, they offer to Nārāyaṇa; standing-apart from it themselves; they sing only auspicious-ovis.
Mark 4 — bala-buddhi for para-upakāra, amṛta-stored: baḷa buddhī tyāñcī upakārā-sāṭīm — amṛta tēm pōṭī sāṇṭavalēm — their strength and intelligence for helping-others; amṛta stored in their belly. (Compare 1630's para-upakāra-as-mirāsī.)
Mark 5 — compassionate like Deva, no own/outsider: dayāvēnta tarī Devā chi sārikhīm — āpulīm pārakhīm nōḷakhatī — compassionate like Deva himself — don't distinguish own from outsiders.
Closing — jīva-is-Deva, dwelling-Vaikuṇṭha: Tukā mhaṇē tyāñcā jīva tō chi Deva — Vaikuṇṭha tō ṭhāva vasatī tō — Tuka says: their jīva is Deva itself — Vaikuṇṭha, that place where they dwell. The radical-claim: (a) the realized-bhakta's jīva = Deva himself; (b) wherever they dwell becomes Vaikuṇṭha. (= the realized-bhakta is portable-Vaikuṇṭha; their location-becomes-the-divine-place. Compare 1592's gharā ālēm Vaikuṇṭha-pīṭha — same Vaikuṇṭha-comes-to-bhakta-locus theology.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: Viṣṇu's-servants have no longing for liberation — they don't even see the samsāra; Govinda has settled firmly in their chitta — from beginning, middle, to end; they give every experience to Nārāyaṇa and stand apart — and sing only the auspicious-ovis; their strength and intelligence are for helping-others — amṛta stored in their very belly; compassionate like Deva himself — they don't distinguish own from outsider; Tuka says — their jīva itself is Deva — and the very place where they dwell is Vaikuṇṭha.
Where this applies
- When you keep waiting for some future liberation instead of living fully now
- When you're tempted to use your talents only for your own advancement rather than for others
- When you catch yourself treating strangers differently from people you already love
- When you wonder what a genuinely devoted, settled inner life actually looks like day to day