Abhanga 1802

For today: I won't take your Name — won't do the assigned work; word grows by word — calling-out-doṣa gives guṇa; now, to your house — who makes the to-and-fro?; Tuka says — at my place, what is not (already here)?.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Sulking-bhakta-strike abhang. A short-sharp playful-strike — Tuka mock-refuses to do bhakti and announces self-sufficiency.

The opening: nēghē tujhēm nāma — na karīm sāngitalē kāma — I won't take your Name — won't do the assigned work. Mock-strike-declaration. I'm-on-strike: no Name-recitation, no assigned-work.

The word-grows-line: vāḍhē vacanē vacana — dōṣa uccāritām guṇa — word grows by word — calling-out-doṣa gives guṇa. When-words-multiply, the calling-out-of-doṣa actually-reveals-the-guṇa (= the more I argue with you, the-more-your-strength-is-evident; or alternatively: if I-keep-finding-fault-with-you, your-real-virtues-emerge through-the-very-discussion). The bhakta's-oblique-flattery: I'm-not-praising-you, but-by-faulting-you-your-virtues-show.

The to-and-fro line: ātām tujhyā gharā — kōṇa karī yēra-jhārā — now, to your house — who makes the to-and-fro?. The bhakta's strike-threat: if I refuse to come, who else will come-and-go to-your-temple? You'll be alone if I stop visiting. (= the Lord-needs-the-bhakta as much-as the bhakta-needs-the-Lord. Compare 1786's bhakta-better-than-deva — same playful-superiority register.)

The closing self-sufficiency claim: Tukā mhaṇē ṭhā'īm — majpāśīm kāya nāhīm — Tuka says: at my place — what is not (here)?. At-my-side, what-is-not-already-here? (= I-have-everything-I-need at-my-place; I don't-need to-come-to-your-house.) Mock-self-sufficiency — the-bhakta-who-has-already-internalized-the-Lord doesn't-need to-make pilgrimages.

The whole abhang is a playful-mock-strike — Tuka teasing the Lord by threatening to stop the bhakti-routine, knowing-fully-well that the Lord-and-bhakta-cannot-be-separated. (Pairs with 1788, 1796, 1797, and the 1801-1807 mocking-cluster.)

[T]

For someone today

For today: I won't take your Name — won't do the assigned work; word grows by word — calling-out-doṣa gives guṇa; now, to your house — who makes the to-and-fro?; Tuka says — at my place, what is not (already here)?.

Where this applies

• When you're frustrated with your own spiritual practice and feel like giving up on it out of spite
• When you realize that even venting or complaining about someone you love reveals how much you value them
• When you feel like you're doing all the reaching out in a relationship and no one seems to need you back
• When you sense you already have inner contentment and don't need to chase it outside yourself

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 2494 — Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with