Abhanga 1921
Admitting you are completely out of patience, focus, and inner resources is itself an honest and worthy place to begin.
The verse
कैंचा मज धीर । कोठें बुद्धि माझी स्थिर ॥१॥ जें या मनासी आवरूं । आंत पोटीं वाव धरूं ॥ध्रु.॥ कैंची शुद्ध मति । भांडवल ऐसें हातीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कोण दशा आली सांगा ॥३॥
Literal translation
What patience for me? — where is my buddhi steady? What to control this mind with — to hold space inside? What śuddha-mati — what capital have I in hand? Tuka says: what daśā has come — tell me.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कैंचा मज धीर | "what patience for me" |
| कोठें बुद्धि माझी स्थिर | "where is my buddhi steady" |
| जें या मनासी आवरूं | "what to control this mind with" |
| आंत पोटीं वाव धरूं | "to hold space inside" |
| कैंची शुद्ध मति | "what śuddha-mati" |
| भांडवल ऐसें हातीं | "what capital have I in hand" |
| तुका म्हणे कोण दशा आली सांगा | "Tuka says — what daśā has come — tell me" |
What it means
No-patience-no-buddhi-no-capital abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster.
The bhakta enumerates his lacks: - no patience (dhīra) - no steady buddhi - no method to control the mind - no inner-space to hold-the-mind - no śuddha-mati - no spiritual-capital
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē kōṇa daśā ālī sāngā — Tuka says: what daśā has come — tell me. Daśā = state, condition. What-state-have-I-arrived-in? — tell-me.
The implicit-message: the bhakta is bankrupt of-all-spiritual-resources; only-the-Lord's-grace can-help.
[T]
For someone today
For today: what patience for me? — where is my buddhi steady?; what to control this mind with — to hold space inside?; what śuddha-mati — what capital have I in hand?; Tuka says — what daśā has come, tell me.
Where this applies
- When you feel like you have nothing left to offer, no willpower, no calm, no reserves
- When you're tired of pretending to be more settled or in control than you actually are
- When you don't understand your own mental state and just want someone to explain it to you
- When you feel completely unprepared or unequipped for what you're facing