Abhanga 1964
The one you can't find sitting in silent meditation, you'll find dancing joyfully in kirtana instead - devotion doesn't need to look like stillness.
The verse
जाय तेथें दाटी । वैष्णवांची धांवोनि ॥१॥ भाविक गे माये भोळें गुणाचें । आवडे तयाचें नाम घेतां तयासी ॥ध्रु.॥ म्हणतां वाचे हरि । राम कृष्ण गोविंदा ॥२॥ करूनियां साटी । चत्ति प्रेम दोहींची ॥३॥ घेतलीं हजार । नांवें ठेवूनि आपणां ॥४॥ नाहीं तुका म्हणे ध्यानीं । तो कीर्तनीं नाचतसे ॥५॥
Literal translation
Wherever you go — crowding of Vaiṣṇavas running. Devout, oh mother — innocent of guṇa — they love taking his Name. Saying on tongue Hari — Rāma Kṛṣṇa Gōvinda. Making barter — chitta and prema, both. Took thousand — Names placed on themselves. Tuka says: the one not in dhyāna — dances in kīrtana.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जाय तेथें दाटी | "wherever you go — there's crowding" |
| वैष्णवांची धांवोनि | "of Vaiṣṇavas — running" |
| भाविक गे माये भोळें गुणाचें | "devout, oh mother — innocent of guṇa" |
| आवडे तयाचें नाम घेतां तयासी | "they love taking his Name" |
| म्हणतां वाचे हरि | "saying on tongue Hari" |
| राम कृष्ण गोविंदा | "Rāma Kṛṣṇa Gōvinda" |
| करूनियां साटी | "making barter" |
| चत्ति प्रेम दोहींची | "chitta and prema, both" |
| घेतलीं हजार | "took thousand" |
| नांवें ठेवूनि आपणां | "Names placed on themselves" |
| नाहीं तुका म्हणे ध्यानीं | "Tuka says — the one not in dhyāna" |
| तो कीर्तनीं नाचतसे | "dances in kīrtana" |
What it means
Crowding-of-Vaiṣṇavas + Name-bartered-for-prema abhang.
The opening: jāya tēthē dāṭī — Vaiṣṇavāmcī dhāvōni — wherever you go — crowding of Vaiṣṇavas running. The Vārkarī-throng: Vaiṣṇavas-rush in-crowds.
The devout-innocence: bhāvika gē māyē bhōḷē guṇāchē — āvaḍē tayāchē nāma ghētām tayāsī — devout, oh mother — innocent of guṇa — they love taking his Name. Bhāvika-bhōḷē: devout-and-innocent (= simple-hearted). The Vaiṣṇavas-love-the-Name without-guṇa-discrimination.
The barter: karūniyām sāṭī — chitta prēma dōhīñcī — making barter — chitta and prema, both. The Vaiṣṇavas barter-chitta-for-prema-both (= give-chitta, get-prema-back).
The thousand-names: ghētalīm hajāra — nāmvē ṭhēvūni āpaṇām — took thousand — Names placed on themselves. Took-thousand (Names) and-placed-Names-on-themselves (= took the Lord's-thousand-names, made-them-their-own).
The closing-classic: nāhīm Tukā mhaṇē dhyānī — tō kīrtanīm nāchatasē — Tuka says: the one not in dhyāna — dances in kīrtana. The one-who-is-not-found-in-meditation IS-found-dancing-in-kīrtana. Kīrtana over dhyāna.
[T]
For someone today
For today: wherever you go — crowding of Vaiṣṇavas running; devout, oh mother — innocent of guṇa — they love taking his Name; saying on tongue Hari — Rāma Kṛṣṇa Gōvinda; making barter — chitta and prema, both; took thousand — Names placed on themselves; Tuka says — the one not in dhyāna — dances in kīrtana.
Where this applies
- When you feel guilty that you can't sit still in quiet meditation
- When you find your spiritual energy in singing or communal gatherings instead of solitude
- When you doubt whether simple, unlearned devotion counts as much as sophisticated practice
- When you're drawn into the energy of a crowd moving and singing together