Abhanga 2088

God generously gives each person what suits them, but the fruit you reap comes from the seed you sow, so you alone determine whether you become your own friend or your own enemy.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Lord-gives-favorites + you-are-your-own-friend-or-foe abhang.

The opening — open-arms: āvaḍīchē dāna dētō Nārāyaṇa — bāhē ubhārōni rāhilāsē — Nārāyaṇa gives the gift-of-favorites — standing with arms raised. The Lord stands-with-arms-raised giving-the-gift-of-favorites (= what-each-jīva-wants).

The all-knowing māyabāpa: jē jayāsī ruchē tē karī samōra — sarva-jña udāra māyabāpa — whatever pleases whom — that he sets before — the all-knowing, generous, māyabāpa. He places-before-each what-pleases-them.

The place-determined: ṭhāyīm paḍiliyā tē chi lāgē khāvē — ṭhāyīñchē chi ghyāvē vichārūni — what falls in place, that must be eaten — take what's-in-place, considered. What's-allotted (ṭhāyīm paḍilē = fallen-into-place) must-be-eaten; take with-consideration.

The doralī-and-banana: bīja pērūniyām tē chi ghyāvē phaḷa — ḍōralīsa kēḷa kaiñchē lāgē — sown seed bears that very fruit — the doralī cannot bear banana. Doralī = a wild-thorny-vine, no fruit. The seed-yields-its-own-fruit; you-can't-get-banana from-a-doralī. Karma-doctrine in farming-image.

The closing — self-responsibility: Tukā mhaṇē Dēvā kāhīm bōla nāhīm — tujhā tūm chi pāhīm śatru sakhā — Tuka says: no blame on Deva — yourself — be friend-or-foe-to-yourself. No-blame-on-Deva (the Lord can't be-blamed); you-are-your-own-friend-or-foe. The Bhagavad-Gītā's classic principle in Marathi rhyme.

[T]

For someone today

God stands with open arms, generously giving each soul exactly what pleases them, like a wise and loving parent who knows every heart. But whatever falls to your lot is what you must accept and live with, weighing it wisely. A seed grows into its own fruit; you can't expect a banana from a thorny wild vine. So, Tuka says, there is no blaming God for what comes your way, you alone decide whether you are your own friend or your own enemy.

मराठी: देव दोन्ही हात पसरून प्रत्येकाला त्याच्या आवडीचं दान देतो, जणू सर्वज्ञ आणि उदार माऊली. जे ज्याला रुचतं तेच तो त्याच्यासमोर ठेवतो. पण जे वाट्याला येतं तेच विचारपूर्वक स्वीकारून खावं लागतं. जे बी पेरलं तेच फळ मिळतं, काटेरी वेलीला कधी केळं लागत नाही. तुका म्हणतो, यात देवाचा काहीही दोष नाही, तूच तुझा मित्र किंवा शत्रू आहेस.

Where this applies

• When you want to blame fate or God for outcomes that actually trace back to your own earlier choices
• When you expect a different result in life without changing what you are planting through your actions
• When you see someone else receiving what looks like special favor and feel life is unfair, forgetting each person receives what fits their own nature
• When you're deciding whether to be kind to yourself or destructive toward yourself, and need reminding it is your own choice

Related verses

• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 4497 — Tukaram describes a life so soaked in devotion that Krishna's presence fills every ordinar