Abhanga 2096

For today: proof is in his bōla — Deva is the bhakta's subject; cannot go without asking — even sitting down, afraid; becomes wholly his — with jīva and bhāva together; speaks the upachāra-word — saying "ask for something"; Tuka says — for the udāsīna — he runs behind.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Lord-is-bhakta's-ankila + runs-after-udāsīna abhang.

The opening — Lord as bhakta's-subject: pramāṇa hē tyāchyā bōlā — Dēva bhaktāñchā ankilā — proof is in his bōla — Deva is the bhakta's subject. Ankila = subject, dependent, subservient. Proof is-in-his-saying: Deva is-the-bhakta's-subject (ankila). Role-reversal: the Lord is-subject-to-the-bhakta.

The fear-and-asking: na pusatām jātām nayē — khālīm baisatām hī bhiyē — cannot go without asking — even sitting down, afraid. The Lord can't-leave-(the bhakta) without-asking; even-sits-with-fear.

The wholly-his: avaghā tyāchā hōta — jīva bhāvāhī sahita — becomes wholly his — with jīva and bhāva together. Becomes-wholly-the-bhakta's, jīva-and-bhāva-included.

The upachāra-courtesy: vadē upachārāchī vāṇī — kāhīm māga mhaṇaūni — speaks the upachāra-word — saying "ask for something". The Lord speaks-the-courteous-word: 'ask-for-something'. The Lord-as-attentive-host.

The closing — udāsīna: udāsīnāchyā lāgēm — Tukā mhaṇē dhāmvē māgē — for the udāsīna — Tuka says — he runs behind. Udāsīna = indifferent / non-asking one. For-the-one-who-doesn't-ask (the udāsīna), he runs-behind. Echoes 2078: desirelessness pulls-the-Lord.

[T]

For someone today

For today: proof is in his bōla — Deva is the bhakta's subject; cannot go without asking — even sitting down, afraid; becomes wholly his — with jīva and bhāva together; speaks the upachāra-word — saying "ask for something"; Tuka says — for the udāsīna — he runs behind.

Where this applies

• When you feel you must beg or perform to earn the divine's attention
• When you notice that the people who want nothing from you are the ones you are most drawn to
• When you feel anxious that your prayers or requests are not urgent or demanding enough
• When you want reassurance that quiet, undemanding love draws devotion more than constant asking

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