Abhanga 2669
Ordinary service pays in dry words, blocked access, and fear of punishment, but serving Pandurang is easy, endless, and free of that fear, and it slowly makes the servant like the master while lifting up everyone, stranger and outsider included.
The verse
आणिकांची सेवा करावी शरीरें । तीं येथें उत्तरे कोरडीं च ॥१॥
ऐसा पांडुरंग सुलभ सोपारा । नेघे येरझारा सेवकाच्या ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिकांचे भेटी आडकाठी पडे । येथें तें न घडे वचन ही ॥२॥
आणिकांचे देणें काळीं पोट भरे । येथील न सरे कल्पांतीं ही ॥३॥
आणिकें दंडिती चुकलिया सेवा । येथें सोस हेवा नाहीं दोन्ही ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे करी आपण्यासारिखें । उद्धरी पारिखें उंच निंच ॥५॥
Literal translation
To do aniñchī sēvā (others' service) with the body — gives only dry words here as fruit. Such Pāṇḍuranga is sulabha-sōpāra (easy-simple); he does not accept the servant's yērajhārā (running-around). In others' meeting, āḍakāṭhī (obstruction-staff) falls; here not even one word fails. Others' gift fills the belly for the time (kāḷīm); what here-is does not run out even at kalpānta (cosmic-end). Others punish for missed-service; here neither sōsa (enthusiasm) nor hēvā (jealousy) — neither of them. Tukā says: he makes one āpaṇyā-sārikhē (like himself) — uplifts the pārikhē (alien, stranger), uñcha niñcha (high and low) alike.
What it means
A 5-verse structural comparison of two service-economies. Each verse names a property of anyāñchī sēvā (others' service) and contrasts it with yēthē (here, with Pāṇḍuranga).
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Reward: others' service yields kōraḍī uttarē (dry words) as fruit; Pāṇḍuranga is sulabha-sōpāra (easy-and-simple), demands no yērajhārā (the running-around of servants).
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Access: meeting others has āḍakāṭhī (obstruction-staffs, gatekeepers); here, na ghaḍē vachana hī — not even a word fails.
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Duration of gift: others' gift fills the belly kāḷī (for the moment); here, na sarē kalpāntīm hī — does not run out even at kalpānta (cosmic-dissolution).
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Punishment for missed service: others punish missed-service; here neither sōsa (enthusiasm-for-punishment) nor hēvā (jealousy) exists.
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The transformation: karī āpaṇyā-sārikhē — uddharī pārikhē uñcha niñcha — makes one like himself — uplifts the alien, high-and-low alike. The remarkable claim: the Pāṇḍuranga-service does not just reward; it makes one like himself. And the uplifting is universal — pārikhē (the alien, the stranger) and uñcha-niñcha (the high-and-low) alike.
The whole structure builds toward the closing claim: serving Pāṇḍuranga is a different economy entirely — easy access, no running-around, no temporal-limit on the gift, no fear-of-punishment, and the result is transformation-into-his-likeness rather than mere compensation.
For someone today
The verse offers a structural audit of who you are serving. The five properties of others' service are recognizable: dry-words reward, obstructions at the gate, momentary-bellyful gift, punishment for lapses, and competition (hēvā) inside the servants' rank. If your work-life or relationships have these five properties, you are in anyāñchī sēvā (others' service). The Pāṇḍuranga-service-economy is opposite at each property — and the closing result is unique: not just being paid but being made like the master. Audit which economy you are actually in.
मराठी: हा अभंग तू कोणाची सेवा करत आहेस याचे एक चौकटबद्ध परीक्षण देतो. इतरांच्या सेवेचे पाच गुणधर्म सहज ओळखता येतात: फळ म्हणून कोरडे शब्द, दारातील अडथळे, तात्पुरते पोटभर देणे, चुकल्यास शिक्षा, आणि सेवकांमध्ये असूया-स्पर्धा (हेवा). जर तुझ्या कामाच्या किंवा नात्यांच्या जीवनात हे पाच गुणधर्म आढळत असतील, तर तू इतरांची सेवा करत आहेस असे समज. पांडुरंगाची सेवा-अर्थव्यवस्था प्रत्येक बाबतीत याच्या उलट आहे — आणि शेवटचा परिणाम विशेष आहे: केवळ मोबदला मिळणे नव्हे, तर स्वतः स्वामीसारखे बनणे. तू खरोखर कोणत्या अर्थव्यवस्थेत आहेस, याचे परीक्षण कर.
Where this applies
- Audit of one's daily service-economy: which of the five properties match?
- The Pāṇḍuranga-sulabha-sōpāra (easy-and-simple) access-claim
- Karī āpaṇyā-sārikhē — service-that-transforms-into-the-master's-likeness
- The universal uplifting — pārikhē uñcha niñcha (alien, high-and-low alike)