Abhanga 2790
Deva āhē sukāḷa deśīm — Deva is in the sukāḷa (plentiful, abundant) country; abhāgyāsī durbhikṣā — for the abhāgya (misfortunate), (there is) durbhikṣā (dearth, famine).
The verse
देव आहे सुकाळ देशीं । अभाग्यासी दुर्भिक्षा ॥१॥
नेणती हा करूं सांटा । भरले फांटा आडरानें ॥ध्रु.॥
वसवूनि असे घर । माग दूर घातला ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मन मुरे । मग जें उरे तें चि तूं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Deva āhē sukāḷa deśīm — Deva is in the sukāḷa (plentiful, abundant) country; abhāgyāsī durbhikṣā — for the abhāgya (misfortunate), (there is) durbhikṣā (dearth, famine). Neṇatī hā karūm sāṭā — they don't know how to make the sāṭā (deal, exchange); bharale fāṇṭā āḍa-rāne — they are filled-in-fāṇṭā (the branches), in āḍa-rāne (side-forests, off-paths). Vasavūnī ase ghara — the house has been vasavūnī (settled); māga dūra ghātalā — the path has been put dūra (far). Tukā says: mana muraje — (when) the mind muraje (dissolves, sets, fades-into); mag jē urē te chi tūm — then what urē (remains) — that itself is you.
What it means
A short paradox-and-advaita-touch verse. Deva āhē sukāḷa deśīm — abhāgyāsī durbhikṣā — Deva is in the plentiful country — but for the misfortunate, there is dearth. The paradox: the country is plentiful (Deva is everywhere); yet for the misfortunate, dearth. The plenty-is-objective; the dearth-is-subjective-by-misfortune.
The dhrūpada: neṇatī hā karūm sāṭā — bharale fāṇṭā āḍa-rāne — they don't know how to make the deal — they are in side-forests, off-paths. The misfortunate's-disability is not knowing how to make the sāṭā (the exchange) — and they have gone off into the āḍa-rāne (side-forests, wrong-trails).
The second verse: vasavūnī ase ghara — māga dūra ghātalā — the house has been settled — the path has been put far. The bhakti-house (Deva-presence) has been settled-here; but the path-to-it has been put far away (in the wrong-tradition's-frame).
The close has the striking advaita-touch: mana muraje — mag jē urē te chi tūm — when the mind dissolves — what remains is you yourself. Mana muraje — mind dissolves, mind-fades, mind-sets-like-sunset. Mag jē urē te chi tūm — then what-remains is YOU itself. This is one of Tukārām's clearest advaita-touch claims: when the mind-with-its-projections dissolves, the YOU that remains is the Deva-itself. (Compare 2762's Bhūtīm Bhagavad-bhāva — samkalpāñcyā kāje āpe āpa vāḍhale.)
For someone today
A useful diagnosis-plus-advaita-pointer verse. Deva is in the plentiful country — but the misfortunate has dearth (because they don't know the deal; they're in side-forests; the path was put far). Tukā: when the mind dissolves, what remains is you yourself. The diagnostic: the plenty is everywhere; if you're in dearth, you have wandered into side-forests. The remedy: let the mind dissolve — what-remains is identical-with-you. The advaita-pointer: you-yourself is what-remains when the mind is gone.
Where this applies
- Recognizing that plenty-is-there but misfortunate-has-dearth paradox
- Diagnosing being-in-āḍa-rāne (side-forests, wrong-trails)
- The advaita-touch: mind-dissolves — what-remains-is-you-yourself
- The vasavūnī-asē-ghara, māga-dūra-ghātalā (house-here, path-put-far) image