Abhanga 2807
When you do something beyond your own ability, recognize it as God working through you rather than claiming the credit yourself.
The verse
चरणाचा महिमा । हा तो तुझ्या पुरुषोत्तमा ॥१॥
अंध पारखी माणिकें । बोलविशी स्पष्ट मुकें ॥ध्रु.॥
काय नाहीं सत्ता । हातीं तुझ्या पंढरीनाथा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मूढा । मज चेष्टविलें जडा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Charaṇāñca mahimā — themahimā(greatness, glory) of the foot; hā to tujhyā Puruṣōttamā — this is yours, Puruṣōttama. Andha pārakhī māṇikē — the blind (one) judges themāṇika(gem) as connoisseur; bōlavisi spaṣṭa mukē — you make themukē(mute) speakspaṣṭa(clearly). Kāya nāhī sattā — hātīm tujhyā Paṇḍharī-nāthā — what is not in (your)sattā(authority) — in your hand, Paṇḍharī-nātha? Tukā says: mūḍhā — maja cheṣṭavile jaḍā — me, themūḍha(fool), thejaḍa(heavy, dull) — you havecheṣṭavile(made-to-perform, made-to-act).
What it means
A short gratitude-recognition verse. Charaṇāñca mahimā — hā to tujhyā Puruṣōttamā — the foot-mahimā (greatness) — this is yours, Puruṣōttama. The bhakta-claim: whatever greatness-is-being-displayed (by the bhakta-foot or by other-feet that-touch-the-Lord) — this is the Lord's mahimā, not the foot's own.
The dhrūpada offers two impossibility-overcome images: andha pārakhī māṇikē — bōlavisi spaṣṭa mukē — the blind one judges the gem; you make the mute speak clearly. Two impossibilities: - Blind-one as gem-connoisseur (normally, gem-judging requires-eyes) - Mute one made to speak clearly (normally, the mute cannot)
Both are the Lord's mahimā — impossibilities overcome.
The second verse: kāya nāhī sattā — hātīm tujhyā Paṇḍharī-nāthā — what is not in your authority — in your hand, Paṇḍharī-nātha? The rhetorical question: what is not in your hand? Nothing is outside-the-Lord's-authority.
The close is Tukārām's self-recognition: mūḍhā — maja cheṣṭavile jaḍā — me, the fool, the dull — you have made-to-perform. Mūḍha (foolish) + jaḍa (heavy, dull) — Tukārām's self-naming. Cheṣṭavile — made-to-perform, made-to-be-the-actor. The bhakta's-performance (his own poetry, his own bhakti) is the Lord performing through him. The credit is entirely-the-Lord's.
(Compare 2676's mī āhē majūra Viṭhōbāñcā — I am Viṭhoba's hired-laborer. Same authorship-disclaimer.)
For someone today
This is a short prayer of grateful recognition. Tukaram says that whatever greatness shows up at his feet really belongs to God, not to him. He points to two impossible things God can do: making a blind person judge a gem like an expert, and making a mute person speak clearly, both images for accomplishing what should be impossible. He then asks what could possibly lie outside God's power, since nothing does. He ends by naming himself plainly a fool, a dull one, and says God is the one who has made him perform. Whenever you find yourself doing something beyond your own ability, this verse invites you to recognize it as God working through you rather than claim the credit for yourself.
मराठी: हे कृतज्ञतेने ओळख देणारे एक लहानसे प्रार्थनागीत आहे. तुकाराम म्हणतात की माझ्या चरणांशी जे काही महत्त्व दिसते, ते खरे तर तुझे आहे, माझे नाही. ते देवाच्या दोन अशक्य गोष्टी घडवण्याच्या सामर्थ्याकडे लक्ष वेधतात — आंधळ्याला रत्नपारखी बनवणे आणि मुक्याला स्पष्ट बोलायला लावणे — जे स्वतःहून अशक्यच आहे ते घडवणे. मग ते विचारतात, तुझ्या सत्तेबाहेर काय आहे? — कारण खरे तर काहीच नाही. शेवटी ते स्वतःला स्पष्टपणे मूर्ख आणि जड म्हणतात, आणि सांगतात की मला हे सर्व करायला लावणारा तूच आहेस. जेव्हा तुम्ही स्वतःच्या क्षमतेपलीकडचे काही करून जाता, तेव्हा हा अभंग शिकवतो — त्याचे श्रेय स्वतःकडे न घेता, ते देव तुमच्याकडून करवून घेतो आहे असे ओळखावे.
Where this applies
- When you accomplish something that surprises you, beyond your usual ability
- When you feel unqualified yet find yourself doing meaningful work anyway
- When you want a healthy way to stay humble about your own talents
- When you doubt whether you deserve full credit for something that came easily to you