Abhanga 2809
Meet whatever the moment brings, comfort or hardship, good company or bad, with the same steady mind, holding pleasure and pain as equal.
The verse
कैं वाहावें जीवन । कैं पलंगीं शयन ॥१॥
जैसी जैसी वेळ पडे । तैसें तैसें होणें घडे ॥ध्रु.॥
कैं भौज्य नानापरी । कैं कोरड्या भाकरी ॥२॥
कैं बसावें वहनीं । कैं पायीं अन्हवाणी ॥३॥
कैं उत्तम प्रावणॉ । कैं वसनें तीं जीर्णे ॥४॥
कैं सकळ संपत्ती । कैं भोगणें विपत्ती ॥५॥
कैं सज्जनाशीं संग । कैं दुर्जनाशीं योग ॥६॥
तुका म्हणे जाण । सुख दुःख तें समान ॥७॥
Literal translation
Kaim vāhāvē jīvana — sometimes carryingjīvana(water-as-life); kaim palangī śayana — sometimes sleeping on apalanga(bed). Jaisi jaisi vēḷa paḍē — as-as thevēḷa(occasion) falls; taise taise hōṇē ghaḍe — so-so thehōṇē(happening) takes place. Kaim bhaujya nānā-parī — sometimesbhojya(foods) in many-kinds; kaim kōraḍyā bhākarī — sometimes drybhākarī(bread). Kaim basāvē vahanī — sometimes sitting invahana(vehicle); kaim pāyī anhavāṇī — sometimes barefoot on (one's own) feet. Kaim uttama prāvaraṇa — sometimes excellentprāvaraṇa(cover, garment); kaim vasane tīm jīrṇe — sometimes those clothes (are)jīrṇa(tattered). Kaim sakaḷa sampatti — sometimes all-prosperity; kaim bhōgaṇē vipatti — sometimes enduringvipatti(misfortune). Kaim sajjanāśīm sanga — sometimes company withsajjana; kaim durjanāśīm yōga — sometimesyōga(conjunction) withdurjana. Tukā says: jāṇa — sukha duḥkha tē samāna — know —sukhaandduḥkhaaresamāna(equal).
What it means
A 7-verse equanimity-verse. The structure is six kaim-kaim (sometimes-sometimes) pairs followed by the sukha-duḥkha-samāna close.
The six pairs name life's contrasts: 1. Water-carrying vs sleeping-on-bed — labor-vs-rest 2. Many-kinds-of-food vs dry-bread — affluence-vs-poverty 3. Vehicle vs barefoot — mobility-vs-effort 4. Fine-garments vs tattered-clothes — adornment-vs-want 5. Prosperity vs misfortune — wealth-vs-loss 6. Sajjana-company vs durjana-yōga — social-good-vs-bad
The dhrūpada-line gives the principle: jaisi jaisi vēḷa paḍē — taise taise hōṇē ghaḍe — as the occasion falls, so the happening takes place. The cosmos-runs-its-occasions; the bhakta accepts what falls.
The close: sukha duḥkha tē samāna — sukha and duḥkha are samāna (equal). The equanimity-conclusion: across all six contrasts, the bhakta-stance is sukha-duḥkha-samāna — both are equal.
This is a canonical Vārkarī equanimity-template, comparable to (and complementary with) the bhakti-only-Hari-saves texts.
For someone today
This is a classic verse of equanimity, built from six pairs of opposites: sometimes you carry water, sometimes you sleep on a soft bed; sometimes there is a feast, sometimes just dry bread; sometimes you ride, sometimes you walk barefoot; sometimes you wear fine clothes, sometimes tattered ones; sometimes you have full prosperity, sometimes you suffer loss; sometimes you keep good company, sometimes you are stuck with bad. Tukaram's principle is simple: whatever the moment brings, that is simply what happens. His conclusion is to treat pleasure and pain as equal, meeting each turn of fortune with the same steady mind. You can swap in whatever contrasts your own life is currently showing you, comfort and hardship, ease and struggle, and hold them the same way.
मराठी: हा एक समतोल वृत्तीचा प्रसिद्ध अभंग आहे, जो सहा विरोधी जोड्यांतून उभा राहतो: कधी पाणी वाहावे लागते, कधी मऊ अंथरुणावर झोप मिळते; कधी नाना प्रकारचे जेवण असते, कधी नुसती कोरडी भाकरी; कधी वाहनात बसायला मिळते, कधी अनवाणी चालावे लागते; कधी उत्तम वस्त्रे मिळतात, कधी जीर्ण कपडे नशिबी येतात; कधी सर्व संपत्ती हाताशी असते, कधी विपत्ती भोगावी लागते; कधी सज्जनांची सोबत मिळते, कधी दुर्जनांशी गाठ पडते. तुकारामांचे तत्त्व साधे आहे — जशी वेळ येईल तसे घडते. त्यांचा निष्कर्ष आहे की सुख आणि दुःख समान मानावेत, नशिबाच्या प्रत्येक वळणाला त्याच स्थिर मनाने सामोरे जावे. आपल्या स्वतःच्या आयुष्यातील सुख-दुःखाच्या, सुलभतेच्या-संघर्षाच्या जोड्या याच पद्धतीने पाहता येतात व स्वीकारता येतात.
Where this applies
- When your circumstances suddenly swing from comfort to hardship or back again
- When you catch yourself comparing today's ease to yesterday's struggle
- When you are stuck with difficult people and wish you had better company
- When you want a practical mindset for staying calm through life's ups and downs