Abhanga 2852
Human fame always fades, but keeping the unchanging, imperishable divine in your heart eases the fear of birth and death.
The verse
वर्णावी ते थोरी एका विठ्ठलाची । कीर्ती मानवाची सांगों नये ॥१॥
उदंड चि जाले जन्मोनियां मेले । होऊनियां गेले राव रंक ॥ध्रु.॥
त्यांचें नाम कोणी नेघे चराचरीं । साही वेद चारी वर्णिताती ॥२॥
अक्षय अढळ चळेना ढळेना । तया नारायणा ध्यात जावें ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे तुझी विठ्ठल चित्ती ध्यातां । जन्ममरण व्यथा दूर होती ॥४॥
Literal translation
Varṇāve te thōrī ēkā Viṭhṭhalāñcī — the greatness only of Viṭhṭhala — that should bevarṇāve(described, praised); kīrtī mānavāñcī sāngō naye — thekīrti(fame, praise) ofmānava(humans) should not be told. Udaṇḍa chi jāle janmōnīyām mele — many-many have-become — having-been-born, died; hōūnīyām gele rāva ranka — (having) become — kings or paupers — gone. Tyāñce nāma kōṇī negge charācharī — their name no-one takes inchar-achara(moving-and-still creation); sāhī veda chāri varṇitātī — the six (six-darśanas) and the four (Vedas) describe (the Lord). Akṣaya aḍhaḷa chaḷēnā ḍhaḷēnā — imperishable, steady, doesn't-move, doesn't-fall; tayā Nārāyaṇā dhyāta jāve — that Nārāyaṇa is who should-be-meditated-on. Tukā says: tujhī Viṭhṭhala chitti dhyātām — meditating-on you, Viṭhṭhala, in (the) chitta; janma-maraṇa-vyathā dūra hōtī — janma-maraṇa-vyathā(birth-death pain) goes far.
What it means
A 4-verse Viṭṭhal-supremacy verse. Varṇāve te thōrī ēkā Viṭhṭhalāñcī — kīrtī mānavāñcī sāngō naye — only Viṭṭhal's greatness should be described — the praise of humans should not be told. The opening canonical-distinction: praise-the-Lord, not humans.
Udaṇḍa chi jāle janmōnīyām mele — hōūnīyām gele rāva ranka — many-many have been born and died — having become kings or paupers, (they) have gone. The transience-observation: both kings and paupers come-and-go.
Tyāñce nāma kōṇī negge charācharī — sāhī veda chāri varṇitātī — their (transient humans') name no-one takes in the moving-and-still creation — (whereas) the six (śāstras) and four (Vedas) describe (the Lord). The contrast: human-fame fades; Vedic-fame is for the Lord.
Akṣaya aḍhaḷa chaḷēnā ḍhaḷēnā — tayā Nārāyaṇā dhyāta jāve — imperishable, steady, neither-moves-nor-falls — that Nārāyaṇa should be meditated on. The four attributes: akṣaya (imperishable), aḍhaḷa (steady), chaḷēnā (doesn't-move), ḍhaḷēnā (doesn't-fall). All four-fold-stability attributes.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe tujhī Viṭhṭhala chitti dhyātām — janma-maraṇa-vyathā dūra hōtī — Tukā: meditating-on you, Viṭṭhala, in the chitta — birth-death-pain goes far. The outcome-claim: chitta-dhyāna-of-Viṭṭhala removes the birth-death-pain.
For someone today
This verse calls for putting your attention in the right place. Only the greatness of Vitthal deserves to be praised, Tuka says, not the fame of any human being. Think of how many people have been born, lived as kings or paupers, and died; no one even remembers their names anymore, while the Vedas themselves keep describing the Lord's glory. That is because the Lord alone is imperishable, steady, unmoving, unfailing, the one truly worth meditating on. Tuka closes with a simple promise: keep Vitthal in your heart in meditation, and the pain of being born and dying loses its grip on you.
मराठी: ही रचना आपले लक्ष योग्य ठिकाणी वळवण्यास सांगते. तुकाराम महाराज म्हणतात, केवळ विठ्ठलाच्याच थोरवीचे वर्णन करावे — कोणत्याही मानवाच्या कीर्तीचे नव्हे. किती तरी माणसे जन्माला येऊन, राजे किंवा रंक होऊन मरून गेली — त्यांचे नावही आता कोणी घेत नाही, तर वेद मात्र सतत परमेश्वराच्या महिमेचे वर्णन करत राहतात. कारण केवळ परमेश्वरच अक्षय, अढळ, अचल आणि अविनाशी आहे — तोच खरा ध्यानाला योग्य आहे. तुकाराम महाराज शेवटी एक साधे आश्वासन देतात — विठ्ठलाला मनात ध्यानस्थ ठेवले, तर जन्ममृत्यूची व्यथा दूर होते.
Where this applies
- When you're chasing recognition or status that you sense won't matter in the long run
- When you feel anxious about being forgotten after you're gone
- When you need a steadier focus than the ups and downs of public praise or reputation
- When you want a practice to ease the fear that comes with thinking about death