Abhanga 2858
When help feels delayed, voicing your honest frustration and exhaustion directly to God, rather than hiding it, is itself an act of devotion.
The verse
उशीर कां केला । कृपाळुवा विठ्ठला ॥१॥
मज दिलें कोणा हातीं । काय मानिली निश्चिंती ॥ध्रु.॥
कोठवरी धरूं धीर । आतां मन करूं स्थिर ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जीव । ऐसी भाकितसे कींव ॥३॥
Literal translation
Uśīra kām kelā — why have (you) doneuśīra(delay); krpāḷuvā Viṭhṭhalā — compassionate Viṭhṭhal. Maja dile kōṇā hātī — into whose hand have (you) given me; kāya mānilī niścintī — whatniścintī(certainty, ease-of-mind) have (you) taken? Kōṭhavarī dharūm dhīra — till where shall I holddhīra(patience); ātām mana karūm sthira — now (let me) make (my) mindsthira(steady). Tukā says: jīva — (my) jīva; aiśī bhākitase kīmva — isbhākitase(uttering, pleading) such akīmva(cry, plea).
What it means
A short urgent-petition verse. Uśīra kām kelā — krpāḷuvā Viṭhṭhalā — why have you delayed, compassionate Viṭhṭhal? The opening-protest: the Lord is delaying; why?
Maja dile kōṇā hātī — kāya mānilī niścintī — into whose hand have you given me — what certainty have you taken? The accusation-question: whose-hand have you-left-me-to? what ease-of-mind have you-found-for-yourself (by leaving me)? The implicit-claim: the Lord cannot have ease-of-mind while-his-bhakta is suffering.
Kōṭhavarī dharūm dhīra — ātām mana karūm sthira — until-where shall I hold dhīra — now (let me) make (my) mind sthira. The exhaustion-confession: my patience is exhausted; let-me-just-make-my-mind-steady (resigned).
The close: Tukā mhaṇe jīva — aiśī bhākitase kīmva — my jīva is uttering such a cry-plea. The verse-as-itself-the-plea.
For someone today
When you feel like help isn't coming and you've been waiting too long, it's all right to say so directly, even to God. Ask honestly why the delay, and admit it when you feel abandoned or unsure who is looking out for you. Tukaram doesn't hide his exhaustion here; he admits his patience is running out even as he tries to steady his own mind. This verse says that honest protest, spoken straight to the one you trust most, is itself a form of devotion, not a failure of faith.
मराठी: जेव्हा मदत येत नाही आणि खूप वाट पाहून झाली आहे असं वाटतं, तेव्हा ते थेट देवाजवळही बोलून दाखवणं गैर नाही. उशीर का होतोय हे स्पष्टपणे विचारा, आणि आपल्याला सोडून दिल्यासारखं किंवा कोणी आधार नाही असं वाटत असेल तर ते मान्य करा. तुकाराम इथे आपली थकलेली अवस्था लपवत नाहीत — ते कबूल करतात की धीर सुटत चालला आहे, तरीही स्वतःचं मन शांत करण्याचा प्रयत्न करतात. या अभंगाचा संदेश असा आहे की, ज्याच्यावर सर्वात जास्त विश्वास आहे त्याच्याकडे मन मोकळेपणाने तक्रार करणं हीसुद्धा भक्तीच आहे, श्रद्धेचा अभाव नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel like your prayers or efforts have gone unanswered for too long
- When you feel abandoned or unsure who is looking out for you during a hard time
- When your patience is running out and you need to voice your frustration honestly
- When you feel guilty for questioning or protesting to God and wonder if that is allowed