Abhanga 2880
True excellence is not inherited by birth, it comes from turning to God with total, undivided devotion, and that devotion shows itself visibly in how a person lives.
The verse
उत्तम त्या याति । देवा शरण अनन्यगति ॥१॥
नाहीं दुजा ठाव । कांहीं उत्तम मध्यम भाव ॥ध्रु.॥
उमटती ठसे । ब्रम्हप्राप्ति अंगीं दिसे ॥२॥
भाविक विश्वासी ।तुका म्हणे नमन त्यांसी ॥३॥
॥१०॥
Literal translation
Uttama tyā yāti — uttama (excellent) is thatyāti(caste, birth, kind); Devā śaraṇa ananya-gati — (which goes) to Deva-refuge withananya-gati(no-other-recourse, single-minded). Nāhī dujā ṭhāva — there is no other place; kāmhī uttama madhyama bhāva — some (with)uttama(high),madhyama(middling)bhāva(feeling, consideration). Umaṭatī ṭhase — theṭhase(marks, signs) emerge; brahma-prāpti angī dise — Brahma-prāpti (attainment-of-Brahman) shows in the body. Bhāvika viśvāsī — (those who are)bhāvika(devotional) (and)viśvāsī(full-of-faith); Tukā says: namana tyāmsī — (I make)namana(salutation) to them.
What it means
A short 3-verse text + the closing colophon ॥१०॥ marking the close of a 10-abhang cluster (2871-2880). The cluster (which begins right after the 13-abhang Chinchwaḍa-cluster at 2870) appears to gather Tukārām's who-is-a-true-bhakta texts — touching on caste-marginality (2872), brāhmaṇa-humility (2875), strict-commitment (2876), Viṣṇu-dāsa-capital (2877), bhakti-trade-wealth (2878), no-disqualification-from-Name (2879), and the closing uttama-yāti-is-ananya-gati (2880).
Uttama tyā yāti — Devā śaraṇa ananya-gati — excellent is that yāti — (which) comes to Deva-refuge with single-mindedness. The radical-caste-redefinition: uttama-yāti is defined byananya-gati to Deva, not by birth. The bhakta's-yāti is measured-by-bhakti-not-by-birth.
Nāhī dujā ṭhāva — kāmhī uttama madhyama bhāva — there's no other place — some (with) high or middling consideration. The ananya (no-other) is total: no second-place. Some bhaktas have uttama-bhāva, some madhyama-bhāva — but all are uttama-yāti if-they-have-ananya-gati.
Umaṭatī ṭhase — brahma-prāpti angī dise — the marks emerge — Brahma-prāpti shows in the body. The diagnostic-claim: genuine Brahma-prāpti shows-in-the-body (in visible marks). (Compare 2866 kasī-pārakhī realization-test.)
Bhāvika viśvāsī — Tukā mhaṇe namana tyāmsī — to the devotional and faithful — I make namana (salutation). Tukārām's-namana goes-to-bhāvika-viśvāsī, regardless of-their-outer-yāti.
The closing ॥१०॥ marks the end of the 10-abhang cluster.
For someone today
A canonical text redefining what makes a caste or birth excellent, and the close of a ten-abhang cluster. Excellent is that yāti — (which) comes to Deva with single-minded refuge (ananya-gati). There is no other place — some (with) uttama or madhyama bhāva. The marks emerge — Brahma-prāpti shows in the body. To the devotional and faithful — I make namana. Three operative claims: (1) an excellent birth is defined by turning to Deva with undivided devotion, not by birth itself; (2) attaining Brahman shows visibly in the body, so it can be tested; (3) Tukārām's salutation goes to whoever is devotional and full of faith. The verse caps the ten-abhang exploration of who counts as a true bhakta with a clear and radical redefinition of caste.
मराठी: श्रेष्ठ जात कशामुळे ठरते हे नव्याने सांगणारा हा अभंग आहे, आणि दहा अभंगांच्या मालिकेचा समारोप आहे. उत्तम ती जात, जी अनन्यगतीने देवाला शरण जाते. दुसरे स्थान नाही — कुणाचा भाव उत्तम, कुणाचा मध्यम. ठसे उमटतात — ब्रह्मप्राप्ती अंगी दिसते. भाविक व विश्वासी जनांना — तुका नमन करतो. तीन मुख्य दावे : (१) श्रेष्ठ जात जन्माने नव्हे तर देवाला अनन्यभावाने शरण जाण्याने ठरते; (२) ब्रह्मप्राप्ती अंगावर दृश्य स्वरूपात दिसते, म्हणजे ती पारखता येते; (३) तुकारामांचे नमन भाविक आणि विश्वासी जनांना आहे. भक्त कोण खरा हे शोधणाऱ्या दहा अभंगांच्या मालिकेचा हा अभंग स्पष्ट आणि मूलगामी जातिपुनर्व्याख्येने समारोप करतो.
Where this applies
- When someone doubts they are 'good enough' or of the 'right kind' to live a spiritual life
- When you are tempted to judge someone's devotion by their background instead of their sincerity
- When you want a plain, visible way to tell whether someone's faith is real, by how it shows in their conduct
- When you're deciding who truly deserves respect, regardless of social rank