Abhanga 2891
The bond between devotee and God is a mutual family bond, each cares for and gives life to the other, as inseparable as the soul and the body.
The verse
भक्त देवाघरचा सुना । देव भक्ताचा पोसणा ॥१॥
येर येरां जडलें कैसें । जीवा अंगें जैसें तैसें ॥ध्रु.॥
देव भक्ताची कृपाळु माता । भक्त देवाचा जनिता ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे अंगें । एक एकाचिया संगें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bhakta Devā-gharañchā sūnā — the bhakta (is) thesūnā(daughter-in-law) of Deva's house; Deva bhaktāñchā pōsaṇā — Deva is thepōsaṇā(caretaker, nurturer) of the bhakta. Yera yerām jaḍale kaise — how each is bound to the other; jīvā ange jaise taise — just-as jīva is to body. Deva bhaktāñcī krpāḷu mātā — Deva (is) thekrpāḷu mātā(compassionate mother) of the bhakta; bhakta Devāñchā janitā — the bhakta (is) thejanitā(father, progenitor) of Deva. Tukā says: ange — with body; eka ekāñciyā sange — one (is) with the other'ssanga.
What it means
A short reciprocal-bhakta-Deva-family-relation verse — one of the most-radical family-relation images in the corpus.
Bhakta Devā-gharañchā sūnā — Deva bhaktāñchā pōsaṇā — the bhakta is Deva's-house's daughter-in-law; Deva is the bhakta's caretaker. The first pair: bhakta = daughter-in-law (entering-into-Deva's-family); Deva = pōsaṇā (caretaker).
Yera yerām jaḍale kaise — jīvā ange jaise taise — each bound to the other — like jīva is to body. The mutual-binding-claim: jīva and anga (body) are inseparable — so are bhakta and Deva.
The radical-image: Deva bhaktāñcī krpāḷu mātā — bhakta Devāñchā janitā — Deva is the compassionate-mother of the bhakta; the bhakta is the father (progenitor) of Deva. Two reciprocal-relations: - Deva = mother of bhakta (normal) - Bhakta = father of Deva (radical!)
The bhakta-as-progenitor-of-Deva claim is theologically-bold: the Lord-becomes-Lord-because-of-the-bhakta's-bhāva (compare 2837 bhāva-mathilē-nirguṇa-sañchalē). The bhakta's-feeling-itself gives-birth-to-the-Deva-form.
The close: ange — eka ekāñciyā sange — with body, one is with the other's sanga. The bodily-inseparability: the two are in-each-other's-company-at-the-bodily-level.
For someone today
Tukaram describes the bond between devotee and God as a family, not a one-way transaction. God cares for the devotee the way a family cares for a daughter-in-law who has joined the household, and the two are as inseparable as the soul is from the body. Then he makes a bold claim: God is like a loving mother to the devotee, but the devotee is like a parent to God, because it is the devotee's own faith and love that give God a living, felt presence in their life. Love this real, Tukaram says, cannot be pulled apart, each side truly needs and shapes the other.
मराठी: तुकाराम भक्त आणि देव यांचे नाते एकतर्फी नसून कुटुंबासारखे आहे असे सांगतात. देव भक्ताची काळजी घेतो, जशी घरात नव्याने आलेल्या सुनेची काळजी घेतली जाते, आणि हे दोघे जीव आणि शरीराइतकेच एकमेकांशी जोडलेले असतात. मग तुकाराम एक धाडसी विधान करतात, देव भक्ताची प्रेमळ आई असतो, पण भक्त हा देवाचा जन्मदाता असतो, कारण भक्ताच्या श्रद्धेतूनच आणि प्रेमातूनच देव त्याच्या आयुष्यात जिवंत रूपाने प्रकट होतो. असे खरे प्रेम कधीच वेगळे करता येत नाही, प्रत्येक बाजू दुसऱ्याला खरोखर हवी असते आणि घडवते.
Where this applies
- When you feel your devotion is a one-way plea and forget that the relationship is mutual
- When you doubt whether your faith actually matters or changes anything
- When you are trying to understand love as something that shapes both people, not just one who gives and one who receives
- When you need reassurance that being cared for does not make you any less essential to the relationship