Abhanga 2910
Bhūtī Deva mhaṇōnī bhēṭatōm yā janā — I meet these jana — saying Deva (is) in (all) bhūta (creatures); nāhī he bhāvanā nara-nārī — (but) this bhāvanā (attitude) (in or toward) nara-nārī (men-women) (is) not (always so).
The verse
भूतीं देव म्हणोनि भेटतों या जना । नाहीं हे भावना नरनारी ॥१॥
जाणे भाव पांडुरंग अंतरींचा । नलगे द्यावा साचा परिहार ॥ध्रु.॥
दयेसाटीं केला उपाधिपसारा । जड जीवा तारा नाव कथा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नाहीं पडत उपवास । फिरतसे आस धरोनियां ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bhūtī Deva mhaṇōnī bhēṭatōm yā janā — I meet these jana — saying Deva (is) in (all) bhūta (creatures); nāhī he bhāvanā nara-nārī — (but) this bhāvanā (attitude) (in or toward) nara-nārī (men-women) (is) not (always so). Jāṇe bhāva Pāṇḍuranga antarīñchā — Pāṇḍuranga knows the bhāva inside; na lage dyāve sāchā parihāra — no need to give a sāccha parihāra (true-explanation). Dayesāṭī kelā upādhi-pasārā — for (the sake of) dayā — (Tukārām) made the upādhi-pasāra (spreading of upādhi — name-and-form-formalities); jaḍa jīvā tārā nāva kathā — the kathā is the nāva (boat) to lift the jaḍa-jīva (heavy/dull beings). Tukā says: nāhī paḍata upavāsa — I don't paḍata (fall) into upavāsa (fasting, deprivation); phiratase āsa dharōnīyām — I keep going around, holding-onto āsa (hope, expectation).
What it means
A short bhakti-tactical-engagement verse. Bhūtī Deva mhaṇōnī bhēṭatōm yā janā — nāhī he bhāvanā nara-nārī — I meet jana saying Deva-is-in-creatures — but (this) attitude toward nara-nārī (may) not (always be so). The honest-disclosure: I greet people as Deva-in-them, but my inner-bhāvanā-toward all-men-and-women is not uniform.
Jāṇe bhāva Pāṇḍuranga antarīñchā — na lage dyāve sāchā parihāra — Pāṇḍuranga knows the inside-bhāva — no need to give a true-explanation. The bhakta defers to Pāṇḍuranga's knowing-the-inside; no need to make-public-explanations.
Dayesāṭī kelā upādhi-pasārā — jaḍa jīvā tārā nāva kathā — for compassion, (Tukārām) made the spread-of-formalities — the kathā is the boat for the dull-jīva. The strategic-explanation: the spreading-of-formal-bhakti (upādhi) is done out-of-compassion; the kathā (storytelling-kīrtana) is the boat for the spiritually-dull-people.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe nāhī paḍata upavāsa — phiratase āsa dharōnīyām — I don't fall into fasting — I keep going around, holding hope. The bhakta-traveler: not depriving-myself, but keeping-engaged with hope.
For someone today
A useful bhakti-tactical-engagement claim. I meet these jana saying Deva-in-creatures — (but) this attitude toward nara-nārī (may not) always (be so). Pāṇḍuranga knows the bhāva inside — no need to give true-explanation. For compassion, (Tukārām) made the spread-of-formalities — the kathā is the boat for the dull-jīva. I don't fall into fasting — I keep going around, holding hope. The verse permits honest tactical-bhakti: (1) I greet-jana-as-Deva, but I don't claim uniform-bhāvanā; (2) the Lord-knows-the-inside; (3) the formal-bhakti is for compassion-toward-the-dull; (4) keep-going-with-hope. The bhakta is not-required-to-be-perfectly-uniform in inner-bhāva; the engagement-itself is bhakti.
Where this applies
- The I-meet-jana-as-Deva-but-bhāva-may-differ; Pāṇḍuranga-knows-inside claim
- Recognizing kathā-is-the-boat-for-jaḍa-jīva claim
- Keep-going-with-āsa — bhakti as ongoing-engagement
- The bhakta's honest tactical-engagement with people