Abhanga 2910
You don't have to feel identically toward everyone or explain yourself to be sincere; keep engaging with compassion and hope instead of demanding perfection of yourself.
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 thesejana— sayingDeva(is) in (all)bhūta(creatures); nāhī he bhāvanā nara-nārī — (but) thisbhāvanā(attitude) (in or toward)nara-nārī(men-women) (is) not (always so). Jāṇe bhāva Pāṇḍuranga antarīñchā — Pāṇḍuranga knows thebhāvainside; na lage dyāve sāchā parihāra — no need to give asāccha parihāra(true-explanation). Dayesāṭī kelā upādhi-pasārā — for (the sake of)dayā— (Tukārām) made theupādhi-pasāra(spreading ofupādhi— name-and-form-formalities); jaḍa jīvā tārā nāva kathā — the kathā is thenāva(boat) to lift thejaḍa-jīva(heavy/dull beings). Tukā says: nāhī paḍata upavāsa — I don'tpaḍata(fall) intoupavāsa(fasting, deprivation); phiratase āsa dharōnīyām — I keep going around, holding-ontoāsa(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
Tukaram admits he greets everyone as the divine dwelling inside them, but he won't pretend his inner warmth is exactly the same toward every person he meets — and that's honest, not hypocritical. Pandurang already knows what's truly in his heart, so there's no need to offer long explanations to anyone else. The outward rituals and storytelling gatherings he keeps up are done out of compassion, meant to carry along those whose spirits feel heavy or dull. He doesn't punish himself with fasting or harsh austerity; he simply keeps going, holding on to hope.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की ते सर्वांना देवाचेच रूप मानून भेटतात, पण प्रत्येकाबद्दलची त्यांची आतली ओढ तंतोतंत सारखीच असावी असा आग्रह ते धरत नाहीत — आणि यात काही खोटेपणा नाही. पांडुरंगाला त्यांच्या मनातले खरे भाव आधीच ठाऊक आहेत, त्यामुळे इतरांना खुलासा देण्याची गरज नाही. जे विधी आणि कीर्तन-कथा ते चालू ठेवतात, ते करुणेपोटीच असतात — ज्यांचे मन जड किंवा निस्तेज झाले आहे, त्यांना आधार देण्यासाठी. ते उपवास किंवा कठोर तपश्चर्येने स्वतःला त्रास देत नाहीत; ते फक्त आशा धरून चालत राहतात.
Where this applies
- When you feel guilty because your warmth toward different people isn't perfectly equal or consistent
- When you feel you owe someone a long explanation for your inner feelings and would rather trust that the truth is already known
- When you keep up religious rituals or routines mainly to help others along, even if your own heart isn't in a dramatic state
- When you're tempted to punish yourself with extreme discipline instead of just continuing steadily with hope