Abhanga 2911
Stop grieving over losses; instead call whatever comes to you a gift from God, and know that an open mind carrying that attitude is itself the whole of merit.
The verse
हारपल्याची नका चित्ती । धरूं खंती वांयां च ॥१॥
पावलें तें म्हणा देवा । सहज सेवा या नांवें ॥ध्रु.॥
होणार तें तें भोगें घडे । लाभ जोडे संकल्पें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मोकळें मन । अवघें पुण्य या नांवें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Hārapalyāñcī nakā chitti — (for) the lost (things) — don't (hold) in chitta; dharūm khaṇṭi vāmyām cha — holdkhaṇṭi(sorrow, grief) vainly. Pāvale te mhaṇā Devā — what has come — sayDevā (i.e., name it as Deva's-gift);sahaja sevā yā nāve—sahaja (natural) sevā is in this name.Hōṇāra te te bhōge ghaḍe—what will happen, happens by bhōga (experiencing);lābha jōḍe sankalpe — lābha(gain) joins bysankalpa(intention, vow). Tukā says: mōkaḷe mana — (the) open mind; avaghe puṇya yā nāve — allpuṇya(merit) is in this name.
What it means
A canonical equanimity-prayer verse. Hārapalyāñcī nakā chitti — dharūm khaṇṭi vāmyām cha — don't hold sorrow in chitta for the lost — vainly. The opening: for-things-lost, don't-grieve.
Pāvale te mhaṇā Devā — sahaja sevā yā nāve — what has come — sayDevā— natural sevā is in this name. The discipline: what-comes is theDevā(Deva's-gift); calling-it-such is natural-sevā.
Hōṇāra te te bhōge ghaḍe — lābha jōḍe sankalpe — what will happen, happens by bhōga — gain joins by sankalpa. The diagnostic: what-happens, happens-by-bhōga (karmic-experiencing); gain-comes-by-sankalpa (intention-vow).
The close: Tukā mhaṇe mōkaḷe mana — avaghe puṇya yā nāve — open mind — all puṇya in this name. The bhakti-claim: the open-mind, calling-everything-Deva, has all-the-puṇya in this very-naming.
(Pairs with 2867 ṭhevilē-Anantē-taisē-chi-rāhāve — the equanimity-prayer pair.)
For someone today
Don't carry sorrow in your heart over what you've lost — it's a wasted grief. Whatever comes to you, call it God's gift; simply naming it that way is itself a natural form of service. What happens to you unfolds through experience, the way karma works itself out, while what you gain comes through the intention you hold. Keep your mind open and free — receiving everything that comes and goes in God's name is, in itself, the whole of merit.
मराठी: जे हरवले त्याचे दुःख उगाच मनात बाळगू नका. जे काही तुमच्याकडे येते, त्याला देवाची देणगी माना — असे म्हणणे हीच खरी सहज सेवा आहे. जे घडायचे ते भोगातून घडते, आणि लाभ हा संकल्पाने जोडला जातो. मन मोकळे ठेवा — येणाऱ्या-जाणाऱ्या प्रत्येक गोष्टीला देवाच्या नावाने स्वीकारणे, हेच खरे पुण्य आहे.
Where this applies
- When you're stuck mourning something you lost and can't move past it
- When something good happens to you and you're deciding how to receive it
- When you're anxious about outcomes and want to focus on your intention instead of forcing results
- When you're trying to figure out what actually counts as spiritual merit or virtue in daily life