Abhanga 2930
Guard who you keep company with above almost everything else, because being around wicked people erodes the mind moment by moment, while its absence is worth any hardship.
The verse
मागेन तें एक तुज । देई विचारोनि मज ॥१॥
नको दुर्जनांचा संग । क्षणक्षणा चित्तभंग ॥ध्रु.॥
जन्म घेईंन मी नाना । बहु सोसीन यातना ॥२॥
रंक होईंन दीनांचा । घायें देहपात साचा ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे हें चि आतां । देई देई तूं सर्वथा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Māgena te eka tuja — I will ask one thing of you; deī vichārōnī maja — give (it after) considering for me. Nakō durjanāñcā sanga — don't (give the)durjana-sanga(company of the wicked); kṣaṇa-kṣaṇā chitta-bhanga — moment-by-moment,chitta-bhanga(mind-breaking). Janma gheīna mī nānā — I will take manyjanma(births); bahu sōsīna yātanā — I will bear manyyātanā(sufferings). Ranka hōīna dīnāñcā — I will become theranka(pauper) of thedīna(destitute); ghāye deha-pāta sāchā — evendeha-pāta(falling of the body, death) by blows — truly. Tukā says: he chi ātām — this very (one thing), now; deī deī tūm sarvathā — give, give — totally.
What it means
THE canonical 4-verse anti-durjana-sanga prayer. Māgena te eka tuja — deī vichārōnī maja — I'll ask one thing — give it considered. The opening-setup: one-thing only.
Nakō durjanāñcā sanga — kṣaṇa-kṣaṇā chitta-bhanga — don't (give) the company of the wicked — moment-by-moment chitta-breaking. The one-thing: no durjana-sanga. The reason: kṣaṇa-kṣaṇā chitta-bhanga — moment-by-moment, the mind is broken (by the durjana-sanga).
The radical-alternative-list: Janma gheīna mī nānā — bahu sōsīna yātanā — ranka hōīna dīnāñcā — ghāye deha-pāta sāchā — I'll take many births, bear many sufferings, become the pauper of the destitute, even-true-deha-pāta. The bhakta lists FIVE extreme-hardships he-will-accept in-exchange-for-no-durjana-sanga: (1) many-births, (2) many-yātanā, (3) pauper-of-the-destitute, (4) blows, (5) deha-pāta (death). The list is meant-to-emphasize-the-extremity of-the-trade.
Close: Tukā mhaṇe he chi ātām — deī deī tūm sarvathā — this only — give, give, totally. The triple-imperative for emphasis.
For someone today
Tukaram asks God for just one thing, weighed and given with care: keep him away from the company of wicked people, because being around them erodes his mind moment by moment. In exchange, he says he would willingly take birth again and again, endure great suffering, become the poorest of the poor, and even face death from blows — he would accept all of that rather than keep bad company. This one thing, he pleads, give it to him completely, without fail.
मराठी: तुकाराम देवाकडे फक्त एकच गोष्ट मागतात, नीट विचार करून दिलेली: त्यांना दुष्ट माणसांच्या सहवासापासून दूर ठेवा, कारण अशा सहवासात त्यांचे मन क्षणाक्षणाला भंगत जाते. त्याऐवजी ते म्हणतात की ते पुन्हा पुन्हा जन्म घ्यायला, खूप यातना सहन करायला, गरिबातील गरीब व्हायला, आणि मार खाऊन मरायलाही तयार आहेत — दुष्ट सहवास टाळण्यासाठी हे सगळे स्वीकारायला ते तयार आहेत. ही एकच गोष्ट, ते विनवतात, ती त्यांना पूर्णपणे, कोणत्याही परिस्थितीत द्यावी.
Where this applies
- When you're tempted to stay in a toxic friendship or workplace just to avoid conflict
- When you notice your mood and thinking shift for the worse after spending time with certain people
- When you have to choose between comfort and staying away from people who pull you toward harm