Abhanga 2933
Give even your desire, anger, greed, and self-interest over to God rather than hiding them, and let your one occupation in life be remembering the divine.
The verse
येउनि संसारीं । मी तों एक जाणें हरी ॥१॥
नेणें आणिक कांहीं धंदा । नित्य ध्यातसें गोविंदा ॥ध्रु.॥
कामक्रोधलोभस्वार्थ । अवघा माझा पंढरिनाथ ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे एक । धणी विठ्ठल मी सेवक ॥३॥
Literal translation
Yeuni samsārī — having come tosamsāra; mī tōm eka jāṇe Harī — I know only Hari. Neṇe āṇika kāmhī dhandā — (I) don't know any otherdhandā(trade, business); nitya dhyātase Govindā — daily, I meditate on Govinda. Kāma-krōdha-lōbha-svārtha — desire, anger, greed, self-interest; avaghā mājhā Pandharī-nātha — all (these) of mine are my Pandharī-nātha. Tukā says: eka — one; dhaṇī Viṭhṭhala mī sevaka — Viṭṭhal (is) thedhaṇī(master); I (am) thesevaka(servant).
What it means
A 3-verse total-bhakti claim verse. Yeuni samsārī — mī tōm eka jāṇe Harī — having come to samsāra — I know only Hari. The exclusive-claim.
Neṇe āṇika kāmhī dhandā — nitya dhyātase Govindā — I don't know any other business — daily meditate on Govinda. The single-vocation.
The radical-claim: Kāma-krōdha-lōbha-svārtha — avaghā mājhā Pandharī-nātha — desire, anger, greed, self-interest — all of mine are my Pandharī-nātha. Two-readings: (1) I have offered all these (kāma-krōdha-lōbha-svārtha) to Pandharī-nātha — they are now-his; (2) all-my-passions are-toward Pandharī-nātha — even-what-look-like-defects are bhakti-directed. Either reading is radical: the bhakta's-inner-faults are transformed-by-being-given-to-Pandharī-nātha.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe eka — dhaṇī Viṭhṭhala mī sevaka — one master-Viṭṭhal; I (am) sevaka. The total-bhakti commitment.
For someone today
Since coming into this world, Tukaram says, Hari is the only thing I truly know. I have no other trade or business — every day I simply meditate on Govinda. Even my desire, anger, greed, and self-interest, all of it, I hand over to Pandharinath as his own. There is one master, Vitthal, and I am only his servant.
मराठी: या संसारात आल्यापासून, तुकाराम म्हणतात, मला फक्त हरीच खरोखर ठाऊक आहे. मला दुसरा कोणताही व्यवसाय माहीत नाही — मी रोज फक्त गोविंदाचे ध्यान करतो. माझी वासना, राग, लोभ आणि स्वार्थ, हे सगळे मी पंढरीनाथाच्याच स्वाधीन केले आहे. एकच धनी आहे, विठ्ठल, आणि मी केवळ त्याचा सेवक आहे.
Where this applies
- When you feel your flaws and negative emotions are too shameful to bring into your spiritual practice
- When you're trying to simplify a scattered life into one clear priority
- When you want a way to relate to your own anger or greed without being ruled by them