Abhanga 2934
Once God becomes your true companion, ordinary things around you start to feel abundant and precious, and loving devotion outranks even the highest philosophical knowledge.
The verse
सर्वपक्षीं हरि साहेसखा जाला । ओल्या अंगणीच्या कल्पलता त्याला ॥१॥
सहजचाली चालतां पायवाटे । चिंतामणींसमान होती गोटे ॥२॥
तुका तरी सहज बोले वाणी । त्याचे घरीं वेदांत वाहे पाणी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Sarva-pakṣī Hari sāhe-sakhā jālā — on all sides, Hari has become thesāhe-sakhā(helper-friend, companion-helper); ōlyā angaṇīñcyā kalpa-latā tyālā — for him — theōlyā angaṇīñcyā(wet courtyard's)kalpa-latā(wish-fulfilling vines). Sahaja-chālī chālatām pāyavāṭe — while walking onpāyavāṭa(footpath) withsahaja-chālī(natural walk); Chintāmaṇī-samāna hōtī gōṭe — thegōṭe(pebbles, stones) become equal-toChintāmaṇi(the wish-fulfilling-jewel). Tukā tarī sahaja bōle vāṇī — Tukā just-speaks-the-words (naturally); tyāñce gharī Vedānta vāhe pāṇī — at his (the Hari-bhakta's) house,Vedāntacarries water.
What it means
A 3-verse striking Hari-bhakta's-house: ordinary-things-become-wish-fulfilling image-verse.
Verse 1: Sarva-pakṣī Hari sāhe-sakhā jālā — ōlyā angaṇīñcyā kalpa-latā tyālā — on all sides, Hari has become the helper-friend — for him, the wet-courtyard's vines become wish-fulfilling-vines. The Hari-bhakta has the Lord-as-friend on all-sides; for him, even-the-ordinary-courtyard-vines become kalpa-latā (wish-fulfilling-vines, a-mythical-celestial-plant that-grants-wishes).
Verse 2: Sahaja-chālī chālatām pāyavāṭe — Chintāmaṇī-samāna hōtī gōṭe — while walking the foot-paths naturally — the pebbles become equal-to Chintāmaṇi. The image: even-the-pebbles on the path become Chintāmaṇi-jewels (the canonical wish-fulfilling jewel of-Hindu-mythology) — for the Hari-bhakta.
Verse 3 (the striking close): Tukā tarī sahaja bōle vāṇī — tyāñce gharī Vedānta vāhe pāṇī — Tukā just-speaks-naturally — at his house, Vedānta carries water. The radical-bhakta-supremacy-claim: at the Hari-bhakta's house, the Vedānta (the supreme-philosophy, the Upaniṣadic-end-of-knowledge) carries-water-(like-a-servant). The Vedānta — usually-supreme — is here-a-water-carrying-servant of the bhakta.
The full image: for the Hari-bhakta, ordinary-things become-wish-fulfilling; the supreme-philosophy is a water-carrying-servant. The bhakti-tradition's radical-claim: bhakti is higher-than even-Vedānta.
For someone today
Hari has become a companion on every side, Tukaram says, so that even the vines growing in a rain-soaked courtyard start to feel like wish-fulfilling vines from heaven. Walking along an ordinary footpath, the pebbles underfoot start to feel as precious as the legendary wish-granting jewel. Tukaram simply speaks in his own natural way, but in his house, he says, even the loftiest philosophy becomes like a humble servant carrying water. Once you have God as a true companion, everything ordinary around you begins to feel abundant, and love for the divine outranks even the highest learning.
मराठी: हरी सर्व बाजूंनी सोबती बनला आहे, तुकाराम म्हणतात, त्यामुळे पावसाने भिजलेल्या अंगणातल्या वेलीसुद्धा जणू स्वर्गातल्या इच्छापूर्ती करणाऱ्या कल्पलतेसारख्या वाटू लागतात. साध्या पायवाटेवरून चालतानाही तिथले खडे जणू चिंतामणीसारखे मौल्यवान वाटू लागतात. तुकाराम आपल्या सहज भाषेत बोलतात, पण त्यांच्या घरी, ते म्हणतात, मोठमोठे वेदांतही जणू पाणी वाहणाऱ्या साध्या सेवकासारखे होते. देव खरा सोबती झाला की आजूबाजूची साधी गोष्टसुद्धा विपुल वाटू लागते, आणि परमेश्वरावरील प्रेम हे सर्वोच्च ज्ञानापेक्षाही श्रेष्ठ ठरते.
Where this applies
- When your daily surroundings feel dull and you want to see them differently
- When you're tempted to think intellectual mastery matters more than a devoted heart
- When you want a reminder that ordinary life can feel abundant once love for the divine is present