संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2938 of 4582

Abhanga 2938

Hold yourself to strict personal discipline around desire and money so your conduct never brings shame on what you represent, and know that true integrity shows in standing with the poor.

When you're tempted toward inappropriate desire for someone who is already committed to another.

When money or wealth starts to feel more important to you than it should.

When you want to judge whether someone's moral talk is backed by real action, especially toward the poor.

The verse

लागों नेदीं बोल पायां तुझ्या हरी । जीव जावो परि न करीं आण ॥१॥ परनारी मज रखुमाईंसमान । वमनाहूनि धन नीच मानीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे याची लाज असे कोणा । सहाकारी दीना ज्याची तया ॥३॥

Literal translation

Lāgō nedī bōla pāyām tujhyā Harī — I will not letbōla(blame, accusation) attach to your feet, Hari; jīva jāvō pari na karī āṇa — (my) jīva may go, but I will not take (such) anāṇa(oath, breach). Para-nārī maja Rakhumāī-samāna — others' wife (is) to me equal-toRakhumāī; vamanāhūnī dhana nīcha mānī — I considerdhana(wealth) lower thanvamana(vomit). Tukā says: yāchī lāja ase kōṇā — who haslāja(shame, sense-of-honor) for this?; sahakārī dīnā jyāñcī tayā — thesahakārī(helper-companion) of thedīna(destitute) — (the dīna's side) is his.

What it means

A short moral-discipline-declaration verse. Lāgō nedī bōla pāyām tujhyā Harī — jīva jāvō pari na karī āṇa — I won't let blame attach to your feet, Hari — jīva may go but I won't break promise. The opening: my-conduct reflects-on-your-feet; therefore I-take-the-vow not-to-let-blame-fall.

Para-nārī maja Rakhumāī-samāna — vamanāhūnī dhana nīcha mānī — others' woman is to me as Rukmiṇī; wealth (is) lower than vomit. The two-fold moral-discipline: (1) all-women are Rukmiṇī-equivalent (Lord's-consort, sacred); (2) wealth is below-vomit. Both are strict-formulations.

The close: Tukā mhaṇe yāchī lāja ase kōṇā — sahakārī dīnā jyāñcī tayā — who has shame for this — the helper-companion of the dīna is his. The rhetorical: who-honors-this (discipline)? And the answer-claim: the one-who-stands-with-the-dīna (destitute) — that one is his.

For someone today

This is a firm declaration of personal discipline. Tukaram vows that his own conduct will never bring blame on the Lord's name, even if it costs him his life, and he will not break this promise. He resolves to see every other woman as he would see Rukmini herself, and to value wealth as lower than vomit. Few people, he says, truly hold themselves to this standard of honor — but those who stand with the poor and the destitute are the ones who do.

मराठी: ही तुकारामांची ठाम शपथ आहे. ते म्हणतात की स्वतःच्या वागण्यामुळे देवाच्या नावाला कधीही कलंक लागू देणार नाहीत, प्राण गेला तरी हे वचन मोडणार नाहीत. दुसऱ्याच्या पत्नीला ते रखुमाईसमान मानतील आणि धनाला उलटीपेक्षाही खालचे समजतील. असा प्रामाणिकपणा फार थोड्यांना जपता येतो — पण जे गरीब व दीनांच्या पाठीशी उभे राहतात, तेच खरे याचे पालन करतात.

Where this applies

When you're tempted to compromise your integrity around money or attraction to someone else's partner
When you want your conduct to reflect well on your values or community rather than embarrass them
When you're deciding who genuinely lives by high moral standards versus who just talks about them