Abhanga 2946
Do not let a lack of skill stop you from expressing devotion honestly, sing or speak your heart even if it sounds clumsy, without waiting for anyone's approval.
The verse
गाऊं नेणें कळा कुसरी । कान धरोनि म्हणें हरी ॥१॥
माझ्या बोबडिया बोला । चित्ती द्यावें बा विठ्ठला ॥ध्रु.॥
मज हंसतील लोक । परि मी गाईंन निःशंक ॥२॥
तुझे नामीं मी निर्लज्ज । काय जनासवें काज ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे माझी विनंती । तुम्ही परिसा कमळापती ॥४॥
Literal translation
Gāūm neṇe kaḷā kusarī — (I) don't know thekaḷā(art) of singing, (or) thekusarī(skill-of-craft); kāna dharōnī mhaṇe Harī — holding (my) ear, (I) say Hari. Mājhyā bōbaḍiyā bōlā — mybōbaḍiyā(baby-talk, stammering) words; chitti dyāve bā Viṭhṭhalā — please give (them place) in (your) chitta, dear Viṭhṭhal. Maja hamsatīla lōka — people will laugh at me; pari mī gāīna niḥśanka — but I shall singniḥśanka(without doubt, without hesitation). Tujhe nāmī mī nirlajja — in your Nāma, I amnirlajja(shameless); kāya janā-save kāja — what business (have I) withjana? Tukā says: mājhī vinatī — myvinatī(supplication); tumhī parisā Kamaḷāpati — please hear, O Kamaḷā-pati (Lakṣmī's-lord).
What it means
A canonical 4-verse I-don't-know-how-to-sing-but-I-sing-shamelessly baby-talk-bhakti prayer.
Verse 1: Gāūm neṇe kaḷā kusarī — kāna dharōnī mhaṇe Harī — I don't know the art of singing — (yet) holding (my) ear, I say Hari. The opening confession + corrective-gesture. Kāna-dharōnī — holding-the-ear — is a self-corrective gesture (often-done with-children-or-disciples to indicate-recognition-of-fault-or-shame); here Tukārām holds-his-own-ear and-yet-says-Hari.
Dhrūpada: Mājhyā bōbaḍiyā bōlā — chitti dyāve bā Viṭhṭhalā — my baby-talk words — please give (place) in (your) chitta, Viṭhṭhal. The petition: the Lord receive-the-baby-talk-words in his chitta. (Pairs with 2850 prīti-chiyā-bōlā-no-pesa-pāḍa; baby's-vague-words-wonderful-to-mother-father.)
Verse 2: Maja hamsatīla lōka — pari mī gāīna niḥśanka — people will laugh at me — but I'll sing without doubt. The defiance: I-don't-care-about-the-laughter; I-will-sing-without-hesitation.
Verse 3: Tujhe nāmī mī nirlajja — kāya janā-save kāja — in your Nāma, I am shameless — what business with people? The bhakti-claim: in-Name-mode, I am-shameless of public-opinion.
Close: Tukā mhaṇe mājhī vinatī — tumhī parisā Kamaḷāpati — my supplication — please hear, Kamaḷā-pati. The closing petition.
For someone today
Tukaram confesses he doesn't know the art or skill of singing, yet he tugs his own ear in humble self-correction and calls out to Hari anyway. He asks Vitthal to simply hold his clumsy, baby-talk words close in his heart, the way a mother treasures her child's first stammering speech. People may laugh at him, he says, but he will sing without any hesitation or doubt. When it comes to chanting the Name, he is shameless — he has no concern at all for what others think — and he ends by simply asking the Lord to listen to his heartfelt plea.
मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात की त्यांना गाण्याची कला किंवा कुशलता अवगत नाही, तरीही ते स्वतःचा कान धरून नम्रपणे हरीचे नाव घेतात. ते विठ्ठलाला विनवतात की त्याने त्यांचे बोबडे, अडखळणारे शब्द आपल्या मनात सामावून घ्यावेत — जसे आई आपल्या मुलाच्या पहिल्या तोतऱ्या बोलण्याला जपते तसे. लोक आपल्याला हसतील हे त्यांना माहीत आहे, तरीही ते निःशंकपणे गाणारच आहेत. तुझ्या नामात मी निर्लज्ज आहे — लोकांच्या मताची मला पर्वा नाही, असे ते म्हणतात — आणि शेवटी फक्त देवाला आपली विनंती ऐकण्याची प्रार्थना करतात.
Where this applies
- When you hold back from praying, singing, or expressing devotion because you feel unskilled
- When you're worried about looking foolish in front of others for showing sincere feeling
- When you need permission to be imperfect and still show up wholeheartedly