Abhanga 3004
Devotion can include openly confronting a loved one's repeated harmful pattern and refusing to back down until it is addressed.
The verse
आतां न राहें क्षण एक । तुझा कळला रे लौकिक । नेदीं हालों एक । कांहीं केल्यावांचूनि ॥१॥
संबंध पडिला कोणाशीं । काय डोळे झांकितोसी । नेईंन पांचांपाशीं । दे नाहींतरी वोढूनि ॥ध्रु.॥
सुखें नेदीस जाणवलें । नास केल्याविण उगलें । तरि तें ही विचारिलें । आम्ही आहे तुज आधीं ॥२॥
असें च करूनि किती । नागविलीं नाहीं नीती । तुकयाबंधु म्हणे अंतीं । न सोडिसी ते खोडी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Ātām na rāhe kṣaṇa eka — now I will not stay even (one)kṣaṇa; tujhā kaḷalā re laukika — yourlaukika(worldly-fame) has been revealed; nedīm hālōm eka — I will not let-(myself) move (be-moved-away); kāmhī kelyā-vāñchūnī — without something done. Sambandha paḍilā kōṇāsī — with whom has (the)sambandha(connection) fallen; kāya ḍōḷe jhānkitōsī — why are (you) closing eyes; neīmna pāñchām-pāśī — I will take (you) to thepāñcha(the-five, panchayat-assembly); de nāhī-tarī vōḍhūnī — give (it back) — otherwise — by force. Sukhe nedīsa jāṇavale — (you) do not let-(it)-be-known bysukha(easy means); nāsa kelyā-viṇa ugale — without destroying-(something), (you) will-not be-at-rest; tari te hī vichārile — but-this also (we have) considered; āmhī āhe tuja ādhī — we are (ready) for youādhī(already, beforehand). Asēn cha karūnī kitī — (you) have done thus much; nāgavilīm nāhī nītī — (you have) stripped withoutnīti(conscience); tukayā-bandhu mhaṇe antī — na sōḍisī te khōḍī — Tukārām's-brother says: at the end — (you) will not give-up thiskhōḍī(vice, habit).
What it means
A 3-verse hostage-demand by Tukyā-bandhu. NON-Tukārām.
The bhakta-brother threatens to take-the-Lord-to-the-pāñcha (panchayat-assembly) for-formal-arbitration of-the-dispute. If-the-Lord-won't-return-the-brother-by-sukha (easy-means), the brother-will-use-force. The diagnostic-claim: you have-the-habit (khōḍī) of-destroying-things-and-not-resting-until-you-do; we-have-already-prepared-for-this.
For someone today
Kānhobā refuses to back down here — he says he won't move an inch until something changes, and that everyone can now see the Lord's true reputation. He asks pointedly why the Lord keeps his eyes closed to their broken connection, and threatens to bring the matter before the village assembly for judgment, or take it back by force if it isn't returned peacefully. He accuses the Lord of a destructive habit — never at rest until something is broken — but insists he's ready for it this time, having seen this pattern before. He closes by saying plainly that the Lord will never give up this vice on his own. It's devotion that dares to confront a loved one's repeated harm openly and refuses to settle for silence.
मराठी: येथे कान्होबा मागे हटायला तयार नाही — काहीतरी ठोस घडल्याशिवाय आपण एक क्षणही स्वस्थ बसणार नाही, असे तो सांगतो, आणि आता सर्वांना परमेश्वराची खरी कीर्ती कळली आहे असेही तो बजावतो. आपल्यातला तुटलेला संबंध पाहूनही परमेश्वर डोळे का मिटून बसला आहे, असा तो थेट सवाल करतो, आणि हे प्रकरण पंचायतीसमोर नेईन किंवा शांततेने परत न मिळाल्यास बळजबरीने घेईन, असा इशारा देतो. परमेश्वराला काहीतरी उद्ध्वस्त केल्याशिवाय चैन पडत नाही असा घातक स्वभाव आहे, असा आरोप तो करतो — पण यावेळी आपण तयार आहोत, कारण हा प्रकार आधीही पाहिला आहे, असेही तो स्पष्ट करतो. शेवटी तो ठामपणे म्हणतो की परमेश्वर स्वतःहून ही सवय कधीच सोडणार नाही. आवडत्या व्यक्तीच्या वारंवार होणाऱ्या दुखावणाऱ्या वागण्याला उघडपणे सामोरे जाण्याचे आणि गप्प न बसण्याचे धैर्य ही भक्ती दाखवते.
Where this applies
- When you finally call out a pattern of harm from someone you love instead of quietly enduring it
- When you refuse to leave a conversation or relationship until something is actually resolved
- When you feel you need outside help or arbitration because private appeals have not worked
- When you decide to stay prepared for someone's repeated behavior instead of being caught off guard again