Abhanga 3038
This chance at devotion, earned over many lifetimes, is too precious to let slip, so grasp hold of it now, quickly and tightly.
The verse
बहुजन्में केला लाग । तो हा भाग लाधलों ॥१॥
जीव देइन हा बळी । करीन होळी संसारा ॥ध्रु.॥
गेलें मग नये हाता । पुढती चिंता वाटतसे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तांतड करूं । पाय धरूं बळकट ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bahu-janmīm kelā lāga — over many janmas, (I) made the lāga (pursuit); tō hā bhāga lādhalōm — (I) have obtained this bhāga (share). Jīva deina hā baḷi — I will give (my) jīva as a baḷi; karīna hōḷī samsārā — I will make a hōḷī of samsāra. Gele maga naye hātā — (if it) is gone, doesn't come back to hand; puḍhatī chintā vāṭatasē — chintā comes ahead. Tukā mhaṇe tāmtaḍa karūm — Tukā says: let me hasten; pāya dharūm baḷakaṭa — let me grasp the feet tightly.
What it means
A 3-verse refuge-and-resolve text by Tukārām.
The argument: Over-many-births I-made-the-pursuit; now-I've-obtained-this-portion; I'll-give-jīva-as-baḷi and-make-a-hōḷī-of-samsāra. The motivation: if-this-opportunity-leaves-my-hand-once-gone, future-worry will-come. The resolve: Hasten — grasp-the-feet-tight.
The bahu-janma-effort framing makes-this-life's-bhakti-opportunity into-the-fruit-of-many-births' work. The baḷi-and-hōḷī imagery is sacrificial — give-up-self, burn-samsāra. The tāmtaḍa (haste) is the Vārkarī-discipline.
For someone today
Tukārām says that this chance at devotion is the fruit of effort carried across many lifetimes, and now that he has it, he means to hold onto it with everything he has. He speaks of giving himself completely, of burning away his attachment to ordinary worldly life, because he knows that if this opportunity slips away, it may not come back. So he resolves to move quickly and grasp hold of God's feet as tightly as he can.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की भक्तीची ही संधी अनेक जन्मांच्या मेहनतीचे फळ आहे, आणि आता ती मिळाल्यावर ते पूर्ण शक्तीनिशी तिला धरून ठेवणार आहेत. ते स्वतःला संपूर्णपणे अर्पण करण्याविषयी बोलतात, संसाराची आसक्ती जाळून टाकण्याविषयी बोलतात, कारण त्यांना माहीत आहे की ही संधी हातातून निसटली तर ती परत मिळणार नाही. म्हणून ते लवकर कृती करून देवाचे पाय घट्ट धरण्याचा निश्चय करतात.
Where this applies
- When you sense a rare opportunity for growth and worry it might pass you by.
- When you keep putting off a spiritual practice you know matters to you.
- When you feel the urgency of not wanting to waste the time you've been given.