Abhanga 3047
Use each day to keep your mind fixed on what matters most through steady habit, because being fortunate means making something of the life you were given.
The verse
वर्त्ततां बासर । काय करावें शरीर ॥१॥
ठेवा नेमून नेमून । माझें तुमचे पायीं मन ॥ध्रु.॥
नेदाविया वृत्ती । कोठें फांकों चि श्रीपती ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे भले । जन्मा येऊनियां जाले ॥३॥
Literal translation
Varttatām bāsara — living through the day; kāya karāve śarīra — what to do with this śarīra. Ṭhevā nemūna nemūna — place (it) nemūna-nemūna (fixed-rule-after-rule); mājhe tumache pāyīm mana — my mana (be) at your pāya. Nedāviyā vrttī — don't let the vrtti (wander); kōṭhe phānkōm chi Śrīpatī — wherever (you go), Śrīpati. Tukā mhaṇe bhale — Tukā says: those are the good-ones; janmā yeūnīyām jāle — who came into janma and (so) became.
What it means
A canonical 3-verse daily-discipline text by Tukārām.
The discipline: living-the-day, what-with-this-śarīra? Place-(it) by-niyama-after-niyama; my-mana at-your-pāya; don't-let-the-vrtti-wander; wherever-you-go-Śrīpati, (I-follow). Those-who-came-into-janma and-(so)-became are the-good-ones.
The closing-line is striking: bhale janmā yeūnīyām jāle — the-good-ones are-those-who-by-coming-into-janma have-become. The implication: bhakti-makes-the-janma-meaningful — without-it, the-janma is-wasted.
Compare-Tukārām's 3046 (ayāchita-vrtti), 3021 (Kānhōbā's indriya-discipline), 2836 (sādhaka-discipline).
For someone today
Tukārām's daily-discipline. Living through the day — what (else) is there to do with this śarīra? Place (it) — fixed by rule after rule — my mana be at your pāya. Do not let the vrtti wander anywhere — wherever you (go), Śrīpati, (I follow). Those are the good-ones — who came into janma and (so) became. The verse permits the canonical daily discipline of keeping the mind at the Lord's feet, the vrtti following Śrīpati wherever he goes.
मराठी: तुकारामांचा हा दैनंदिन साधनेचा अभंग आहे. दिवस असाच जगायचा — या शरीराचे आणखी काय करायचे? नियमानुसार, वारंवार ठरवून, माझे मन तुझ्या पायी ठेवावे. वृत्तीला कुठेही भटकू देऊ नये — तू जिथे जाशील, श्रीपती, तिथे मीही जाईन. जे जन्माला येऊन खरोखर काही झाले, तेच खरे भले होत. या अभंगातून हे कळते की मन परमेश्वराच्या पायी ठेवणे आणि वृत्तीने श्रीपतीच्या मागे जाणे ही खरी दैनंदिन साधना आहे.
Where this applies
- When your attention keeps drifting and you're trying to build a steady daily habit.
- When you're not sure what to do with a day that stretches out in front of you.
- When you wonder whether you're actually making something of your life or just letting it pass.