Abhanga 3050
Simply staying close to people of real integrity and letting their humility rub off on you can be enough of a spiritual practice on its own.
The verse
संत मारगीं चालती । त्यांची लागो मज माती ॥१॥
काय करावीं साधनें । काय नव्हे एक तेणें ॥ध्रु.॥
शेष घेईंन उच्छिष्ट । धाय धणीवरी पोट ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे संतां पायीं । जीव ठेविला निश्चयीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Samta mārgīm chālatī — the sants walk on the mārga; tyāñcī lāgo maja mātī — let their māti attach to me. Kāya karāvīm sādhane — what (other) sādhanas need to be done; kāya navhe eka teṇe — what is not (achievable) by that one. Śeṣa gheīmna uchchhiṣṭa — I'll take śeṣa-uchchhiṣṭa; dhāya dhaṇī varī pōṭa — (fill) the belly dhāya-dhaṇī (full-to-satisfaction). Tukā mhaṇe samtām pāyīm — Tukā says: at sants' pāya; jīva ṭhevilā niśchayīm — I have placed jīva with niśchaya.
What it means
A canonical 3-verse sants'-feet-dust-as-everything text by Tukārām.
The claim: Sants-walk-the-mārga; their-dust-on-me. What-other-sādhana-is-needed? — what-is-not-(possible)-by-that-one? I'll-take-their-śeṣa-uchchhiṣṭa (leftovers) and-fill-belly-full. At-sants'-feet jīva-placed-with-niśchaya.
This is one of-the-strongest sant-sanga-supremacy texts. The radical-claim: sants'-māti (foot-dust) replaces all-other-sādhana. The eating-of-sants'-leftovers (śeṣa-uchchhiṣṭa) is the prasāda-eating practice — a humility-rite that connects-bhakta-and-sant.
Compare-Tukārām's 2887 (sant-pūjā warrant — pāya-vaṇī-kāyā-kuravaṇḍī-ōmvāḷaṇē), 3035 (sant-sanga + chandana-fragrance), 2629 (santa-udāra-udāra).
For someone today
Tukārām's canonical sants'-feet-dust text. The sants walk on the mārga — let their dust attach to me. What (other) sādhana needs to be done? — what is not (achievable) by that one (alone)? I will take (their) leftovers — and fill (my) belly full-to-satisfaction. At the sants' feet — I have placed my jīva with firm-resolve. The verse permits the canonical claim that the dust from the sants' feet is, by itself, everything needed.
मराठी: तुकारामांचा हा संतांच्या पायीच्या धुळीबद्दलचा पारंपरिक अभंग आहे. संत जिथे मार्गाने चालतात, त्यांची माती मला लागो. आणखी कोणती साधना करावी लागेल? त्या एका गोष्टीने काय साध्य होत नाही? मी त्यांचे उष्टे घेईन — आणि पोट पुरेपूर भरेन. संतांच्या पायी मी माझा जीव निश्चयाने ठेवला आहे. या अभंगातून हा पारंपरिक दावा प्रकट होतो की संतांच्या पायीची धूळ हीच स्वतः पुरेशी साधना आहे.
Where this applies
- When you're searching for an elaborate practice and forget that good company alone can be enough.
- When you find real nourishment in being close to people you deeply respect.
- When you're deciding who to place your trust and attention in.