Abhanga 3116
Tukaram protests God's playful hiding and revealing, naming ego as people's real obstacle, and asks in frustration how much longer this teasing will continue.
The verse
करिसी लाघवें । तूं हें खेळसी आघवें ॥१॥
अहंकार आड । आम्हां जगासी हा नाड ॥ध्रु.॥
येथें भुतें यावें । दावूं लपों ही जाणावें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे हो श्रीपती । आतां चाळवाल किती ॥३॥
Literal translation
Karisī lāghave — you do (this) with lāghava; tūm he kheḷasī āghave — you play everything. Ahamkāra āḍa — ahamkāra (is) in-the-way; āmhām jagāsī hā nāḍa — this is the jaga's nāḍa. Yethe bhūte yāve — bhūtas should-come here; dāvūm lapōm hī jāṇāve — (you must) know to show and to hide. Tukā mhaṇe hō Śrīpatī — Tukā says: O Śrīpati; ātām chāḷavāla kitī — now how long will (you) chāḷavāla (taunt).
What it means
A short 3-verse protest by Tukārām on the Lord's-līlā-with-people.
The argument: You act-cleverly, play-everything; ahamkāra-is-in-the-way-of-this-jaga (the-bhakta-community); the bhūtas should-come-here; you-must-know-when-to-show-and-when-to-hide. Śrīpati, how-long-will-you-taunt-(us)?
The verse-protests the-bhakti-game-of-hide-and-show — enough-of-the-dilly-dallying.
For someone today
This is Tukārām's protest against the Lord's long game of hide-and-seek. You act so cleverly, he says, playing with everything and everyone — and it is our own ego that gets in the way and causes us real trouble. The hidden truth should finally come forward instead of endlessly appearing and disappearing. Tukārām asks, in real frustration, how much longer this teasing can go on. The verse gives voice to the devotee's impatience with God's playful concealment.
मराठी: हा तुकारामांचा देवाच्या लपंडावाच्या खेळाविरुद्धचा थेट तक्रारीचा अभंग आहे. देवा, तू मोठ्या चतुराईने सर्वांशी खेळतोस, आणि आमचा अहंकारच आम्हाला अडवतो व त्रास देतो, असे ते सांगतात. लपलेले सत्य आता समोर यावे, सतत लपणे-दाखवणे बंद व्हावे, अशी तुकाराम मागणी करतात. शेवटी ते मनापासून विचारतात, श्रीपती, आता आणखी किती काळ आमची चेष्टा करणार? या अभंगातून भक्ताची देवाच्या खेळकर लपाछपीबद्दलची अधीरता आणि तक्रार व्यक्त होते.
Where this applies
- When you feel like clarity or answers keep slipping away just when you think you're close
- When your own ego seems to be the main thing blocking you from seeing what's real
- When you're tired of searching and want to voice your impatience honestly instead of pretending you're fine
- When you sense something is deliberately staying hidden from you and you want to call that out directly