Abhanga 3131
Tukaram teaches that honoring people whose love for God is steady and whole hearted, even to the point of humbling yourself before them, is itself an act of devotion.
The verse
जे गाती अखंड विठ्ठलाचे गीत । त्यांचे पायीं चत्ति ठेवीन मी ॥१॥
जयांसी आवडे विठ्ठलाचें नाम । ते माझे परम प्राणसखे ॥ध्रु.॥
जयांसी विठ्ठल आवडे लोचनीं । त्यांचें पायवणी स्वीकारीन ॥२॥
विठ्ठलासी जिहीं दिला सर्व भाव । त्यांच्या पायीं ठाव मागईंन ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे रज होईंन चरणींचा । म्हणविती त्यांचा हरिचे दास ॥४॥
Literal translation
Je gātī akhaṇḍa Viṭhṭhalāñce gīta — those who sing the Viṭhṭhala-gīta continuously; tyāñce pāyīm chitta ṭhevīna mī — at their pāya, I will place chitta. Jayāmsī āvaḍe Viṭhṭhalāñce nāma — those who love Viṭhṭhala's Name; te mājhe parama prāṇasakhe — they are my supreme prāṇa-sakhe. Jayāmsī Viṭhṭhala āvaḍe lōchanīm — those who love Viṭhṭhala in (their) eyes; tyāñce pāyavaṇī svīkārīna — I will accept their pāya-vaṇī. Viṭhṭhalāsī jihīm dilā sarva bhāva — those who have given all bhāva to Viṭhṭhala; tyāñcyā pāyīm ṭhāva māgaīmna — at their pāya, I will ask (for) ṭhāva. Tukā mhaṇe raja hōīmna charaṇīmñcā — Tukā says: I will become the dust of (their) charaṇas; mhaṇavitī tyāñcā Harīñce dāsa — they are called Hari-dāsa.
What it means
A canonical 5-verse bhakta-veneration framework by Tukārām.
The 5-fold bhakta-veneration: 1. Those-who-sing-Viṭhṭhala-gīta → I-place-chitta-at-their-feet 2. Those-who-love-Viṭhṭhala's-Name → my-supreme-prāṇa-friends 3. Those-who-love-Viṭhṭhala-in-eyes → I-accept-their-foot-water 4. Those-who-give-all-bhāva-to-Viṭhṭhala → at-their-feet-I-ask-(for)-place 5. Tukā's-resolve: I'll-become-the-dust-of-their-charaṇas — they-are-called-Hari-dāsa
This is a canonical Vārkarī bhakta-veneration text — those-who-love-Viṭhṭhal-(by-singing/Name/eyes/all-bhāva) deserve-the-bhakta's-veneration-and-foot-dust.
Compare-Tukārām's-2810 (saints-list — Vidura/Prahlāda/Rohidāsa etc), 3050 (sants'-māgī-māti), 2887 (sant-pūjā-warrant).
For someone today
Tukārām's bhakta-veneration framework. Those who sing the Viṭhṭhala-gīta continuously — at their feet, I will place my mind. Those who love Viṭhṭhala's Name — they are my supreme life-friends. Those who love Viṭhṭhala in (their) eyes — their foot-water I will accept. Those who have given all bhāva to Viṭhṭhala — at their feet, I will ask for a place. I will become the dust of (their) feet — (they) are called Hari's-servants. The verse permits the canonical 5-fold bhakta-veneration framework.
Where this applies
- When you meet someone whose faith feels steady and genuine, and you want to learn from them instead of judging them
- When you catch yourself chasing recognition instead of honoring people who are already quietly devoted
- When you're trying to tell real devotion apart from people who just talk about it
- When humility feels like it costs you something, and you need a reminder that it is its own kind of strength