Abhanga 3150
When support you relied on seems absent, honest devotion allows for a blunt, direct demand for help rather than silent waiting.
The verse
सेवकें करावें सांगितलें काम । सिक्याचा तो धर्म स्वामी राखे ॥१॥
काय देवा नेणों आलें गांढेपण । तुम्ही शक्तिहीन जाले दिसां ॥ध्रु.॥
विष्णुदास आम्ही निर्भर ज्याबळें । तें दिसे या काळें अव्हेरिलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मूळ पाठवा लौकरी । किंवा करूं हरी काय सांगा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Sevake karāve sāngitale kāma — sevaka should do the said work; sikkāñcā tō dharma svāmī rākhe — svāmī protects the sikkā-dharma. Kāya Devā neṇōm āle gāṇḍhepaṇa — what gāṇḍhepaṇa has come, Deva; tumhī śakti-hīna jāle disām — you look śakti-hīna these days. Viṣṇu-dāsa āmhī nirbhara jyābaḷe — we Viṣṇu-dāsas stand by that strength; te dise yā kāḷe avherilē — that seems rejected in this time. Tukā mhaṇe mūḷa pāṭhavā laukarī — Tukā says: send mūḷa back quickly; kimvā karūm Harī kāya sāngā — or what shall (we) do, Hari, tell.
What it means
A pressing petition. Tukārām complains: the-svāmī (Lord) is responsible-for-protection (sikkā-dharma); but-you-look-powerless. We-Viṣṇu-dāsas-relied-on-your-strength; now-rejected. Send-the-fundamental-protection back-quickly.
For someone today
This is Tukaram at his most blunt, almost teasing God for seeming powerless lately. He reminds Vitthal that a servant does their assigned work, but it is the master's job to guard and protect what belongs to him, and lately that protection seems to be missing. He and his fellow devotees have relied completely on that strength, he says, and it feels like it has been withdrawn or neglected just when it was needed. So he presses for an answer, asking God to send help quickly or plainly tell him what to do instead. It shows that devotion can include blunt, even cheeky demands when someone feels truly let down, without that ever meaning the relationship has ended.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे अगदी थेटपणे, जवळजवळ चिडवत विचारतात की देव अलीकडे इतका असहाय्य का वाटतो आहे. ते विठ्ठलाला आठवण करून देतात की सेवक आपले नेमून दिलेले काम करतो, पण जे आपले आहे त्याचे रक्षण करणे हे स्वामीचे कर्तव्य आहे, आणि अलीकडे ते रक्षण गायबच झाल्यासारखे वाटते. आपण आणि इतर भक्तांनी त्या शक्तीवर पूर्ण विसंबून राहिलो, असे ते म्हणतात, आणि नेमकी गरज असताना ती शक्तीच मागे घेतली किंवा दुर्लक्षिली गेल्यासारखी वाटते. म्हणून ते ठामपणे उत्तर मागतात, लवकर मदत पाठव किंवा स्पष्टपणे सांग आता काय करावे. यातून हे दिसते की खरा त्रस्त झाल्यास भक्तीत थेट, अगदी खोडकर मागणीही असू शकते, आणि त्यामुळे नाते संपते असे कधीच होत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel let down by something you deeply trusted and want to voice your frustration directly
- When you have done your part faithfully but feel the support you counted on has not shown up
- When you are tired of waiting quietly and are ready to ask bluntly for help or clear direction
- When you wonder whether it is acceptable to be honest and even a little confrontational in prayer