Abhanga 3218
It's honest and worthy to yearn for a deeper longing you don't yet have, and to find daily blessing in whatever you're given while you wait for it.
The verse
कई ऐसी दशा येइल माझ्या आंगा । चत्ति पांडुरंगा झुरतसे ॥१॥
नाठवुनि देह पायांचें चिंतन । अवसान तें क्षण नाहीं मधीं ॥ध्रु.॥
काय ऐसा पात्र होईंन लाभासी । नेणों हृषीकेशी तुष्टईंल ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे धन्य मानीन संचित । घेईंन तें नित्य प्रेमसुख ॥३॥
Literal translation
When-this-daśā-come-to-anga? Chitta withers-for-Pāṇḍurangā. Forgetting-deha, feet-chintana, no-avasāna-between. Will-I-be-pātra-for-lābha? — Hrṣīkeśī-tuṣṭa. Tukā: dhanya-samchita; will-take-nitya-prema-sukha.
What it means
A 3-verse yearning text. When-will-this-yearning-state actually-arrive in-my-body?
For someone today
Tukaram admits he doesn't yet have the constant, consuming longing he wants, his heart withers wishing it would arrive, a state where he'd forget his own body and think of nothing but the divine without a single gap. He's honestly unsure whether he's even worthy of that gift, but he trusts he'll be pleased with whatever comes and will count it a blessing, taking daily joy from it. This is permission to want to want more deeply, even before you get there.
मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात की त्यांना अजून ती सतत, सर्वस्व व्यापणारी ओढ नाही जी त्यांना हवी आहे, त्यांचं मन त्या स्थितीची वाट पाहून कोमेजतं, अशी स्थिती जिथे देहाचं भानही राहणार नाही आणि क्षणभरही खंड न पडता फक्त देवाचंच चिंतन राहील. आपण त्या देणगीस पात्र आहोत की नाही हे त्यांना खरंच माहीत नाही, पण जे काही मिळेल त्यात समाधान मानून, ते रोजचा आनंद मानतील. ही तीव्र ओढ हवी असणं, ती अजून मिळाली नसली तरी, यालाही परवानगी आहे.
Where this applies
- When you wish you longed for something meaningful more deeply than you actually do
- When you're unsure whether you deserve the good thing you're hoping for
- When your mind keeps drifting and you wish for uninterrupted focus on what matters
- When you decide to feel grateful for small daily moments rather than waiting for a perfect state