Abhanga 3285
This offering is open right now and must be tested and taken today, because once the moment passes, like a shop closing at night, it cannot be reopened.
The verse
घ्या रे भाईं प्या रे भाईं । कोणी कांहीं थोडें बहु ॥१॥
ये च हाटीं ये च हाटीं । बांधा गाठी पारखून ॥ध्रु.॥
वेच आहे वेच आहे । सरलें पाहे मग खोटें ॥२॥
उघडें दुकान उघडें दुकान । रात्री जाली कोण सोडी मग ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे अंतकाळीं । जाती टाळीं बैसोनि ॥४॥
Literal translation
Take-drink-brother, little or much. In-this-haṭa, tie-knot-tested. Vecha-here, gone-(then)-false. Shop-open, night-falls-who-opens? Tukā: at-anta-kāḷa, go-tāḷīm-baisōnī.
What it means
A canonical bhakti-market-call. The-bhakti-shop is-open-now; once-night-falls (death-comes), no-one-can-open-it.
For someone today
This is a lively, urgent call from a marketplace of devotion. Tukaram invites everyone in, brother, take whatever amount you can, small or large, but first test it for yourself before you commit, the way you would examine goods before sealing a deal. He stresses that this offering is available right now, and once the moment passes, any later claim to have gotten it is simply false. The shop is open, he repeats for emphasis, but once night falls, no one can open it again. His closing image is stark: at the time of death, people are left merely sitting and wailing, clapping in grief, because they missed the chance while the shop was open.
मराठी: हे भक्तीच्या बाजारातील एक चैतन्यशील, तातडीचे आवाहन आहे. तुकाराम सर्वांना बोलावतात, बंधू, जेवढे शक्य असेल तेवढे घ्या, कमी असो वा जास्त, पण आधी स्वतः पारखून घ्या, जसे सौदा पक्का करण्याआधी माल तपासून घेतो तसे. हे मिळण्याची संधी आत्ता आहे आणि क्षण निघून गेल्यावर मिळाल्याचा दावा खोटा ठरतो, असे ते ठासून सांगतात. दुकान उघडे आहे, ते पुन्हा पुन्हा सांगतात, पण रात्र झाल्यावर मात्र कोणीही ते पुन्हा उघडू शकणार नाही. त्यांची शेवटची प्रतिमा तीव्र आहे: मृत्यूच्या वेळी लोक फक्त बसून हाताने टाळ्या वाजवत शोक करत राहतात, कारण दुकान उघडे असतानाच त्यांनी संधी गमावलेली असते.
Where this applies
- When an opportunity for real growth or connection is available right now, but you keep putting off examining or committing to it.
- When you assume you can always come back later to something that is actually only available in this moment.
- When you watch people regret, too late, not having acted while they had the chance.
- When you need a nudge to test something honestly for yourself now rather than delaying the decision.