Abhanga 3327
Honor those whose only wealth is devotion to God, being near them is true rest, and their company is worth more than any worldly status.
The verse
त्यांचिया चरणां माझें दंडवत । ज्यांचें धनवित्त पांडुरंग ॥१॥
येथें माझा जीव पावला विसांवा । म्हणऊनि हांवा भरलासें ॥ध्रु.॥
चरणींचें रज लावीन कपाळा । जीं पदें राउळा सोईं जाती ॥२॥
आणिक तीं भाग्यें येथें कुरवंडी । करूनियां सांडीं इंद्राऐसी ॥३॥
वैष्णवांचे घरीं देवाची वसति । विश्वास हा चित्तीं सत्यभावें ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे सखे हरिचे ते दास । आतां पुढें आस नाहीं दुजें ॥५॥
Literal translation
My-daṇḍavata to-their-feet — whose dhana-vitta is Pāṇḍuranga. Here-my-jīva got-visāva — therefore-hāmvā-bharalāsē. Will-smear feet-dust on-kapāḷa — the-padē that-go-toward-rāuḷa. These-bhāgyē I-would-offer as-kuravaṇḍī — throwing-away-Indra-status. Vaiṣṇavas-house has-Deva-vasati — this-viśvāsa in-chitta with-satya-bhāva. Tukā: friends Hari's-dāsa — now-ahead no-other-āsa.
What it means
A 5-verse canonical Vaiṣṇava-veneration: the-Vaiṣṇavas-whose-only-wealth-is-Pāṇḍuranga-are-my-rest; their-feet-dust-on-my-forehead; their-house-is-Deva's-dwelling-itself; I'd-throw-away-even-Indra-status-as-an-offering. Strong link to the Vaiṣṇavāñchē gharīm Dēvāchī vasati lineage.
For someone today
Tukaram bows deeply at the feet of those whose only real wealth is Pandurang, nothing else they own matters to them. Being near people like that is where his own restless heart finally finds rest, and that rest fills him with even greater longing to stay close to them. He wants to take the dust from their feet, the feet that walk toward the temple, and mark his own forehead with it, a gesture of total respect. He says he would happily give up something as grand as the status of Indra, king of the gods, just to have this closeness instead. Wherever true devotees live, he says, God himself lives, and he believes this with complete sincerity, not as a pious phrase. In the end, once you have found companions like these who belong wholly to God, there is nothing else left to hope for.
मराठी: तुकाराम अशा लोकांच्या पायांवर नतमस्तक होतात ज्यांची खरी संपत्ती फक्त पांडुरंग आहे, बाकी काहीही त्यांना महत्त्वाचं वाटत नाही. अशा लोकांच्या सहवासात त्यांच्या अस्वस्थ मनाला खरी विश्रांती मिळते, आणि तीच विश्रांती त्यांच्या मनात आणखी जवळ राहण्याची ओढ निर्माण करते. त्यांच्या पायांची, देवळाकडे चालणाऱ्या पावलांची धूळ आपल्या कपाळावर लावावी असं ते म्हणतात, हा पूर्ण आदराचा भाव आहे. इंद्रपदासारखी मोठी गोष्टही सोडून हे सान्निध्य मिळावं यासाठी ते तयार आहेत. जिथे खरे वैष्णव राहतात तिथे देवाचाच वास असतो, हा विश्वास त्यांच्या मनात प्रामाणिकपणे रुजलेला आहे, केवळ बोलण्यापुरता नाही. शेवटी, जे संपूर्णपणे देवाचे झाले आहेत असे सोबती एकदा मिळाले की पुढे दुसरी कोणतीही आशा उरत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you meet people whose only real priority is their faith, and being around them settles something restless in you
- When you find yourself wanting to honor a teacher or elder with a gesture of deep respect
- When you are offered status, success, or recognition and realize you would rather have genuine spiritual company instead
- When you trust that wherever sincere devotees gather, something sacred is actually present there