Abhanga 3333
A loving mother bears her child's tantrums and forgives without holding grudges, and true devotees should show that same patience toward each other's faults.
The verse
मायेवरी सत्ता आवडीची बाळा । संकोचोनि लळा प्रतिपाळी ॥१॥
अपराध माझे न मनावे मनीं । तुम्ही संतजनीं मायबापीं ॥ध्रु.॥
आरुष वचन लेंकुराची आळी । साहोनि कवळी मागुताली ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे अंगीं काय नाहीं सत्ता । परि निष्ठता उपेजना ॥३॥
Literal translation
Child-has-sattā-over-loved-mother — she-restrains-laḷā-and-nurtures. Don't-take-my-aparādha-to-mind — you-sant-jana māya-bāpī. Bears-rude-words-tantrum, hugs-again. Tukā: sattā-not-lacking-in-anga — but-niṣṭha-tā-doesn't-arise.
What it means
A tender 3-verse mother-petition. The child has authority over the mother she loves; bear my faults — you sants are my mother-fathers; even after the rude tantrum, the mother gathers up the child.
For someone today
Tukaram describes something every parent recognizes, a beloved child has real power over its mother, she holds back her own anger and keeps caring for the child anyway. He asks the community of true devotees, who are like mother and father to him, not to hold his faults against him in that same spirit. A mother bears her child's rude words and tantrums and then simply gathers the child up again, and that is the kind of patience he is asking for. He ends with an honest admission about himself, it is not that he lacks the ability to be steady and devoted, it is that steadiness itself just does not seem to take hold in him.
मराठी: तुकाराम प्रत्येक पालकाला ओळखीचं वाटणारं एक चित्र रंगवतात, लाडक्या मुलाला आपल्या आईवर एक प्रकारची सत्ता असते, ती स्वतःचा राग आवरते आणि तरीही मुलाची काळजी घेतच राहते. संतजनांना, जे त्यांच्यासाठी आई-वडिलांसारखे आहेत, त्यांनी माझे अपराध मनावर घेऊ नयेत अशी ते विनंती करतात. आई मुलाचे उद्धट शब्द आणि हट्ट सहन करते आणि पुन्हा त्याला जवळ घेते, हीच सहनशीलता ते मागतात. शेवटी ते स्वतःबद्दल एक प्रामाणिक कबुली देतात, माझ्यात क्षमता कमी नाही, पण स्थिरता मात्र माझ्यात रुजत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you need to forgive someone you love the way a mother forgives a child's tantrum
- When you are seeking a community or mentors who will hold your faults gently rather than punish them
- When you are honest that your problem is not lack of ability but a failure of consistency
- When you want to understand why loved ones can hurt you and you keep caring for them anyway