संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3362 of 4582

Abhanga 3362

The being you can rely on is the being who does not need you. Reciprocity-free giving — and the freedom of being a dāsa to such a one.

Tukārām's Lord-without-longing; runs-unbidden; sole-dātā-of-svahita canonical

The verse

मी दास तयाचा जया चाड नाहीं । सुख दुःख दोहीविरहित जो ॥१॥ राहिलासे उभा भीमरेच्या तीरीं । कट दोहीं करीं धरोनियां ॥ध्रु.॥ नवल काईं तरी पाचारितां पावे । न श्मरित धांवे भक्तिकाजें ॥२॥ सर्व भार माझा त्यासी आहें चिंता । तों चि माझा दाता स्वहिताचा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे त्यास गाईंन मी गीतीं । आणीक तें चित्तीं न धरीं कांहीं ॥४॥

Literal translation

Mī dāsa tayāchā jayā chāḍa nāhīm — sukha duḥkha dōhīvirahita jōI am dāsa of him who has no longing — who is sukha-duḥkha-dōhīvirahita. Rāhilāse ubhā Bhīmarechyā tīrīm — kaṭa dōhīm karīm dharōniyāmstands on Bhīmā-bank, hands on both hips. Navala kāī tarī pāchāritām pāve — na smarita dhāve bhakti-kājēno wonder he comes when called — he runs even when unremembered, for bhakti's sake. Sarva bhāra mājhā tyāsī āhe chimtā — to-chi mājhā dātā svahitāchāmy whole burden — his is the concern; he alone my dātā of svahita. Tukā mhaṇe tyāsa gāīna mī gītīm — āṇīka tē chittīm na dharīm kāmhīTukā says: him alone I will sing; nothing else hold I in chitta.

What it means

A 4-verse text of dāsa-status-by-Lord's-needlessness. The paradox: the very fact that the Lord wants nothing (sukha-duḥkha-dōhīvirahita) makes him reliable. He runs even unremembered. The Vīṭheval-stance — kaṭ-on-hips — becomes the symbol of unhurried availability.

For someone today

The being you can rely on is the being who does not need you. Reciprocity-free giving — and the freedom of being a dāsa to such a one.

Where this applies