Abhanga 3400
Stubborn insistence is its own kind of wrongdoing, trust the natural capacity already within you and break the grip of craving instead of forcing outcomes.
The verse
आग्रहा नांवें पाप । योगीं सारावे संकल्प ॥१॥
सहजा ऐसें भांडवल । असोनि कां सारा बोल ॥ध्रु.॥
तैं न भेटे तें काय । मना अंगींचे उपाय ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे धरीं सोय । वासनेची फोडा डोय ॥३॥
Literal translation
Name-of-āgraha-is-pāpa — yōgī-set-aside-sankalpa. Such-sahaja-bhāṇḍavala-here — why-mere-words. What-doesn't-meet — upāyas-within-mana. Tukā: hold-sōya — break-ḍōya-of-vāsanā.
What it means
A 3-verse anti-āgraha / anti-sankalpa text. Obstinate-effort is sin; the natural capital is already here; the means are within the mana; break the head of vāsanā.
For someone today
Tukaram warns that stubborn insistence, forcing an outcome through sheer willpower, is itself a kind of wrongdoing. A truly focused seeker should let go of rigid plans and demands. He points out that we already carry a natural, effortless capacity within us, so why keep relying on mere talk and forced effort instead of trusting what is already there? The real means to what we need is already inside the mind itself, and the way forward is to break the grip of craving rather than to keep forcing things through willpower.
मराठी: तुकाराम इशारा देतात की हट्टीपणे, केवळ जिद्दीने काहीतरी घडवण्याचा अट्टाहास हा स्वतःच एक प्रकारचे पाप आहे. खऱ्या साधकाने कठोर योजना आणि आग्रह सोडून द्यावेत. ते सांगतात, आपल्यात आधीच एक सहज, नैसर्गिक क्षमता आहे, मग केवळ बोलण्यावर आणि जबरदस्तीच्या प्रयत्नावर का अवलंबून राहायचे, जे आधीच आहे त्यावर विश्वास ठेवण्याऐवजी? जे हवे आहे त्याचा खरा मार्ग आधीच मनाच्या आतच आहे, आणि पुढे जाण्याचा खरा मार्ग म्हणजे जिद्दीने गोष्टी रेटण्याऐवजी वासनेची पकड तोडणे.
Where this applies
- When you're forcing an outcome through stubbornness instead of trusting what's already within you
- When you keep talking about change but never actually let go of the craving driving you
- When you're gripping tightly to a rigid plan instead of working with what comes naturally
- When you realize the solution you need has been inside you all along, not in more effort