Abhanga 3420
The differences in what draws or repels us exist for love's sake, and their deepest meaning is known only to God, not fully to us.
The verse
एकीं असे हेवा । एक अनावड जीवां ॥१॥
देवें केल्या भिन्न जाती । उत्तम कनिष्ठ मध्यस्ती ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रीतिसाटीं भेद । कोणी पूज्य कोणी निंद्य ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे कळा । त्याचा जाणे हा कळवळा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Some-hēvā, some-anāvaḍa. Deva-made-bhinna-jātī uttama-kaniṣṭha-madhyastī. For-prīti's-sake-bhēda — some-pūjya, some-nindya. Tukā: only-Lord-knows-the-kaḷā-and-this-kaḷavaḷā.
What it means
A 3-verse unusual-doctrine text. Deva himself made the high-low-middle distinctions — for the sake of prīti; only he knows the inner-skill of this. Read carefully — jātī here likely means categories-of-quality (uttama/kaniṣṭha/madhyastī = good/lesser/middling), not birth-caste; this is consistent with Tukārām's elsewhere-anti-caste position (2755, 2973). The prīti-sāṭīm-bhēda line is the key — the distinction exists for love's sake.
For someone today
Tukaram notices that people's inner lives vary widely: some are full of envy or longing, others feel no attraction at all toward the same things. He observes that even God seems to have shaped different qualities and levels among beings, some higher, some lower, some in between, but he ties this directly to love, not to birth or rank. These distinctions exist for love's sake, the way we naturally hold some things dearer than others, and some things we resist or dislike. Tukaram admits the deeper why of it is beyond him; only God truly understands the inner feeling behind these differences.
मराठी: तुकाराम पाहतात की माणसांचे अंतर्मन खूप वेगवेगळे असते, काहींच्या मनात हेवा किंवा ओढ असते, तर तेच काहींना अजिबात आवडत नाही. देवानेच जणू वेगवेगळ्या गुणांचे, वेगवेगळ्या पातळ्यांचे जीव घडवले आहेत, कोणी उच्च, कोणी कनिष्ठ, कोणी मधले, पण हे भेद ते जन्माशी किंवा दर्जाशी नाही तर प्रेमाशी जोडतात. हे भेद प्रेमासाठीच असतात, जसे आपण काही गोष्टींना जास्त जवळचे मानतो आणि काहींपासून दूर राहतो. याचे खरे कारण आपल्या आकलनापलीकडे आहे असे तुकाराम कबूल करतात, या भेदामागची खरी भावना फक्त देवालाच माहीत आहे.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's bhēda-for-prīti's-sake unusual-doctrine
- Note: contextualize with anti-caste positions (2755, 2973)