Abhanga 3427
When you are aching with longing, it is right to ask plainly to be met and held with tenderness rather than turned away.
The verse
मी तव बैसलों धरुनियां ध्यास । न करीं उदास पांडुरंगा ॥१॥
नको आतां मज दवडूं श्रीहरी । मागाया भिकारी जालों दास ॥ध्रु.॥
भुकेलों कृपेच्या वचनाकारणें । आशा नारायणें पुरवावी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे येऊनियां देई भेटी । कुरवाळुनी पोटीं धरीं मज ॥३॥
Literal translation
I-sit-holding-dhyāsa — don't-make-me-udāsa, Pāṇḍurangā. Don't-push-me-away, Śrīhari — to-beg I-became-dāsa. Hungry-for-krpā-vachana — fulfill-āśā, Nārāyaṇa. Tukā: come-give-bhēṭī — caress-and-hold-to-pōṭa.
What it means
A 3-verse meeting-petition. I sit holding intense longing; I've become a beggar's dāsa; come, caress me, hold me to your breast.
For someone today
Tukaram sits holding on to a deep, focused longing, and he begs Pandurang not to let it turn into sadness or hopelessness. He admits he has become nothing more than a beggar at God's door and pleads not to be turned away now that he's committed to asking. What he's really hungry for isn't wealth but a word of kindness, some sign of grace that would satisfy his longing. In the end his request is tender and simple: come, meet me, hold me close, the way you'd comfort a child against your chest.
मराठी: तुकाराम एक खोल, केंद्रित ओढ मनात धरून बसले आहेत, आणि ते पांडुरंगाला विनवतात की ही ओढ दुःखात किंवा निराशेत बदलू देऊ नकोस. ते कबूल करतात की ते आता देवाच्या दारी भिकारीच बनले आहेत आणि विनंती करतात की एकदा मागायला सुरुवात केल्यावर त्यांना परत पाठवू नये. त्यांना खरी भूक धनाची नाही तर कृपेच्या एका शब्दाची आहे, जो त्यांची ओढ शांत करेल. शेवटी त्यांची विनंती साधी आणि हळुवार आहे, ये, भेट, मला जवळ घे, जसे लहान मुलाला छातीशी धरून सांत्वन दिले जाते.
Where this applies
- When you hold on to a deep longing and fear it will turn into despair if unanswered
- When you feel humbled to the point of begging and worry about being turned away
- When what you're really hungry for is a kind word or gesture, not material help
- When you simply want to be held and comforted rather than given advice or solutions