Abhanga 3441
True companionship wakes you from sleep, shares one purpose as if it were your own life, and never lets anything harsh come between you.
The verse
धरावा तो बरा । ठाव वसतीचा थारा ॥१॥
निजविल्या जागविती । निज पुरवूनि देती ॥ध्रु.॥
एक वेवसाव । त्यांचा संग त्यांचा जीव ॥२॥
हितें केलें हित । ग्वाही एक एकां चित्त ॥३॥
विषमाचें कांहीं । आड तया एक नाहीं ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे बरीं । घरा येतील त्यापरी ॥५॥
Literal translation
Dharāvā tō barā — hold the good; ṭhāva vasatīñcā thārā — the vasati-thārā. Nijavilyā jāgavitī — (they) wake the sleeper; nija puravūnī detī — fulfill the nija. Eka vevasāva — one vyavasāya; tyāñcā samga tyāñcā jīva — their sanga is their jīva. Hite kele hita — (they) do hita by hita; gvāhī eka ekām chitta — the chitta of each is mutual gvāhī. Viṣamāñce kāmhī — of the viṣama (anything); āḍa tayā eka nāhī — nothing comes-between. Tukā mhaṇe barīm — Tukā says: well-(it-is); gharā yetīla tyāparī — (those) who come home in-that-manner.
What it means
A 5-verse sant-sanga praise by Tukārām.
The 5 features of-the-true-sant-sanga: 1. Hold-the-good-vasati-thārā (dwelling-shelter) 2. They-wake-the-sleeper, fulfill-the-real-thing 3. One-vyavasāya — sanga-is-jīva 4. Hita-by-hita; mutual-chitta-as-witness 5. Nothing-viṣama-comes-between
Closing: those-who-come-home-like-that — well.
This complements-3439 (don't-be-too-intimate) — if-the-sant-sanga-is-genuine, mutual-hita-and-witness, no-viṣama-between — then-it-is-the-good-vasati-thārā. The two-texts-together give-Tukārām's-nuanced-sant-sanga-doctrine.
For someone today
Tukārām's mutual-sant-sanga praise. Hold the good — the dwelling-shelter. (They) wake the sleeper — fulfill the real-thing. One business — their company is their life. They do good by good — the mind of each is mutual witness. Of the uneven (harmful) — nothing comes-between. Well — (for) those who come home in that manner. The verse permits the canonical sant-sanga of mutual-fulfillment and no-viṣama-between.
Where this applies
- When you finally find friends who wake you up rather than let you stay comfortably asleep to what matters
- When you wonder if a relationship is good because there's no real conflict or hidden harm between you
- When you notice a companionship where helping each other feels natural, not obligatory
- When you're trying to describe what real community, as opposed to mere acquaintance, actually feels like