Abhanga 3448
A human life gains its meaning through meeting God via the sants, and their love and God's name can lift up even the dullest soul into fearless devotion.
The verse
जन्मा येऊनि तया लाभ जाला । बिडवईं भेटला पांडुरंगा ॥१॥
संसारदुःखें नासिलीं तेणें । उत्तम हें केणें नामघोष॥ध्रु.॥
धन्य ते संत सद्धि महानुभाव । पंढरीचा ठाव टाकियेला ॥२॥
प्रेमदाते ते च पतितपावन । धन्य दरुषण होय त्याला ॥३॥
पावटणिया पंथें जालिया सिद्धी । वोगळे समाधि सायुज्यता ॥४॥
प्रेम अराणूक नाहीं भय धाक । मज तेणें सुखें कांहीं चिंता ॥५॥
तें दुर्लभ संसारासी । जडजीवउद्धारलोकासी ॥६॥
तुका म्हणे त्यासी । धन्य भाग्य दरूषणें ॥७॥
Literal translation
Janmā yeūnī tayā lābha jālā — by coming into birth, the lābha has happened; Biḍavīm bheṭalā Pāṇḍurangā — (he) met Pāṇḍurangā at Biḍavī. Samsāra-duḥkhe nāsilīm teṇe — samsāra-duḥkha destroyed by that; uttama he keṇe nāmaghōṣa — the nāmaghōṣa is the best keṇa (commodity). Dhanya te samta siddhi mahānubhāva — blessed the sants, siddhi, mahānubhāva; Paṇḍharīcā ṭhāva ṭākiyelā — who have set up the Paṇḍharī-place. Premadāte te cha patita-pāvana — prema-givers, they (are) patita-pāvana; dhanya daruṣaṇa hōya tyālā — blessed (is the) darśana. Pāvaṭaṇiyā pamthe jāliyā siddhī — by graded-stairway-path, siddhi-attained; vōgaḷe samādhi sāyujyatā — into vōgaḷe-samādhi, sāyujyatā. Prema arāṇūka nāhīm bhaya dhāka — prema-uninterrupted, no fear, no danger. Te durlabha samsārāsī — that is rare in samsāra; jaḍajīva-uddhāra-lōkāsī — for jaḍa-jīva-uddhāra-loka. Tukā mhaṇe tyāsī — dhanya bhāgya darūṣaṇe — Tukā says: of them — blessed by bhāgya-darśana.
What it means
A 7-verse meditation on the graded-spiritual-path: meeting-Pāṇḍurangā at-Biḍavī → nāma-ghōṣa → sant-darśana → pāvaṭaṇī-path (graded) → siddhi → samādhi → sāyujyatā → prema (uninterrupted, fearless).
For someone today
Tukaram says that being born gains its real meaning when a person meets God through the sants, and that simply chanting God's name is the finest treasure a person can gain, because it destroys the suffering of ordinary worldly life. He calls the sants blessed, because they made Pandhari, that meeting place with God, accessible to everyone. These sants give love freely and purify even those who have fallen far, so meeting them is itself a blessing. Step by step, through this path, a seeker moves toward deep attainment and union with the divine, arriving at a love so steady that fear and worry simply fall away. Such love is rare in ordinary life, yet it can lift up even the dullest, most struggling soul, which is why Tukaram calls it pure good fortune to encounter such people at all.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की जन्माला येण्याचा खरा अर्थ तेव्हाच सापडतो जेव्हा माणूस संतांच्या माध्यमातून देवाला भेटतो, आणि नुसते देवाचे नाम घेणे हेच माणसाला मिळणारे सर्वश्रेष्ठ धन आहे, कारण त्यामुळे संसारातील दुःख नाहीसे होते. ते संतांना धन्य मानतात, कारण त्यांनी पंढरी, म्हणजे देवाला भेटण्याचे ठिकाण, सर्वांसाठी सुलभ करून ठेवले. हे संत मुक्तपणे प्रेम देतात आणि खूप पडलेल्या माणसालाही शुद्ध करतात, म्हणून त्यांचे दर्शन होणे हेच एक भाग्य आहे. या मार्गावर टप्प्याटप्प्याने साधक सिद्धीकडे आणि देवाशी एकरूप होण्याकडे पुढे जातो, आणि अशा स्थिर प्रेमापर्यंत पोहोचतो जिथे भीती आणि चिंता आपोआप गळून पडतात. असे प्रेम सामान्य जीवनात दुर्मिळ असते, तरीही ते अगदी जड, संघर्ष करणाऱ्या जिवालाही वर उचलू शकते, म्हणूनच तुकाराम म्हणतात की अशा संतांचे दर्शन होणे हेच खरे भाग्य आहे.
Where this applies
- When you wonder what makes a human life actually meaningful rather than just passing time
- When you find that simply repeating God's name eases a suffering that nothing else has touched
- When you meet someone whose presence itself feels like a gift, purifying and calming you
- When you feel stuck or dull-hearted and need reassurance that even you can be lifted up by good company