Abhanga 3453
Attentive, shared listening to something sacred spreads good like fragrance, while laziness or mockery flattens it and drags everyone present down with it.
The verse
कथे बैसोनि सादरें । सुखचर्चा परस्परें । नवल काय तो उद्धरे । आणीक तरे सुगंधें ॥१॥
पुण्य घेई रे फुकाचें । पाप दुष्टवासनेचें । पेरिल्या बीजाचें । फळ घेई शेवटीं ॥ध्रु.॥
कथा विरस पाडी आळसें । छळणा करूनि मोडी रस । बुडवी आपणासरिसें । विटाळसें नावेसी ॥२॥
सज्जन चंदनाचिये परी । दुर्जन देशत्यागें दुरी । राहो म्हणे हरि । विनंती करी तुका हे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kathe baisōnī sādare — sit attentively in kathā; sukha-charchā paraspare — mutual sukha-charchā; navala kāya tō uddhare — no-wonder he crosses; āṇīka tare sugandhe — and others cross by sugandha. Puṇya gheī re phukāñce — take puṇya for free; pāpa duṣṭa-vāsaneñce — pāpa from duṣṭa-vāsanā; perilyā bījāñce — phaḷa gheī śevaṭīm — the seed-sown — fruit-taken at end. Kathā virasa pāḍī āḷase — kathā becomes virasa by āḷasa; chaḷaṇā karūnī mōḍī rasa — sneering breaks rasa; buḍavī āpaṇāsariṣe — viṭāḷase nāvesī — drowns self-and-companions, like defiled-boat. Sajjana chandanāñciye parī — sajjana like chandana; durjana deśa-tyāge dūrī — durjana by deśa-tyāga keep far; rāhō mhaṇe Harī — vinatī karī Tukā he — may Hari dwell here, Tukā makes vinatī.
What it means
A 3-verse kathā-discipline text: attentive-listening + mutual-discussion = sugandha-uddhāra; sneering breaks rasa and drowns boat; sajjana like chandana, durjana keep far by deśa-tyāga.
For someone today
Tukaram says that sitting attentively through a sacred story and discussing it together with others brings real good, freely, like a fragrance that lifts everyone present. Bad intentions, on the other hand, plant seeds whose bitter fruit you'll eventually have to eat. He warns that laziness makes the story go flat, and scoffing or mockery breaks its spirit entirely, dragging down not just the mocker but everyone else present, like a leak in a shared boat. Good people are like sandalwood, their goodness spreads simply by being near, while a corrupting presence needs to be kept at a real distance. Tukaram's own prayer is simple: may God dwell here, among people who gather this way.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की एखादी पवित्र कथा लक्षपूर्वक ऐकणे आणि इतरांबरोबर तिच्यावर चर्चा करणे खरोखर भले घडवते, अगदी सहज, जणू एक सुगंध सर्वांना उंचावतो. याउलट वाईट हेतू असे बीज पेरतात ज्याचे कटू फळ शेवटी भोगावेच लागते. ते इशारा देतात की आळशीपणामुळे कथा फिकट पडते, आणि टिंगल-टवाळी केल्याने तिचा रस पूर्णपणे बिघडतो, यामुळे केवळ टिंगल करणाराच नाही तर तिथे उपस्थित सगळेच बुडतात, जसे एका सामायिक होडीत झालेली गळती. चांगली माणसे चंदनासारखी असतात, त्यांची चांगुलपणा नुसत्या सान्निध्यानेच पसरते, तर बिघडवणाऱ्या माणसाला मात्र खरोखर दूर ठेवावे लागते. तुकारामांची प्रार्थना साधी आहे, अशा एकत्र येणाऱ्या लोकांमध्ये देव वास करावा.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's kathā-discipline; sajjana-chandana/durjana-deśa-tyāga text