Abhanga 3460
After a lifetime of devotion, Tukaram boldly demands real fulfillment from God and refuses to be fobbed off with a thin substitute.
The verse
नाहीं भ्यालों तरी पावलों या ठाया । तुम्हां आळवाया जवळिकें ॥१॥
सत्ताबळें आतां मागेन भोजन । केलें तें चिंतन आजिवरी ॥ध्रु.॥
नवनीतासाटीं खादला हा जीव । थोड्यासाटीं कीव कोण करी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे ताक न लगे हें घाटे । पांडुरंगा खोटें चाळवण ॥३॥
Literal translation
Not-afraid — came-to-this-place to-call-you-near. By-sattā-balē ask-bhōjana — chintana-till-today. Jīva-consumed-for-navanīta — who-pities-little-bit. Tukā: no-tāka-at-ghāṭa — Pāṇḍurangā false-fobbing-off.
What it means
A striking 3-verse demand-petition. I am not afraid; I've come close to call you; by authority I demand the meal; my life has been spent for butter — don't fob me off with buttermilk at the passage. The butter/buttermilk distinction is a sharp economic-petition image.
For someone today
Tukaram speaks to God without fear, saying he has come this close precisely to call out and be heard, not to grovel timidly. After a lifetime of contemplation, he feels he has earned the right to ask boldly for real nourishment, not scraps. He compares his whole life to being spent chasing butter, the real, rich fulfillment, and says no one should settle for pity over a little bit when so much has been given. His closing demand is direct: don't fob him off with buttermilk, the thin substitute, when what he came for was the real thing.
मराठी: तुकाराम देवाशी निर्भयपणे बोलतात, ते म्हणतात की मी इतक्या जवळ आलो आहे तो घाबरून विनवणी करण्यासाठी नाही, तर मोठ्याने हाक मारून ऐकवण्यासाठी. आयुष्यभर चिंतन केल्यानंतर, आता खरे पोषण मागण्याचा हक्क आपल्याला मिळाला आहे असे त्यांना वाटते, उष्टे नको. त्यांचे संपूर्ण आयुष्य लोणी, म्हणजे खरी, समृद्ध तृप्ती मिळवण्यासाठी खर्च झाले आहे असे ते सांगतात, आणि इतके दिले गेल्यावर कोणीही थोड्याशा दयेवर समाधान मानू नये असे म्हणतात. त्यांची शेवटची मागणी थेट आहे, ताक देऊन, म्हणजे पातळ पर्याय देऊन, माझी बोळवण करू नकोस, कारण मला हवी होती ती खरी गोष्ट.
Where this applies
- When you finally ask for what you truly need instead of timidly settling for less
- When you feel you've earned the right to ask boldly after years of quiet effort and faith
- When someone offers you a watered-down substitute for what you actually came for
- When you refuse to be fobbed off with a small gesture after giving your whole life to something