Abhanga 3475
Stay loyal and do your part faithfully, but leave the judgment of who is worthy or unworthy entirely to God.
The verse
ठेवूनि इमान राहिलों चरणीं । म्हणउनि धणी कृपा करी ॥१॥
आम्हांसी भांडार करणें जतन । आलें गेलें कोण उंच निंच ॥ध्रु.॥
करूनि सांभाळीं राहिला निराळा । एक एक वेळा आज्ञा केली ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे योग्यायोग्य विनीत । देवा नाहीं चित्त येथें देणें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Placed-īmāna-stayed-at-charaṇa — dhaṇī-does-krpā. We-guard-bhāṇḍāra — no-care-of-who-comes-goes-uñcha-nīñcha. Cared-then-stayed-aloof, gave-one-ājñā. Tukā: yōgyāyōgya-vinīta — no-chitta-to-give-here, Deva.
What it means
A 3-verse fidelity-and-non-judgment text. I've placed my faith at his feet, so he gives krpā; we just guard the storehouse — high-low coming-going is not our concern; he gave one order and stays aloof; what's fit-and-unfit is not for me to decide.
For someone today
Tukaram describes himself as a faithful servant who has placed complete trust at God's feet, and because of that loyalty, grace naturally follows. His job, he says, is simply to guard the storehouse and not worry about who comes and goes or who ranks higher or lower. The master gave his instructions once and then stepped back, staying at a distance while trusting the work to be done. Tuka closes with humility, saying that deciding who is worthy or unworthy is not his to judge, that he leaves entirely in God's hands.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्वतःला एक इमानदार सेवक म्हणून वर्णन करतात, ज्याने देवाच्या चरणी पूर्ण विश्वास ठेवला आहे, आणि त्याच निष्ठेमुळे कृपा आपोआप येते. आपले काम फक्त भांडार सांभाळणे आहे, कोण येतो-जातो किंवा कोण उंच-नीच आहे याची चिंता करणे नाही, असे ते सांगतात. धन्याने एकदा आज्ञा दिली आणि मग तो अलिप्त राहिला, काम विश्वासाने सोपवून दूर उभा राहिला. शेवटी तुका नम्रपणे म्हणतात की कोण योग्य आणि कोण अयोग्य हे ठरवणे माझे काम नाही, ते मी पूर्णपणे देवावर सोडतो.
Where this applies
- When you are in a caretaking role and tempted to judge who deserves help and who does not
- When quiet loyalty and faithfulness matter more than trying to control the outcome
- When you have been given a responsibility and must simply carry it out without needing constant oversight
- When you want to let go of the urge to rank people as more or less deserving