Abhanga 3488
What comes from genuine faith rather than clever intellect is true from its very source, whether or not everyone recognizes it.
The verse
विश्वास तो देव । म्हणुनि धरियेला भाव ॥१॥
माझी वदवितो वाणी । ज्याणें धरिली धरणी ॥ध्रु.॥
जोडिलीं अक्षरें । नव्हेती बुद्धीचीं उत्तरें ॥२॥
नाहीं केली आटी । कांहीं मानदंभासाटीं॥३॥
कोणी भाग्यवंत । तया कळेल उचित ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे झरा । आहे मुळींचा चि खरा ॥५॥
Literal translation
Viśvāsa-itself-is-Dēva — therefore-held-bhāva. The-one-who-holds-the-earth makes-my-vāṇī-speak. Joined-akṣaras-not-buddhi's-replies. No-āṭī-for-māna-dambha. Some-bhāgya-vanta-will-know-the-uchita. Tukā: jharā-true-from-the-very-mūḷa.
What it means
A 5-verse author-disclaimer text. Faith itself is Deva; the world-holder makes me speak; my words are not from buddhi; I don't pursue honor or pride; the lucky-ones will recognize the truth; the spring is true from its source. Closely related to 2940 (sāḷunkī, Lord-speaks-through-me) and 3484 (Tukyā-svāmī-adorns-himself).
For someone today
Tukaram makes a quiet claim here about the true source of his own words, saying that faith itself is what he means by God, and that conviction is what he has held onto. The one who sustains the whole earth is the one making his voice speak, so the words that come together are not clever answers thought up by his own intellect. He insists he has never chased after honor or pride in any of it. Only someone truly fortunate, he says, will recognize what is fitting and real in it. He closes with a simple image, a spring runs true right from its very source, and so does whatever flows through him.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे आपल्या शब्दांच्या खऱ्या उगमाबद्दल शांतपणे सांगतात, की विश्वास हाच माझ्यासाठी देव आहे आणि हाच भाव मी धरून ठेवला आहे. जो संपूर्ण पृथ्वी धारण करतो, तोच माझी वाणी बोलवतो, त्यामुळे जे शब्द जुळून येतात ते माझ्या बुद्धीने रचलेली उत्तरे नाहीत. यासाठी मी कधीच मान किंवा दंभासाठी आटापिटा केलेला नाही, असे ते ठामपणे सांगतात. यातले खरे आणि योग्य कोणा भाग्यवंतालाच कळेल, असे ते म्हणतात. शेवटी एक साधी प्रतिमा देतात, झरा त्याच्या मुळापासूनच खरा असतो, आणि माझ्यातून जे वाहते तेही तसेच आहे.
Where this applies
- When you create something and want the credit to go beyond just your own cleverness
- When you are tempted to seek honor or recognition instead of staying true to a calling
- When you trust that where something comes from matters more than how it is received
- When you wonder whether people will recognize the real value in something honest you have made