Abhanga 3511
Keep your mind anchored to what truly matters, like a thread tied at the feet, so you can move freely through life without ever losing that unbroken connection.
The verse
पायांपासीं चित्त । तेणें भेटी अखंडित ॥१॥
असे खेळे भलते ठायीं । प्रेमसूत्रदोरी पायीं ॥ध्रु.॥
केलेंसे जतन । मुळीं काय तें वचन ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे सर्वजाणा । ठायीं विचारावें मना ॥३॥
Literal translation
Chitta-at-feet — bhēṭī-akhaṇḍita. Plays-anywhere — prēma-sūtra-dōrī-at-pāya. Kept-careful — what-the-original-vachana. Tukā: sarva-jāṇa — at-the-place-let-mana-vichāra.
What it means
A 3-verse unbroken-meeting text. Chitta at the feet — meeting is uninterrupted; the bhakta plays anywhere, but the love-thread-rope is fastened at the feet; we have kept this carefully; let mana reflect at-the-very-place. Recurring image with 3127 (prema-tantu-dōrī canonical).
For someone today
Tukaram says that when your mind stays anchored at God's feet, that meeting never actually breaks. You can go and play anywhere in life, but a thread of love stays tied at that one place, like a rope that keeps you connected however far you wander. He has kept that bond carefully, holding on to the original promise made at the very start. He asks the all-knowing one to let the mind sit with that same place and reflect on it.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की जेव्हा तुमचे मन देवाच्या पायांशी स्थिर राहते, तेव्हा ती भेट कधी तुटतच नाही. तुम्ही आयुष्यात कुठेही खेळू शकता, पण प्रेमाचा एक धागा त्या एका जागी बांधलेला राहतो, जसा दोरखंड जो तुम्ही कितीही दूर गेलात तरी बांधून ठेवतो. त्यांनी हे नाते जपून ठेवले आहे, सुरुवातीला दिलेल्या मूळ वचनाला धरून. ते सर्वज्ञ देवाला विनंती करतात की मनाने त्याच जागी थांबून विचार करावा.
Where this applies
- When you are busy with daily life but want to stay grounded in what matters most
- When you fear that being caught up in the world means losing closeness with what you love
- When you need to remember and honor a commitment made long ago
- When you want freedom to explore without cutting the thread that keeps you tethered to your center