Abhanga 3525
Once you claim the divine as truly your own, whatever burden remains stops feeling heavy and becomes something carried freely.
The verse
संसाराची कोण गोडी । दिली जोडी करूनि ॥१॥
निष्ठ तूं बहु देवा । पुरे हेवा न म्हणवी ॥ध्रु.॥
पाहोनियां कर्म डोळां । निराळा तो वर्जीना ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुज माझें । म्हणतां ओझें फुकट ॥३॥
Literal translation
What-gōḍī-in-samsāra — you-joined-and-gave. You-very-niṣṭha — enough-no-hēvā. Watching-karma — nirāḷā-doesn't-refuse. Tukā: calling-you-mine — weight-is-fukaṭa.
What it means
A 3-verse what-sweetness-in-samsāra text. What sweetness in this world you've joined-and-given? You're very firm; enough, no envy; watching karma the separate-one doesn't refuse; calling you mine — the weight is free.
For someone today
Tukaram questions what real sweetness worldly life has ever given him, this life God supposedly joined together and handed to him. He tells God, you are utterly steadfast, so there's no need to provoke rivalry or envy between them. Watching how karma plays out with his own eyes, he notices that even the one who stands apart from it all doesn't refuse to engage with it. He ends with a quiet insight: once you call God your own, whatever weight remains becomes something carried freely, without cost.
मराठी: देवा, तू जोडून दिलेल्या या संसारात खरेच काय गोडी आहे, असा प्रश्न तुकाराम विचारतात. तू फार निष्ठ आहेस, त्यामुळे उगाच स्पर्धा किंवा हेवा नको असे ते म्हणतात. कर्म डोळ्यांनी पाहताना, त्यापासून वेगळा राहणाराही त्यात सहभागी होण्यास नकार देत नाही, हे ते नोंदवतात. शेवटी तुकाराम सांगतात, एकदा तुला माझे म्हटले, की जे काही ओझे उरते तेही आपोआप फुकट व हलके होऊन जाते.
Where this applies
- When you question whether worldly life has actually given you the happiness it promised
- When you feel steadied by trusting someone reliable instead of competing or comparing
- When you notice that even someone detached still chooses to stay engaged with life
- When claiming someone or something as truly yours makes a heavy burden feel lighter