Abhanga 3528
Deep affection draws care toward you on its own, so when you call out from love, trust that an answer will come.
The verse
मागितल्यास आस करा । उरी धरा कांहींबाहीं ॥१॥
म्हणऊनि सारिली आस । होती यास मूळ तें ॥ध्रु.॥
माझ्या मोहें तुज पान्हा । लोटे स्तना वोरस ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आळवणे । माझ्या देणें उत्तर ॥३॥
Literal translation
Hold-asked-hope — keep-some-leftover. Therefore-set-aside-the-āsa — this-was-its-mūḷa. By-my-mōha — pānhā-flows-to-you-stana-overflows. Tukā: when-called — reply-is-mine-to-give.
What it means
A 3-verse mother-petition with reversal of agency. I set aside the desire that started this; but by my loving-attachment, the milk flows to you (mother)'s breast-side and overflows; so when I call out, the reply is yours to give. The image of the milk-flowing-toward-the-child-from-mother's-mōha is reversed: the child's mōha causes the milk to flow.
For someone today
Tukaram says that when we ask something of someone, we should hold that hope lightly, keeping something in reserve instead of expecting everything at once. He notes that he has already set aside his own longing, since that very longing was the root of this whole exchange. Yet, he observes, his own deep attachment still draws love toward him unbidden, like milk overflowing from a mother's breast out of pure affection. He ends by saying that whenever he calls out, giving him an answer becomes God's own responsibility to fulfill.
मराठी: जे मागितले त्याची आस धरावी, पण काहीतरी शिल्लक राखूनच, असे तुकाराम सांगतात. मीच ती आस बाजूला ठेवली, कारण तीच या सगळ्याचे मूळ कारण होती असे ते म्हणतात. पण माझ्याच ओढीमुळे तुझ्याकडे प्रेमाचा पान्हा फुटतो, जणू आईच्या स्तनातून दूध ओसंडून वाहावे तसे, हे ते सांगतात. शेवटी तुकाराम म्हणतात, की मी हाक मारली की उत्तर देणे ही तुझीच जबाबदारी होऊन जाते.
Where this applies
- When you ask for something from someone and try to hold your expectations loosely
- When you notice your own deep longing is actually what draws care toward you
- When love or support arrives unbidden simply because of how much you care
- When you trust that someone who loves you will answer when you call, even without demanding it