संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3565 of 4582

Abhanga 3565

Ātmasthiti maja nakō hā vichāra — I don't want this ātma-sthiti vichāra; deīm nirantara charaṇasevā — give nirantara charaṇa-sevā.

Tukārām's canonical no-mukti, only-charaṇa-sevā; Deva-bhakta-bond bhakti-supremacy

The verse

आत्मस्थिति मज नको हा विचार । देईं निरंतर चरणसेवा ॥१॥ जन्मोजन्मीं तुझा दास पुरुषोत्तमा । हे चि गोडी माझ्या देई जीवा ॥ध्रु.॥ काय सायुज्यता मुक्ति हे चि गोड । देव भक्त कोड तेथें नाहीं ॥२॥ काय तें निर्गुण पाहों कैशा परी । वर्णू तुझी हरी कीर्ती कैसी ॥३॥ गोड चरणसेवा देवभक्तपण । मज देवा झणें दुराविसी ॥४॥ जाणिवेपासूनि सोडवीं माझ्या जीवा । देईं चरणसेवा निरंतर ॥५॥ तुका म्हणे गोडा गोड न लगे प्रीतिकर । प्रीति ते ही सार सेवा हे रे ॥६॥

Literal translation

Ātmasthiti maja nakō hā vichāraI don't want this ātma-sthiti vichāra; deīm nirantara charaṇasevāgive nirantara charaṇa-sevā. Janmōjanmīm tujhā dāsa puruṣōttamābirth-after-birth your dāsa, Puruṣōttama; he chi gōḍī mājhyā deī jīvāgive this very sweetness to my jīva. Kāya sāyujyatā mukti he chi gōḍawhat — is sāyujya-mukti itself sweet; deva bhakta kōḍa tethe nāhīmDeva-bhakta-bond not there. Kāya te nirguṇa pāhōm kaiśā parīhow to look at the nirguṇa; varṇū tujhī harī kīrtī kaisīhow to describe your kīrti, Hari. Gōḍa charaṇasevā devabhaktapaṇasweet is charaṇa-sevā, the Deva-bhakta-pana; maja devā jhaṇe durāvisīdon't distance (me), O Deva. Jāṇivepāsūnī sōḍavīm mājhyā jīvārelease my jīva from jāṇīva; deīm charaṇasevā nirantaragive nirantara charaṇa-sevā. Tukā mhaṇe gōḍā gōḍa na lage prītikaraTukā says: sweet (taken) for its sweetness isn't prīti-bearing; prīti te hī sāra sevā he reprīti itself is the sāra — sevā, this!

What it means

A 6-verse bhakti-supremacy text. Don't-give-me-ātma-vichāra; give-me-foot-service for-birth-after-birth; sāyujya-mukti is not sweet — for the Deva-bhakta-bond is absent there; how-can-I-even-describe nirguṇa or your kīrti; sweet is the Deva-bhakta-pana of charaṇa-sevā; release-me-from jāṇīva (jñāna-conceit); prīti-itself is sevā — that's the essence.

For someone today

Some seekers don't-want merger; they-want-the-relationship. The relationship is itself the sweetness. Mukti without kōḍa (bond, affection-knot) tastes empty.

Where this applies

Related verses