Abhanga 3583
Committing wholeheartedly to a purpose bigger than your own comfort clears the way not just for you but for everyone who follows.
The verse
पाठवाल तेथें गर्जेन पवाडे । कार्या देहाकडे नावलोकीं ॥१॥
म्हणउनि मागें कंठींचा सौरस । पावतील नास विघ्नें पुढें ॥ध्रु.॥
कृपेच्या कटाक्षें निभें कळिकाळा । येतां येत बळाशक्तीपुढें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे गुढी आणीन पायांपें । जगा होइल सोपें नाम तुझें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pāṭhavāla tethe garjena pavāḍē — wherever (you) send, I'll thunder pavāḍē; kāryā dehākaḍe nāvalōkīm — don't look at body's side for the work. Mhaṇaunī māge kamṭhīmcā saurasa — therefore behind, throat's saurasa; pāvatīla nāsa vighne puḍhe — vighnas ahead will attain nāsa. Krpechyā kaṭākṣe nibhe kaḷikāḷā — kaḷi-kāḷa warded by krpā-kaṭākṣa; yetām yeta baḷāśaktīpuḍhe — coming-up-against bala-śakti. Tukā mhaṇe guḍhī āṇīna pāyāmpe — Tukā says: I'll plant the banner at feet; jagā hōila sōpe nāma tujhe — Name will become easy for jaga.
What it means
A 3-verse mission-commitment text. Wherever-you-send-me, I'll-thunder-your-sagas without-regard-to-this-body; the saurasa (essence-juice) is in-the-throat — vighnas-ahead will-be-destroyed; your-krpā-kaṭākṣa wards-off-kaḷi-kāḷa against-its-own-strength; I'll plant-the-banner-of-victory at-your-feet — your-Name-will-become-easy for-the-world. The guḍhī image: the new-year-banner-of-Maharashtra is planted as triumph.
For someone today
Tukaram commits himself fully to whatever mission he is sent on, promising to proclaim God's glory wherever he goes without worrying about his own body or comfort. He trusts that the very essence of that devotion, carried in his voice, will clear away the obstacles ahead of him, and that God's gracious glance is strong enough to hold back even the harshest forces of the age. He ends with a triumphant image, planting a victory banner at God's feet, so that chanting the divine name becomes easier for everyone who comes after him. This is a lesson about committing to a purpose bigger than personal comfort, and about how one person's wholehearted effort can clear the path for others.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराज स्वतःला पूर्णपणे कोणत्याही कार्यासाठी समर्पित करतात, जिथे पाठवाल तिथे देवाचा महिमा गाईन असं वचन देतात, स्वतःच्या शरीराची किंवा सुखाची पर्वा न करता. त्यांचा विश्वास आहे की त्यांच्या आवाजातून वाहणारी हीच भक्तीची शक्ती पुढच्या वाटेतले अडथळे दूर करेल, आणि देवाची कृपादृष्टी काळाच्या सर्वात कठोर शक्तींनाही रोखण्याइतकी बलवान आहे. शेवटी ते एक विजयी प्रतिमा उभी करतात, देवाच्या चरणी विजयाची गुढी उभारतात, जेणेकरून त्यांच्यानंतर येणाऱ्या प्रत्येकासाठी नामस्मरण सोपं होईल. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की स्वतःच्या सुखापेक्षा मोठ्या ध्येयासाठी स्वतःला वाहून घ्यावं, आणि एका माणसाची मनापासूनची मेहनत इतरांसाठी वाट सोपी करू शकते.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's mission-commitment; plant-banner-Name-easy canonical
- Companion to 2864 (clap-hands kīrtana) and 2448 (nāma-sankīrtana-sōpe)