Abhanga 3586
Refuse to settle for thin, superficial gestures, whether from others or in your own devotion, and insist on real substance and commitment.
The verse
ताकें कृपण तो जेवूं काय घाली । आहाच ते चालीवरुनि कळे ॥१॥
काय तुम्हां वेचे घातलें सांकडें । माहें आलें कोडें आजिवरि ॥ध्रु.॥
सेवेंविण आम्ही न लिंपों काया । जाला देवराया निर्धार हा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुझीं राखावया ब्रीदें । येणें अनुवादें कारियासी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Tāke krpaṇa tō jevūm kāya ghālī — one stingy-with-tāka — what will he serve to eat; āhācha te chālīvarunī kaḷe — superficiality is known by his stride. Kāya tumhām veche ghātale sāmkaḍe — what have you spent — what sāmkaḍē; māhe āle kōḍe ājivari — my (something) came only as kōḍe until now. Sevevīṇa āmhī na limpōm kāyā — without sevā, we won't tend the body; jālā devarāyā nirdhāra hā — this is the resolve, O Deva-rāya. Tukā mhaṇe tujhīm rākhāvayā bride — Tukā says: to preserve your bride; yeṇe anuvāde kāriyāsī — by this anuvāda for the kāriya.
What it means
A 3-verse provocation-prayer. The-stingy-tāka-host can't-serve-anything; superficiality is-visible-in-stride; what-have-you-really-spent on me — my-thing was a riddle till-now; without-sevā I-won't-anoint-this-kāyā — that's the-resolve, O Deva-rāya; Tukā says: this-refrain is for-preserving your-vow, for the work. The argument: even the Lord's brida (vow) is being-protected by this very-prayer-of-protest.
For someone today
Tukaram uses a sharp comparison, a stingy host who only has thin buttermilk to offer can't really feed anyone, and you can tell someone's stinginess just by how they carry themselves. He asks pointedly what God has actually spent on him, since his own situation has remained a puzzle up to now with no real answer. He declares his resolve plainly, he will not go through the motions of devotion, tending his body in empty ritual, without real, substantial service behind it. Even this bold complaint, he says, is really an act of loyalty, keeping God accountable to God's own reputation for caring for devotees. This is a lesson about refusing to settle for thin, superficial gestures, whether from others or from yourself, and insisting on substance.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराज एक धारदार उदाहरण देतात, ज्याच्याकडे फक्त पातळ ताक आहे असा कंजूष यजमान कोणाला खरं जेवण देऊ शकत नाही, आणि माणसाची कंजूषी त्याच्या चालण्यावरूनही ओळखता येते. ते थेट विचारतात की देवाने त्यांच्यासाठी खरंच काय खर्च केलं आहे, कारण त्यांची परिस्थिती आजवर एक न सुटलेलं कोडं राहिली आहे. ते स्पष्टपणे आपला निर्धार सांगतात, खऱ्या, ठोस सेवेशिवाय ते केवळ दिखाव्यासाठी भक्तीचं नाटक करणार नाहीत. हा धाडसी आक्षेपही, ते म्हणतात, खरं तर एक निष्ठेचंच काम आहे, कारण त्यातून देवाला त्याच्याच भक्तवत्सल लौकिकाला जागवण्याची आठवण करून दिली जाते. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की पातळसर, वरवरच्या गोष्टींवर समाधान मानू नये, मग ते इतरांकडून असो किंवा स्वतःकडून, आणि खरेपणाचाच आग्रह धरावा.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's tāka-stingy-host; preserve-your-vow provocation
- Companion to 3584-3585 (chāḷavaṇī, after-cooking-false)