Abhanga 3604
Asking for help while weak can feel like pressing an unwanted burden on someone and risks exposing you, so approach need with humility and honest self-doubt.
The verse
कोठें देवा बोलों । तुम्हां भीड घालूं गेलों ॥१॥
करावाया सत्वहाणी । भांडवलाची टांचणी ॥ध्रु.॥
दुर्बळा मागतां । त्याच्या प्रवर्तला घाता ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नाहीं । मज कळलें ऐसें कांहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Where-to-speak-Deva — came-to-put-bhīḍa. Satva-hāṇi-ṭāñchaṇī-of-bhāṇḍavala. Durbaḷa-asks — ghāta-starts. Tukā: no — has-this-come-to-me-as-such.
What it means
A 3-verse petition. Where shall I speak, Deva? — I've come to put a bond on you. Loss of truthfulness happens (only when) there's a shortage of capital. When the weak asks, his own destruction begins. Tukā: has this come to me as such?
For someone today
Tukārām wonders here where he can even begin to speak to God, since asking already feels like pressing an unwanted obligation on him. He notices something true about human nature: people lose their honesty mainly when they're desperately short of resources, need can bend integrity. He goes further, saying that when someone weak asks for help, the very act of asking can set their own downfall in motion, exposing them, costing them dignity. He ends in genuine uncertainty, questioning whether he has understood any of this rightly, admitting he isn't sure.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे विचार करतात की देवाशी बोलायला सुरुवात तरी कुठून करावी, कारण मागणंच त्याच्यावर एक ओझं लादल्यासारखं वाटतं. ते माणसाच्या स्वभावाबद्दल एक सत्य नोंदवतात, माणूस प्रामाणिकपणा सोडतो तो मुख्यतः जेव्हा त्याच्याकडे साधनांची तीव्र कमतरता असते, गरज सचोटीला वाकवते. पुढे ते म्हणतात की जेव्हा एखादा दुर्बळ माणूस मदत मागतो, तेव्हा मागण्याच्या त्या कृतीनेच त्याचा स्वतःचा नाश सुरू होऊ शकतो, त्याला उघडं पाडतं, त्याची प्रतिष्ठा घालवतं. शेवटी ते खरी अनिश्चितता व्यक्त करतात, त्यांना हे सगळं बरोबर कळलं आहे का याबद्दल शंका घेतात, आणि कबूल करतात की त्यांना नक्की माहीत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you hesitate to ask for help because it feels like imposing a burden on someone
- When scarcity or desperate need tempts you or others to bend the truth
- When you notice that asking for help while vulnerable can expose you and cost you dignity
- When you sit with genuine uncertainty about whether you understand your own situation correctly