Abhanga 3653
Service or commitment only becomes real once there is genuine, mutual recognition between both sides, not just a one-sided claim.
The verse
कांहीं एक तरी असावा आधार । कासयानें धीर उपजावा ॥१॥
म्हणविल्यासाटीं कैसें पडे रुजु । धणी नाहीं उजू सन्मुख तो ॥ध्रु.॥
वेचल्या दिसांचा कोणावरी लेखा । घालावा हा सुखासुखा आम्हीं ॥२॥
नाहीं मनोगत तोंवरि हे देवा । तुका म्हणे सेवा नेघीजे तों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāmhī eka tarī asāvā ādhāra — some base must exist; kāsayāne dhīra upajāvā — by what can dhīra arise. Mhaṇavilyāsāṭīm kaise paḍe ruju — the claim — how does it become recorded; dhaṇī nāhī ujū sanmukha tō — no master straight-facing. Vechalyā disāñcā kōṇāvarī lekhā — the spent days' account — on whom; ghālāvā hā sukhāsukhā āmhīm — should we place this comfortably. Nāhī manōgata tōmvarī he Devā — until manōgata is not (there), Deva; Tukā mhaṇe sevā neghīje tōm — Tukā says: sevā is not taken-up.
What it means
The bhakta's foothold-problem. Tukārām asks: without-the-Lord-facing-me-straight, what-base for-steadiness?; without-mutual-recognition (manōgata), the-sevā is-not-formal.
For someone today
The need for manōgata (heart-met) before sevā becomes-real. The bhakti must-be reciprocal-acknowledged.
Where this applies
- When you keep giving effort to a relationship or job without knowing if it is really recognized on the other side
- When you wonder whether years of dedication actually count for anything without mutual acknowledgment
- When you feel unsteady because there is no real foundation under your commitment
- When you realize that going through the motions of service is not the same as a genuine, mutual bond