Abhanga 3710
The mind has no lasting clarity of its own, but when something truly calls it awake, a living presence arrives, and life can be met fresh each day like something entirely new.
The verse
अहो पुरुषोत्तमा । तुम्हां काशाची उपमा ॥१॥
सतंत तो नाहीं बुद्धी । नाळवितां नाहीं शुद्धि ॥ध्रु.॥
जागविलें तरी । तुम्हां वेक्तियेणें हरी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देवा । तुम्हा नित्य दिस नवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
O-Puruṣōttama-what-upamā. No-buddhi-sa-tanta — no-śuddhi-without-prompting. When-awakened — vyakti-comes-Hari. Tukā: every-disa-new-Deva.
What it means
A 3-verse petition. No comparison for you, Puruṣōttama; no sustained-knowledge, no clarity without being-called; when awakened, manifestation comes, Hari; every day is new for you, Deva.
For someone today
Tukārām says there is truly nothing to compare God to, because God cannot be measured against anything ordinary. He admits that his own mind is not steady, it has no lasting clarity on its own, and only becomes clear when something calls it awake. But once that call comes and he is truly awakened, a real living presence arrives with it. He closes with a beautiful thought, that for God every single day is new, never repeated, never stale, which is a gentle reminder that we too can meet each day as freshly as if it were the first.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की देवाची खरोखर कोणाशीही तुलना करता येत नाही, कारण देवाला कोणत्याही सामान्य गोष्टीच्या मापाने मोजता येत नाही. ते कबूल करतात की त्यांचे स्वतःचे मन स्थिर नाही, त्याला स्वतःहून टिकणारी स्पष्टता नाही, आणि जेव्हा काहीतरी त्याला जागे करते तेव्हाच ते स्वच्छ होते. पण एकदा ती हाक आली आणि ते खरोखर जागे झाले की त्यासोबत एक खरी, जिवंत उपस्थिती येते. ते एका सुंदर विचाराने संपवतात, देवासाठी प्रत्येक दिवस नवा असतो, कधीही पुनरावृत्ती न होणारा, कधीही शिळा न होणारा, हे एक हळुवार स्मरण आहे की आपणही प्रत्येक दिवस जणू पहिलाच असल्यासारखा ताजेपणाने भेटू शकतो.
Where this applies
- When you notice your mind wandering and losing focus until something calls it back to clarity
- When you feel a sudden inner awakening that brings a real, living sense of presence with it
- When you catch yourself treating each day as a repeat of yesterday instead of something genuinely new
- When you try to compare something sacred to ordinary things and realize the comparison simply falls short