Abhanga 3711
Sustained, honest effort rewards you in more ways than expected, and its sweetness can only be known by actually doing the work yourself.
The verse
मथनें भोगे सार । ताकें घडे उपकार ॥१॥
बरवी सायासाची जोडी । अनुभविया ठावी गोडी ॥ध्रु.॥
पाक आणि रुचि । जेथें तेथें ते कइंची ॥२॥
वाढितो पंगती । तुका आवडी संगती ॥३॥
Literal translation
By-churning-sāra — by-tāka-upakāra. Good-jōḍī-sāyāsa — anubhaviyā-knows-gōḍī. Pāka-and-ruchi — where-there. Tukā: serving-pangati — āvaḍī-sangati.
What it means
A 3-verse churning-image text. By churning, the essence is gained; even the whey gives benefit. The yoke-of-effort is good; the experiencer knows the sweetness. Where is cooking-and-taste both present? Tukā serves the row, in loving companionship. The churning gives both sāra (butter) and tāka (whey) — both useful image is beautiful.
For someone today
Tukārām uses the image of churning milk, where the effort yields butter, the essence, but even the leftover whey turns out to be useful too, nothing from honest effort goes to waste. He says the yoke of sustained effort is genuinely good, and only someone who has actually done the work knows its real sweetness, not someone who has just heard about it. He asks where real cooking and real taste can ever be found except in the actual doing, and he pictures himself serving the community meal, offering what he has made out of simple, loving companionship. The lesson is that steady effort rewards you in more ways than you expect, and its sweetness can only be known firsthand.
मराठी: तुकाराम दूध घुसळण्याचे उदाहरण देतात, जिथे मेहनतीतून लोणी, म्हणजे सार, मिळते, पण उरलेली ताकही उपयोगी ठरते, प्रामाणिक कष्टातून काहीच वाया जात नाही. ते म्हणतात की सतत कष्टाचे ओझे खरोखर चांगले आहे, आणि ज्याने प्रत्यक्ष काम केले आहे त्यालाच त्याची खरी गोडी कळते, केवळ ऐकलेल्या माणसाला नाही. ते विचारतात की खरा स्वयंपाक आणि खरी चव प्रत्यक्ष करण्याशिवाय कुठे सापडणार, आणि ते स्वतःला संगतीच्या पंगतीत वाढताना, प्रेमळ सोबतीतून जे बनवले ते वाढून देताना पाहतात. शिकवण अशी आहे की सतत केलेली मेहनत अपेक्षेपेक्षा जास्त फळ देते, आणि तिची गोडी फक्त स्वतः अनुभवूनच कळते.
Where this applies
- When you put in sustained effort and discover that even the byproducts or leftovers turn out useful
- When you realize that only someone who has actually done the work understands its true sweetness
- When you compare secondhand descriptions of an experience to the real thing and find words fall short
- When you serve or share what you have made with others out of simple, loving companionship