Abhanga 3742
Real peace can come from a loving, ongoing relationship of service and devotion, not from dissolving all distinction, so it is worth asking to keep that relationship rather than merge it away.
The verse
अद्वैतीं तों माझें नाहीं समाधान । गोड हे चरण सेवा तुझी ॥१॥
करूनी उचित देई हें चि दान । आवडे कीर्तन नाम तुझें ॥ध्रु.॥
देवभक्तपण सुखाचा सोहळा । ठेवुनी निराळा दावी मज ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आहे तुझें हें सकळ । कोणी एके काळें देई मज ॥३॥
Literal translation
Advaitīm tōm mājhe nāhī samādhāna — in advaita — no samādhāna for me; gōḍa he charaṇa sevā tujhī — sweet (is) the sevā of your feet. Karūnī uchita deī he chi dāna — doing uchita, give me this very dāna; āvaḍe kīrtana nāma tujhe — I love (your) kīrtana, (your) Name. Devabhakta-paṇa sukhāñcā sōhaḷā — deva-bhakta-paṇa (is) a festival of sukha; ṭhevunī nirāḷā dāvī maja — keep distinct and show me. Tukā mhaṇe āhe tujhe he sakaḷa — Tukā says: it is all yours; kōṇī eke kāḷe deī maja — at some time, give it to me.
What it means
A canonical 3-verse bhakti-over-advaita preference text by Tukārām.
The claim: In-advaita no-samādhāna; sweet-is-feet-sevā. Give-me-this-dāna; I-love-kīrtana-and-Name. Deva-bhakta-paṇa is sukha-sōhaḷā; keep-it-niraḷā (preserving-the-distinction)-and-show-me. All-is-yours; give-it-at-some-time.
Tukārām's distinctive Vārkarī-bhakti-position: advaita-non-dual-merger does-not-satisfy; the-preserved-distinction of-deva-bhakta-paṇa is-the-festival. The bhakta wants-to-stay-distinct (niraḷā) from-the-Lord to-enjoy-sevā.
Companion to 3134 (bhakti-fondness-over-abheda-haste).
For someone today
Tukārām's bhakti-over-advaita preference. In advaita — there is no peace for me; sweet is the foot-service of yours. Doing the right, give me this very gift — I love (your) kīrtana, (your) Name. The deva-bhakta-relation is a festival of bliss; keep (it) distinct, and show me. It is all yours — at some time, give it to me. The verse permits the canonical Vārkarī-bhakti-preference: deva-bhakta-distinction is-the-festival, not-advaita-merger.
Where this applies
- When you realize you find more meaning in an active, loving relationship than in trying to erase all distinctions and merge with something greater
- When simple, repeated devotion, like a favorite prayer or ritual, brings you more comfort than abstract philosophy does
- When you want to preserve a close relationship exactly as it is instead of letting it dissolve into something less personal
- When you realize what you're really asking for is not perfection or oneness, but the chance to keep serving and loving in your own way