संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3745 of 4582

Abhanga 3745

Sincere service becomes natural with time, and even when it grows tiring, God walks alongside the one who keeps at it, so doubt has no real ground.

When you are new to a spiritual or disciplined practice and it still feels awkward and effortful

When exhaustion from steady effort makes you question whether you are still on the right path

When you need to trust that quiet, faithful effort is accompanied rather than unnoticed

The verse

सुखरूप चाली । हळूहळू उसंतिली ॥१॥ बाळगोपाळाची वाट । सेवे सेवकता नीट ॥ध्रु.॥ जरी झाला श्रम । तरी पडों नये भ्रम ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे दासां । देव सरिसासरिसा ॥३॥

Literal translation

Sukha-rūpa chālī — sukha-rūpa is the gait; haḷūhaḷū usamtilī — slowly-slowly, (it) has been usamtilī. Bāḷa-gōpāḷāñcī vāṭa — the path (of) bāḷa-gōpāḷa; seve sevakatā nīṭa — sevā-sevakatā (is) nīṭa (straight). Jarī jhālā śrama — even if śrama arises; tarī paḍōm naye bhrama — no bhrama should fall. Tukā mhaṇe dāsām — Tukā says: to dāsas; deva sarisāsarisā — Deva (walks) alongside.

What it means

A short 3-verse Deva-walks-alongside text by Tukārām.

The claim: The-gait is-sukha-rūpa; slowly-broken-in. The-path is-of-bāḷa-gōpāḷa (cowherd-children — perhaps innocence-or-Vraja-path). The-sevā-sevakatā-is-straight. If-śrama, no-bhrama. Deva-walks-alongside-his-dāsas.

The closing image sarisā-sarisā — side-by-side, alongside — is striking: the-Lord-doesn't-just-watch but-walks-with the-dāsa.

For someone today

Tukārām's assurance that God walks alongside the devotee. (The) gait is bliss-form; slowly-slowly, (it) has been accustomed. The path (of) cowherd-children — service is straight. Even if some toil arises — no confusion should fall. To the servant, Deva (walks) alongside. The verse permits this bhakti confidence: God walks right alongside his devotee, step for step.

मराठी: देव आपल्या भक्तासोबत चालतो, हा तुकारामांचा दिलासा. चाल सुखरूप असते; हळूहळू ती अंगवळणी पडते. बालगोपाळांची वाट अशी आहे — सेवा सरळ, नीट असावी. कष्ट झाले तरी मनात भ्रम पडू देऊ नये. दासाच्या बरोबरीने देव चालतो. या ओवीत भक्तीचा हा विश्वास मांडला आहे — देव आपल्या भक्तासोबत, पावलोपावली साथीने चालतो.

Where this applies

When you have kept up a daily practice for a while and it finally starts to feel natural instead of forced
When service or devotion starts to feel tiring and you begin to wonder if it is worth continuing
When you feel alone in a difficult stretch of effort and need reassurance that you are not walking it by yourself
When you compare your slow, plodding progress to others and doubt whether you are doing it right

Cosmology / Avatāra