Abhanga 3754
When your own strength has run out and burdens feel too heavy to clear alone, honest pleading for help, without pretense, is itself enough.
The verse
न पवीजे तया ठाया । आलों कायाक्लेशेसीं ॥१॥
आतां माझें आणीं मना । नारायणा ओजेचें ॥ध्रु.॥
बहु रिणें पिडिलों फार । परिहार करावा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे निर्बळशक्ति । काकुलती म्हुण येतों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Na pavīje tayā ṭhāyā — ālōm kāyākleśesīm — can't reach that ṭhāya — came with kāyā-kleśa. Ātām mājhe āṇīm manā — Nārāyaṇā ōjeñce — now bring me into mana, Nārāyaṇā, with vōja. Bahu riṇe piḍilōm phāra — parihāra karāvā — afflicted by much rṇa — make parihāra. Tukā mhaṇe nirbaḷa-śakti — kākulatī mhuṇa yetōm — Tukā says: with nirbaḷa-śakti — I come with kākulati.
What it means
A short 3-verse petition of-weakness: body-strained, debt-afflicted, weak-strength — bring-me-with-vōja.
For someone today
Tukaram admits he cannot reach the place he is aiming for on his own; he has arrived worn out, his body strained from the effort. He asks Narayana to draw him into mind and attention anyway, by whatever means it takes. He describes himself as burdened by heavy debts and asks for that burden to be cleared. He is honest that his own strength has run out, and that he comes only with humble pleading, nothing more.
मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात की स्वतःच्या बळावर ते इच्छित स्थानी पोहोचू शकत नाहीत; शरीर थकून, कष्टून ते आले आहेत. तरीही नारायणाने कोणत्याही मार्गाने आपल्याला मनात, लक्षात घ्यावे अशी ते विनंती करतात. मोठ्या ऋणाच्या ओझ्याखाली दबल्याचे सांगून ते ते ओझे दूर करण्याची विनवणी करतात. आपले बळ संपले आहे आणि आता केवळ याचनेशिवाय काहीच उरले नाही, हे ते प्रामाणिकपणे कबूल करतात.
Where this applies
- When you have tried hard and are simply too exhausted to reach a goal on your own strength
- When you are weighed down by debts, obligations, or burdens that feel too heavy to clear alone
- When your own strength or willpower has run out and all you can do is ask honestly for help
- When you need to admit vulnerability instead of pretending you can manage everything yourself