Abhanga 3757
Real fulfillment does not require traveling somewhere distant, since God seated deep in the mind can be seen with your own eyes right where you already stand.
The verse
इंिद्रयाचें पुरे कोड । तें चि गोड पुढती ही ॥१॥
जावें म्हणती पंढरपुरा । हा चि बरा संसार ॥ध्रु.॥
बैसलें तें मनामुळीं । सुख डोळीं देखिलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देती कान । वाणावाण निवडूनी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Indriyāñce pure kōḍa — te chi gōḍa puḍhatī hī — indriya's kōḍa fulfilled — that itself sweet ahead too. Jāve mhaṇatī Paṇḍharpurā — hā chi barā samsāra — (some) say: go to Paṇḍharpur — this itself is bara samsāra. Baisale te manāmuḷīm — sukha ḍōḷīm dekhile — seated in mana-mūla — sukha seen in eye. Tukā mhaṇe detī kāna — vāṇāvāṇa nivaḍūnī — Tukā says: give ear — pick item-by-item.
What it means
A short 3-verse settled-claim: Viṭṭhal-seated-in-the-root-of-my-mana — this-itself-is-the-good-samsāra. No-need-to-go-to-Paṇḍharpur.
For someone today
Tukaram says that the deep longing of his senses has already been satisfied, and that sweetness continues from here on too. Some people say you must travel to Pandharpur to find God, but he says this very state he is in is already the good life. He describes God as seated at the very root of his mind, so that he sees the joy directly with his own eyes, right where he is. Tukaram invites others to listen closely and sort things out carefully, item by item, rather than assume the divine is only somewhere else.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की इंद्रियांची खोल ओढ आधीच पुरी झाली आहे, आणि पुढेही तीच गोडी टिकून राहते. काहीजण म्हणतात पंढरपुरास गेल्याशिवाय देव मिळत नाही, पण हीच अवस्था खरा चांगला संसार आहे असे ते म्हणतात. देव त्यांच्या मनाच्या मुळाशी बसलेला असल्यामुळे तो आनंद स्वतःच्या डोळ्यांनीच, जिथे आहेत तिथेच त्यांना दिसतो. तुकाराम इतरांना कान देऊन ऐकण्याचे आणि प्रत्येक गोष्ट काळजीपूर्वक निवडून समजून घेण्याचे आवाहन करतात, देव फक्त दुसरीकडेच आहे असे न मानता.
Where this applies
- When you feel you must travel somewhere special or reach a distant goal before you can feel content
- When your restless longing finally settles and you realize joy is available right where you already are
- When you assume the sacred or good life is always located elsewhere, not in your present situation
- When you need to slow down and examine things carefully instead of chasing after distant answers