Abhanga 3846
Real surrender means offering your heart honestly and letting yourself be cared for like a child, instead of pretending to have everything under control.
The verse
वैभवाचे धनी सकळ शरणागत । सत्यभावें चित्त अर्पिलें तें ॥१॥
नेदी उरों देव आपणांवेगळें । भावाचिया बळें ठायाठाव ॥ध्रु.॥
जाणोनि नेणती अंगा आली दशा । मग होय इच्छा आपणे चि ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे बरे धाकट्याचें जिणें । माता स्तनपानें वाढविते ॥३॥
Literal translation
Vaibhavāñce dhanī sakaḷa śaraṇāgata — the dhanī of vaibhava — all are śaraṇāgata; satyabhāve chitta arpilē te — with satya-bhāva, chitta offered. Nedī urōm Deva āpaṇāmvegaḷe — Deva doesn't let (anything) remain separate; bhāvāchiyā baḷe ṭhāyāṭhāva — by bhāva's strength, ṭhāya-ṭhāva. Jāṇōnī neṇatī angā ālī daśā — those who knowing-pretend-not-to-know — daśā comes on body; maga hōya ichchhā āpaṇe chi — then ichchhā comes on its own. Tukā mhaṇe bare dhākaṭyāñce jiṇe — Tukā says: better is the dhākaṭa's life; mātā stanapāne vāḍhavite — mother raises by stana-pāna.
What it means
A 3-verse humility-doctrine by Tukārām.
The argument: Master-of-vaibhava — all-are-śaraṇāgata. Deva-doesn't-let-anything-separate; bhāva-baḷa-assigns-places. Knowing-pretending-not-to-know causes-daśā; then-ichchhā-comes-on-its-own. Better-the-dhākaṭa's-life — mother-feeds-by-stana-pāna.
The closing-image is canonical: bare-dhākaṭyāñce-jiṇe; mātā-stana-pāne-vāḍhavite — better-the-life-of-the-small-(one); mother-raises-by-breast-feeding. The bhakta-as-child preference.
For someone today
Tukārām's teaching on humility. The master of vaibhava — all are śaraṇāgata; with satya-bhāva, the chitta has been offered. Deva does not let (anything) remain separate from (himself); by the strength of bhāva — (he assigns) the place. Those who know something but pretend not to know it — that condition takes hold of the body; then desire comes on its own. Better is the life of the small one — the mother raises by breast-feeding. The verse permits this canonical teaching: surrender fully, like a child who lets its mother care for it.
मराठी: तुकारामांची ही नम्रतेची शिकवण. वैभवाचा धनी असूनही सर्व शरणागत आहेत; खऱ्या भावाने चित्त अर्पण केले आहे. देव कशालाही स्वतःपासून वेगळे राहू देत नाही; भावाच्या बळावरच त्याचे स्थान ठरते. माहीत असूनही न कळल्यासारखे ढोंग करणाऱ्यांवर तशीच अवस्था येते; मग इच्छा आपोआप उत्पन्न होते. लहान मुलाचे जगणे बरे — आई त्याला स्तनपान देऊन वाढवते. या ओवीत ही मूलभूत शिकवण मांडली आहे — लहान मुलासारखे पूर्ण शरण जावे आणि आईच्या काळजीवर विश्वास ठेवावा.
Where this applies
- When you keep pretending everything is fine while quietly struggling underneath
- When you feel you must manage and control your whole life alone
- When you are ready to offer your heart honestly instead of going through the motions
- When you envy how completely a small child depends on its mother without shame