Abhanga 3913
Tukaram teaches that the body, the mind's sense of I-ness, and even a tree's stirring leaves all move by God's power, so no one can rightly claim to be the sole doer of anything.
The verse
चाले हें शरीर कोणाचिये सत्ते । कोण बोलवितें हरीविण ॥१॥
देखवी दाखवी एक नारायण । तयाचें भजन चुकों नका ॥ध्रु.॥
मानसाची देव चालवी अहंता । मी चि एक कर्त्ता म्हणों नये ॥२॥
वृक्षाचीं हीं पानें हाले त्याची सत्ता । राहिली अहंता मग कोठें ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे विठो भरला सबाहीं । तया उणें कांहीं चराचरीं ॥४॥
Literal translation
Body-moves-by-whose-sattā — who-speaks-but-Hari. One-Nārāyaṇa-makes-see-shows — don't-miss-bhajana. Deva-moves-ahantā — don't-say-I-am-kartā. Tree-leaves-stir-by-his-sattā — where-stays-ahantā. Tukā: Viṭhō-fills-sa-bāhī — no-uṇē-charā-charīm.
What it means
THE canonical 4-verse Lord-the-true-actor doctrine. By whose power does this body move? Who speaks but Hari? One Nārāyaṇa alone makes-(us)-see and shows — don't miss his bhajana. Deva moves even the I-am-ness of the mind — don't say I alone am the doer. The very leaves of the tree stir by his power — where then does the sense-of-doership stand? Viṭhō fills within-and-without — no being moving-or-still lacks (his presence). Foundational free-will doctrine — the body, speech, even the I-am-thought itself are all moved by the Lord. Pair with 2940 (sāḷunkī Lord-speaks-through-me), 2922 (karma-became-Nārāyaṇa), 2937 (deha-atīta).
For someone today
Tukaram asks a pointed question: by whose power does this body move at all, and who is really speaking through it if not Hari? He says it is Narayana alone who lets us see and understand anything, so don't neglect worshiping him. Even the sense of I-ness in your own mind is set in motion by God, so it's wrong to claim you alone are the one doing everything. Just as the leaves of a tree stir only by that same power, there's no room left for a separate sense of self doing the acting, because Vithoba fills everything, inside and out, leaving nothing lacking anywhere.
मराठी: तुकाराम एक थेट प्रश्न विचारतात, हे शरीर कोणाच्या सामर्थ्याने हलते, आणि हरीशिवाय याच्यात खरोखर कोण बोलतो? नारायणच आपल्याला पाहायला आणि समजायला लावतो असे ते म्हणतात, म्हणून त्याच्या भजनाकडे दुर्लक्ष करू नये. तुमच्या मनातील मी-पणाची जाणीवही देवच हलवतो, त्यामुळे मीच सगळे करतो असे म्हणणे चुकीचे आहे. झाडाची पाने जशी त्याच सामर्थ्याने हलतात, तशीच वेगळ्या कर्तेपणाला जागाच उरत नाही, कारण विठोबा आत आणि बाहेर सर्वत्र भरलेला आहे, कुठेही काही उणे नाही.
Where this applies
- When you take full credit for something and forget how much depended on forces beyond your control
- When you're anxious about controlling every outcome yourself instead of trusting a larger order
- When you notice even your own sense of ego and self-importance shifting and want to understand where it comes from
- When ordinary things, like leaves moving in the wind, remind you of a presence larger than yourself