Abhanga 3934
Caring for the people devoted to God reaches God directly, just as feeding a mother nourishes the child she carries, Tukaram says.
The verse
माय वनीं धाल्या धाये । गर्भ आंवतणें न पाहें॥१॥
तैसें पूजितां वैष्णव । सुखें संतोषतो देव ॥ध्रु.॥
पुत्राच्या विजयें । पिता सुखातें जाये ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे अमृतसिद्धी । हरे क्षुधा आणि व्याधि ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mother-fed-in-forest — garbha-doesn't-look-for-uṇa. So-vaiṣṇavas-worshipped — Deva-becomes-samtoṣa-sukha. Son's-vijaya — pitā-sukha. Tukā: amrta-siddhi — removes-kṣudhā-and-vyādhi.
What it means
A 3-verse sevā-of-vaiṣṇavas-pleases-Deva text. When the mother has been well-fed in the forest, her womb doesn't hanker for more. Just so, when the Vaiṣṇavas are honored, Deva becomes content. By the son's victory the father is filled with joy. This is the nectar-of-fulfillment — it removes hunger and disease. The mother-in-forest-and-her-womb image is unique — feeding the carrier (mother) feeds the carried (the unborn). So feeding Vaiṣṇavas feeds Deva himself. Pair with 2887 (sant-pūjā warrant), 2810 (12-verse saints-list).
For someone today
Tukaram offers a tender image: when a mother has been well fed, her unborn child in the womb doesn't need to be fed separately, because the two are connected. In the same way, he says, when devotees of God are honored and cared for, God himself becomes content, because the two are joined in the same way. Just as a father is filled with joy by his son's success, caring for those who carry devotion is itself an offering that reaches God directly. Tukaram calls this a kind of nectar, one that eases hunger and heals distress at the root.
मराठी: तुकाराम एक हळवे रूपक मांडतात: आई पुरेशी पोसली गेली की गर्भातल्या मुलाला वेगळे खाऊ घालावे लागत नाही, कारण दोघे जोडलेले असतात. त्याचप्रमाणे, देवाच्या भक्तांचा आदर आणि काळजी घेतली की देव स्वतः संतुष्ट होतो, कारण दोघेही त्याच प्रकारे जोडलेले आहेत, असे ते म्हणतात. जसे मुलाच्या यशाने वडिलांना आनंद होतो, तसेच भक्ती वाहणाऱ्या लोकांची काळजी घेणे हेच देवापर्यंत थेट पोहोचणारे अर्पण आहे. तुकाराम याला एक प्रकारचे अमृत म्हणतात, जे भूक शमवते आणि मुळापासून दुःख दूर करते.
Where this applies
- When you're caring for someone close to a person you deeply love or respect
- When you want a concrete way to honor a teacher or elder besides direct praise
- When you're supporting a community of devoted people rather than one central figure
- When you're looking for how small acts of care ripple outward to someone larger