Abhanga 3951
Tukaram admits he cannot match the skilled crowd of devotees and asks God directly not to leave him to be judged by their standard.
The verse
मिळे हरिदासांची दाटी । रीग न होय शेवटी ॥१॥
तेथें म्या काय करावें । माझें कोणें आइकावें ॥ध्रु.॥
कैसें तुज लाजवावें । भक्त म्हणोनियां भावें ॥२॥
नाचतां नये ताळीं । मज वाजवितां टाळी ॥३॥
अंतीं मांडिती भुषणें भूषणे । शरीर माझें दैन्य वाणें ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे कमळापति । मज न द्यावें त्या हातीं ॥५॥
Literal translation
Miḷe Haridāsāñcī dāṭī — Hari-dāsas' crowd gathers; rīga na hōya śevaṭī — no rīga at end. Tethe myā kāya karāve — what shall I do there; mājhe kōṇe āikāve — who'll hear me. Kaise tuja lājavāve — how to make you lāja; bhakta mhaṇōnīyām bhāve — saying bhakta with bhāva. Nāchatām naye tāḷīm — can't dance to tāḷa; maja vājavitām ṭāḷī — (even) when (someone) plays tāḷī. Antīm māṇḍitī bhūṣaṇe — at end (they) arrange bhūṣaṇas; śarīra mājhe dainyavāṇe — my body of dainya-tone. Tukā mhaṇe Kamaḷāpati — Tukā says: Kamaḷāpati; maja na dyāve tyā hātīm — don't give me into their hand.
What it means
A 5-verse humble-petition. Tukārām claims-poverty and-unskill, asks not-to-be-grouped with-the-skilled-Hari-dāsas.
For someone today
Tukaram pictures himself standing at the edge of a great crowd of devoted, skilled Hari-dasas, feeling there is no room left for him and wondering who would even bother to listen to him. He admits plainly that he cannot keep time or dance properly, even when others clap the beat for him, and worries that calling himself a devotee might embarrass God given how unpolished he actually is. In the end, while others receive honors and ornaments, he sees only his own poverty and awkwardness, and asks God directly not to be handed over to be judged by that skilled crowd.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्वतःला हरिदासांच्या मोठ्या, कुशल गर्दीच्या काठावर उभे असल्यासारखे चित्रित करतात, तिथे आपल्यासाठी जागाच उरली नाही असे वाटते आणि कोण आपले ऐकेल असा प्रश्न त्यांना पडतो. दुसरे कोणी टाळी वाजवून ताल धरत असतानाही आपल्याला नीट नाचता येत नाही हे ते स्पष्टपणे मान्य करतात, आणि स्वतःला भक्त म्हणवून घेणे आपल्या अकुशलतेमुळे देवालाच लाजवेल का, अशी काळजी त्यांना वाटते. शेवटी इतरांना मान-सन्मान मिळत असताना त्यांना फक्त स्वतःचे दैन्य आणि अवघडलेपण दिसते, आणि ते देवाला थेट विनंती करतात की मला त्या कुशल गर्दीच्या हातात सोपवू नकोस.
Where this applies
- When you feel like an outsider in a room full of people who seem far more accomplished or devoted than you
- When you doubt whether your efforts at faith or practice are good enough to be taken seriously
- When you compare your clumsy attempts to others' polished performance and feel embarrassed
- When you need to ask for grace instead of trying to measure up to others' standards