Abhanga 3961
Tukaram rebukes people who quit at the first blow and urges them not to skip the very meeting or effort that could heal them.
The verse
किती लाजिरवाणा । मरे उपजोनि शाहाणा ॥१॥
एका घाई न करीं तुटी । न निघें दवासोई भेटी ॥ध्रु.॥
सोसूनि आबाळी । घायाळ तें ढुंग चोळी ॥२॥
सावध करी तुका । म्हणे निजले हो आइका ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kitī lājiravāṇā — marē upajōni śāhāṇā — how shameful — the wise dies as-soon-as-born. Ekā ghāī na karīm tuṭī — na nighēm davāsōī bheṭī — with one blow don't break-off — don't leave-out the medicine-side meeting. Sōsūni ābāḷī — ghāyāḷa tem ḍhunga chōḷī — bearing hardship — the wounded rubs (his) rump. Sāvadha karī Tukā — mhaṇe nijalē hō āikā — Tukā makes (you) alert — says: O sleepers, listen.
What it means
A 3-verse awakening-rebuke. Wise-die-soon-after-birth shameful; don't-snap-at-one-blow; don't-skip-the-healing-meeting; bear-the-hardship; Tukā-wakes-the-sleepers — listen!
For someone today
Tukaram scolds people for giving up too easily, saying it is a shame when someone wise dies, spiritually speaking, as soon as they are born, meaning they quit right at the start instead of growing. He urges you not to break off after just one hard blow, and not to skip the meeting that could actually heal you. He notes wryly that after bearing some hardship, the wounded person just sits there nursing the pain instead of moving forward, and he ends by shaking people awake, calling out directly to those still asleep to listen up.
मराठी: तुकाराम अशा लोकांना फटकारतात जे लवकर हार मानतात, ते म्हणतात की एखादा शहाणा माणूस जन्मताक्षणीच, म्हणजे सुरुवातीलाच सोडून देतो, हे किती लाजिरवाणे आहे, वाढण्याऐवजी तो तिथेच थांबतो. एका फटक्याने तुटू नकोस, आणि जी भेट खरोखर तुला बरे करू शकते ती चुकवू नकोस, असे ते बजावतात. काही त्रास सोसल्यानंतर जखमी माणूस पुढे जाण्याऐवजी नुसता आपली जखम चोळत बसतो, असे ते खोचकपणे सांगतात, आणि शेवटी झोपलेल्यांना थेट हाक मारून जागे करतात, ऐका असे सांगतात.
Where this applies
- When one setback makes you want to quit something you have barely started
- When you avoid the difficult conversation or process that could actually help you heal
- When you catch yourself nursing an old wound instead of doing what it takes to move past it
- When you need a wake-up call because you have been coasting or ignoring what matters