Abhanga 4010
The same action becomes merit or fault depending on the intention of the mind behind it, so keep good speech constant and hold onto the Name as your one essential anchor.
The verse
जेंजें होआवें संकल्पें । तें चि पुण्य होय पाप ॥१॥
कारण तें मनापासीं । मेळविल्या मिळे रसीं ॥ध्रु.॥
सांडी मांडी हाली चाली । राहे तरि भली बोली ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे सार । नांव जीवनाचे सागर ॥३॥
Literal translation
Samkalpa-becomes-puṇya-pāpa. Cause-in-mana — blended-rasa-mixes. Sāṇḍī-māṇḍī-hālī-chālī — bhalī-bōlī-stays. Tukā: sāra — Nāma-jīvana-sāgara.
What it means
A 3-verse mana-doctrine text. Whatever arises by intention — that very thing becomes puṇya or pāpa. The cause is with the mind; what you blend it with, in that rasa it mixes. In leaving-doing, moving-staying — let the good word stay. The essence is the Name — ocean of life. The doctrine: intention determines moral-value; mana is the cause; in all activity let only the good word remain.
For someone today
Tukaram teaches that whatever you do carries the moral weight of the intention behind it, the same action becomes merit or fault depending on what your mind meant by it. The mind is the real cause, he says, and whatever it mixes with becomes flavored by that mixture. Through all the ordinary comings and goings of daily life, leaving, doing, moving, staying, what matters is that good, honest speech remains constant. In the end, he says, the one essential thing to hold onto is the divine Name, which he calls the ocean that all of life flows into.
मराठी: तुकाराम शिकवतात की तुम्ही जे काही करता त्याचे नैतिक मोल त्यामागच्या हेतूवर अवलंबून असते, तीच कृती मनाच्या हेतूनुसार पुण्य किंवा पाप बनते. खरे कारण मन आहे, ते सांगतात, आणि मन ज्याच्याशी मिसळते त्याच रसाने ते रंगते. दैनंदिन जीवनातील सोडणे, करणे, हालणे, राहणे या सगळ्यांतून, महत्त्वाचे हे आहे की चांगले, प्रामाणिक बोलणे कायम टिकावे. शेवटी, ते म्हणतात, धरून ठेवण्यासारखी एकच सार गोष्ट म्हणजे परमेश्वराचे नाम, ज्याला ते जीवनाचा सागर म्हणतात ज्यात सगळे जीवन येऊन मिळते.
Where this applies
- When you are judging whether an action was right or wrong and need to look at the intention behind it
- When you notice your mood or mindset coloring how you experience everything around you
- When you are moving through a busy day of small comings and goings and want one steady anchor
- When you want a simple practice to return to, no matter how complicated the day gets