Abhanga 4018
Complete, undivided devotion becomes like an inherited treasure close to the divine, earned through genuine commitment rather than struggle, and it asks in return that the promise made be kept.
The verse
आम्ही आइते जेवणार । न लगे सोसावे डोंगर । सुखाचा वेव्हार । तेणें चि वाढलें ॥१॥
ठेवा जोडला मिरासी । ठाव जाला पायांपासी । नव्हे आणिकांसी । रीघ तेथें यावया ॥ध्रु.॥
बळी दिला जीवभाव । नेणें आणिकांचे नांव । धरिला एक भाव । तो विश्वास फळला ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जालों बळी । आम्ही निकट जवळी । बोलिलों तें पाळीं । वचन स्वामी आमचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Ready-eaters-no-mountains — sukhā-chā-vēvhāra. Ṭhēva-jōḍalā-mirāsī — near-feet — no-other-entry. Gave-jīva-bali — one-bhāva — viśvāsa-fruited. Tukā: bali-near-close — keep-vachana-svāmī.
What it means
A 3-verse inheritance-ease text. We are ready-to-eat-people; we don't have to cross mountains. It's a joyful-trade — we've grown by it. A treasure has been gathered as our inheritance, with the place right near the feet; no other has entry there. We've given the life-state as sacrifice; we know no other name; we hold one bhāva, and that trust has borne fruit. We have become sacrificed-ones, near and close. Svāmī, keep the word you spoke to us. The image mirāsī (hereditary-grant / patrimony) is the bhakta's inherited-claim — bhakti as a treasure passed down for the kula-dharma.
For someone today
Tukaram describes the surprising ease of complete devotion. Instead of struggling to earn something through great effort, he says, we simply arrive ready to receive, having grown through a joyful, generous exchange rather than a grueling climb. Devotion has become like an inherited treasure, a place already secured close to the divine feet that no one else can crowd into, because it is his by lived commitment, not by competition. He has offered his whole self as devotion, holding to a single, undivided trust, and that trust has borne real fruit. He closes by simply asking that the promise once given to him be kept, since he considers himself already devoted and near.
मराठी: पूर्ण भक्तीच्या आश्चर्यकारक सहजतेचे वर्णन तुकाराम करतात. मोठ्या कष्टाने काही मिळवण्याऐवजी, ते म्हणतात, आम्ही घेण्यास तयार होऊन येतो, कठीण चढाईने नव्हे तर आनंदी, उदार देवाणघेवाणीने वाढलेलो. भक्ती त्यांच्यासाठी वारशाने मिळालेल्या खजिन्यासारखी झाली आहे, परमेश्वराच्या चरणांजवळ आधीच सुरक्षित असलेली जागा जिथे इतर कोणी घुसू शकत नाही, कारण ती जिवंत बांधिलकीने मिळवलेली आहे, स्पर्धेने नव्हे. त्यांनी आपले संपूर्ण अस्तित्व भक्तीसाठी अर्पण केले आहे, एकच अभंग विश्वास धरून, आणि त्या विश्वासाने खरे फळ दिले आहे. शेवटी ते फक्त एवढेच मागतात की आधी दिलेले वचन पाळावे, कारण ते स्वतःला आधीच समर्पित आणि जवळचे मानतात.
Where this applies
- When you have committed fully to something and want to trust that the relationship will hold, not just the initial effort
- When you feel you have earned a place through genuine dedication rather than competition with others
- When you are holding onto one undivided commitment instead of hedging between several
- When you want language for asking that a promise once made to you actually be honored