संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4120 of 4582

Abhanga 4120

A sincere, heartfelt call for help needs no special place or ritual, and fully trusting something with your burden makes even the farthest goal feel close.

When you hesitate to ask for help because you think the timing or setting has to be perfect first

When you are learning to hand over a heavy burden to something you trust instead of carrying it alone

When living by your own sincere convictions leaves you feeling set apart from those around you

The verse

देव कैंचा तया दुरी । भाका बरी करुणा ॥१॥ आळवित्या न लगे धर । माय जाणे रे भातुकें ॥ध्रु.॥ नावे तरी ज्याचा भार । पैल पार जवळी त्या ॥२॥ आतां परदेशी तुका । जाला लोकांवेगळा ॥३॥

Literal translation

Deva-not-far — bhāka-karuṇā-good. Calling-needs-no-place — māya-knows-bhātukēm. Boat-bears-bhāra — far-shore-close. Tukā: paradēśī — separate-from-people.

What it means

A 3-verse near-Deva text. What far is Deva for that one? — the call of karuṇā is good. The one calling doesn't need a (special) place; the mother knows the (baby's) toy-need. For one whose burden is on the boat — the far shore is close. Tukā has now become foreign; he is separate from people.

For someone today

Tukaram says that for someone who genuinely calls out with a sincere, heartfelt cry, the divine is never really far away. Calling for help does not require a special place or ritual setting, just as a mother instinctively knows what her crying baby needs without being told exactly where or how to ask. He compares trust to placing your whole burden onto a boat, once you truly let the boat carry the weight, the distant far shore suddenly feels close. He ends by noting that this depth of trust has made him feel like a stranger among ordinary people, set apart by the very faith he carries.

मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की जो कोणी मनापासून, खऱ्या भावनेने हाक मारतो त्याच्यासाठी देव कधीच खरोखर दूर नसतो. मदतीसाठी हाक मारायला विशेष जागा किंवा विधीची गरज नसते, जसे आई आपल्या रडणाऱ्या बाळाला नेमके काय हवे आहे हे कुठे किंवा कसे विचारले जात नसतानाही सहज ओळखते. ते विश्वासाची तुलना संपूर्ण ओझे होडीवर टाकण्याशी करतात, एकदा तुम्ही खरोखर होडीला भार वाहू दिला की दूरचा किनारा अचानक जवळ वाटू लागतो. शेवटी ते सांगतात की या खोल विश्वासामुळे ते सामान्य लोकांमध्ये परका वाटू लागले आहेत, जी श्रद्धा त्यांनी बाळगली आहे तिनेच त्यांना वेगळे केले आहे.

Where this applies

Tukārām's Deva-not-far; māya-knows-bhātukēm canonical

Cosmology / Avatāra Autobiographical