Abhanga 4168
When something truly takes hold of your heart, it never really leaves, and the whole world starts to look different because of it.
The verse
देव जडला जाइना अंगा । यासी काय करूं सांगा ॥१॥
वरकड देव येती जाती । हा देव जन्माचा सांगाती ॥ध्रु.॥
अंगीं भरलें देवाचें वारें । देव जग चि दिसे सारें ॥२॥
भूत न बोले निरुतें । कांहीं केल्या न सुटे तें ॥३॥
जीव खादला दैवतें । माझा आणि पंचभूतें ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे वाडें कोडें । उभें पुंडलिकापुढें ॥५॥
Literal translation
Deva jaḍalā jāīnā angā — yāsī kāya karūm sāngā — Deva is stuck — does not leave the body — what shall I do, tell. Varakaḍa deva yetī jātī — hā deva janmāchā sāngātī — other devas come and go — this Deva is the companion of (this) birth. Angīm bharalem devāchem vāre — deva jaga chi dise sāre — the wind of Deva has filled the body — Deva appears as the whole world. Bhūta na bōle nirute — kāhīm kelyā na suṭe te — the bhūta doesn't speak clearly — by no doing does it leave. Jīva khādalā daivate — mājhā āṇi panchabhūte — the daivata ate the jīva — mine and the panchabhūta's. Tukā mhaṇe vāḍe kōḍe — ubhe puṇḍalikāpuḍhe — Tukā says: in curious-wonder — (I) stand before Puṇḍalīka.
What it means
A 5-verse playful self-statement. Deva-stuck-in-body-won't-leave; other-deities-come-and-go-but-this-one-stays; Deva-wind-fills-the-body — Deva-appears-as-whole-world; ghost-doesn't-speak-clearly — can't-be-shaken-off; deity-ate-my-jīva-along-with-the-panchabhūta; Tukā stands-in-wonder-before-Puṇḍalīka. Tukā uses possession-language (bhūta, vāra) ironically: Vārkarī Deva is the only-deva-that-never-leaves.
For someone today
Tukārām says other gods come and go, but this one has taken hold of him and simply will not leave his body — this is the God who stays, the true companion for life. It's as though a divine presence has filled him so completely that the whole world now looks like God. Like something that has taken possession of him and won't be shaken off by any effort, this presence has consumed his very being. And so, Tukārām says, he stands in wonder and amazement before Puṇḍalīka, at Vitthal's doorstep.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की इतर देवता येतात आणि जातात, पण हा देव मात्र त्यांच्या अंगात इतका भिनला आहे की तो सोडूनच जात नाही — हाच खरा आयुष्यभराचा सोबती आहे. जणू काही या देवाच्या वाऱ्याने त्यांचे संपूर्ण शरीर भरून गेले आहे, आणि आता संपूर्ण जगच देवासारखे भासते. एखाद्या झपाटलेपणासारखे, कितीही प्रयत्न केला तरी हे सुटत नाही — या देवतेने त्यांचा जीव आणि पंचभूतेही जणू गिळून टाकली आहेत. म्हणून तुकाराम म्हणतात, ते कोड्यात पडून पुंडलिकासमोर, विठ्ठलाच्या दारात, थक्क होऊन उभे आहेत.
Where this applies
- When something you love has become so central to your life that you can't imagine letting it go
- When you notice the world looking different because of a deep, lasting change inside you
- When you use humor to describe an experience that is otherwise hard to put into words
- When you feel utterly claimed by something greater than yourself and can only stand in wonder