Abhanga 4192
The mind quickly absorbs the mindset of whoever it sits near, so protect it by both leaving corrupting company and actively filling that space with devotion.
The verse
बसतां चोरापाशीं तैसी होय बुद्धि । देखतां चि चिंधी मन धांवे ॥१॥
व्यभिचार्यापासीं बैसतां क्षणभरी । देखतां चि नारी मन धांवे ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रपंचाचा छंद टाकूनियां गोवा । धरावें केशवा हृदयांत ॥२॥
सांडुनियां देई संसाराची बेडी । कीर्तनाची गोडी धरावी गा ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे तुला सांगतों मी एक । रुक्मिणीनायक मुखीं गावा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Sit-by-chōr — mind-runs-to-chindhi-rag. Sit-by-vyabhichārī — kṣaṇa — mind-runs-to-nārī. Abandon-prapancha-chanda-gōvā — hold-Keśava-heart. Throw-off-samsāra-bēḍī — hold-kīrtana-gōḍī. Tukā: sing-Rukmiṇī-nāyaka-with-mouth.
What it means
A 4-verse kusanga-corruption + bhakti-substitute text. Sitting near a thief, the mind becomes thief-like — seeing a rag-strip, the mind runs (to steal). Sitting beside a lecher even for a moment — on seeing a woman, the mind runs (lustfully). Abandon the prapancha's mood and bait; hold Keśava in your heart. Throw off the samsāra-shackles; hold the sweetness of kīrtana. I tell you one thing: sing Rukmiṇī-nāyaka with your mouth. The diagnostic: sanga-imprints-immediately-on-mind. The remedy: Keśava-in-hrdaya + kīrtana-gōḍī + mouth-singing-Rukmiṇī-nāyaka. Pair with 4186 (whomever-spoken-to-his-guṇas-come), 3392 (anti-kusanga 4-image).
For someone today
Tukārām observes how quickly bad company reshapes the mind, sit near a thief and even a scrap of cloth suddenly tempts you to steal, sit near a lecherous person for a moment and the sight of someone triggers the same lustful pull in you. His remedy is not just avoidance but active replacement, drop the grip of worldly obsession and instead hold Keśava firmly in your heart. He tells us to throw off the shackles of ordinary distracted living and take up the sweetness of kirtana instead, and simply keep singing of the beloved with your own mouth. The lesson is that the mind absorbs whatever it sits near, so protecting yourself means both stepping away from corrupting company and filling that space with something that actually nourishes you.
मराठी: तुकाराम पाहतात की वाईट संगत मनाला किती लवकर बदलते, चोराजवळ बसलं की एका चिंधीकडे पाहूनही चोरण्याची इच्छा होते, व्यभिचारी माणसाजवळ एक क्षणभर बसलं तरी कोणाला पाहताच तेच वासनेचे ओढणे मनात येते. त्यांचा उपाय फक्त टाळणे नाही तर सक्रियपणे बदलणे आहे, ऐहिक मोहाची पकड सोडून केशवाला हृदयात घट्ट धरावे. ते सांगतात की संसाराच्या साखळ्या तोडून टाकाव्यात आणि त्याऐवजी कीर्तनाची गोडी धरावी, आणि फक्त आपल्या तोंडाने प्रियकराचे नाव गात राहावे. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की मन जवळच्या गोष्टींचा रंग पटकन घेते, म्हणून स्वतःचे रक्षण करायचे असेल तर वाईट संगतीपासून दूर जाणे आणि ती जागा खरोखर पोषण देणाऱ्या गोष्टीने भरणे दोन्ही आवश्यक आहे.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's kusanga-corruption + bhakti-substitute canonical