Abhanga 4193
Bear hardship without breaking, treat praise and blame the same way, and stay faithful to your practice even under the heaviest pressure.
The verse
मस्तकीं सहावें ठांकियासी जाण । तेव्हां देवपण भोगावें गा ॥१॥
आपुलिये स्तुती निंदा अथवा मान । टाकावा थुंकोन पैलीकडे ॥ध्रु.॥
सद्गुसेवन तें चि अमृतपान । करुनी प्राशन बैसावें गा ॥२॥
आपुल्या मस्तकीं पडोत डोंगर । सुखाचें माहेर टाकुं नये ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे आतां सांगूं तुला किती । जिण्याची फजीती करूं नये ॥४॥
Literal translation
Bear-blow-on-mastaka — then-deva-paṇa-bhōga. Self-praise-blame-mān — throw-by-spitting. Sadguru-sevana — amrta-pāna — drink-and-sit. Mountain-on-head — don't-leave-sukha-māhēra. Tukā: don't-fajīta-jīṇya.
What it means
A 4-verse sādhaka-discipline text. Know: bear the strike on the head — only then enjoy divinity. Self-praise, blame, or honor — throw them out by spitting to the other side. Sadguru-service is itself amrta-drinking — drink and sit. Even if a mountain falls on your head, don't leave the joy's mother-home (the sadguru). Tukā says: how much to tell you — don't disgrace your life. Key images: (a) praise/blame/honor — throw-out-by-spitting — visceral image of indifference; (b) sadguru-sevana = amrta-pāna equation; (c) even-if-mountain-falls — don't-leave-sukha-māhēra — uncompromising adherence. Pair with 2867 (ṭhevilē-Anantē equanimity), 2836 (sādhaka-discipline 4-verse).
For someone today
Tukārām lays out a plain discipline for anyone serious about a spiritual path: know that you must bear the blows life deals you, because only through that endurance does real growth come. Whether people praise you, blame you, or honor you, treat all of it the same way, spit it out and let it go rather than carrying it around. He says that faithfully serving your teacher or your practice is itself like drinking nectar, so sit with it and take it in fully, and even if a mountain falls on your head, do not abandon that home of joy. He closes with a blunt warning: do not turn your one life into something to be ashamed of. The lesson is that steadiness through hardship and indifference to both praise and blame are what protect a genuine practice.
मराठी: तुकाराम गंभीरपणे साधना करणाऱ्या प्रत्येकासाठी एक साधा शिस्तपाठ मांडतात, हे जाणून घ्या की आयुष्यातील आघात सहन करावेच लागतात, कारण त्या सहनशीलतेतूनच खरी वाढ येते. कोणी स्तुती करो, निंदा करो, किंवा मान देवो, या सगळ्याशी सारखेच वागा, ते थुंकून टाकून द्या, बाळगू नका. आपल्या गुरूची किंवा साधनेची निष्ठेने सेवा करणे हेच अमृतपान आहे, म्हणून त्यात पूर्णपणे बसून राहा, आणि डोक्यावर डोंगर कोसळला तरी त्या आनंदाच्या घराला सोडू नका. शेवटी ते स्पष्टपणे बजावतात, आपल्या एकुलत्या एका आयुष्याची फजिती करू नका. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की कष्टातून स्थिर राहणे आणि स्तुती-निंदेकडे सारखेच पाहणे हेच खऱ्या साधनेचे रक्षण करते.
Where this applies
- When you face criticism or setbacks and feel tempted to give up on a practice you have committed to
- When praise starts going to your head, or blame starts crushing your spirit, and you need to hold steady through both
- When circumstances become extremely hard, like a mountain falling on you, and you are tempted to abandon your teacher or practice
- When you want a blunt reminder not to waste or disgrace the one life you have been given