Abhanga 4229
God's care for a devoted soul is not a one-time gift but a nurturing carried across many lifetimes, and in true devotion one is never left feeling separate from the divine, even for a moment.
The verse
पाळियेले लळे । माझे विठ्ठले कृपाळे ॥१॥
बहुजन्माचें पोषणें । सरतें पायांपाशीं तेणें ॥ध्रु.॥
सवे दिली लागों । भातें आवडीचें मागों ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे भिन्न । नाहीं दिसों दिलें क्षण ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pāḷiyele laḷe — the darling has-been cherished; mājhe Viṭhṭhale krpāḷe — by my compassionate Viṭṭhala. Bahu-janmāñce pōṣaṇe — cherishing of many janmas; sarate pāyāmpāśīm teṇe — comes to fullness at the feet by that. Save dilī lāgōm — (he has) given the habit of attaching; bhāte āvaḍīñce māgōm — (I) ask for the food of āvaḍī. Tukā mhaṇe bhinna — Tukā says: separate; nāhī disōm dile kṣaṇa — not let me appear (so) for a kṣaṇa.
What it means
A 3-verse cherished-by-Viṭṭhal claim. Multi-janma-cherishing; fullness-at-feet; habit-of-attaching given; food-of-fondness; never-bhinna-for-a-moment.
For someone today
Tukaram speaks here as a cherished child of Vitthal, saying that this care has not been a one-time thing but a nurturing carried across many births, finally coming to rest and fullness at God's feet. God has even given him the habit of clinging close, so that all he asks for now is the food of loving fondness rather than anything else. And in his experience, not for a single moment has God ever let him feel separate or apart. This is a picture of devotion so constant and so tender that the devotee never feels abandoned, and it invites you to trust that the same closeness is available to anyone who turns toward the divine.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे स्वतःला विठ्ठलाचे लाडके मूल म्हणून बोलतात, आणि सांगतात की हे प्रेम एकदाच नव्हे तर अनेक जन्मांतून चालत आलेले पालनपोषण आहे, जे शेवटी देवाच्या पायाशी येऊन पूर्णत्वाला पोहोचते. देवानेच त्यांना जवळ चिकटून राहण्याची सवय लावली आहे, त्यामुळे आता ते फक्त प्रेमाच्या अन्नाची मागणी करतात, दुसरे काही नाही. आणि त्यांच्या अनुभवाप्रमाणे, एका क्षणासाठीही देवाने त्यांना स्वतःपासून वेगळे भासू दिलेले नाही. इतकी सतत आणि इतकी हळुवार भक्ती एखाद्याला कधीही सोडलेले वाटत नाही, आणि हेच सांगते की देवाकडे वळणाऱ्या प्रत्येकासाठी हीच जवळीक उपलब्ध आहे.
Where this applies
- When you feel unsure whether you are truly cared for or loved
- When you look back at your life and see a long pattern of being carried through hardship
- When you want reassurance that closeness with the divine is not a fleeting thing but constant
- When you are learning to let devotion feel like comfort and fondness rather than duty