Abhanga 4288
Having surrendered completely and openly admitted your flaws, you can trust that a truly compassionate protector's own reputation is now at stake in accepting you, not rejecting you.
The verse
तुझे नामें दिनानाथा । आम्ही उघडा घातला माथा ॥१॥
आतां न धरावें दुरी । बोल येईंल ब्रीदावरी ॥ध्रु.॥
पतित होतों ऐसा ठावा । आधीं कां न विचारावा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुझे पायीं । आम्ही मिरास केली पाहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Dīnanāthā — by-your-Name we-put-bare-māthā. Don't-keep-far — bōl-on-bridā. Were-patita — why-not-considered-before. Tukā: mirās-at-your-pāya.
What it means
A 3-verse Dīnanātha-petition with mirās-claim. By your Name, Dīnanātha, we have placed our bare head (at your feet). Now don't keep us at a distance — the test will fall on your vow-titles. We were known as fallen — why wasn't that considered from the start? Tukā says: at your feet we have made a hereditary-claim (mirās). The mirās-claim: mirās is the hereditary-right to land — Tukārām claims this hereditary-right at Lord's feet. Striking land-tenure legal metaphor.
For someone today
Tukaram addresses God as Dinanath, protector of the humble, saying he has surrendered completely, laying his bare head at God's feet and trusting in that name and reputation. He asks not to be kept at a distance now, because if God turns him away, it is God's own reputation for compassion that will be questioned. He points out that he was already known to be flawed and fallen from the very start, so that should not be a surprise or a reason to be refused now. He closes by saying he has staked a permanent claim at God's feet, like an inherited right that can never be taken away.
मराठी: तुकाराम देवाला 'दीनानाथ' म्हणून हाक मारतात, म्हणजे दीनांचा रक्षणकर्ता, आणि सांगतात की त्यांनी पूर्णपणे शरणागती पत्करली आहे, आपले उघडे मस्तक त्याच्या पायी ठेवले आहे, त्याच्या नावावर आणि कीर्तीवर विश्वास ठेवून. ते आता दूर न ठेवण्याची विनंती करतात, कारण जर देवाने त्यांना नाकारले तर देवाच्याच दयाळू असण्याच्या बिरुदावर प्रश्न उभा राहील. ते सांगतात की ते आधीपासूनच पतित म्हणून ओळखले जात होते — मग हे सुरुवातीलाच का विचारात घेतले नाही? शेवटी ते म्हणतात की त्यांनी देवाच्या पायी कायमचा हक्क, जणू वंशपरंपरागत मिरास, सांगितला आहे.
Where this applies
- When you feel too broken or unworthy to approach someone you've wronged or someone whose acceptance you need
- When you're worried that admitting your flaws honestly will get you rejected instead of accepted
- When you need the confidence to hold onto a relationship or commitment you've claimed, trusting it belongs to you
- When you're relying on someone's known character or reputation for kindness to give you the benefit of the doubt