Abhanga 4295
Fear of what others will think can trap you into bad company and away from what truly matters, so drive that fear off firmly and trust God as your protector instead.
The verse
नको येऊं लाजे होय तूं परती । भजों दे श्रीपती सखा माझा ॥१॥
तुझे संगतीनें मोटा जाला घात । जालों मी अंकित दुर्जनाचा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे रांडे घेइन काठीवरी । धनी सहाकारी राम केला ॥३॥
Literal translation
Don't-come-O-shame — go-back — let-Śrīpati-my-friend-be-worshipped. By-your-sangati-ghāta — ankita-of-durjana. Tukā: rāṇḍē-stick — Rāma-master-helper.
What it means
A 3-verse playful anti-shame-as-witch text. Don't come, O shame (or: O coquette) — go back — let me worship my friend Śrīpati. By your company there's been great harm — I became the registered-servant of the wicked. Tukā says: witch, I will take the stick to you — Rāma has been made my master-helper. The personification: lāja (shame, fear-of-disgrace) is addressed as a woman-tempter; she causes-the-bhakta-to-fall-into-durjana-sanga; the cure is taking-the-stick-to-her with-Rāma-as-helper. Pair with 4267 (only-you-cut-loka-lāja-bēḍī).
For someone today
Tukaram personifies shame, that anxious worry about what other people will think, as a tempting figure trying to keep him away from devotion, and he tells her firmly to go away so he can worship his true friend, Panduranga. He confesses that in the past, giving in to this fear of embarrassment caused real harm, leading him into the company of dishonest people just to fit in and avoid disgrace. Now, with God as his ally and protector, he says he will take a stick to this false shame and chase it off for good, refusing to let it control his life anymore.
मराठी: तुकाराम लज्जेला, म्हणजे लोक काय म्हणतील याच्या काळजीला, एक मोहात पाडणारी व्यक्ती म्हणून चित्रित करतात जी त्यांना भक्तीपासून दूर ठेवू पाहते, आणि ते तिला ठामपणे सांगतात की निघून जा, मला माझ्या खऱ्या मित्राची, श्रीपतीची, भक्ती करू दे. ते कबूल करतात की भूतकाळात या लज्जेच्या भीतीला बळी पडल्याने खरे नुकसान झाले — फक्त लोकांत मिसळायला आणि अपमान टाळायला ते दुर्जनांच्या संगतीत गेले. आता देवाला आपला साथीदार आणि रक्षणकर्ता मानून ते म्हणतात की या खोट्या लज्जेला काठीने हाकलून लावतील आणि पुन्हा तिला आपल्या आयुष्यावर ताबा मिळवू देणार नाहीत.
Where this applies
- When you're avoiding doing the right thing because you're afraid of what people will think or say
- When you've compromised your values in the past just to fit in or avoid embarrassment, and it caused real harm
- When you're gathering the courage to publicly commit to a spiritual or moral path despite social pressure
- When you need a vivid, firm image for driving away the anxious voice that keeps holding you back