संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4350 of 4582

Abhanga 4350

Do not treat devotion as forced labor; watch for the divine with the same careful, moment-by-moment eagerness a miser watches his treasure, and know that the Lord is already close.

When you catch yourself going through devotional practice mechanically, like an unwanted chore

When you are counting the moments while waiting for something you deeply long for

When you want your hope to feel alive and attentive rather than distracted or half-hearted

The verse

वेठी ऐसा भाव । न करी अहाच उपाव ॥१॥ रूप डसवी न जिवा । अवघा ये च ठायीं हेवा ॥ध्रु.॥ कृपणाचेपरि । लेखा पळनिमिषेवरि ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आस । संनिध चि जगदीशा ॥३॥

Literal translation

Vēṭhī-bhāva — no-āhāch-upāva. Until-rūpa-strikes-jīva — same-place-all-hēvā. Like-krpaṇa — counts-by-paḷa-nimiṣa. Tukā: āśā — Jagadīśa-samnidha.

What it means

A 3-verse bhāva-discipline + near-Lord text. With a forced-labor-feel mode, don't do mocking-means. Until the form strikes the soul, in the very same place all the eagerness (concentrates). Like the miser (counts) by paḷa-and-nimiṣa (fractions of a moment). Tukā says: keep the hope — Jagadīśa is close. The miser-image: the krpaṇa watches every fraction of a moment for his treasure — the bhakta similarly watches every paḷa-nimiṣa for the Lord's-form striking.

For someone today

Tukaram warns against treating devotion like forced labor, something you do halfheartedly just to get it over with. Real longing feels different: it stays fixed on the moment when the Lord's form will finally appear to the soul, gathering all your eagerness into that single point. He compares this watchfulness to a miser who counts every fraction of a moment guarding his treasure. If you keep that same intensity of hope, Tukaram says, know that the Lord is already close by.

मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात, भक्ती ही सक्तीचं काम असल्यासारखी अर्ध्या मनाने करू नका. खरी ओढ वेगळी असते, ती त्या क्षणावर लक्ष केंद्रित करते जेव्हा परमेश्वराचं रूप जीवाला भेटेल, आणि सगळी आतुरता त्याच एका बिंदूवर जमते. ते या सजगतेची तुलना कंजूष माणसाशी करतात, जो आपल्या खजिन्याचं रक्षण करताना क्षणाक्षणाचा हिशोब ठेवतो. जर तुम्ही तीच तीव्र आशा टिकवली, तर तुकाराम म्हणतात, परमेश्वर आधीच जवळ आहे हे लक्षात ठेवा.

Where this applies

When your prayer or practice has become a chore you rush through half-heartedly
When you wonder whether your devotion is sincere or just going through the motions
When you are waiting anxiously for a longed-for outcome and want to know how to hold that waiting
When you need reassurance that intense, careful hope is not the same as impatience or doubt

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