Abhanga 4376
Talk to your own restless mind the way you would coach a friend, telling it to look fully, stay grounded, choose good company, and be sincere rather than showy in devotion.
The verse
सांवळें सुंदर पाहे दृष्टिभरि । ऐसें कांहीं करीं मन माझें ॥१॥
मना तुज ठाव दिला त्याचे पायीं । राहें विठाबाईंसवें सदा ॥ध्रु.॥
मना नको धरूं आणिकांचा संग । नाहीं पांडुरंग जयां मनीं ॥२॥
वरपंग भाव नको म्हणे तुका । करीं प्राणसखा नारायणा ॥३॥
Literal translation
See-sāvaḷē-sundara — drṣṭi-bhari. Mana-gave-place-at-his-pāya — stay-Viṭhābāī-sadā. Mana-don't-take-others'-sanga — those-no-Pāṇḍuranga. Tukā: don't-do-vara-panga-bhāva — make-Nārāyaṇa-prāṇa-sakhā.
What it means
A 3-verse mana-direction text. See the dark-blue beautiful-one eye-fillingly — do something so, my mind. Mind — I gave you place at his feet — stay with Viṭhābāī always. Mind — don't take the company of others, those who have no Pāṇḍuranga in their minds. Don't do outer-showy mode, says Tukā — make Nārāyaṇa your life-companion. The address-to-mana: Tukārām instructs his own mind to (1) see Viṭṭhal eye-fully, (2) stay at his feet, (3) avoid bad-sanga, (4) avoid outer-show and embrace inner-companionship.
For someone today
Tukaram is talking directly to his own mind here, coaching it the way you might coach a wandering friend. He tells it to really look, to fill its eyes with the beautiful dark form of Viṭṭhal rather than glancing at it distractedly, and to settle down at those feet instead of restlessly moving on. He warns his mind against keeping company with people who have no place for the divine in their thoughts, because that company shapes what the mind becomes. Finally he insists on sincerity over performance, telling his mind not to fake devotion for show but to actually befriend Nārāyaṇa the way you would befriend the person closest to your heart.
मराठी: इथे तुकाराम स्वतःच्या मनाशी थेट बोलत आहेत, जणू एखाद्या भरकटणाऱ्या मित्राला समजावत आहेत. ते मनाला सांगतात की विठ्ठलाच्या सावळ्या सुंदर रूपाकडे नुसते ओझरते न पाहता डोळे भरून पाहावे, आणि सतत भरकटण्याऐवजी त्याच्या पायाशी स्थिर व्हावे. ज्यांच्या मनात पांडुरंगाला काहीच स्थान नाही अशा लोकांची संगत धरू नकोस असा इशारा ते मनाला देतात, कारण संगत मनाला घडवत असते. शेवटी ते दिखाव्याच्या भक्तीऐवजी खरेपणाचा आग्रह धरतात — मनाला सांगतात की नारायणाला दाखवण्यापुरता नव्हे, तर आपल्या जिवलग मित्रासारखा खरा जिवाभावाचा सोबती बनवावे.
Where this applies
- When your attention keeps drifting during prayer or meditation instead of really settling in
- When you notice you have been drifting toward friends or company that pulls your mind away from what matters most
- When you catch yourself performing devotion for others to see rather than feeling it inwardly
- When you need to gently but firmly redirect your own restless mind back to what grounds you