Abhanga 4407
Real longing for God is not calm or distant, it can feel so urgent that even a single moment of separation becomes unbearable.
The verse
पहावा नयनीं विठ्ठल चि एक । कांहीं तरी सार्थक संसाराचें ॥१॥
कोठें पाहों तुज कां गा लपालासि । कांहीं बोल मशीं नारायणा ॥ध्रु.॥
वाटते उदास मज दाही दिशा । तुजविण हृषीकेशा वांचोनियां ॥२॥
नको ठेवूं मज आपणा वेगळें । बहुत कळवळें तुजलागीं ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे भेटी देई नारायणा । घडी कंठवेना तुजविण ॥४॥
Literal translation
See-with-nayana-only-Viṭṭhal — samsāra-sārthaka. Where-look-why-hidden — bōl-some-Nārāyaṇa. Dāhī-diśā-udāsa-without-Hrṣīkēśā. Don't-keep-me-vēgaḷēm — kaḷavaḷa-for-you. Tukā: bhēṭa-Nārāyaṇa — ghaḍī-can't-bear.
What it means
A 4-verse darśana-yearning text. Let me see with the eye only Viṭṭhal — (only this gives) some fruition to this samsāra. Where shall I look for you — why are you hidden? Speak some (word) with me, Nārāyaṇa. I feel disinterest in the ten-directions — without you, Hrṣīkēśa, except. Do not keep me separated from yourself — I have much anguish for you. Tukā says: give darśana, Nārāyaṇa — a moment cannot be borne without you. The 4-fold yearning-progression: (1) see-Viṭṭhal-only-makes-samsāra-fruitful; (2) where-look-why-hidden; (3) ten-directions-udāsa-without-you; (4) don't-keep-separated-much-anguish; (5) ghaḍī-can't-bear-without-you.
For someone today
This is a raw cry of longing. Tukaram says that only seeing Vitthal with his own eyes will make his whole life feel worthwhile, and he pleads to know where to even look, because God feels hidden and silent. Without that presence, the entire world in every direction feels flat and uninteresting to him. He begs not to be kept apart, admitting the ache is intense, and ends by saying he cannot bear even a single moment of separation. It shows what real longing for the divine feels like, not calm and distant, but urgent and impossible to sit quietly with.
मराठी: हा तुकारामांचा एक तीव्र आर्त हाक आहे. ते म्हणतात की फक्त आपल्या डोळ्यांनी विठ्ठलाला पाहणे हेच त्यांच्या संपूर्ण आयुष्याला सार्थक करेल, आणि देव कुठे शोधावा हेच त्यांना कळत नाही कारण देव लपलेला आणि शांत भासतो. त्याच्या उपस्थितीशिवाय दाही दिशांचे संपूर्ण जग त्यांना उदास आणि निरस वाटते. ते विनवतात की त्यांना देवापासून वेगळे ठेवू नये, आणि त्यांची तळमळ किती तीव्र आहे हे कबूल करतात, शेवटी म्हणतात की देवाशिवाय एक क्षणही सहन होत नाही. यातून खरी ईश्वरभक्तीची तळमळ कशी असते हे दिसते - ती शांत आणि दूरची नसते, तर तातडीची आणि अनावर असते.
Where this applies
- When the world around you feels flat and colorless because you are missing someone or something essential
- When you feel like you are searching for God or meaning and getting only silence in return
- When your longing for connection to the sacred feels too intense to sit quietly with
- When you want to name how deeply and urgently you miss someone or something