Abhanga 4468
Whether you lack time, calm, or strength, simply keeping God in mind again and again is enough, because that closeness depends on grace, not on your own capability.
The verse
नाहीं रिकामीक परी वाहे मनीं । तया चक्रपाणि साह्य होय ॥१॥
उद्वेग जीवासि पंढरीचें ध्यान । तया नारायण साह्य करी ॥ध्रु.॥
शरीरासि बळ नाहीं स्वता भाव । तया पंढरिराव साह्य करी ॥२॥
असो नसो बळ राहे पराधीन । तरी अनुमान करूं नका ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे येणें करोनि चिंतनीं । तया नारायण जवळीक ॥४॥
Literal translation
No-leisure-but-mind-carries — Chakra-pāṇi-helps. Jīva-udvega-Paṇḍharī-dhyāna — Nārāyaṇa-helps. No-body-strength-no-bhāva — Paṇḍharī-rāva-helps. Strength-or-not-parādhīna — don't-doubt. Tukā: by-this-chintana — Nārāyaṇa-near.
What it means
A 5-verse 4-fold accessibility text. For one who has no leisure but still carries the Lord in his mind — Chakra-pāṇi gives him help. For one whose soul has anxiety and whose meditation is on Paṇḍharī — Nārāyaṇa gives him help. For one whose body has no strength and no spontaneous devotion — Paṇḍharī-rāva gives him help. Strength be or not be — it stays dependent on Other-power — therefore do not doubt. Tukā says: by this kind of continuous-thinking — Nārāyaṇa is near. The democratization addresses-each-disability: no-leisure / anxious-soul / weak-body — Lord-still-helps. The key-line: strength-stays-parādhīna (parādhīna = under-Other's-power = grace-dependent). Pair with 3103 (bhakti-democratization-alternatives).
For someone today
Tukārām addresses people who feel disqualified from devotion because they lack something, time, calm, or physical strength, and reassures each one in turn. If you have no free time but still hold God in your mind, he helps you anyway. If your heart is anxious and restless but your thoughts still turn toward Paṇḍharī, Nārāyaṇa helps you too. If your body is weak and you can't even muster spontaneous feeling, the Lord of Paṇḍharī still comes to your aid. He says whether or not you feel strong enough doesn't really matter, because that strength was always dependent on grace, not on you, so don't doubt yourself over it. His simple conclusion is that just keeping the thought going, returning to it again and again, is what brings Nārāyaṇa close.
मराठी: तुकाराम अशा लोकांना संबोधित करतात ज्यांना वेळ, शांतता, किंवा शारीरिक ताकद नसल्यामुळे भक्तीसाठी अपात्र वाटते, आणि प्रत्येकाला आश्वासन देतात. जर तुझ्याकडे मोकळा वेळ नसेल पण तरीही मनात परमेश्वर वागवत असशील, तरीही तो तुला मदत करतो. जर तुझे मन अस्वस्थ, चिंताग्रस्त असेल पण विचार पंढरीकडेच वळत असतील, तरीही नारायण मदत करतो. जर तुझे शरीर कमकुवत असेल आणि उत्स्फूर्त भाव जागृत करता येत नसेल, तरीही पंढरीराव मदतीला येतो. ताकद असो वा नसो, ते खरोखर महत्त्वाचे नाही, कारण ती ताकद नेहमीच तुझ्यावर नाही तर कृपेवर अवलंबून असते, म्हणून त्याबद्दल शंका घेऊ नकोस. त्यांचा साधा निष्कर्ष असा की सतत विचार करत राहणे, पुन्हा पुन्हा त्याकडे वळणे, हेच नारायणाला जवळ आणते.
Where this applies
- When you feel too busy or time poor to have a real spiritual practice
- When your mind is anxious and restless but you still find yourself thinking of something sacred
- When your body is tired or weak and you can't work up strong feeling or enthusiasm
- When you doubt whether you're spiritually capable enough and hesitate to even try