Abhanga 4511
Seeing the divine within every being dissolves envy and doubt, and sincere devotion from the heart reveals that presence far more than exhausting rituals or techniques ever can.
The verse
नारायण भूतीं न कळे जयांसि । होय गर्भवासीं येणें जाणें ॥१॥
येणें जाणें होय भूतांच्या मत्सरें । न कळतां खरें देव ऐसा ॥२॥
देव ऐसा जया कळला सकळ । गेली तळमळ द्वेषबुद्धि ॥३॥
बुद्धीचा पालट नव्हे कोणे काळीं । हरि जळीं स्थळीं तया चित्ती ॥४॥
चित्त तें निर्मळ जैसें नवनीत । जाणिजे अनंत तयामाजी ॥५॥
तयामाजी हरि जाणिजे त्या भावें । आपलें परावें सारिखें चि ॥६॥
चिंतनें तयाच्या तरती आणीक । जो हें सकळिक देव देखे ॥७॥
देव देखे तो ही कसा देव नव्हे । उरला संदेहे काय त्यासि ॥८॥
काया वाचा मनें पूजावे वैष्णव । म्हणउनि भाव धरूनियां ॥९॥
यांसि कवतुक दाखविलें रानीं । वोणवा गिळूनि गोपाळांसि ॥१०॥
गोपाळांसि डोळे झांकविले हातें । धरिलें अनंतें विश्वरूप ॥११॥
पसरूनि मुख गिळियेलें ज्वाळ । पहाती गोपाळ बोटां सांदी ॥१२॥
संधि सारूनियां पाहिलें अनंता । म्हणती ते आतां कळलांसी ॥१३॥
कळला हा तुझा देह नव्हे देवा । गिळिला वोणवा आणीक तो ॥१४॥
तो तयां कळला आरुषां गोपाळां । दुर्गम सकळां साधनांसि ॥१५॥
सीण उरे तुका म्हणे साधनाचा । भाविकांसि साचा भाव दावी ॥१६॥
Literal translation
Nārāyaṇa bhūtīm na kaḷe jayāmsi — hōya garbhavāsīm yeṇem jāṇem — to-those who-don't-know Nārāyaṇa in bhūtas — there is coming-and-going to womb-dwelling. Yeṇem jāṇem hōya bhūtāmcyā matsarē — na kaḷatām khare Deva aisā — coming-going is by matsara for bhūtas, not knowing Deva so. Deva aisā jayā kaḷalā sakaḷa — gelī taḷamaḷa dveṣa-buddhi — to whom Deva-everywhere is known — taḷamaḷa and dveṣa-buddhi are gone. Buddhīcā pālaṭa navhē kōṇe kāḷīm — Hari jaḷīm sthaḷīm tayā citti — no change of buddhi ever; Hari in water-and-land, in his chitta. Chitta te nirmaḷa jaise navanīta — jāṇije Ananta tayāmājī — chitta clean as butter; Ananta is known within it. Tayāmājī Hari jāṇije tyā bhāve — āpalē parāvē sārikhe chi — within (it), Hari is known by that bhāva; own and other alike. Cintane tayācyā taratī āṇīka — jō he sakaḷika Deva dekhe — by his chintana, others also cross — (the one) who sees all this as Deva. Deva dekhe tō hi kasā Deva navhe — uralā sandēhe kāya tyāsi — the Deva-seer — how (is he) not himself Deva — what doubt remains for him. Kāyā vāchā mane pūjāve vaiṣṇava — mhaṇaūni bhāva dharūniyām — by kāyā-vāchā-mana worship vaiṣṇavas, thus holding bhāva. Yāmsi kavatuka dākhavile rāṇī — vōṇavā giḷūni gopāḷāmsi — to them he showed kavatuka in the forest, swallowing the vōṇavā for the gopāḷas. Gopāḷāmsi ḍōḷe jhānkavile hāte — dharile Anante viśvarūpa — covered the gopāḷas' eyes with hand; Ananta held viśvarūpa. Pasarūni mukha giḷiyelēm jvāḷa — pahātī gopāḷa bōṭām-sāndī — opening mouth he swallowed the flames; the gopāḷas look through the gap in (their) fingers. Sandhi sārūniyām pāhile Ananta — mhaṇatī te ātām kaḷalāmsī — separating the gap they saw Ananta — they say 'now we have known you'. Kaḷalā hā tujhā deha navhe Devā — giḷilā vōṇavā āṇīka tō — (we have) known — this is not your body, Deva — you swallowed another vōṇavā. Tō tayām kaḷalā āruṣām gopāḷām — durgama sakaḷām sādhanāmsi — (he) became known to those innocent gopāḷas, durgama to all sādhanas. Sīṇa ure Tukā mhaṇe sādhanācā — bhāvikāmsi sācā bhāva dāvī — only fatigue remains in sādhana, Tukā says; he shows true bhāva to the bhāvika.
What it means
A 16-verse extended-narrative of Krṣṇa swallowing the vōṇavā (Davāgni / Pralambāsura-context forest-fire) for the gopāḷas. The gopāḷas, eyes covered, peep through finger-gaps and exclaim, 'this is not your real body — you've swallowed another forest-fire!' — i.e., they-realize-his-non-bodily-true-nature. Tukārām's frame: the-Lord-is-durgama-by-all-sādhanas; (only) fatigue-remains-in-sādhana; he-shows-bhāva-to-the-bhāvika.
For someone today
Tukaram says that people who fail to recognize the divine within every living being stay caught in cycles of envy and rebirth, while a mind that has become clean and settled, like fresh butter, naturally comes to see that same presence everywhere, treating one's own and others' concerns as equally worthy. Once you see the divine in everything, doubt and jealousy simply fall away, because you can no longer view yourself as separate from what you are looking at. This is illustrated in a story where Krishna swallows a forest fire to protect the cowherds, who peek through their covered eyes and realize what they are witnessing is far greater than an ordinary body. Tukaram's conclusion is that endless techniques and rituals mostly just tire a person out, but real devotion, sincere feeling from the heart, is what actually lets the divine reveal itself.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की प्रत्येक जीवात असलेल्या परमेश्वराला जे ओळखत नाहीत, ते मत्सर आणि पुनर्जन्माच्या फेऱ्यात अडकून राहतात, तर स्वच्छ, स्थिर झालेले मन, लोण्यासारखे नितळ, नैसर्गिकपणे सर्वत्र तीच उपस्थिती पाहू लागते आणि स्वतःचे व इतरांचे हित सारखेच मानते. एकदा का सर्वत्र परमेश्वर दिसू लागला की संशय आणि मत्सर आपोआप गळून पडतात, कारण मग तुम्ही स्वतःला त्या दृश्यापासून वेगळे मानूच शकत नाही. याचे उदाहरण म्हणजे कृष्णाने गोपाळांच्या रक्षणासाठी वणवा गिळल्याची कथा, जिथे डोळे झाकलेले गोपाळ बोटांच्या फटीतून पाहतात आणि लक्षात येते की हे दृश्य साध्या देहापेक्षा कितीतरी मोठे आहे. तुकारामांचा निष्कर्ष असा आहे की अनेक साधने आणि विधी बहुतेकदा केवळ थकवाच देतात, पण खरी भक्ती, मनापासूनचा भाव, हाच परमेश्वराला प्रकट होण्यास कारणीभूत ठरतो.
Where this applies
- When jealousy or resentment toward others keeps pulling you back into the same painful patterns
- When your mind feels cluttered and you long for the calm clarity that lets you see clearly
- When you exhaust yourself with rituals, routines, or techniques without feeling any closer to peace
- When you witness someone protecting or caring for others and sense something greater at work behind the act