Abhanga 4513
You do not need deep philosophy to love God, only the plain, honest joy of good companionship, and sometimes the truest response to grace is a dance, not an explanation.
The verse
काय आम्हां चाळविसी वायांविण । म्हणसी दुरून देखिलासि ॥१॥
लावूनियां डोळे नव्हतों दुश्चित । तुज परचत्ति माव होती ॥२॥
होती दृष्टि आंत उघडी आमची । बाहेरी ते वांयां चि कुंची झाकुं ॥३॥
जालासि थोरला थोरल्या तोंडाचा । गिळियेला वाचा धूर आगी ॥४॥
आगी खातो ऐसा आमचा सांगाती । आनंदें नाचती भोंवताली ॥५॥
भोंवतीं आपणा मेळविलीं देवें । तुका म्हणे ठावें नाहीं ज्ञान ॥६॥
Literal translation
Kāya āmhām chāḷavisī vāyāmviṇa — mhaṇasī durūna dekhilāsi — why cheat us in vain — saying 'I saw (you) from afar'?. Lāvūniyā ḍōḷe navhatōm duścita — tuja paracatti māva hōtī — we had our eyes applied, weren't distracted — your māva was from the other side. Hōtī drṣṭi āmta ughaḍī āmacī — bāherī te vāmyām chi kunchī jhākum — our inner drṣṭi was open; outside the kunchī-covering was in-vain. Jālāsi thōralā thōralyā tōṇḍācā — giḷiyelā vāchā dhura āgī — you became big-with-a-big-mouth one; (you) swallowed the smoke-fire with (your) vāchā. Āgī khātō aisā āmacā sāngātī — ānande nāchatī bhonvatāli — such a fire-eating companion of ours — we dance in ānanda around (him). Bhonvatīm āpaṇā meḷavilīm Deve — Tukā mhaṇe ṭhāve nāhī jñāna — all-around, Deva gathered us himself; Tukā says: we don't know jñāna.
What it means
A 6-verse intimate gopāḷas-reply to Krṣṇa (cf 4512). They reject his attempt to deflect credit: we saw it; our inner-vision was open; our outer-cover was only-superficial; you swallowed-the-fire — we know it. Then the famous-shift: we don't know jñāna — we just have such-a-friend-we-dance-around-him in ānanda. Tukārām projects his own no-jñāna, only-companionship bhakti-stance into the gopāḷas' voice.
For someone today
Tukārām, speaking through the voice of the gopāḷas, says they don't need any deep philosophy or theology to explain their bond with Krṣṇa. They simply have a friend like him, and that is enough — in their joy, they dance around him. No elaborate knowledge is required; the plain, honest delight of companionship says everything that needs saying.
मराठी: तुकाराम गोपाळांच्या तोंडून सांगतात की कृष्णाशी असलेल्या त्यांच्या नात्याचे स्पष्टीकरण देण्यासाठी त्यांना कुठल्याही खोल तत्त्वज्ञानाची गरज नाही. त्यांना फक्त असा एक मित्र लाभला आहे, आणि तेवढेच पुरेसे आहे — आनंदाने ते त्याच्याभोवती नाचतात. कुठल्याही मोठ्या ज्ञानाची गरज नाही; साध्या, प्रामाणिक सोबतीचा आनंदच सर्व काही सांगून जातो.
Where this applies
- When someone tries to downplay or explain away something good they did for you
- When you feel you must have deep knowledge or theology before you can love or trust God
- When simple joy and companionship with someone feels more real than any clever argument
- When you want to celebrate goodness in your life rather than analyze or overexplain it