Abhanga 4533
People bow and promise not to forget, yet the moment ordinary life resumes, craving for wealth and success quietly pulls them so far away that even God no longer recognizes them.
The verse
नारायण आले निजमंदिरासि । जाले या लोकांसि बहुडविते ॥१॥
बहुडविले बहु केलें समाधान । विसरु तो क्षण नका माझा ॥२॥
मात सांगितली सकळ वृत्तांत । केलें दंडवत सकळांनीं ॥३॥
सकळां भातुकें वांटिल्या साखरा । आपलाल्या घरा लोक गेले ॥४॥
लोक गेले कामा गाईंपें गोपाळ । वारली सकळ लोभापाठी ॥५॥
लोभ दावुनियां आपला विसर । पाडितो कुमर धनआशा ॥६॥
आशेचे बांधले तुका म्हणे जन । काय नारायण ऐसा जाणे ॥७॥
Literal translation
Nārāyaṇa-to-nija-mandira — bahuḍavanē-given. Don't-forget-me-moment. Vrttānta-told-daṇḍavata. Sweets-distributed — people-went-home. People-went-to-work-cows — pulled-lōbha-pāṭhī. Lord-shows-lōbha-causes-self-forgetting — kumara-dhana-āśā. Jana-bound-by-āśā — Tukā: Nārāyaṇa-doesn't-know-such.
What it means
A 7-verse yamak-bandha — Lord-arrives-home, bahuḍavanē (sending-off-welcome-back), reminds all don't-forget-me-for-a-moment. People go home, return to work — lōbha-pāṭhī pulls. The radical-claim: Lord-himself-causes-self-forgetting by-showing-lōbha — putting-the-bhakta-into kumara-dhana-āśā so-they-don't-recognize-him. Closing: jana-bound-by-āśā — Nārāyaṇa-doesn't-know-such (forgetful) people. Pair with 4495 (āśā-makes-blind), 4534 (continuing chain).
For someone today
The moment Krishna returns home, he asks his people not to forget him even for a second, and everyone bows and agrees. But as soon as the sweets are handed out, people scatter back to their homes, their cattle, and their work, and the ordinary pull of greed and craving for wealth, children, and success quietly takes over again. Tukaram's closing line is sharp: those bound by such craving drift so far that even Narayan no longer recognizes them. A high moment of devotion fades fast once daily life resumes, and it is worth noticing how quickly craving reclaims the mind right after a promise to remember.
मराठी: कृष्ण घरी परतताच आपल्या लोकांना सांगतो की मला क्षणभरही विसरू नका, आणि सगळे नमस्कार करून होकार देतात. पण मिठाई वाटली जाताच लोक आपापल्या घरी, गुरांकडे आणि कामाकडे पांगतात, आणि धन, संतती, यश यांची नेहमीची लालसा हळूच पुन्हा मन काबीज करते. तुकारामांची शेवटची ओळ तीक्ष्ण आहे, अशा लालसेने बांधलेले लोक इतके दूर जातात की नारायणही त्यांना ओळखत नाही. भक्तीचा उंच क्षण रोजचे जीवन सुरू होताच लवकर विरून जातो, आणि विसरणार नाही असे वचन दिल्यानंतर लालसा किती लवकर मन पुन्हा ताब्यात घेते हे लक्षात घेण्यासारखे आहे.
Where this applies
- When you make a heartfelt promise to stay mindful, then forget it within the hour once daily life resumes
- When the pull of work, money, or family duties quietly crowds out a spiritual resolve
- When you notice how quickly a moment of deep feeling fades once routine takes over
- When craving for wealth or success makes you drift from something you once held sacred