The Abhangs composed by Saint Tukaram are sung in Maharashtra for the last three centuries and more.

Abhang

The land of Maharashtra has produced a long tradition of Poet-Saint-Philosophers in the medieval period who lived the philosophy of monotheism and brotherhood of man beyond the caste system and preached it through self-composed short lyrics called Abhangs. These lyrics are known as Abhangs because of their eternal message which does not break, does not perish and the selfless life of the saints they reflect. Saint Tukaram composed thousands of Abhangs; and these Abhangs are the expressions of his devotion to the Almighty God, his high respect towards righteous and saintly persons and his earnest and frank commentary on the righteous way to lead life. Tukaram’s Abhangs relate the spirituality to day to day life.

A cardinal principle of Brahmoism : ”Service to Humanity is Service to God” sounds like a corollary of the following popular Abhang by Saint Tukaram :.

जे कां रंजले गांजले | त्यासी म्हणे जो आपुले ||
तोचि साधु ओळखावा | देव तेथेचि जाणावा ||१||
मृदु सबाह्य नवनीत | तैसे सज्जनाचे चित्त |
ज्यासी आपंगिता नाही | त्यासी धरी जो हृदयी ||२||
दया करी जे पुत्रासी | तेचि दासां आणि दासी |
तुका म्हणे सांगों किती | तोचि भगवंताची मूर्ती ||३||
                              ~ Saint Tukaram

हिंदी अनुवाद

जो हो पीडित दुखदीना | उसे बोले जो अपना ||
वही साधू जानीये | भगवान वहीं पाईये ||१||
मृदु सबाह्य नवनीत | वैसा सज्जन का है चित्त |
जिसे आधार ना होवे | उसे हिया से लगावे ||२||
दया जैसी करे पुत्तर से | वैसी दास – दासी जनों से |
तुका कहे महती उनकी | वो ही मूरत भगवान की ||३||

Recognise him as Sadhu (righteous person) who calls (treats) the deprived as his own. Understand that God is there only.
Butter is soft throughout. Similar is the mind of a righteous person. He holds to his heart those who don’t have any support.
He is equally merciful towards the servants as towards the son. Tuka says, ‘How much should I say about him? He is an epitome of God!’

Saint Tukaram earned his livelihood by the ancestral profession of running a provision shop and money lending. He used both these means totally in accordance with the above Abhang and therefore could barely meet his worldly needs. Yet in the severe famine of 1630 A.D. in Maharashtra Tukaram immersed his share of the debt-bonds in the river Indrayani and gave perhaps the first ever debt waiver of the known history to the poor farmers and peasants.