Abhanga 28
When the question 'is your path correct?' becomes a debate, the debate is the trap. Step out of the debate; let the others have their disputes.
The verse
बहुतांच्या आम्ही न मिळो मतासी । कोणी कैसी कैसी भावनेच्या ॥१॥ विचार करितां वांयां जाय काळ । लटिकें तें मूळ फजितीचें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तुम्ही करा घटापटा । नका जाऊं वाटा आमुचिया ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: We will not agree with the many — everyone has their own kind of opinion. By deliberating about it, time is wasted; the false root is the source of disgrace. Tuka says: you do your ghata-pata (philosophical dispute); do not try to come down our path.
मराठी: बहुसंख्यांच्या मताशी आम्ही सहमत होणार नाही — कोणाचं काय मत असेल कुणास ठाऊक. विचार करून वेळ वाया जातो; जे मूळ खोटं आहे तेच फजितीचं कारण. तुकाराम म्हणतात — तुम्ही घटापटा करा, आमच्या वाटेनं येऊ नका.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बहुतांच्या मतासी न मिळो | "we will not agree with the many" |
| कैसी कैसी भावनेच्या | "of all kinds of feeling / opinion" |
| विचार करितां वांयां जाय काळ | "by deliberating, time goes to waste" |
| लटिकें तें मूळ फजितीचें | "what is false (at the root) is the source of disgrace" |
| घटापटा | a stock phrase from Indian philosophy meaning philosophical disputation (lit. "pot-and-cloth" — the standard examples used in Nyāya logic) |
| नका जाऊं वाटा आमुचिया | "do not (try to) come down our path" |
What it means
The opening verse names the choice not to debate. बहुतांच्या मतासी न मिळो — we will not match the views of the many. This is not arrogance; it is exit. Verse 2 explains why: deliberation eats time, and the time spent rehearsing arguments against false roots is itself the loss. घटापटा — the pot-and-cloth — is shorthand for the entire genre of philosophical disputation in classical Indian logic. Tukaram is not entering that genre. The path he is on is not validated by argument; it is validated by being walked. [T]
For someone today
English: This abhang is for the moment when you find yourself spending hours rehearsing arguments — about whether your career change is wise, whether your spiritual practice is real, whether your unconventional choice can be defended. Tukaram's claim: the rehearsal is the trap. विचार करितां वांयां जाय काळ — by deliberating, time is wasted. The cure is not better arguments; the cure is exit from the argument-genre entirely. Let those who want to argue, argue. Walk your path. The path's evidence is the walking, not the winning of disputes about it.
मराठी: ही ओवी अशा क्षणासाठी आहे जेव्हा तुम्ही तासन्तास वाद रंगवत आहात — तुमचा करिअर-बदल शहाणा आहे का, तुमची साधना खरी आहे का, तुमची अपारंपरिक निवड बचावली जाऊ शकते का. तुकारामांचा दावा: rehearsing हा सापळा आहे. विचार करितां वांयां जाय काळ. उपाय चांगले युक्तिवाद नाही — उपाय वाद-genre मधून बाहेर पडणं. ज्यांना वाद घालायचा त्यांना घालू द्या. तुमची वाट चाला. वाटेचा पुरावा चालण्यात आहे, वाद जिंकण्यात नाही.
Where this applies
- When you're being drawn into philosophical debate about whether your path is correct. Decline. The debate is the trap.
- When you're defending choices to people not open to changing their minds. घटापटा — that's their game. Not yours.
- When time keeps disappearing into rehearsing arguments. The rehearsing is the loss.