Abhanga 41
It does not matter how beautiful the vessel is. If what fills it is bad, do not put it to your lips. The show without substance is empty.
The verse
अवगुणांचे हातीं । आहे अवघी फजीती ॥१॥ नाहीं पात्रासवें चाड । प्रमाण तें फिकें गोड ॥ध्रु.॥ विष तांब्या वाटी । भरली लावूं नये होटीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे भाव । शुद्ध बरा सोंग वाव ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: In the hands of bad qualities, the whole disgrace lies. I have no concern for the vessel; the measure (of substance) is what is bland or sweet. A copper bowl filled with poison — do not put it to your lips. Tuka says: pure feeling is good; the show is empty.
मराठी: अवगुणांच्या हातांत असली तर सगळी फजीती. पात्राशी मला नातं नाही; प्रमाण फिकं किंवा गोड त्यानेच ठरतं. तांब्याच्या वाटीत विष भरलं असेल — ती ओठांना लावू नये. तुकाराम म्हणतात — भाव शुद्ध बरा; सोंग वाव.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अवगुणांचे हातीं | "in the hands of bad-qualities" (अवगुण = bad-quality, vice) |
| आहे अवघी फजीती | "is the entire disgrace" |
| नाहीं पात्रासवें चाड | "(I) have no concern with the vessel" (पात्र = vessel; here, container or a person-as-receiver) |
| प्रमाण तें फिकें गोड | "the measure / proportion (of substance) is what makes it bland or sweet" |
| विष तांब्या वाटी | "poison in a copper bowl" |
| भरली लावूं नये होटीं | "filled (with poison) — do not put to the lips" |
| भाव शुद्ध बरा | "pure feeling (bhāva) is better" |
| सोंग वाव | "the show (sōmga) is empty" (वाव = empty, hollow) |
What it means
A short, didactic abhang. The image is precise: a copper bowl (तांब्याची वाटी — a beautiful vessel by warkari standards) filled with poison. The vessel's quality is irrelevant once the content is bad; you do not drink the contents because the cup is pretty. The application: the सोंग (show, performance, costume) of devotion is empty if the भाव (feeling, substance) is not pure. The vessel-show distinction collapses any aesthetics-of-spirituality argument. [T]
For someone today
English: This abhang is the corrective to anyone — including yourself — who has been polishing the form of a practice or a relationship while the content has gone bad. Beautiful vessel, poisoned content: do not bring it to your lips. The opposite is also true: a flawed vessel with pure content is fine; नाहीं पात्रासवें चाड — I have no concern with the vessel. Substance over form is bhakti's plain rule.
The applications are everywhere. A meditation app with perfect UX and shallow content. A relationship with the right photos and curdled inside. A teaching tradition with beautiful ritual and rotten ethics. A self-presentation with all the right vocabulary and no actual living. Tukaram's test is simple: what is in the cup? If poison — even copper-bowled poison — do not drink.
मराठी: ही ओवी कुणासाठी सुधारणा — स्वतःसह — जो साधनेचं किंवा नात्याचं रूप चकाचक करत आहे पण आत खराब झालं आहे. सुंदर पात्र, विषारी सामग्री: ओठांना लावू नका. उलटही खरं — सदोष पात्र पण शुद्ध सामग्री ठीक; नाहीं पात्रासवें चाड. द्रव्य > रूप — हाच bhakti चा सरळ नियम.
लागू कुठे-कुठे: perfect UX वाला आणि शाळवटलेला meditation app. योग्य फोटोंचं नातं ज्याच्यात आत curdled आहे. सुंदर विधींची शिक्षण-परंपरा ज्याच्यात ethics सडलंय. योग्य शब्दसंग्रहाचं स्व-प्रस्तुती ज्याच्यात खऱ्या जगण्याशी जोड नाही. तुकारामांची परीक्षा सोपी आहे: कपात काय आहे? विष असलं — तांब्याच्या वाटीतलं विष असलं तरीही — पिऊ नका.
Where this applies
- When something is beautifully presented and you wonder if the substance matches. Look in the cup.
- When you're polishing the form of something whose content has gone bad. Stop polishing. Address the content.
- When you have to choose between flawed-vessel-good-content and perfect-vessel-bad-content. Tukaram chooses the first. भाव शुद्ध बरा.