Abhanga 71
The best worship is in the mind itself. Public-show is for whom? The fruit follows the seed; the heart determines what gain or harm comes.
The verse
करावी ते पूजा मनें चि उत्तम । लौकिकाचें काम काय असे ॥१॥ कळावें तयासि कळे अंतरींचें । कारण तें साचें साचा अंगीं ॥ध्रु.॥ अतिशया अंतीं लाभ किंवा घात । फळ देतें चित्त बीजा ऐसें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे जेणें राहे समाधान । ऐसें तें भजन पार पावी ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: The worship to do is best in the mind itself; what need has it of public-show? The One who needs to know — He knows the inner state; the cause is real in the (worshipper's) body. Extreme (effort) brings either gain or harm at the end; the heart gives fruit according to the seed. Tuka says: the bhajan that brings samādhāna (settled-peace) — that is the one that carries one across.
मराठी: पूजा मनातच उत्तम; लौकिकाचा प्रश्न नाही. ज्याला कळायचं — त्याला अंतरीचं कळतंच; कारण साच्या अंगातच. अतिशयाने शेवटी लाभ किंवा हानी; चित्त बीजासारखं फळ देतं. तुकाराम म्हणतात — ज्यामुळे समाधान येतं तेच भजन पार पाडतं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| करावी ते पूजा मनें चि उत्तम | "the worship to do is best done in mind itself" |
| लौकिकाचें काम काय असे | "what is the use of the public-show?" |
| कळावें तयासि कळे अंतरींचें | "the one who needs to know — knows the inner state" |
| कारण तें साचें साचा अंगीं | "the cause is real in the (worshipper's) own body" |
| अतिशया अंतीं लाभ किंवा घात | "extreme (effort) at the end (brings) gain or harm" |
| फळ देतें चित्त बीजा ऐसें | "the heart gives fruit according to the seed" |
| जेणें राहे समाधान ऐसें तें भजन | "the bhajan that settles — that one carries across" |
What it means
Three claims: (1) public-show is unnecessary; (2) the inner-state is what reaches the deity, not the visible gesture; (3) excess effort can bring either gain or harm — the determinant is the seed (the heart's actual state). The closing diagnostic — जेणें राहे समाधान, ऐसें तें भजन पार पावी — the bhajan that settles you carries you across — is precise: practice is good if it leads to samādhāna (settled peace); the same external practice can be either useful or harmful depending on whether it produces this inner result. [T]
For someone today
The diagnostic in verse 3 is the most useful line: does this practice settle the heart, or does it agitate it? External markers (length, intensity, public-recognition) are not the test. Samādhāna is. Two people doing the same practice with the same words and the same duration can have opposite results because the seed — the inner state — was different. Tukaram is removing the false metric (visible-show, effort-quantity) and naming the real one (settled-heart-after).
मराठी: ओवी ३ चा diagnostic सर्वात उपयोगी ओळ: ही साधना हृदय settle करते का, agitate करते? External markers (लांबी, intensity, public-recognition) कसोटी नाही. समाधान आहे. एकाच शब्दांची, एकाच वेळेची साधना दोन माणसांत उलट परिणाम देऊ शकते — कारण बीज — आत-अवस्था — वेगळं होतं. तुकाराम खोटं metric (visible-show, effort-quantity) काढतायत आणि खरं नाव सांगतायत (settled-हृदय-नंतर).
Where this applies
- Visible worship for whom? Not the deity.
- Calculating return. Seed-determines-fruit.
- Only diagnostic that matters. Does it settle the heart?