Abhanga 79
This abhang gives a precise diagnostic for the seeker who has become a performer. Three signs: (1) hunger for external-marker; (2) flinching at any real test; (3) strained emotion. If you notice these in someone else (a teacher, a friend, yourself in spiritual contexts), the abhang's verdict is plain: the deity is not reached by this. The cure is not better performance; it is substance, even minimal. A small unperformed bhakti reaches; an enormous performed one does not.
The verse
माझी पाठ करा कवी । उट लावी दारोदार ॥१॥ तंव तया पारखी सिव । लाजे ठाव सांडितां ॥ध्रु.॥ उष्टावळी करूनि जमा । कुंथुनि प्रेमा आणितसे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बाहेरमुदी । आहा च गोविंदीं न सरती ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: "Praise me!" he asks the poets — smearing tilak door-to-door. But at the touchstone-touch (of truth), he flinches and abandons the place out of shame. He gathers leftovers (recycled material) and with strain brings forth (false) emotion. Tuka says: the outside-only — the mere "ah" — does not reach Govinda.
मराठी: "माझी पाठ करा" म्हणतो कवीला — दारोदार उट लावत फिरतो. पण जिथे पारखी शिवते (सत्याचा स्पर्श होतो) — तिथे लाजेने ठाव सोडतो. उष्टावळी जमा करून — कुंथून प्रेम आणतो. तुकाराम म्हणतात — बाहेरमुदी — आहा चं गोविंदापर्यंत पोहोचत नाही.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| माझी पाठ करा कवी | "praise me, poet (of me)" |
| उट लावी दारोदार | "smears tilak / paste door-to-door" |
| तंव तया पारखी सिव | "but at the touchstone-touch (of truth)" |
| लाजे ठाव सांडितां | "(he) abandons the place out of shame" |
| उष्टावळी करूनि जमा | "gathering leftovers (= recycled spiritual material)" |
| कुंथुनि प्रेमा आणितसे | "with strain, brings forth (false) emotion" (कुंथणे = to strain, retch) |
| बाहेरमुदी | "outside-only / external-show" |
| आहा च गोविंदीं न सरती | "the aha (mere 'ah') does not reach Govinda" |
What it means
A precise three-line portrait of the praise-seeker in spiritual life. Three diagnostics: (1) goes door-to-door for praise and external markers (tilak); (2) flinches and leaves when touchstone-touched (a real test of substance); (3) recycles others' material and strains (कुंथून) to produce emotional show. The closing — बाहेरमुदी आहा च गोविंदीं न सरती — the outside-only "ah" does not reach Govinda — is the verdict. The deity is not deceived by performed-emotion. [T]
For someone today
This abhang gives a precise diagnostic for the seeker who has become a performer. Three signs: (1) hunger for external-marker; (2) flinching at any real test; (3) strained emotion. If you notice these in someone else (a teacher, a friend, yourself in spiritual contexts), the abhang's verdict is plain: the deity is not reached by this. The cure is not better performance; it is substance, even minimal. A small unperformed bhakti reaches; an enormous performed one does not.
मराठी: ही ओवी आध्यात्मिक जीवनात performer झालेल्या साधकासाठी अचूक diagnostic देते. तीन चिन्हं: (१) external marker ची भूक; (२) कुठल्याही खऱ्या परीक्षेला flinching; (३) strained emotion. इतरांत (एखादा शिक्षक, मित्र, स्वतः आध्यात्मिक context मध्ये) हे लक्षात आलं — ओवीचा निवाडा सोपा: देवापर्यंत हे पोहोचत नाही. उपाय better performance नाही — द्रव्य, अगदी थोडंही. लहान unperformed bhakti पोहोचते; प्रचंड performed पोहोचत नाही.
Where this applies
- Performing emotion in spiritual contexts. कुंथून gives it away.
- Seeker becoming praise-seeker. Three diagnostics.
- Validation-seeking is the practice's antithesis. बाहेरमुदी न सरती.