Abhanga 94
English: The bhorpī (impersonator) has changed his outer disguise; he holds meditation as a fish does — as bait.
The verse
भोरप्यानें सोंग पालटिलें वरी । ध्यान धरी मत्स्या जैसें ॥१॥ टिळे माळा मैंद मुद्रा लावी अंगीं । देखों नेदि जगीं फांसे जैसे ॥ध्रु.॥ ढीवर या मत्स्या चारा घाली जैसा । भीतरील फांसा कळों नेदी ॥२॥ खाटिक हा स्नेहवादें पशु पाळी । कापावया नळी तया साठीं ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे तैसा भला मी लोकांत । परी तूं कृपावंत पांडुरंगा ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: The bhorpī (impersonator) has changed his outer disguise; he holds meditation as a fish does — as bait. He puts on tilak, garlands, false ascetic-pose, bodily mudrās — does not let the world see the snare. Just as the fisherman feeds the fish — does not let the inner-snare be known. The butcher keeps the animal lovingly — for the sake of slitting its throat. Tuka says: such am I (good-seeming) among people — but you, Pandurang, are compassionate.
मराठी: भोरप्याने वरचा सोंग पालटला; तो मत्स्यासारखं ध्यान धरतो (आमिष म्हणून). टिळे, माळा, मैंद, अंगावर मुद्रा — जगाला फांसे दिसू देत नाही. ढीवर मत्स्याला चारा घालतो — आत-फांसा कळू देत नाही. खाटिक स्नेहाने पशु पाळतो — नळी कापायला. तुकाराम म्हणतात — मी लोकांत असाच (चांगला दिसणारा); पण तू पांडुरंगा कृपावंत.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भोरप्यानें सोंग पालटिलें वरी | "the bhorpī (impersonator / fraudster) has changed his outer disguise" |
| ध्यान धरी मत्स्या जैसें | "(he) holds meditation like a fish (= as a stillness-bait)" |
| टिळे माळा मैंद मुद्रा | "tilak, garlands, maind (false ascetic-pose), bodily mudrās" |
| देखों नेदि जगीं फांसे जैसे | "doesn't let the world see the snare" |
| ढीवर या मत्स्या चारा घाली जैसा | "as the fisherman feeds the fish (with bait)" |
| भीतरील फांसा कळों नेदी | "doesn't let the inner-snare be known" |
| खाटिक हा स्नेहवादें पशु पाळी | "the butcher keeps the animal lovingly" |
| कापावया नळी तया साठीं | "for the sake of slitting (its) throat" |
| तैसा भला मी लोकांत | "such am I (good-seeming) among people" |
| परी तूं कृपावंत पांडुरंगा | "but you are compassionate, Pandurang" |
What it means
This is one of Tukaram's most-cited false-guru abhangs. The portrait is precise and harsh: - भोरपी (impersonator) wears the outer signs (tilak, garlands, ascetic mudras) - His "meditation" is bait — like the fish that holds still to attract other fish for the fisherman - The fisherman feeds the fish so the snare goes unseen — the false-guru offers benefits to keep the disciple unsuspecting - The butcher keeps the animal lovingly to slit its throat — the cultivation of fondness is preparation for harm
The closing twist is one of Tukaram's most striking moments of self-honesty: तैसा भला मी लोकांत — such (a fraud-seeming) am I among people. Tukaram is not exempting himself from the portrait. He is naming his own susceptibility to playing the same role and saying: you, Pandurang, are compassionate — meaning, what saves Tukaram from being the fraud is not his own purity but the deity's compassion. [T] [Tradition]
For someone today
This abhang offers two diagnostics. First — for recognizing the false guru/teacher/leader. The signs: outer marks worn deliberately, meditation-as-pose-not-state, kindness offered as bait (the fisherman's feeding), fondness cultivated to disarm before harm (the butcher's care). If a teacher or leader's kindness is making you less able to see what they're doing, the butcher-pattern may apply. Look at the inner-snare, not the outer signs.
The harder teaching is in the closing: I am like that among people. Tukaram is not exempting himself. The honest application: notice your own moments of using spiritual vocabulary or stance as bait, of being-fond-to-disarm, of keeping someone close for purposes you haven't admitted. The portrait is a mirror, not just a warning about others.
मराठी: ही ओवी दोन diagnostics देते. पहिलं — खोट्या गुरू / शिक्षक / नेत्याची ओळख. चिन्हं: वरची चिन्हं deliberately, ध्यान-as-pose-not-state, दयेची आमिष (मासेमाराचा चारा), आधी हानी पोहोचवायला आधी fondness cultivate (खाटकाची काळजी). शिक्षक/नेत्याची दया तुम्हाला त्यांचं काय चालू आहे ते बघायला कमी सक्षम करत असेल — खाटिक-pattern लागू असू शकतो. आत-फांसा बघा, बाहेरची चिन्हं नाही.
कठीण शिकवण शेवटी: मीही लोकांत असाच आहे. तुकाराम स्वतःला सूट देत नाहीत. प्रामाणिक application: स्वतःचे क्षण जेव्हा आध्यात्मिक भाषा/posture आमिष म्हणून वापरली, disarm करायला fond झाला, हेतू न सांगता कुणाला जवळ ठेवलं — हे लक्षात घ्या. portrait आरसा आहे, फक्त इतरांबद्दलची warning नाही.
Where this applies
- Spiritual robes around a trap. Recognize the precise images.
- Tempted to use spirituality as bait. खाटिक स्नेहवादें पशु पाळी.
- Kept lovingly by someone preparing harm. Tukaram's butcher.