Abhanga 245
Good instruction should be judged by its content, not by the status of the person who delivers it, because even a humble messenger can carry something priceless.
The verse
उपदेश तो भलत्या हातीं । जाला चित्तीं धरावा ॥१॥ नये जाऊं पात्रावरी । कवटी सारी नारळें ॥ध्रु.॥ स्त्री पुत्र बंदीजन । नारायण स्मरविती ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे रत्नसार । परि उपकार चिंधीचे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Take the upadeśa — from any hand — whatever (it is), hold (it) in the chitta. Don't go upon the pātra — the kavaṭī carries the nāraḷē. Wife, son, bandi-jana — (can) make Nārāyaṇa-remembered. Tuka says: ratna-sāra — but the cinḍhī (rag) does the upakāra.
मराठी: उपदेश तो भलत्या हातीं — जाला चित्तीं धरावा. नये जाऊं पात्रावरी — कवटी सारी नारळें. स्त्री पुत्र बंदीजन — नारायण स्मरविती. तुकाराम म्हणतात — रत्नसार — परि उपकार चिंधीचे.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| उपदेश तो भलत्या हातीं | "the upadeśa — from any hand" |
| जाला चित्तीं धरावा | "(whatever it is) — hold (it) in the chitta" |
| नये जाऊं पात्रावरी | "don't go upon the pātra (vessel)" |
| कवटी सारी नारळें | "the kavaṭī (husk / shell) carries the nāraḷē (coconut)" |
| स्त्री पुत्र बंदीजन | "wife, son, bandi-jana (prisoner)" |
| नारायण स्मरविती | "(can) make Nārāyaṇa-remembered" |
| रत्नसार परि उपकार चिंधीचे | "ratna-sāra (jewel-essence) — but the cinḍhī (rag) does the upakāra (favor)" |
What it means
A famous upadeśa-from-any-hand abhang. Four claims:
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उपदेश तो भलत्या हातीं — जाला चित्तीं धरावा — take the upadeśa from any hand — whatever it is, hold in the chitta. The radical-inclusivity rule about instruction. Bhalatyā hātīm — from whichever hand (= whoever's hand it comes from). The source-of-the-upadeśa is irrelevant; the upadeśa-itself is to be held in the chitta.
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नये जाऊं पात्रावरी — कवटी सारी नारळें — don't go upon the pātra — the husk carries the coconut. The vessel-vs-content rule. Pātra (vessel / receptacle / source-status) is not what to judge. The kavaṭī (husk, the rough-outer-shell) carries the nāraḷē (the coconut, the prized-fruit). The husk-is-low-status; the coconut-is-high-status. But the husk is the carrier. Without-the-husk, the coconut does not arrive. Don't despise the husk; it is the delivery-vehicle.
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स्त्री पुत्र बंदीजन — नारायण स्मरविती — wife, son, bandi-jana — make Nārāyaṇa-remembered. The radical-list: wife, son, prisoner (or dependent / servant / inferior-status person) can make Nārāyaṇa-remembered. In the orthodox-frame, upadeśa comes from gurus (specifically: high-status, male, priestly). Tukaram's claim: anyone in your everyday-life — wife, son, prisoner — can make you remember Nārāyaṇa. The upadeśa-channel is open through any everyday-relation.
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तुका म्हणे रत्नसार — परि उपकार चिंधीचे — Tuka says: ratna-sāra (jewel-essence) — but the cinḍhī (rag) does the upakāra. The closing-image. The jewel (the highest-value content) — but the rag does the favor. (= a jewel wrapped in a rag — the rag is what enables the jewel to be carried, kept, transported.) The rag's favor is what the jewel needs. Don't despise the rag; the upakāra (favor) is the rag's.
[T]
For someone today
This is one of Tukaram's most quoted teachings on where good instruction can come from. Take the teaching wherever it comes from, he says — don't judge it by the status of the person delivering it, but hold the content itself close. Just as the rough husk carries the prized coconut inside, don't dismiss a lowly-seeming vessel; without it, the valuable thing inside never arrives. A wife, a son, even a prisoner or servant can be the one who reminds you of God — you don't need a formal, high-status guru for that reminder to reach you. In the end, Tuka says, it's the humble rag that does the real favor of carrying the jewel — so honor the plain, ordinary carriers of wisdom, not just the wisdom's polish.
मराठी: ही ओवी तुकारामांच्या सर्वाधिक उद्धृत केल्या जाणाऱ्या शिकवणींपैकी एक आहे — चांगला उपदेश कुठून येतो याबद्दल. उपदेश जिथून येईल तिथून घ्या, असं ते म्हणतात — तो देणाऱ्याच्या दर्जावरून त्याची किंमत ठरवू नका, तर त्यातला आशय मनात धरून ठेवा. जसं खरखरीत टरफल आतल्या मौल्यवान नारळाला वाहून नेतं, तसंच क्षुल्लक वाटणाऱ्या माध्यमाला तुच्छ मानू नका — त्याशिवाय आतली मौल्यवान गोष्ट तुमच्यापर्यंत पोहोचतच नाही. पत्नी, मुलगा, किंवा एखादा बंदिवान किंवा सेवकसुद्धा तुम्हाला देवाची आठवण करून देऊ शकतो — त्यासाठी उच्चपदस्थ, औपचारिक गुरूच हवा असं नाही. शेवटी तुकाराम म्हणतात, रत्न वाहून नेण्याचं खरं उपकार ती साधी चिंधीच करते — म्हणून शहाणपण देणाऱ्या साध्या, सामान्य माध्यमांचा मान राखा, केवळ त्या शहाणपणाच्या झळाळीचा नाही.
Where this applies
- Take upadeśa from any hand. Don't gate-keep by source.
- Don't judge by the pātra. Husk carries the coconut.
- Anyone (wife, son, prisoner) can make Nārāyaṇa-remembered. Everyday-relations.
- Rag does the favor for the jewel. Honor the vessel.