Abhanga 260
Public opinion criticizes you no matter what you do, so stop chasing its approval and give yourself to bhakti instead.
The verse
ऐसा हा लौकिक कदा राखवेना । पतितपावना देवराया ॥१॥ संसार करितां म्हणती हा दोषी । टाकितां आळसी पोटपोसा ॥ध्रु.॥ आचार करितां म्हणती हा पसारा । न करितां नरा निंदिताती ॥२॥ संतसंग करितां म्हणती हा उपदेशी । येरा अभाग्यासि ज्ञान नाहीं ॥३॥ धन नाहीं त्यासि ठायींचा करंटा । समर्थासि ताठा लाविताती ॥४॥ बहु बोलों जातां म्हणति हा वाचाळ । न बोलतां सकळ म्हणती गर्वी ॥५॥ भेटिसि न वजातां म्हणती हा निष्ठ । येतां जातां घर बुडविलें ॥६॥ लग्न करूं जातां म्हणती हा मातला । न करितां जाला नपुंसक ॥७॥ निपुत्रिका म्हणती पहा हो चांडाळ । पातकाचें मूळ पोरवडा ॥८॥ लोक जैसा लोक धरितां धरवे ना । अभक्ता जिरे ना संतसंग ॥९॥ तुका म्हणे आतां ऐकावें वचन । त्यजुनियां जन भक्ति करा ॥१०॥
Literal translation
Such laukika cannot ever be kept, patita-pāvana devarāya. Doing samsāra, they say sinful; renouncing — lazy belly-feeder. Doing rituals — fuss; not doing — they criticize. Doing sant-sanga — preacher; the others, unfortunate, have no jñāna. No wealth — fortuneless; the wealthy — they call stiff-and-proud. Speaking much — wordy; not speaking — proud. Not visiting — cruel; coming-going — house-ruined. Going to marry — riled-up; not — eunuch. Childless — see, chāṇḍāḷa, root of pāpa, brood-killer. People-like-people cannot be held; the abhakta cannot digest sant-sanga. Tuka says: now hear (this) word — abandon the people, do bhakti.
मराठी: ऐसा हा लौकिक कदा राखवेना — पतितपावना देवराया. संसार करितां म्हणती हा दोषी — टाकितां आळसी पोटपोसा. आचार करितां म्हणती हा पसारा — न करितां नरा निंदिताती. संतसंग करितां म्हणती हा उपदेशी — येरा अभाग्यासि ज्ञान नाहीं. धन नाहीं त्यासि ठायींचा करंटा — समर्थासि ताठा लाविताती. बहु बोलों जातां म्हणति हा वाचाळ — न बोलतां सकळ म्हणती गर्वी. भेटिसि न वजातां म्हणती हा निष्ठ — येतां जातां घर बुडविलें. लग्न करूं जातां म्हणती हा मातला — न करितां जाला नपुंसक. निपुत्रिका म्हणती पहा हो चांडाळ — पातकाचें मूळ पोरवडा. लोक जैसा लोक धरितां धरवे ना — अभक्ता जिरे ना संतसंग. तुकाराम म्हणतात — आता ऐकावें वचन — त्यजुनियां जन भक्ति करा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ऐसा हा लौकिक कदा राखवेना | "such laukika (public-opinion) cannot ever be rākhavēnā (kept / pleased)" |
| संसार करितां म्हणती हा दोषी | "(if) doing samsāra — they say doṣī (sinful)" |
| टाकितां आळसी पोटपोसा | "(if) renouncing — āḷaśī pōṭa-pōsā (lazy belly-feeder)" |
| आचार करितां म्हणती हा पसारा | "doing rituals — pasārā (fuss)" |
| न करितां नरा निंदिताती | "not doing — they criticize thenarā(man)" |
| संतसंग करितां म्हणती हा उपदेशी | "doing sant-sanga — upadeśī (preacher)" |
| येरा अभाग्यासि ज्ञान नाहीं | "the yērā abhāgyāsi (other unfortunate) — no jñāna" |
| धन नाहीं त्यासि ठायींचा करंटा | "(if) no wealth — karaṇṭā (fortuneless) at-the-place" |
| समर्थासि ताठा लाविताती | "(to) the samartha (wealthy / capable) — they call tāṭha (stiff / proud)" |
| बहु बोलों जातां म्हणति हा वाचाळ | "(if) speaking much — vācāḷa (wordy)" |
| न बोलतां सकळ म्हणती गर्वी | "not speaking — garvī (proud)" |
| भेटिसि न वजातां म्हणती हा निष्ठ | "not visiting — niṣṭhura (cruel)" |
| येतां जातां घर बुडविलें | "coming-going — house-ruined" |
| लग्न करूं जातां म्हणती हा मातला | "going to marry — mātalā (riled-up)" |
| न करितां जाला नपुंसक | "not doing — napumsaka (eunuch)" |
| निपुत्रिका म्हणती पहा हो चांडाळ | "childless — they say see, chāṇḍāḷa" |
| पातकाचें मूळ पोरवडा | "root of pāpa, brood-killer" |
| लोक जैसा लोक धरितां धरवे ना | "people-like-people cannot be held / kept" |
| अभक्ता जिरे ना संतसंग | "the abhakta cannot digest sant-sanga" |
| त्यजुनियां जन भक्ति करा | "abandon the (public) people, do bhakti" |
What it means
A famous and beloved abhang on the contradictions of public-opinion. Tukaram lists nine pairs of contradictory criticisms and one summary. Ten lines, structured precisely:
| If you do | They call you | If you don't | They call you |
|---|---|---|---|
| samsāra | doṣī (sinful) | renounce | āḷaśī pōṭa-pōsā |
| ritual | pasārā (fuss) | not | criticized |
| sant-sanga | upadeśī (preacher) | (others abhāgya) | no jñāna |
| (no wealth) | karaṇṭā | (have wealth) | tāṭha |
| speak much | vācāḷa | don't speak | garvī |
| not visit | niṣṭhura | visit | house-ruined |
| marry | mātalā | don't | napumsaka |
| (childless) | chāṇḍāḷa, brood-killer |
The structure shows: no consistent path satisfies laukika. Whatever you do, the criticism flips. The contradictory criticisms prove the laukika is not after-the-truth; it is after-the-criticism.
The summary: लोक जैसा लोक धरितां धरवे ना — people-like-people cannot be held / kept. The laukika is unholdable. अभक्ता जिरे ना संतसंग — the abhakta cannot digest sant-sanga. The abhakta-condition has no room for sant-sanga. The two are related: the abhakta is the laukika-form of relating; no laukika-form can hold sant-sanga.
The closing-imperative: त्यजुनियां जन भक्ति करा — abandon the (public) people, do bhakti. The only-way-out of the laukika-trap is to abandon the people-pleasing-orientation and do bhakti. [T]
For someone today
This is one of Tukaram's most quoted abhangs about the impossibility of pleasing public opinion. He runs through pair after pair: live a family life and you're called sinful, renounce it and you're called lazy; perform rituals and it's mocked as fuss, skip them and you're criticized just the same; keep saintly company and you're called a preacher, avoid it and you're called ignorant; speak up and you're called a chatterbox, stay silent and you're called proud; marry and you're called reckless, stay single and you're mocked. Whatever you do, the criticism simply flips to meet you — proof that public opinion was never chasing truth, only fault. So Tukaram's counsel is simple: stop trying to win that crowd's approval, since it can never actually be satisfied, and give yourself to devotion instead — not by turning away from people, but by letting go of your need for their verdict.
मराठी: ही तुकारामांची लोकमताबद्दलची सर्वाधिक उद्धृत केली जाणारी ओवी आहे — लोकांना खूश करणं कसं अशक्य आहे याबद्दल. ते जोडी-जोडीने उदाहरणं देतात: संसार केला तर पापी म्हणतात, संन्यास घेतला तर आळशी म्हणतात; कर्मकांड केलं तर देखावा म्हणतात, नाही केलं तरी टीका करतातच; संतसंगत केली तर उपदेशक म्हणतात, टाळली तर अज्ञानी म्हणतात; बोललात तर बडबड्या म्हणतात, गप्प राहिलात तर गर्विष्ठ म्हणतात; लग्न केलं तर बेभान म्हणतात, केलं नाही तर हिणवतात. तुम्ही काहीही करा, टीका फक्त तुमच्यापर्यंत पोहोचायला रूप बदलते — यावरून हे सिद्ध होतं की लोकमत कधीच सत्याच्या मागे नव्हतं, फक्त दोष शोधण्याच्या मागे होतं. म्हणून तुकारामांचा सल्ला सोपा आहे — त्या गर्दीचा होकार मिळवण्याचा प्रयत्न सोडा, कारण ती कधीच खरोखर समाधानी होऊ शकत नाही, आणि त्याऐवजी भक्तीला स्वतःला वाहून द्या — लोकांकडे पाठ फिरवून नव्हे, तर त्यांच्या निकालाची गरजच सोडून.
Where this applies
- Laukika is structurally-unholdable. Don't try to please.
- Contradictory criticisms reveal the pattern. Automatic, not truth-seeking.
- Abhakta-form cannot digest sant-sanga. Don't seek that approval.
- Abandon the people, do bhakti. Abandon the orientation, not the people.