Abhanga 290
This abhang names the substance-shows-itself principle:
The verse
न लगे चंदना सांगावा परिमळ । वनस्पतिमेळ हाकारुनी ॥१॥ अंतरीचें धांवे स्वभावें बाहेरी । धरितां ही परी आवरे ना ॥ध्रु.॥ सूर्य नाहीं जागें करीत या जना । प्रकाश किरणा कर म्हुन ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे मेघ नाचवी मयूरें । लपवितां खरें येत नाहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Sandalwood does not need to announce its fragrance — calling-forth the plant-world. What is inside — runs out by svabhāva — even held, does not restrain. The sun does not wake people — by speaking of its light-ray-hands. Tuka says: clouds make peacocks dance — hiding, the kharē does not come.
मराठी: न लगे चंदना सांगावा परिमळ — वनस्पतिमेळ हाकारुनी. अंतरीचें धांवे स्वभावें बाहेरी — धरितां ही परी आवरे ना. सूर्य नाहीं जागें करीत या जना — प्रकाश किरणा कर म्हुन. तुकाराम म्हणतात — मेघ नाचवी मयूरें — लपवितां खरें येत नाहीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| न लगे चंदना सांगावा परिमळ | "sandalwood does not need to announce (its) parimaḷa (fragrance)" |
| वनस्पतिमेळ हाकारुनी | "calling-forth the vanaspati-mēḷa (plant-world)" |
| अंतरीचें धांवे स्वभावें बाहेरी | "what is inside — runs out by svabhāva** (nature)" |
| धरितां ही परी आवरे ना | "even held — does not restrain" |
| सूर्य नाहीं जागें करीत या जना | "the sūrya does not wake people" |
| प्रकाश किरणा कर म्हुन | "(by) speaking of its prakāśa-kiraṇa-kara (light-ray-hands)" |
| मेघ नाचवी मयूरें | "megha (clouds) make mayūras (peacocks) dance" |
| लपवितां खरें येत नाहीं | "hiding — the kharē (truth) does not come" |
What it means
A substance-shows-itself abhang. Four image-clusters:
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न लगे चंदना सांगावा परिमळ — sandalwood doesn't need to announce fragrance. The fragrance reveals itself; no announcement needed. Sandalwood does not call out: 'plant-world, come and notice my fragrance!'
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अंतरीचें धांवे स्वभावें बाहेरी — धरितां ही परी आवरे ना — what is inside runs out by svabhāva — even held, does not restrain. The self-revealing principle. Inner-substance comes out by nature; even effort to restrain it cannot prevent the showing. (Compare 222's all-skilled begs for innocence; 246's don't squeeze the flower.)
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सूर्य नाहीं जागें करीत या जना — प्रकाश किरणा कर म्हुन — sun does not wake people by speaking of its rays. The sun does not announce: 'Wake up! I have rays!' The rays themselves do the waking. Action-by-being, not action-by-announcement.
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मेघ नाचवी मयूरें — लपवितां खरें येत नाहीं — clouds make peacocks dance — hiding, the kharē does not come. The cloud-and-peacock image: clouds approach and peacocks dance (the rain-prediction-instinct of peacocks). The clouds don't announce; the peacocks know by the cloud-arrival. And the closing: hiding — the truth does not come. The truth comes by self-revelation, not by hiding-and-announcing.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang names the substance-shows-itself principle:
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Real-quality doesn't need to announce. Sandalwood, sun, clouds — none announce their quality. The fragrance, light, rain-arrival are self-revealing.
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Inner-substance runs out by svabhāva*. What is genuine cannot be hidden. Even effort to restrain* the showing cannot prevent it.
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Action-by-being, not by announcement. Sun does not announce its rays; the rays do the waking. Apply this to your own work: be the substance; let it show itself; don't announce it.
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Hiding cannot keep the truth. Lapavitām khare yēta nāhīm. The truth comes by self-revelation; hiding does not prevent it. (And — the truth does not arrive when you hide it; you have to be the truth and let it come out.)
For today: don't announce your quality; let the substance show itself by svabhāva; act-by-being, not by announcement; trust that the truth comes when you stop hiding.
This is important psychologically: the announcement-mode is itself a sign of substance-deficit. Real-substance doesn't need to announce; the announcement-need indicates the substance-isn't-self-revealing.
(The complementary: this is not against speaking the truth; it is against announcement-as-substitute-for-substance. Speaking the truth comes from the substance; announcing-the-truth-without-substance is the failure-mode.)
मराठी: ही ओवी substance-shows-itself principle नाव सांगते:
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Real-quality announce करायला लागत नाही. Sandalwood, sun, clouds — कोणीही announce करत नाही. Fragrance, light, rain-arrival self-revealing.
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Inner-substance svabhāva ने बाहेर धावतं. Genuine लपवता येत नाही. Showing restrain करायचा प्रयत्न prevent करू शकत नाही.
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Action-by-being, announcement ने नाही. Sūrya rays announce करत नाही; rays जागवण्याचं काम करतात. तुमच्या स्वतःच्या काम ला लागू: substance व्हा; आपोआप show होऊ द्या; announce करू नका.
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लपवण्याने truth येत नाही. लपवितां खरें येत नाहीं. Truth self-revelation ने येतं; लपवण्याने prevent होत नाही. (आणि — लपवल्यावर truth येत नाही; तुम्हाला truth व्हायला हवं आणि बाहेर येऊ द्यायला हवं.)
आज: quality announce करू नका; substance svabhāva ने show होऊ द्या; act-by-being, announcement ने नाही; लपवणं थांबवलं की truth येतं — विश्वास ठेवा.
Psychologically महत्त्वाचं: announcement-mode स्वतःच substance-deficit चं sign. Real-substance announce करायला लागत नाही; announcement-need substance-isn't-self-revealing चं indication.
Complementary: हे truth बोलणं विरुद्ध नाही; announcement-as-substitute-for-substance विरुद्ध आहे. Truth बोलणं substance ने येतं; substance-शिवाय truth-announce failure-mode.
Where this applies
- Sandalwood doesn't announce fragrance. Real-quality is self-revealing.
- Inner-substance runs out by svabhāva. Cannot be hidden.
- Sun's rays wake without announcement. Action-by-being.
- Hiding cannot keep the truth. Stop hiding; let it come.