Abhanga 305
Whether someone can receive something good depends on their own inner readiness, not on the quality of what is being offered, so forcing it on the unwilling rarely works.
The verse
अंगीं ज्वर तया नावडे साकर । जन तो इतर गोडी जाणे ॥१॥ एकाचिये तोंडीं पडिली ते माती । अवघे ते खाती पोटभरी ॥ध्रु.॥ चारितां बळें येत असे दांतीं । मागोनियां घेती भाग्यवंत ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नसे संचित हें बरें । तयासि दुसरें काय करी ॥३॥
Literal translation
One with jvara — sākara not-liked; the other people know the gōḍī. In one (person)'s mouth — the māti has fallen; all (others) eat (it) belly-full. Force-feeding — comes-back at the teeth; the bhāgyavanta ask-back, take. Tuka says: no good sañcita — what (else) to do for that one?
मराठी: अंगीं ज्वर तया नावडे साकर — जन तो इतर गोडी जाणे. एकाचिये तोंडीं पडिली ते माती — अवघे ते खाती पोटभरी. चारितां बळें येत असे दांतीं — मागोनियां घेती भाग्यवंत. तुकाराम म्हणतां — नसे संचित हें बरें — तयासि दुसरें काय करी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अंगीं ज्वर तया नावडे साकर | "one withjvara(fever) —sākaranot-liked" |
| जन तो इतर गोडी जाणे | "theitara(other) people know thegōḍī(sweetness)" |
| एकाचिये तोंडीं पडिली ते माती | "in one (person)'s mouth — themāti(dirt) has fallen" |
| अवघे ते खाती पोटभरी | "all (others) eat (it) belly-full" |
| चारितां बळें येत असे दांतीं | "force-feeding — comes-back at the teeth" |
| मागोनियां घेती भाग्यवंत | "thebhāgyavanta— ask-back, take" |
| नसे संचित हें बरें तयासि दुसरें काय करी | "no goodsañcita— what (else) to do for that one?" |
What it means
A sañcita-determines-reception abhang. Three image-clusters and a closing:
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अंगीं ज्वर तया नावडे साकर — जन तो इतर गोडी जाणे — fever-having-one — sākara not-liked; others know the gōḍī. The fever-and-taste image. Fever distorts taste; the fever-having one does not like sugar. Other people know the sweetness. Same sugar; different reception by different state.
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एकाचिये तोंडीं पडिली ते माती — अवघे ते खाती पोटभरी — one (person)'s mouth — māti has fallen; all (others) eat belly-full. The one-bad-mouth image. Same food at the same place; one person's mouth has māti (dirt-feeling, taste-distortion); all others eat belly-full. Reception is in the mouth, not in the food.
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चारितां बळें येत असे दांतीं — मागोनियां घेती भाग्यवंत — force-feeding comes back at the teeth; bhāgyavanta ask-back. Force-feeding the unwilling-mouth — the food comes back at the teeth. The bhāgyavanta (fortune-favored) — ask-back (= want more, take eagerly). Same food; reception by sañcita.
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तुका म्हणे नसे संचित हें बरें — तयासि दुसरें काय करी — no good sañcita — what to do for that one? The closing-resigned-question. Sañcita (accumulated past-karma) determines reception-capacity. No good sañcita = no reception-capacity. What can be done for such a one? — the food / sweet / kathā / upadeśa is offered, but cannot be received. (Compare 295's bhakta-has-no-sañcita; here, the bad-sañcita prevents reception.)
[T]
For someone today
When someone has a fever, sugar tastes bad to them even though everyone else finds it sweet — the sugar hasn't changed, only their capacity to taste it has. In the same way, one person's mouth might feel like it's full of dirt while everyone else eating the very same food enjoys it fully; the difference isn't in the food, it's in the person receiving it. If you force-feed someone who isn't ready, the food just comes back out at their teeth, while a truly fortunate person eagerly asks for more of the same thing. Tukaram ends with a resigned question: when someone simply isn't inwardly ready to receive something good, what else can really be done for them? Whether a person can take in something good depends on their own readiness, not on the quality of what's offered — so don't force it on someone who isn't ready; that readiness can still grow over time through their own inner turning.
मराठी: ज्वर आलेल्या माणसाला साखर गोड लागत नाही, जरी इतर सगळ्यांना ती गोडच लागते — साखर बदललेली नसते, फक्त ती चाखण्याची क्षमता बदललेली असते. त्याचप्रमाणे, एकाच जेवणातलं अन्न खाताना एकाच्या तोंडाला ते मातीसारखं वाटू शकतं, तर बाकीचे तेच अन्न पोटभर आनंदाने खातात — फरक अन्नात नसतो, तो घेणाऱ्या माणसात असतो. तयार नसलेल्या माणसाला जबरदस्तीने खायला घातलं तर ते दातांतूनच परत बाहेर येतं, तर खरोखर भाग्यवान माणूस त्याच गोष्टीची आतुरतेने आणखी मागणी करतो. तुकाराम शेवटी एक हतबल प्रश्न विचारतात — जो माणूस आतून तयारच नाही, त्याच्यासाठी आणखी काय करता येईल? एखादी चांगली गोष्ट स्वीकारता येणं हे त्या माणसाच्या स्वतःच्या आंतरिक तयारीवर अवलंबून असतं, अर्पण केलेल्या गोष्टीच्या दर्जावर नाही — त्यामुळे तयार नसलेल्यावर ती लादू नका; अशी तयारी माणसाच्या स्वतःच्या अंतर्मनातल्या वळणाने कालांतराने वाढू शकते.
Where this applies
- Fever-state distorts taste. Check your own state.
- Reception is in the mouth, not the food. Same situation, different sañcita.
- Don't force-feed the unwilling. Returns at the teeth.
- Bhāgyavanta ask-back. Sañcita-marker.
- Some receptions are sañcita-determined. Resigned-question is wisdom.