Abhanga 342
Knowing about a practice never substitutes for actually doing it; sincere feeling and real practice, not clever knowledge, are what set you free.
The verse
अन्नाच्या परिमळें जरि जाय भूक । तरि कां हे पाक घरोघरीं ॥१॥ आपुलालें तुम्ही करा रे स्वहित । वाचे स्मरा नित्य राम राम ॥ध्रु.॥ देखोनि जीवन जरि जाय तान । तरि कां सांटवण घरोघरीं ॥२॥ देखोनियां छाया सुख न पवीजे । जंव न बैसीजे तया तळीं ॥३ ॥ हित तरी होय गातां अईकतां । जरि राहे चित्ता दृढ भाव ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे होसी भावें चि तूं मुक्त । काय करिसी युक्त जाणिवेची॥५॥
Literal translation
If the parimaḷa of food removed hunger — why this pāka in every house? Do your own svahita — speak Rāma Rāma with the mouth always. If seeing jīvana removed thirst — why sāmṭavaṇa in every house? Seeing chāyā — sukha doesn't come — until you sit beneath. The hita comes from singing-hearing — if the citta holds firm bhāva. Tuka says: by bhāva itself, you become mukta — what will you do with yukti of jāṇīva?
मराठी: अन्नाच्या परिमळें जरि जाय भूक — तरि कां हे पाक घरोघरीं. आपुलालें तुम्ही करा रे स्वहित — वाचे स्मरा नित्य राम राम. देखोनि जीवन जरि जाय तान — तरि कां सांटवण घरोघरीं. देखोनियां छाया — सुख न पवीजे — जंव न बैसीजे तया तळीं. हित तरी होय गातां अईकतां — जरि राहे चित्ता दृढ भाव. तुकाराम म्हणतात — होसी भावें चि तूं मुक्त — काय करिसी युक्त जाणिवेची.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अन्नाच्या परिमळें जरि जाय भूक | "if by parimaḷa (fragrance) of food, hunger went" |
| तरि कां हे पाक घरोघरीं | "then why this pāka (cooking) in every house?" |
| आपुलालें तुम्ही करा रे स्वहित | "do your own svahita (self-good)" |
| वाचे स्मरा नित्य राम राम | "speak Rāma Rāma with the mouth always" |
| देखोनि जीवन जरि जाय तान | "if by seeing jīvana (water), thirst went" |
| तरि कां सांटवण घरोघरीं | "then why sāmṭavaṇa (storing) in every house?" |
| देखोनियां छाया सुख न पवीजे | "seeing chāyā (shade) — sukha does not come" |
| जंव न बैसीजे तया तळीं | "until you sit beneath" |
| हित तरी होय गातां अईकतां | "hita comes — singing-hearing" |
| जरि राहे चित्ता दृढ भाव | "if the citta holds firm bhāva" |
| होसी भावें चि तूं मुक्त | "by bhāva alone — you become mukta" |
| काय करिसी युक्त जाणिवेची | "what will you do — with yukti of jāṇīva?" |
What it means
A famous bhakti-must-be-done-not-theorized abhang. Five claims:
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अन्नाच्या परिमळें जरि जाय भूक — तरि कां हे पाक घरोघरीं — if fragrance of food removed hunger, why cooking in every house. The fragrance-doesn't-feed analogy. Smelling food doesn't end hunger; cooking and eating do. So every household cooks. Knowledge-of-bhakti is like fragrance; doing-bhakti is like cooking.
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आपुलालें तुम्ही करा रे स्वहित — वाचे स्मरा नित्य राम राम — do your own svahita — speak Rāma Rāma always. The direct-instruction: do your own self-good; speak Rāma Rāma with the mouth always. The act is the cure; not the theorizing.
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देखोनि जीवन जरि जाय तान — तरि कां सांटवण घरोघरीं — if seeing water removed thirst, why store water in every house. The sight-doesn't-quench analogy. Seeing water doesn't end thirst; drinking does. So every household stores water. Glimpsing-bhakti is sight; consuming-bhakti is drinking.
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देखोनियां छाया सुख न पवीजे — जंव न बैसीजे तया तळीं — seeing shade, sukha doesn't come — until you sit beneath. The shade-doesn't-cool-from-distance analogy. Seeing the shade doesn't cool you; sitting-beneath does. Standing-near-bhakti is sight; sitting-in-bhakti is the sitting-beneath.
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हित तरी होय गातां अईकतां — जरि राहे चित्ता दृढ भाव — hita comes from singing-hearing — if citta holds firm bhāva. The practice-claim: gātām aikatām (singing and hearing) brings the hita — but — only if the citta holds firm bhāva. Mechanical-singing without bhāva does not work.
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तुका म्हणे होसी भावें चि तूं मुक्त — काय करिसी युक्त जाणिवेची — Tuka says: by bhāva itself you become mukta — what will you do with yukti of jāṇīva. The closing-contrast: bhāva makes mukta; yukti-jāṇīva (cleverness-knowledge) does not. What good is your jāṇīva-cleverness?
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For someone today
Tukaram makes a simple point with three images: smelling food doesn't fill your stomach, that's why people cook in every house; seeing water doesn't quench thirst, that's why people store it; and looking at shade from a distance doesn't cool you down, you have to actually sit under it. In the same way, just knowing about devotion or talking about it isn't enough, you have to practice it, speak the name, sing and truly listen with your heart engaged. Tuka says it plainly: sincere feeling is what sets you free, not clever knowledge. So stop admiring the idea of practice from a distance and actually do it.
मराठी: तुकाराम तीन साध्या उदाहरणांतून एक गोष्ट सांगतात — अन्नाचा सुगंध घेतल्याने पोट भरत नाही, म्हणून तर घराघरात स्वयंपाक होतो; पाणी नुसते पाहिल्याने तहान भागत नाही, म्हणून तर घराघरात पाणी साठवले जाते; आणि सावली दुरून पाहिल्याने गारवा मिळत नाही, त्यासाठी प्रत्यक्ष तिच्याखाली बसावे लागते. त्याचप्रमाणे, भक्तीबद्दल नुसते जाणून घेणे किंवा बोलणे पुरेसे नाही — ती प्रत्यक्ष आचरणात आणावी लागते, नामस्मरण करावे लागते, मनापासून गावे आणि ऐकावे लागते. तुका स्पष्ट सांगतात — खरा भाव तुम्हाला मुक्त करतो, हुशारीचे ज्ञान नाही. त्यामुळे सरावाकडे दुरून कौतुकाने पाहणे थांबवा आणि प्रत्यक्ष कृती करा.
Where this applies
- Fragrance doesn't feed. Practice not knowledge.
- Sight doesn't quench. Drink the practice.
- Standing-near doesn't cool. Sit-beneath.
- Bhāva, not yukti-jāṇīva, makes mukta. Anti-cleverness.