संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 552 of 4582

Abhanga 552

The truest test of a devoted person is not their arguments or performance but whether they show real compassion to other living beings.

When the false-bhakta speaks ati-vāda and shows poses — and you have to recognize this register
When one moment establishes, next moment kills — and you accept this self-contradiction-mark
When no bhūta-dayā in his place — and you receive this final-test

The verse

अतिवाद लावी । एक बोट सोंग दावी ॥१॥ त्याचा बहुरूपी नट । नव्हे वैष्णव तो चाट ॥ध्रु.॥ प्रतिपादी वाळी । एक पुजी एका छळी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं । भूतदया ज्याचे ठायीं ॥३॥

Literal translation

Speaks ati-vāda — one-finger sōnga. His bahu-rūpī naṭa — not Vaiṣṇava — cāṭa. Pratipādī-vāḷī — one — worship; one — chaḷ. Tuka says: no — bhūta-dayā — in ṭhāyī.

मराठी: अतिवाद लावी — एक बोट सोंग दावी. त्याचा बहुरूपी नट — नव्हे वैष्णव तो चाट. प्रतिपादी वाळी — एक पुजी एका छळी. तुकाराम म्हणतां — नाहीं — भूतदया ज्याचे ठायीं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
अतिवाद लावी "speaks ati-vāda"
एक बोट सोंग दावी "one-finger sōnga"
त्याचा बहुरूपी नट "his bahu-rūpī naṭa"
नव्हे वैष्णव तो चाट "not Vaiṣṇava — cāṭa"
प्रतिपादी वाळी "pratipādī-vāḷī"
एक पुजी एका छळी "one — worship; one — chaḷ (ridicule)"
नाहीं भूतदया ज्याचे ठायीं "no — bhūta-dayā — ṭhāyī"

What it means

A short false-bhakta-no-bhūta-dayā abhang. Sharp-criticism register. Four claims:

  1. अतिवाद लावी — एक बोट सोंग दावी — speaks ati-vāda — one-finger sōnga. The opening-mark: speaks (lāvī)ati-vāda(over-argument, contradictions, hyper-disputation); shows one-fingersōnga(a single-finger pose / gesture, performance). Over-argues-and-poses.

  2. त्याचा बहुरूपी नट — नव्हे वैष्णव तो चाट — his bahu-rūpī naṭa — not Vaiṣṇava — cāṭa. The false-bhakta-name-claim: his isbahu-rūpī naṭa(the multi-form actor, the shape-shifting performer); he is not aVaiṣṇava(devotee-of-Viṣṇu); but acāṭa(charlatan, fraud). Multi-form-shape-shifter-is-charlatan-not-Vaiṣṇava.

  3. प्रतिपादी वाळी — एक पुजी एका छळी — pratipādī-vāḷī — one worship; one chaḷ. The self-contradiction-mark: pratipādī (one moment establishes / argues-for) and vāḷī (next moment kills / refutes / destroys);one moment pūjī (worships),next moment chaḷ (ridicules, harasses).Self-contradiction-mark.

  4. तुका म्हणे नाहीं — भूतदया ज्याचे ठायीं — Tuka says: no — bhūta-dayā — ṭhāyī. The closing-final-test: Tuka says: nobhūta-dayā(compassion-to-creatures, mercy-to-beings) in his ṭhāyī (place, location, person).No-bhūta-dayā = no-saint.Final-test-of-bhakta.

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram gives a short but pointed checklist for spotting a fraud who dresses up as a devotee. Someone who loves picking arguments and striking poses for effect is playing a part, not living a devotion. A surer warning sign is inconsistency, someone who honors a thing one moment and mocks or harasses it the next cannot be trusted, no matter how convincing their performance looks. In the end Tukaram gives one simple, final test that cuts through all the posturing, does this person show real compassion to other living beings. If that compassion is missing, nothing else about their appearance matters.

मराठी: तुकाराम भक्तीचा आव आणणाऱ्या ढोंगी माणसाला ओळखण्यासाठी एक छोटी पण नेमकी यादी देतात. जो माणूस उगाच वाद घालतो आणि प्रभावासाठी पोझ देतो, तो भूमिका वठवत असतो, खरी भक्ती जगत नसतो. त्याहूनही खात्रीशीर धोक्याची खूण म्हणजे विसंगती, जो माणूस एका क्षणी एखाद्या गोष्टीचा आदर करतो आणि पुढच्याच क्षणी तिची चेष्टा करतो किंवा त्रास देतो, त्याच्यावर विश्वास ठेवता येत नाही, त्याचा अभिनय कितीही खरा वाटला तरी. शेवटी तुकाराम एक साधी आणि अंतिम कसोटी देतात जी सगळ्या नाटकातून खरे काय ते बाहेर काढते, ही व्यक्ती इतर सजीवांशी खरोखर दयाळू वागते का. जर ही दया नसेल, तर बाकी सगळे दिखावे व्यर्थ आहेत.

Where this applies

Bhakti

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