Abhanga 690

Don't accept any teaching on faith alone, test it thoroughly, and know that even the one offering it is only carrying, not owning, what is genuine.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A mastaka-at-all-feet-vakta-śrōtā-test-thoroughly-I-am-only-hāmāla-māla-passed-test abhang. Humility-and-vouching register. Three claims:

1. सकळांच्या-पायीं-विनवणी — मस्तक-चरणीं — श्रोते-वक्ते-जन — पारखून-गांठी-बांधा. Open-request-and-test-thoroughly-claim. To all-your-feet, myvinavaṇī(request); I place mymastaka(head) at thecaraṇa(feet); Ośrōtā-vaktā(listeners and speakers), all thejana(people); test (pārakhā) thoroughly andbāndhā gāṇṭhī (tie-the-knot — i.e., take it as your possession, accept the goods).Test-and-then-take-as-yours. (The image is from a market: don't take goods on faith; test them, then if they're genuine, tie-them-into-your-cloth-knot to keep.)

2. भांडार फोडलं — धण्याचा माल — मी हामाल-भारवाही. Bhāṇḍāra-master's-māla-I-am-only-hāmāla-claim. I havefoḍilē(broken-open) thebhāṇḍāra(storeroom); (but) this is thedhaṇī'smāla(the master's goods); I am only thehāmāla(porter), thebhāra-vāhī(load-carrier). I-only-broke-the-storeroom-and-carried-the-load; the māla itself is His. (The bhakta as porter: he opened the storeroom and is carrying out the goods, but the goods are the master's. The vāṇī is His.)

3. Tuka: चाली चहूं-देशी — खरा माल कसीं उतरला. Trade-spread-genuine-māla-passed-test-claim. Tuka says: thecālī(trade, dealing) has gonecahūm-dēśī(four-countries); thekharā māla(genuine goods) —utaralā kasīm(has-passed-the-test) — = the goods have stood-the-test (literally come-down on thekasa— touchstone of the goldsmith — passing the goldsmith's-test). The genuine-goods have-passed-the-touchstone-test; my-vāṇī-is-genuine-by-test. (The kasa image: gold is rubbed on a touchstone to verify its purity; utaralā kasīm = passed-the-touchstone-test, i.e., proved genuine.)

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram bows his head to everyone and asks that his words be examined carefully, like a merchant's goods, before being accepted as true. He describes himself as no more than a porter who broke open the storeroom and carried out the goods — the wealth inside belongs to the master, not to him. And just as gold is proven pure by rubbing it against a touchstone, his teaching has already traveled to every corner of the land and stood the test: it is the real thing, not empty talk.

मराठी: तुकाराम सर्वांच्या पायी मस्तक ठेवून विनवणी करतात की, आपले शब्द नीट पारखूनच स्वीकारावेत. ते स्वतःला केवळ हमाल म्हणवतात — भांडार फोडून माल बाहेर आणणारा, पण तो माल मालकाचा आहे, स्वतःचा नाही. जसे सोने कसोटीच्या दगडावर घासून खरे ठरते, तसेच त्यांची शिकवण चारही दिशांना पोहोचून कसोटीला उतरली आहे — ती खरी आहे, पोकळ बडबड नाही.

Where this applies

• Pārakhā—bāndhā gāṇṭhī. Test-then-take.
• Hāmāla — māla is master's. Porter-image.
• Kasīm utaralā. Touchstone-pass.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2374 — Rather than scattering devotion among many lesser deities who demand offerings, Tukaram sa
• Abhanga 2377 — This detailed meditation on Vitthal standing on a brick at Pandharpur, out of love for his
• Abhanga 2387 — Accept whatever life brings with reverence, and place the burden on God rather than carryi
• Abhanga 2402 — For today: happily take rebirths — IF among the Paṇḍharī-Vārkarīs ; Hari-dāsas' company is