Abhanga 705
Talking about renunciation is easy, but living it is bitter daily work, so honor the person who proves it through action, not words.
The verse
बोल बोलतां वाटे सोपें । करणी करितां टीर कांपे ॥१॥ नव्हे वैराग्य सोपारें । मज बोलतां न वटे खरें ॥ध्रु.॥ विष खावें ग्रासोग्रासीं । धन्य तो चि एक सोसी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे करूनि दावी । त्याचे पाय माझे जीवीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bōla bōlatām — vāṭē sōpē — karaṇī karitām — ṭīra kāmpē. Vairāgya — not sōpārē — for me — bōlatām na vaṭē kharē. Viṣa khāvē grāsō-grāsīm — dhanya — that-one — sōsī. Tuka says: karūni dāvī — his pāya — in my jīva.
मराठी: बोल बोलतां वाटे सोपं — करणी करितां टीर कांपे. वैराग्य सोपारें नाही — मज बोलतां खरं वाटत नाही. विष खावें ग्रासो-ग्रासीं — धन्य तो च एक सोसी. Tuka म्हणे: करूनि दावी — त्याचे पाय माझे जीवीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बोल बोलतां वाटे सोपें | "bōla bōlatām — vāṭē sōpē" |
| करणी करितां टीर कांपे | "karaṇī karitām — ṭīra kāmpē" |
| नव्हे वैराग्य सोपारें | "vairāgya — not sōpārē" |
| मज बोलतां न वटे खरें | "for me — bōlatām na vaṭē kharē" |
| विष खावें ग्रासोग्रासीं | "viṣa khāvē grāsō-grāsīm" |
| धन्य तो चि एक सोसी | "dhanya — that-one — sōsī" |
| करूनि दावी | "karūni dāvī" |
| त्याचे पाय माझे जीवीं | "his pāya — in my jīva" |
What it means
A speech-easy-doing-trembles-vairāgya-not-easy-eating-poison-morsel-by-morsel-only-the-endurer-dhanya-his-feet-in-my-jīva abhang. Vairāgya-discipline-honesty register. Three claims:
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बोल-बोलतां सोपं — करणी-करितां टीर-कांपे. Speech-easy-doing-trembles-claim. Whenbōla bōlatām(speaking words),vāṭē sōpē(it feels easy); whenkaraṇī karitām(actually-doing the doing),ṭīra kāmpē(theṭīra— the buttocks, the back — tremble). Speech-easy-but-the-back-trembles-when-doing. (A vivid bodily image: speaking is easy; doing makes the very-back-tremble.)
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वैराग्य सोपारं नव्हे — बोलतां खरं-न-वाटे — विष-grāsō-grāsīm — धन्य-तो-च-सोसी. Vairāgya-not-easy-eating-poison-claim. Vairāgya is not sōpārē (easy);for me, when speaking, it doesn't vaṭē kharē (fit / apply as true) — = I can't sincerely-say I have it;(it's like) eating viṣa (poison) grāsō-grāsīm (morsel-by-morsel);only that-one is dhanya (blessed) — who sōsī (endures, can-bear).Vairāgya-is-eating-poison-morsel-by-morsel; only-the-endurer-is-dhanya. (Striking image:vairāgya is not refreshing; it's bitter-poison eaten daily, mouthful-by-mouthful.)
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Tuka: करूनि-दावी — त्याचे-पाय-माझे-जीवीं. His-feet-in-my-jīva-claim. Tuka says: the one whokarūni dāvī (actually does and shows it)—his pāya (feet) — in my jīva. The-doer-and-shower's-feet-are-in-my-jīva. (The bhakta honors the karūni-dāvī — the one who actually-does-and-shows-it, not just-speaks; that one's-feet are placed in the bhakta's heart-life.)
[T]
For someone today
Talking about giving things up sounds easy; actually doing it makes your whole body tremble. Tukaram admits that renunciation isn't the pleasant, uplifting thing it's made out to be — for him, even claiming to have it doesn't feel true. It's more like swallowing poison one bitter mouthful at a time, and only the person who can actually endure that is truly blessed. So Tukaram honors the one who proves it through action rather than words — that person's feet, he says, live in his own heart.
मराठी: काही सोडून देण्याबद्दल बोलणं सोपं वाटतं, पण प्रत्यक्ष कृती करताना अंगच थरथरतं. तुकाराम कबूल करतात की वैराग्य हे काही आनंददायी, उत्साहवर्धक गोष्ट नाही — स्वतःला वैराग्यवान म्हणवणंही त्यांना खरं वाटत नाही. ते जणू घास-घासाने विष गिळण्यासारखं आहे, आणि जो हे सहन करू शकतो तोच खरा धन्य होय. म्हणून तुकाराम त्या माणसाला मान देतात जो शब्दांनी नव्हे तर कृतीने ते सिद्ध करतो — त्याचे पाय माझ्या हृदयात आहेत, असे ते म्हणतात.
Where this applies
- When you talk confidently about giving something up but flinch the moment you actually have to do it
- When you expect spiritual discipline to feel uplifting and get discouraged that it feels bitter and hard instead
- When you're tempted to trust someone's words about their detachment rather than watching what they actually do
- When you meet someone who quietly lives out their values through action, not talk, and want to honor them