Abhanga 890
Clever argument only picks things apart, it never shows you the truth; what you need is a direct, simple application, like medicine in the eye, so the light appears on its own.
The verse
कळल हे खुण । तरि दावी नारायण ॥१॥ सत्य संतांपाशीं राहे । येरां भय आड आहे ॥ध्रु.॥ अनुचिया ऐसें । असे भरलें प्रकाशें ॥२॥ इंद्रियांचें धनी । ते हे जाती समजूनि ॥३॥ तर्क कुतर्क वाटा । नागवण घटापटा ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे ल्यावें । डोळां अंजन बरवें ॥५॥
Literal translation
Kaḷala — khuṇa. Yet — show — Nārāyaṇa. Satya — santa-pāśī. Yērā — bhaya — āḍa. Anuciyā — prakāśa. Indriya — dhanī — samajūni. Tarka kutarka — nāgavaṇa — ghaṭā-paṭā. Tuka says: apply — ḍōḷā — añjana.
मराठी: खुण कळली — तरि Nārāyaṇa दावी. सत्य संतां-पाशीं राहे — येरांना भय आड आहे. अनुचिया (अणुप्रमाण) ऐसें — प्रकाशें भरलें असे. इंद्रियांचें धनी — ते समजूनि जाती. तर्क-कुतर्क वाटा — नागवण घटा-पटा (मातीचा-घडा-आणि-कापड-वाद). Tuka म्हणे: डोळां अंजन ल्यावें — बरवें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कळल हे खुण | "kaḷala — khuṇa" |
| तरि दावी नारायण | "yet — show — Nārāyaṇa" |
| सत्य संतांपाशीं राहे | "satya — santa-pāśī" |
| येरां भय आड आहे | "yērā — bhaya — āḍa" |
| अनुचिया ऐसें | "anuciyā — thus" |
| असे भरलें प्रकाशें | "filled — prakāśa" |
| इंद्रियांचें धनी | "indriya — dhanī" |
| ते हे जाती समजूनि | "go — samajūni" |
| तर्क कुतर्क वाटा | "tarka kutarka — vāṭā" |
| नागवण घटापटा | "nāgavaṇa — ghaṭā-paṭā" |
| ल्यावें डोळां अंजन बरवें | "apply — ḍōḷā — añjana — baravē" |
What it means
A khuṇa-known-yet-show-Nārāyaṇa-truth-with-saints-fear-blocks-others-anubhava-filled-with-prakāśa-masters-of-indriyas-tarka-kutarka-undressing-pot-and-cloth-apply-añjana-to-eye abhang. Apply-añjana-to-the-eye register. Five claims:
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खुण-कळली — Nārāyaṇa-दावी — सत्य-संतां-पाशीं — येरांना-भय-आड. Khuṇa-known-yet-show-claim. Thekhuṇawas known — yet,Nārāyaṇa, show it; satya stays with the santa-pāśī; foryērā(others),bhayaisāḍa.
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अनुचिया-ऐसें-प्रकाश — इंद्रिय-धनी-समजूनि-जाती. Anubhava-filled-prakāśa-claim. In theanuciyā(atom-like fineness ofanubhava), it is filled withprakāśa; thedhanīof theindriyas — they go-samajūni. Inner-grasp-is-prakāśa-filled; senses'-masters-go-knowing.
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तर्क-कुतर्क-वाटा — घटा-पटा-नागवण. Tarka-kutarka-strips-pot-and-cloth-claim. Tarka-kutarka — paths;the nāgavaṇa (the undressing, stripping-bare) of ghaṭā-paṭā (the pot-and-cloth — typical jñāna-debate examples in Indian-philosophy: pot-is-real-but-cloth-is-real-too, etc.).Logic-and-sub-logic only-strip-the-debate-objects.
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Tuka: ल्यावें — डोळां-अंजन-बरवें. Apply-añjana-to-eye-claim. Tuka says: apply — to theḍōḷā, theañjanaisbaravē. Apply-the-añjana-to-the-eye. (Closing-petition: skip the tarka-kutarka; just apply-the-añjana (the eye-medicine) — and the eye sees the prakāśa directly.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram says the truth was already known, yet he still asks Narayan to show it to him directly, because knowing about something and truly seeing it are not the same. Truth stays close to the saints; fear keeps everyone else at a distance from it. He is blunt about argument and counter-argument, the kind of clever debating people do about what is real: all that logic does is strip apart the objects of the argument, it never actually shows you anything. His advice instead is simple and physical, like putting medicine straight into the eye, so that you see the light itself rather than talk your way around it.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की खूण आधीच कळलेली होती, तरीही ते नारायणाला ती प्रत्यक्ष दाखवण्याची विनंती करतात, कारण एखादी गोष्ट माहीत असणं आणि ती प्रत्यक्ष अनुभवणं यात फरक आहे. सत्य संतांजवळच राहतं, आणि बाकीच्यांना भीती त्यापासून दूर ठेवते. तर्क आणि कुतर्क याबद्दल ते स्पष्टच बोलतात, खरं काय आहे यावर चतुराईने वाद घालणं म्हणजे फक्त वादाच्या वस्तू उकलून दाखवणं, त्यातून प्रत्यक्ष काही दिसत नाही. त्याऐवजी त्यांचा सल्ला अगदी साधा आहे, डोळ्यात औषध घालावं तसं, म्हणजे प्रकाश बोलण्याने नाही तर स्वतः दिसतो.
Where this applies
- Show-it. Petition.
- Satya-with-saints. Refuge.
- Anti-tarka. Useless-debate.
- Apply-añjana. Direct-vision.