Abhanga 1238
Praise and blame add or take nothing real from you, since the divine present in everyone receives them both, so you can let them pass through untouched.
The verse
जो मानी तो देईल काई । न मनी तो नेईल काई ॥१॥ आम्हां विठ्ठल सर्वभूतीं । राहो चित्तीं भलतैसा ॥ध्रु.॥ आध्येन तें जना काई । जल्पें वांयांविण ठायीं ॥२॥ वंदी निंदी तुज तो गा । तुका म्हणे पांडुरंगा ॥३॥
Literal translation
What will the respecter give (more)? What will the disrespecter take? To us, Viṭṭhala is in all bhūtas — let him stay in the citta as he wants. What use is dependence on people? — vain babble in empty places. Whether they vandī or nindī — to you it (all) goes — Tuka says, Pāṇḍuranga.
मराठी: जो मानी (आदर) त्यानें तरी अधिक काय देईल? न-मानी त्यानें तरी काय नेईल? आम्हांला विठ्ठल सर्व-भूतांत — चित्तांत त्यानें भलत्या-शैलींत राहावें. लोकांवर आध्येन (अवलंबून राहाणें) काय कामाचें? — रिकाम्या ठायीं फुकट जल्प. वंदी की निंदी — तुज-च (पोचतें) — Tukā म्हणे — पांडुरंगा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जो मानी तो देईल काई | "the māni (respecter) — what (more) will he give?" |
| न मनी तो नेईल काई | "the na-mānī (disrespecter) — what will he take?" |
| आम्हां विठ्ठल सर्वभूतीं | "to us — Viṭṭhala is in all bhūtas (beings)" |
| राहो चित्तीं भलतैसा | "let him stay in citta as he chooses (bhalataisā = however)" |
| आध्येन तें जना काई | "what use is dependence (ādhyēna) on people?" |
| जल्पें वांयांविण ठायीं | "vain (vāyām-viṇa) jalpa (noise/babble) in empty places" |
| वंदी निंदी तुज तो गा | "(whether) vandī or nindī — to you it goes" |
| तुका म्हणे पांडुरंगा | "Tuka says, Pāṇḍuranga" |
What it means
Beyond-praise-and-blame teaching. The opening symmetric question is unanswerable: the māni adds nothing, the na-mānī takes nothing — they both deal in air. Why? Because Viṭṭhala sarva-bhūtīm — Viṭṭhala is in all beings. The māni honors Viṭṭhala-in-the-other; the na-mānī disrespects Viṭṭhala-in-the-other. Either way, the bhakta is untouched.
The closing aphorism: vandī nindī tuja tō gā — Tukā mhaṇē Pāṇḍurangā — whether they praise or scorn — to you, Pāṇḍuranga, it goes. Both vandī and nindī are addressed (ultimately) to the Viṭṭhala in the bhakta; let him handle the accounting.
The ascetic stance is exact: ādhyēna (dependence) on people is vāyām-viṇa-jalpa — vain babble in empty places. The sant withdraws from the praise-blame economy not by indifference but by recognizing that the economy itself is an illusion of jaḷpa (chatter).
[T]
For someone today
For today: the respecter adds nothing, the disrespecter takes nothing — Viṭṭhala in all bhūtas receives both vandī and nindī; you remain untouched.
Where this applies
- When someone's approval or criticism is eating at your sense of self-worth
- When you catch yourself changing your behavior just to be liked
- When you're stung by an insult and want a way to let it pass through you instead of landing
- When you're chasing validation from people instead of trusting something steadier in yourself