Abhanga 1341
For today: don't look for fruit in the seed without doing the procedure; that's mūrkha-vēḍa; don't take the path-shower as forced-laborer; preserve the body for future practice.
The verse
बीजापोटीं पाहे फळ । विध न करितां सकळ ॥१॥ तया मूर्ख म्हणावें वेडें । कैसें तुटेल सांकडें ॥ध्रु.॥ दावितिया वाट । वेठी धरूं पाहे चाट ॥२॥ पुढिल्या उपाया । तुका म्हणे राखे काया ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: (One who) looks for phaḷa in the bīja's pōṭa — without doing the entire vidhi: call him mūrkha-vēḍa — how will the sankaṭa be cut? (One who is) showing the path — the cāṭa tries to take (him) for vēṭhī. Tuka says: for future upāyas — keeps the body.
मराठी: बीजाच्या पोटीं — विधि न करतां सकळ — फळ पाहे — त्याला मूर्ख-वेडें म्हणावें — सांकडें कैसें तुटेल? वाट दावणार्याला — चाट (मूर्ख) — वेठी (फुकट काम) धरूं पाहे. Tukā म्हणे — पुढच्या उपायाला — काया (देह) राखी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बीजापोटीं पाहे फळ | "(one who) looks for phaḷa (fruit) in the bīja-pōṭa (seed-belly)" |
| विध न करितां सकळ | "without doing the sakaḷa (entire) vidhi (procedure)" |
| तया मूर्ख म्हणावें वेडें | "call him mūrkha — vēḍē (mad)" |
| कैसें तुटेल सांकडें | "how (kaisē) — will the sānkaḍē (sankaṭa / strait) be cut?" |
| दावितिया वाट | "(one who is) showing the vāṭa (path)" |
| वेठी धरूं पाहे चाट | "the cāṭa (fool) — tries to take (him) for vēṭhī (forced labor)" |
| पुढिल्या उपाया | "for puḍhilyā (future) upāyas" |
| तुका म्हणे राखे काया | "Tuka says — keeps (rākhē) the kāyā (body)" |
What it means
Don't-look-for-fruit-without-procedure abhang. The opening: bījāpōṭīm pāhē phaḷa — vidha na karitām sakaḷa — (one who) looks for phaḷa (fruit) in the bīja's pōṭa (seed-belly) — without doing the entire vidhi (procedure). The seed contains the fruit-potential; but you can't get the fruit without doing the vidhi (sowing-watering-tending-harvest). The mystic shortcut-seeker expects fruit without procedure — this is mūrkha-vēḍa (foolish-and-mad).
The image: dāvitiyā vāṭa — vēṭhī dharūm pāhē cāṭa — (one who is) showing the vāṭa (path) — the cāṭa (the fool, the cāṭu-lapping-flatterer) tries to take (him) as vēṭhī (forced laborer). Strange and brutal image: the path-shower (= the guru) is exploited as a vēṭhī-laborer by the cāṭa (fool / flatterer). Vēṭhī in 17th-c. Maharashtra was the formal forced-labor extracted from the village; the cāṭa tries to make the vāṭā-dāvitā (path-shower) into a vēṭhī-mājūra (forced-laborer).
The implicit teaching: don't use the guru as a vēṭhī-instrument — follow the path he shows. Don't extract immediate-fruit from the seed; do the vidhi.
The closing: puḍhilyā upāyā — Tukā mhaṇē rākhē kāyā — for puḍhilā (future) upāyas — Tuka says — keep the kāyā. The body itself should be preserved for future-upāyas (ongoing-means / continued-practice). Don't burn out the body in shortcut-seeking; rākha kāyā (preserve the body) for the long road.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't look for fruit in the seed without doing the procedure; that's mūrkha-vēḍa; don't take the path-shower as forced-laborer; preserve the body for future practice.
Where this applies
- Fruit-in-seed-without-procedure-is-foolish.* Bījāpōṭīm-phaḷa-vidha-na-karitām-mūrkha-vēḍa.
- Sankaṭa-can't-be-cut-thus.* Kaisē-tuṭēla-sānkaḍē.
- Don't-take-path-shower-as-vēṭhī.* Vēṭhī-dharūm-pāhē-cāṭa.
- Preserve-body-for-future-practice.* Rākhē-kāyā-puḍhilyā-upāyā.