संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1428 of 4582

Abhanga 1428

For today: the guru who refuses śiṣya-service is Deva; his upadēśa bears fruit; his Brahma-jñāna is true (he is udāsīna in body-state); telling this truth angers the fakes.

When you'd identify a true guru — the one who doesn't take śiṣya-service is Deva; his upadēśa bears fruit; he is udāsīna in dēha-bhāva; the truth-saying angers the fakes

The verse

शिष्यांची जो नेघे सेवा । मानी देवासारिखें ॥१॥ त्याचा फळे उपदेश । आणिकां दोष उफराटे ॥ध्रु.॥ त्याचें खरें ब्रम्हज्ञान । उदासीन देहभावीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे सत्य सांगें । योत रागें येती ते ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: The (guru) who does not take śiṣyas' sēvā — count like Deva. His upadēśa bears fruit — others' dōṣa get upended. His Brahma-jñāna is kharēm — udāsīna in dēha-bhāva. Tuka says: I tell the satya — they will come in rāga.

मराठी: शिष्यांची — जो — नेघे — सेवा; — मानी — देवासारिखें. त्याचा — फळे — उपदेश; — आणिकां — दोष — उफराटे. त्याचें — खरें — ब्रम्हज्ञान; — उदासीन — देहभावीं. Tukā म्हणे — सत्य — सांगें; — योत — रागें — येती — ते.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
शिष्यांची जो नेघे सेवा "of śiṣyas — who (jō) — does not take (nēghē) — sēvā"
मानी देवासारिखें "count (mānī) — like Deva (Devā-sārikhēm)"
त्याचा फळे उपदेश "his upadēśa — bears fruit (phaḷē)"
आणिकां दोष उफराटे "(of) others (āṇikām) — dōṣa (faults) — upharāṭē (= reverse / get upended)"
त्याचें खरें ब्रम्हज्ञान "his Brahma-jñāna — is kharēm (true)"
उदासीन देहभावीं "udāsīna (= indifferent / disengaged) — in dēha-bhāva (body-state)"
तुका म्हणे सत्य सांगें "Tuka says — I tell satya"
योत रागें येती ते "those (te) — will come (yētī) — yōta (= as such, intensifier) — in rāga (anger)"

What it means

True-guru-doesn't-take-disciple-service abhang. A devastating guru-test. The opening: śiṣyāñcī jō nēghē sēvā — mānī Devā-sārikhēmthe (guru) who does not take sēvā (service) from śiṣyas — count like Deva. The negative-criterion: a real guru does NOT extract service from disciples; if a guru refuses śiṣya-sēvā, count him as Deva. (Inverse of the usual guru-as-deserver-of-sēvā* trope; Tuka turns it inside out.)

The fruit-test: tyācā phaḷē upadēśa — āṇikām dōṣa upharāṭēhis upadēśabears fruit (phaḷē); — others'dōṣa (faults) — upharāṭē (= get upended / reverse). His upadēśa actually gives results; — meanwhile, the others' faults get exposed-by-reversal. (= the real-guru's-upadēśa-works, the fake-gurus'-defects-stand-out-in-contrast.)

The Brahma-jñāna-criterion: tyācēm kharēm Brahma-jñāna — udāsīna dēha-bhāvīmhis Brahma-jñāna — is kharēm (true); — udāsīna (= indifferent / disengaged) — in the dēha-bhāva (body-state). The kharā-Brahma-jñānī's mark: udāsīna in dēha-bhāvaindifferent toward the body-state (not body-honoring, not body-pampering, not body-fearing). (= the true-jñāna-test is body-indifference, not speech-fluency.)

The closing: Tukā mhaṇē satya sāngēm — yōta rāgēm yētī tēTuka says — I tell the satya; — they will come in rāga (anger). I'm telling the truththose who fail this test will come at me in anger. (Same-genre as 1404's anti-fake-renouncer — the truth provokes the fakes to anger.)

[T]

For someone today

For today: the guru who refuses śiṣya-service is Deva; his upadēśa bears fruit; his Brahma-jñāna is true (he is udāsīna in body-state); telling this truth angers the fakes.

Where this applies

Related verses