Abhanga 1740
For today: he claims to know the future — but it doesn't avert (calamity) by his (knowing); he too is a slave of causation — and calling himself Deva, only attains destruction; he spends his religious-discipline to make the siddhis pleased; Tuka says — his original-principal has been spent-up in the marketplace (of pursuing-powers).
The verse
जाणे वर्तमान । परि तें न वारे त्याच्याने ॥१॥ तो ही कारणांचा दास । देव म्हणवितां पावे नास ॥ध्रु.॥ वेची अनुष्ठान । सिद्धी कराया प्रसन्न ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे त्याचें । मुदल गेलें हाटवेचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Knows the future — but it doesn't avert by him. He too is dāsa-of-causes — calling himself Deva, attains nāsa. Spends anuṣṭhāna — to make siddhi pleased. Tuka says: his — principal — gone in shop-spending.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जाणे वर्तमान | "knows the future / present" |
| परि तें न वारे त्याच्याने | "but — it doesn't avert — by him" |
| तो ही कारणांचा दास | "he too — dāsa-of-causes" |
| देव म्हणवितां पावे नास | "calling self Deva — attains nāsa" |
| वेची अनुष्ठान | "spends anuṣṭhāna" |
| सिद्धी कराया प्रसन्न | "to make siddhi pleased" |
| तुका म्हणे त्याचें | "Tuka says — his" |
| मुदल गेलें हाटवेचें | "principal — gone — in shop-spending" |
What it means
Anti-fake-yogi-claiming-Deva-and-using-anuṣṭhāna-for-siddhis abhang.
The opening: jāṇē vartamāna — parī tēm na vārē tyācyānē — knows the future — but it doesn't avert by him. Vartamāna = the present-and-future. Knowing-future doesn't help him avert (his own) calamity. (= the so-called future-knower can't actually-control events.)
The dāsa-of-causes: tō hi kāraṇāñcā dāsa — Deva mhaṇavitām pāvē nāsa — he too is dāsa-of-causes — calling himself Deva, attains nāsa. Kāraṇa = cause; the fake-yogi is himself a slave-of-causation, even though he claims Deva-status. Such Deva-claiming brings destruction.
The anuṣṭhāna-for-siddhis: vēcē anuṣṭhāna — siddhī karāyā prasanna — spends anuṣṭhāna — to make siddhi pleased. He uses-his-religious-discipline (anuṣṭhāna) only-to-secure-yogic-powers (siddhis).
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē tyācēm — mudala gēlēm hāṭa-vēcēm — Tuka says: his — principal — gone in shop-spending. Hāṭa-vēca = the marketplace-spending (= the running-expenses of the shop); mudala = principal-capital. His original-principal (= his original-religious-merit) has been spent-up-in-the-marketplace (= dissipated-in-pursuing-siddhis). (Compare 1703's mudalāmadhyē-paḍē-tōṭā — same business-loss image.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: he claims to know the future — but it doesn't avert (calamity) by his (knowing); he too is a slave of causation — and calling himself Deva, only attains destruction; he spends his religious-discipline to make the siddhis pleased; Tuka says — his original-principal has been spent-up in the marketplace (of pursuing-powers).
Where this applies
- When someone impresses you by claiming special powers or predicting the future
- When you are tempted to treat your own spiritual practice as a means to gain status or abilities rather than closeness to God
- When you notice a teacher or guide claiming god-like authority over others
- When you want to check whether your daily discipline is actually deepening devotion or just chasing results