Abhanga 1774
Being skilled with words and admired by others can quietly plant pride that blocks the real inner growth you still need.
The verse
वाचाचापल्ये बहु जालों कुशळ । नाहीं बीजमूळ हाता आलें ॥१॥ म्हणोनि पंढरिराया दुखी होतें मन । अंतरींचे कोण जाणे माझें ॥ध्रु.॥ पूज्य जालों अंगा आला अभिमान । पुढील कारण खोळंबलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे खूण न कळे चि निरुती । सांपडलों हातीं अहंकाराचे ॥३॥
Literal translation
In vācā-cāpala I have become much-skilled — but the bīja-mūḷa has not come to my hand. Therefore, Pandhari-rāyā, the mind is unhappy — who knows my inner-place? I have become worthy-of-worship — abhimāna has come to my body — the next-stage is blocked. Tuka says: I cannot understand the sign certainly — I have been caught in the hand of ahankāra.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वाचाचापल्ये बहु जालों कुशळ | "in vācā-cāpala (= verbal-agility / cleverness) — much — I have become skilled" |
| नाहीं बीजमूळ हाता आलें | "but — no — bīja-mūḷa (= root-seed) — has come to my hand" |
| म्हणोनि पंढरिराया दुखी होतें मन | "therefore — Pandhari-rāyā — unhappy — is the mind" |
| अंतरींचे कोण जाणे माझें | "the inner-place — who knows — of mine" |
| पूज्य जालों अंगा आला अभिमान | "I have become worthy-of-worship — to my body — abhimāna (pride) has come" |
| पुढील कारण खोळंबलें | "the next-cause (= the next-stage of progress) — has been blocked" |
| तुका म्हणे खूण न कळे चि निरुती | "Tuka says — the sign — I cannot understand — certainly (nirutī)" |
| सांपडलों हातीं अहंकाराचे | "I have been caught — in the hand — of ahankāra" |
What it means
Self-introspective-warning-against-vācā-cāpala abhang. A deeply-honest, almost-shocking self-confession — Tuka admitting that he has become too-eloquent and is now-caught-in-pride.
The opening: vācā-cāpalyē bahu jālōm kuśaḷa — nāhīm bīja-mūḷa hātā ālēm — in vācā-cāpala I have become much-skilled — but the bīja-mūḷa has not come to my hand. Vācā-cāpalyē = verbal-agility / verbal-cleverness; kuśaḷa = skilled; bīja-mūḷa = root-seed (= the foundational-realization). I have become a verbal-virtuoso, but the actual-realization has-not-come. (= external-skill without internal-substance.)
The unhappiness-line: mhaṇōni Pandhari-rāyā dukhī hōtēm mana — antarīñcē kōṇa jāṇē mājhēm — therefore, Pandhari-rāyā, the mind is unhappy — who knows my inner-place?. The mind cannot rest — the eloquence is hollow; only Viṭhṭhal can know the inner-place — no one else sees the gap between my-words and my-state.
The pride-confession: pūjya jālōm angā ālā abhimāna — puḍhīla kāraṇa khōḷambalēm — I have become worthy-of-worship — abhimāna has come to my body — the next-stage is blocked. Pūjya jālōm = I have become an object-of-worship (= people now bow to me); abhimāna = pride / self-conceit; puḍhīla kāraṇa khōḷambalēm = the next-cause / next-progress is stuck. Now-that-I-am-being-worshipped, pride has entered, and progress-on-the-path is blocked. A devastating-self-diagnosis — Tuka, the sant of folk-veneration, seeing the danger in his own venerated-status.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē khūṇa na kaḷē chi nirutī — sāmpaḍalōm hātīm ahankārācē — Tuka says: I cannot understand the sign — caught in the hand of ahankāra. Khūṇa = sign, mark; nirutī = certainly, decidedly; sāmpaḍalōm = I have been caught, trapped. I cannot tell-the-signs anymore — I am caught in the hand of ahankāra.
This abhang is exceptional in the gatha for its radical self-examination: Tuka — the sant-with-the-largest folk-following — publicly-confesses that fame and verbal-skill have brought ahankāra and blocked his progress. (Pairs with 1775 — the cry-for-rescue from this state.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: I have become very-skilled in verbal-cleverness — but the root-seed has not come to my hand; therefore, Pandhari-rāyā, the mind is unhappy — who knows my inner-place?; I have become worthy-of-worship — pride has entered my body — the next-stage of progress is blocked; Tuka says — I cannot understand the sign anymore — I am caught in the hand of ahankāra.
Where this applies
- When you are praised for being articulate but privately sense you have not actually grown inside
- When people start treating you as an authority or looking up to you, and you notice pride settling in
- When you can no longer tell whether your spiritual or personal growth is real or just performance
- When outward recognition makes you feel finished, when really the deeper work is still undone