Abhanga 2259

Real understanding comes from directly living and tasting a truth, not from carrying its words around unexamined.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

THE CELEBRATED VĒDĀRTHA-CLAIM ABHANG. Veda's-meaning-known-only-to-us + eater-vs-porter + fruit-came-of-itself + root-found-hand-to-hand abhang.

THE FAMOUS VĒDĀRTHA-LINE: vēdācā tō artha āmhāmsī cha ṭhāvā — yērānī vāhāvā bhāra māthām — the meaning of the Veda is known only to us — let others bear it as a burden on the head. THE CLAIM: the Veda's real-meaning (artha) is-known-only-to-us (= the bhaktas of-Viṭhṭhal, the non-Brahmin śūdra-poet); others (= ritualist-reciters, paṇḍitas) merely carry-it as-a-burden-on-the-head (= as text-without-comprehension). One-of-Tukārām's-most-controversial-and-celebrated lines — an explicit non-Brahmin claim to-the-Veda's-essence-over-the-ritualist-reciter's-form.

The eater-vs-porter image: khādalyāchī gōḍī dēkhilyāsī nāhīm — bhāra dhana vāhī majurīchē — the one who has eaten knows the sweetness — not the seer — the porter carries the wealth as wages. Khādalyāchī gōḍī = the sweetness-of-eating. Dēkhilyāsī = to the one-who-merely-sees. Majurī = wages. The eater knows-the-sweetness, not-the-mere-seer; the porter carries-the-wealth as-wages (= carries-without-owning). The PROFOUND distinction: experiential-knowledge vs. mere-textual-handling.

The creation-preservation-dissolution knowledge: utpatti-pāḷaṇa-samhārāchē nija — jēṇē nēlē bīja tyāchē hātīm — the true [knowledge] of creation-preservation-dissolution — the one in whose hand the seed has been taken. The true (nija) [knowledge] of-utpatti-pāḷana-samhāra (creation-preservation-dissolution) belongs-to-the-one in-whose-hand the-seed (bīja) has-been-taken (= the bhakta who has-grasped-the-seed-of-the-Name-and-bhakti, not-the-cosmologist-who-recites-the-three-functions).

The closing — fruit-came-of-itself: Tukā mhaṇē ālē āpaṇa chi phaḷa — hātō-hātīm mūḷa sāmpaḍalē — Tuka says: the fruit has come of itself — the root has been found, hand-to-hand. The fruit-has-come of-its-own-accord; the root has-been-found hand-to-hand (= passed-directly).

The historical-significance: this abhang is-foundational-for-the-Vārkarī (and-bhakti-movement-generally) claim of-the-non-Brahmin's-access to-Vedic-essence through-direct-bhakti-experience, bypassing-Sanskrit-recitation. One of Tukārām's most-cited statements.

[T]

For someone today

For today: Veda's meaning known only to us — others bear as burden on head; eater knows sweetness, not the mere seer; porter carries wealth as wages; the true knowledge of creation-preservation-dissolution — to the one in whose hand the seed is taken; Tuka says — fruit came of itself — root found hand-to-hand.

Where this applies

• When you read about a spiritual practice but have never actually tried it yourself
• When someone with formal credentials speaks about a subject they have only studied, not lived
• When you realize a hard-won personal experience taught you something books never could
• When you feel talked over by an expert who has knowledge but no direct experience of the thing itself

Related verses

• Abhanga 2459 — Liberation does not have to be earned through grueling effort or endless searching; it is
• Abhanga 2471 — Treating trees, animals, and birds as kin turns solitude into good company, and a simple l
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 2469 — Closeness to God is naturally available; the whole of devoted practice comes down to stead