Abhanga 2298
External marks of holiness such as robes, rituals, lineage, and pilgrimage prove nothing; the only real test of a saint is whether attachment to the body-self has genuinely dissolved.
The verse
नव्हती ते संत करितां कवित्व । संताचे ते आप्त नव्हती संत ॥१॥ येथें नाहीं वेश सरतें आडनांवें । निवडे घावडाव व्हावा अंगीं ॥ध्रु.॥ नव्हती ते संत धरितां भोंपळा । करितां वाकळा प्रावरण ॥२॥ नव्हती ते संत करितां कीर्तन । सांगतां पुराणें नव्हती संत ॥३॥ नव्हती ते संत वेदाच्या पठणें । कर्म आचरणें नव्हती संत ॥४॥ नव्हती संत करितां तप तीर्थाटणें । सेविलिया वन नव्हती संत ॥५॥ नव्हती संत माळामुद्रांच्या भूषणें । भस्म उधळणें नव्हती संत ॥६॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं निरसला देहे । तों अवघे हे सांसारिक ॥७॥
Literal translation
Not saints by composing poetry — the saints' relatives aren't saints. Here vēśa and surnames don't pass — the testing-and-trial must come on the body. Not saints by holding the gourd-pot — by wearing the vakal (rag-cloak) as covering. Not saints by performing kīrtana — by telling Purāṇas. Not saints by Veda-recitation — by karma-conduct. Not saints by tapas, tīrtha-pilgrimage — by serving the forest. Not saints by mālā-mudrā ornaments — by ash-throwing. Tuka says: until the deha isn't dissolved — all this is sāmsārika.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नव्हती ते संत करितां कवित्व | "not saints by composing poetry" |
| संताचे ते आप्त नव्हती संत | "the saints' relatives aren't saints" |
| येथें नाहीं वेश सरतें आडनांवें | "here vēśa and surnames don't pass" |
| निवडे घावडाव व्हावा अंगीं | "the testing-and-trial must come on the body" |
| नव्हती ते संत धरितां भोंपळा | "not saints by holding the gourd-pot" |
| करितां वाकळा प्रावरण | "by wearing vakal (rag-cloak) as covering" |
| नव्हती ते संत करितां कीर्तन | "not saints by performing kīrtana" |
| सांगतां पुराणें नव्हती संत | "not by telling Purāṇas" |
| नव्हती ते संत वेदाच्या पठणें | "not saints by Veda-recitation" |
| कर्म आचरणें नव्हती संत | "not by karma-conduct" |
| नव्हती संत करितां तप तीर्थाटणें | "not saints by tapas, tīrtha-pilgrimage" |
| सेविलिया वन नव्हती संत | "not by serving the forest" |
| नव्हती संत माळामुद्रांच्या भूषणें | "not saints by mālā-mudrā ornaments" |
| भस्म उधळणें नव्हती संत | "not by ash-throwing" |
| तुका म्हणे नाहीं निरसला देहे | "Tuka says — until the deha isn't dissolved" |
| तों अवघे हे सांसारिक | "all this is sāmsārika" |
What it means
THE WHAT-DOESN'T-MAKE-A-SAINT CANONICAL ABHANG. 7+1-verse litany ending with the deha-dissolution test.
The 7-fold negation of-the-superficial-marks-of-sainthood: 1. navhatī tē santa karitām kavitva — not saints by composing poetry 2. santāchē tē āpta navhatī santa — not saints by being saints' relatives (= no inheritance-of-sainthood) 3. navhatī tē santa dharitām bhōmpaḷā — not saints by carrying the bhōmpaḷā (gourd-water-pot of sannyāsīs) 4. karitām vākaḷā prāvaraṇa — not saints by wearing the vakal-rag-cloak (= the ascetic's-cloak) 5. karitām kīrtana sāngatām purāṇē — not saints by performing kīrtana or telling Purāṇas 6. Vēdāchyā paṭhaṇē karma āchāraṇē — not saints by Veda-recitation or karma-conduct 7. karitām tapa tīrthāṭaṇē sēviliyā vana — not saints by tapas, tīrtha-pilgrimage, or forest-living 8. māḷā-mudrāñchē bhūṣaṇē bhasma udhaḷaṇē — not saints by mālā-mudrā-ornaments, by ash-throwing
The single test: yēthē nāhīm vēśa saratē āḍa-nāmvē — nivaḍē ghāvaḍāva vhāvā angīm — here vēśa (costume) and surnames don't pass — the testing-and-trial must come on the body.
The closing — the criterion: Tukā mhaṇē nāhīm nirasalā dēhē — tōm avaghē hē sāmsārika — Tuka says: until the deha isn't dissolved — all this is sāmsārika. Until the deha (the body-identification) is-dissolved (nirasalā), all-this is-merely-sāmsārika (worldly). THE SINGLE TEST: the dissolution-of-the-deha-attachment (not external-marks) is-the-only-mark of-a-true-saint.
[T]
For someone today
For today: not saints by composing poetry; not by being saints' relatives; vēśa-surnames don't pass; not by gourd-pot, vakal-cloak; not by kīrtana or Purāṇa-telling; not by Veda-recitation or karma-conduct; not by tapas, tīrtha, forest; not by mālā-mudrā or ash-throwing; Tuka says — until deha is dissolved — all is sāmsārika.
Where this applies
- When you're impressed by someone's religious credentials, robes, or family lineage and assume that alone makes them wise.
- When you perform rituals, chant, or give talks about scripture but still feel driven by ego underneath.
- When you compare your own spiritual practice to others' outward displays and feel inadequate or superior.
- When you judge your own progress by how devout you look rather than how free you actually feel.