Abhanga 2649
All worship and praise — let it be done to suit the kind. Therefore drive the people away — do sant-pūjā as Nārāyaṇa-pūjā. What is consumed shows itself in the belch. Tukā: to call liquor milk — how is that good?
The verse
सकळ पूजा स्तुति । करावी ते व्होवें याती ॥१॥
म्हणऊनि वारा जन । संतपूजा नारायण ॥ध्रु.॥
सेवावें तें वरी । दावी उमटूनि ढेंकरीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे सुरा । दुधा म्हणतां केवीं बरा॥३॥
Literal translation
All pūjā and stuti — let it be made to vōvē yātī (suit the kind, fit the type). Therefore, drive away the people — sant-pūjā is Nārāyaṇa-pūjā. What is consumed shows itself by coming up in the belch. Tukā says: to say surā (liquor) is dūdha (milk) — how is that good?
What it means
A short, sharp anti-mismatch verse. Sakaḷa pūjā stuti — karāvī tē vōvē yātī — all pūjā and praise — let it be made to suit the kind. Vōvē — to fit, to match, to suit. Yātī — kind, type, species. The principle: pūjā-and-praise should match its proper addressee. Mismatching pūjā to a wrong kind is itself a category-error.
The dhrūpada applies the principle: mhaṇa'ūnī vārā jana — santa-pūjā Nārāyaṇa — therefore drive away the people — sant-pūjā IS Nārāyaṇa-pūjā. The mismatch Tukārām is rejecting: pūjā to mortals (jana) — drive that away. The correct identification: santa-pūjā = Nārāyaṇa-pūjā — worshipping sants is worshipping Nārāyaṇa; that pairing is vōvē yātī (well-matched).
The middle verse delivers a memorable test: sēvāvē tē varī — dāvī umaṭūnī ḍhēnkarīm — what is consumed shows by coming up in the belch (ḍhēnkara). Whatever you have eaten will reveal itself in the burp. The principle: your inner-consumption shows externally; you cannot hide what is inside.
The close has the verse's most-quoted line: surā — dūdhā mhaṇatām kēvīm barā — liquor — to call it milk — how is that good? Calling surā (intoxicating-liquor) by the name dūdha (milk) does not change its effect. The mismatch is between the name and the substance. The implication: misnaming pūjā does not change what is being offered or to whom.
For someone today
The verse offers two specific tests for genuine practice:
- Vōvē yātī: Does your pūjā match its addressee? Jana-pūjā (worship of mortals) called by some higher name is still jana-pūjā. Calling it santa-pūjā doesn't make it Nārāyaṇa-pūjā.
- The belch-test: Whatever you are consuming inside will show externally. There is no hiding what you are taking in. If your output is surā-belches, you have been consuming surā, regardless of what you call your menu.
And the final principle is bracing: calling liquor milk does not make it milk. The label does not change the substance.
Where this applies
- Religious-practice that has drifted into man-worship under sant-vocabulary
- Recognizing what one is actually consuming (media, company, content) by what shows in one's belch (output)
- Refusing to soften the diagnosis with kinder vocabulary
- The principle: naming does not transform substance