Abhanga 2761
Laṭikē tē jñāna laṭikē tē dhyāna — false (is) that jñāna, false (is) that dhyāna; jari Hari-kīrtana priya nāhī — if Hari-kīrtana is not dear.
The verse
लटिकें तें ज्ञान लटिकें ते ध्यान । जरि हरिकिर्तन प्रिय नाहीं ॥१॥
लटिकें चि दंभ घातला दुकान । चाळविलें जन पोटासाटीं ॥ध्रु.॥
लटिकें चि केलें वेदपारायण । जरि नाहीं स्फुंदन प्रेम कथे ॥२॥
लटिकें तें तप लटिका तो जप । अळस निद्रा झोप कथाकाळीं ॥३॥
नाम नावडे तो करील बाहेरी । नाहीं त्याची खरी चित्तशुद्धि ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसीं गर्जती पुराणें । शिष्टांची वचनें मागिला ही ॥५॥
Literal translation
Laṭikē tē jñāna laṭikē tē dhyāna — false (is) that jñāna, false (is) that dhyāna; jari Hari-kīrtana priya nāhī — if Hari-kīrtana is not dear. Laṭikē chi dambha — ghātalā dukāna — false is the dambha (religious-show) — setting-up-the-shop; chāḷavile jana pōṭāsāṭī — deceiving people for the stomach. Laṭikē chi kelē Veda-pārāyaṇa — false is the Veda-pārāyaṇa (recitation) done; jari nāhī sphundana prema kathē — if there is no sphundana (sobbing-overflow, choking-with-tears) of prema in the kathā. Laṭikē tē tapa laṭikā tō japa — false is that tapa (austerity), false that japa (recitation); aḷasa niḍrā jhōpa kathā-kāḷīm — laziness, sleepiness, sleep at kathā-time. Nāma nāvaḍē tō karīla bāherī — one who dislikes the Name — drive (him) outside; nāhī tyāñcī kharī chitta-śuddhi — there is no true chitta-śuddhi (mind-purity) of his. Tukā says: aisīm garjatī purāṇē — thus the purāṇas thunder; śiṣṭāñcī vachanē māgilā hī — the vachana (words) of the śiṣṭā (noble-ones), those-ahead, also.
What it means
This 5-verse abhang is one of Tukārām's canonical anti-pretend-religion texts. The structure is built around five laṭikē (false) diagnostics — each naming a religious-form that is false without its operational-content.
1. False jñāna and dhyāna — laṭikē tē jñāna laṭikē tē dhyāna — jari Hari-kīrtana priya nāhī — false the jñāna, false the dhyāna — if Hari-kīrtana is not dear. The test: love of Hari-kīrtana. Without it, the appearance of jñāna and dhyāna is false. (Compare 2657's yoga-asādhya-bhakti-as-bowing, 2729's jñāna-gaḍa-not-reached-by-swaggering.)
2. False dambha shop — laṭikē chi dambha — ghātalā dukāna — chāḷavile jana pōṭāsāṭī — false is dambha — setting up the shop — deceiving people for the stomach. The image: religious-show set up as shop, deceiving customers for one's belly. (Compare 2630's narastuti-kathā-vikrā — praising-men and selling-sacred-stories.)
3. False Veda-recitation — laṭikē chi kelē Veda-pārāyaṇa — jari nāhī sphundana prema kathē — false is the Veda-pārāyaṇa — if there is no sphundana (sobbing-overflow) of prema in the kathā. The test: sphundana-of-prema-in-the-kathā. The recitation that doesn't produce tears-of-love is false-pārāyaṇa. The image is specific — the sphundana is the choked-sobbing-with-emotion-overflow that genuine kathā produces.
4. False tapa, false japa — laṭikē tē tapa laṭikā tō japa — aḷasa niḍrā jhōpa kathā-kāḷīm — false is that tapa, false that japa — laziness, sleepiness, sleep at kathā-time. The test: staying-awake-at-kathā. One who is aḷasa (lazy), niḍrā-pravrtta (sleep-inclined), jhōpa (sleeping) during kathā cannot have real tapa or japa elsewhere. The mode-at-kathā reveals the actual-discipline.
5. Name-disliker should be driven out — nāma nāvaḍē tō karīla bāherī — nāhī tyāñcī kharī chitta-śuddhi — one who dislikes the Name — drive (him) outside; there is no true chitta-śuddhi of his. The harshest claim: the Name-disliker should be physically excluded from the gathering. He has no true chitta-śuddhi. (Compare 2733's karā fajita — do the public-shame.)
The close — aisīm garjatī purāṇē — śiṣṭāñcī vachanē māgilā hī — thus the purāṇas thunder; the words of the noble ones, those-ahead, also. Tukārām cites the purāṇas and śiṣṭā-vachana (noble-ones' words) as backing. This is not just his opinion; it is the tradition's.
For someone today
A useful canonical-test for any religious-form. False is the jñāna, false the dhyāna — if Hari-kīrtana is not dear. False is the dambha-shop that deceives for the stomach. False is the Veda-recitation if there is no sphundana of prema in the kathā. False is the tapa and japa — if there is laziness-sleep at kathā-time. One who dislikes the Name — drive him out; he has no true chitta-śuddhi. The purāṇas thunder this. The diagnostic-test is Hari-kīrtana-affection + sphundana-of-prema-in-kathā + staying-awake-at-kathā + not-disliking-the-Name. Each is a behavioral marker. The verse is sharp on the boundary: Name-disliker — drive out.
Where this applies
- The canonical anti-pretend-religion 5-verse text
- The Hari-kīrtana-affection operational-test
- The sphundana-of-prema-in-kathā genuine-recitation test
- The staying-awake-at-kathā discipline-test
- The boundary-action: Name-disliker, drive out