Abhanga 2798
People sometimes unknowingly destroy the very good fortune coming their way, because clouded judgment and self-deception blind them to what they are doing.
The verse
पुढें जेणें लाभ घडे । तें चि वेडे नाशिती ॥१॥
येवढी कोठें नागवण । अंधारुण विष घ्यावें ॥ध्रु.॥
होणारासी मिळे बुद्धि । नेदी शुद्धी धरूं तें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जना सोंग । दावी रंग आणीक ॥३॥
Literal translation
Puḍhe jēṇe lābha ghaḍe — thelābha(gain) that would comepuḍhe(ahead); tē chi veḍe nāśitī — theveḍe(fools) destroy that very thing. Yēvaḍhī kōṭhe nāgavaṇa — where (is there) naked-loss this great; andhāruṇa viṣa ghyāve — takingviṣa(poison) in theandhāruṇa(dark, blindfold). Hōṇārāsī miḷe buddhi — thehōṇāra(going-to-happen) meets thebuddhi;nēdī śuddhī dharūm te—he doesn't allow śuddhī (clarity) to be held. Tukā says:janā sōnga — dāvī ranga āṇika—people (put on) the sōnga (show, masquerade) — demonstrate the ranga (color, character) of (something) different.
What it means
A short destructive-fool diagnostic verse. Puḍhe jēṇe lābha ghaḍe — tē chi veḍe nāśitī — the gain that would come ahead — the fools destroy that very thing. The diagnostic: the fools destroy the very-gain that was-coming. They sabotage their own future.
The dhrūpada: yēvaḍhī kōṭhe nāgavaṇa — andhāruṇa viṣa ghyāve — where naked-loss this great? — taking poison in the dark. The image: taking-poison while-in-the-dark, not-knowing-what-one-is-doing. The naked-loss (nāgavaṇa) is the loss-by-unconsciousness.
The second verse names the mechanism: hōṇārāsī miḷe buddhi — nēdī śuddhī dharūm te — the going-to-happen meets the buddhi; doesn't allow śuddhi to be held. The hōṇāra (the fate, the about-to-happen) meets the buddhi and doesn't let śuddhi (clarity) be retained. The fate-and-buddhi together-conspire to withhold-clarity.
The close: janā sōnga — dāvī ranga āṇika — people put on the masquerade — demonstrate the color of (something) different. The diagnosis: people put on a sōnga (a costume-character, a masquerade) — and their ranga (true-color) is something different. They demonstrate-themselves-as-something-they-are-not.
For someone today
This verse is a short diagnostic on self-sabotage. Tukaram observes that fools often destroy the very good fortune that was coming their way. He compares this to taking poison in the dark, not realizing the harm you are doing to yourself. What is happening, he says, is that fate and judgment work together in a way that never lets clarity take hold. And underneath it all, people often put on a show, presenting themselves as something other than who they truly are. Use this verse as a set of quick self-checks: Am I sabotaging my own good fortune? Am I acting blindly, unaware of the harm I am doing? Is my judgment being clouded right now? And am I pretending to be someone I am not?
मराठी: हा एक लहानसा आत्मघाताचा निदान करणारा अभंग आहे. तुकाराम सांगतात की मूर्ख माणसे अनेकदा स्वतःकडे येणारे चांगले भाग्यच नष्ट करतात. याची तुलना ते अंधारात विष घेण्याशी करतात — स्वतःचे किती नुकसान करत आहोत हे कळतच नाही. असे का घडते? कारण नशीब आणि बुद्धी एकत्र येऊन असे काहीतरी घडवतात की स्पष्टतेला कधी वावच मिळत नाही. आणि या सगळ्यामागे माणसे अनेकदा एक सोंग वठवत असतात, जे आहेत त्यापेक्षा वेगळेच काहीतरी दाखवत असतात. हा अभंग स्वतःला पडताळून पाहण्यासाठी वापरा — मी माझेच चांगले भाग्य उधळत आहे का? मी आंधळेपणाने वागत आहे का, स्वतःचे नुकसान न कळता? माझी बुद्धी सध्या ढगाळलेली आहे का? आणि मी जे नाही ते दाखवण्याचा प्रयत्न करत आहे का?
Where this applies
- When you notice yourself sabotaging an opportunity or good fortune that was already within reach
- When you feel your judgment clouded right before making a decision you later regret
- When you catch yourself pretending to be something you are not in front of others
- When you want to pause and honestly examine a choice before it quietly undoes something good