Abhanga 2832
Tō chi laṭikyāmājī bhalā — he alone (is) the bhalā (good, best) among the laṭike (liars); mhaṇe Deva myām dekhilā — who says: I have seen Deva.
The verse
तो चि लटिक्यामाजी भला । म्हणे देव म्यां देखिला ॥१॥
ऐशियाच्या उपदेशें । भवबंधन कैसें नासे । बुडवी आपणासरिसे । अभिमानें आणिकांस ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिक नाहीं जोडा । देव म्हणवितां या मूढा ॥२॥
आणिकांचे न मनी साचें । तुका म्हणे या श्रेष्ठांचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Tō chi laṭikyāmājī bhalā — he alone (is) the bhalā (good, best) among the laṭike (liars); mhaṇe Deva myām dekhilā — who says: I have seen Deva. Aiśiyāñcyā upadēśe — by the upadēśa (teaching) of such a (one); bhava-bandhana kaise nāse — how can bhava-bandhana (worldly-bondage) be destroyed?; buḍavī āpaṇāsariṣe — (he) sinks (himself) with himself; abhimāne āṇikāms — along-with-others, by abhimāna (self-pride). Āṇika nāhī jōḍā — there is no other equal/pair; Deva mhaṇavitām yā mūḍhā — for these mūḍha (fools) calling-themselves Deva. Āṇikāñce na manī sāñce — (they) don't consider others' (saying) truth; Tukā says — yā śrēṣṭhāñce — of these (self-styled) śrēṣṭha (greatest).
What it means
A polemic verse against the self-styled Deva-witness. Tō chi laṭikyāmājī bhalā — mhaṇe Deva myām dekhilā — he alone is the best-among-liars — who says I have seen Deva. The sharp-ironic-opening: the man who claims to have seen Deva is the chief-of-liars. The verse is a polemic against fake-mystics.
Aiśiyāñcyā upadēśe — bhava-bandhana kaise nāse — buḍavī āpaṇāsariṣe — abhimāne āṇikāms — by such (a one's) upadeśa — how can bhava-bandhana be destroyed? — (he) sinks himself + (drags-down) others by abhimāna. The mechanism: the self-styled-Deva-witness sinks-himself (in delusion); and pulls-down-others (who-follow-his-upadeśa) with him. Abhimāna (self-pride) is the operative-poison.
Āṇika nāhī jōḍā — Deva mhaṇavitām yā mūḍhā — no other equal — for these mūḍha (fools) calling-themselves Deva. The intensifier: no one is as-bad as those who name-themselves-Deva. (Compare advaita-vedānta misappropriation: the man who claims-himself-Brahman without-realization.)
The close: āṇikāñce na manī sāñce — Tukā mhaṇe yā śrēṣṭhāñce — (they) don't consider others' (saying) truth — Tukā: of these (self-styled) śrēṣṭha. They don't-recognize-real-truth from others. Tukā's mocking — yā śrēṣṭhāñce — of these (self-proclaimed) greatest-ones.
For someone today
A useful anti-fake-guru polemic. He alone (is) the best-among-liars — who says I have seen Deva. By such (a one's) upadeśa — how can bhava-bandhana be destroyed? He sinks himself + drags-others by abhimāna. No other-equal — for these fools calling-themselves Deva. They don't consider others' truth. Of these (self-styled) greatest-ones. The polemic is sharp: the man who claims to have seen-Deva is the chief-liar; his teaching cannot destroy bhava-bandhana; abhimāna sinks-self-and-others. The diagnostic for vetting upadeśa-givers: check for abhimāna. The genuine-realized one is humble, not self-proclaiming. (Compare 2807's mūḍhā-jaḍā-maja-cheṣṭavile — even Tukārām disclaims-authorship; the contrast is with the self-styled-Deva-witness.)
Where this applies
- The canonical anti-self-styled-Deva-witness polemic
- Recognizing the abhimāna-sinks-self-and-others mechanism
- Mūḍha-calling-self-Deva anti-fake-guru critique
- Diagnostic for vetting upadeśa-givers — check for abhimāna