Abhanga 2832
Anyone who proudly claims to have seen God is driven by pride rather than truth, and that pride sinks both the claimant and anyone who follows their teaching.
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) thebhalā(good, best) among thelaṭike(liars); mhaṇe Deva myām dekhilā — who says:I have seen Deva. Aiśiyāñcyā upadēśe — by theupadēśa(teaching) of such a (one); bhava-bandhana kaise nāse — how canbhava-bandhana(worldly-bondage) be destroyed?; buḍavī āpaṇāsariṣe — (he) sinks (himself) with himself; abhimāne āṇikāms — along-with-others, byabhimāna(self-pride). Āṇika nāhī jōḍā — there is no other equal/pair; Deva mhaṇavitām yā mūḍhā — for thesemūḍha(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
This verse is a sharp warning against fake spiritual teachers. Tukaram says the biggest liar of all is the one who boasts, I have seen God. Following such a person's teaching cannot free anyone from worldly bondage, because their pride sinks both themselves and anyone who follows them. No one is worse, he says, than a fool who calls himself God. These self-proclaimed greatest ones never consider that anyone else might actually be telling the truth. The lesson is to be wary of anyone who claims special spiritual authority to win your trust, and to notice whether a teacher's confidence comes from real humility or from pride, since genuine realization never needs to announce itself so loudly.
मराठी: हा अभंग खोट्या गुरूंविरुद्धचा एक तिखट इशारा आहे. तुकाराम म्हणतात की मी देव पाहिला असे बढाई मारणारा माणूस हाच सर्वात मोठा खोटारडा असतो. अशा माणसाच्या उपदेशाने भवबंधन तुटूच शकत नाही, कारण त्याचा अहंकार स्वतःला आणि त्याला अनुसरणाऱ्या इतरांनाही बुडवतो. स्वतःला देव म्हणवणाऱ्या मूर्खासारखा दुसरा कोणी नाही, असे ते सांगतात. हे स्वयंघोषित श्रेष्ठ लोक इतर कोणी खरे बोलत असेल हे कधीच मान्य करत नाहीत. यातून हेच शिकायला मिळते की जो कोणी विशेष आध्यात्मिक अधिकार सांगून तुमचा विश्वास जिंकू पाहतो, त्याच्याविषयी सावध राहावे, आणि गुरूचा आत्मविश्वास खऱ्या नम्रतेतून येतो की अहंकारातून, हे तपासून पाहावे, कारण खरी अनुभूती इतक्या मोठ्याने स्वतःची जाहिरात कधीच करत नाही.
Where this applies
- When someone claims special spiritual authority or direct access to God to win your trust
- When you are choosing a teacher or guide and need to judge whether their confidence is genuine or prideful
- When you notice a leader who never listens to correction or considers that others might be right
- When you catch yourself boasting about a spiritual experience in a way that puffs up your own importance