Abhanga 2869
When your motives are questioned, Tukārām says, let God, who alone sees the heart, be the judge instead of exhausting yourself trying to convince the world.
The verse
आतां माझे नका वाणूं गुण दोष । करितों उपदेश याचा कांहीं ॥१॥
मानदंभासाठीं छळीतसें कोणा । आण या चरणां विठोबाची ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे हें तों ठावें पांडुरंगा । काय कळे जगा अंतरींचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Ātām mājhe nakō vāṇūm guṇa dōṣa — now don'tvāṇūm(describe, criticize) myguṇa(qualities) (and)dōṣa(faults); karitōm upadeśa yāñcā kāmhī — I do someupadeśa(teaching) of this. Māna-dambhā-sāṭhī chaḷītasē kōṇā — (if) formāna-dambha(honor-and-display) (I am)chaḷītasē(troubling, exploiting) anyone; āṇa yā charaṇām Viṭhōbāñcī — (I take) the oath on Viṭhōbā's feet (— let it not be so). Tukā says: he tōm ṭhāve Pāṇḍurangā — this — Pāṇḍuranga knows; kāya kaḷe jagā antarīñce — what does the world know of the inside?
What it means
A short defense-of-public-bhakti verse — part of the Chinchwaḍa-visit 13-abhang collection. Ātām mājhe nakō vāṇūm guṇa dōṣa — karitōm upadeśa yāñcā kāmhī — don't criticize my guṇa-dōṣa — I do some upadeśa. The opening petition: don't judge me — I'm teaching.
Māna-dambhā-sāṭhī chaḷītasē kōṇā — āṇa yā charaṇām Viṭhōbāñcī — (if) for honor-and-display I am troubling-anyone — (I take) the oath on Viṭhōbā's feet. The self-defense: I am NOT teaching for māna-dambha (pride-and-display); I take the Viṭhōbā-charaṇa-oath on this.
The close: he tōm ṭhāve Pāṇḍurangā — kāya kaḷe jagā antarīñce — this — Pāṇḍuranga knows — what does the world know of the inside? The bhakti-warrant: Pāṇḍuranga sees the inner-truth; the world only sees the outside. The bhakta defers to Pāṇḍuranga's-judgment over the world's-judgment.
(This is consistent with 2870-2871, where Tukārām, on the public-bhakti-platform during the Chinchwaḍa-visit, addresses the suspicion-that-he-might-be-self-promoting.)
For someone today
Tukārām asks people not to pick apart his good and bad qualities, since what he is offering is teaching, not a bid for praise. He swears on Viṭhōbā's feet that if he is ever troubling someone just to gain honor or status for himself, let that oath stand against him. He closes by saying only Pāṇḍuranga, God, truly knows what is in his heart, because the outside world can never see what is inside a person. The verse offers a way to handle public criticism: instead of wearing yourself out trying to prove your motives to others, let the one who actually sees your heart be the judge.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराज लोकांना सांगतात की माझे गुण-दोष तपासू नका, कारण मी जे करतो आहे ते शिकवण आहे, कौतुक मिळवण्यासाठी नाही. ते विठोबाच्या चरणांची शपथ घेऊन सांगतात की जर मी कधी मान-प्रतिष्ठेसाठी कोणाला त्रास देत असेन, तर ती शपथ माझ्याविरुद्ध जावो. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की माझ्या मनात काय आहे हे फक्त पांडुरंगालाच माहीत आहे, कारण जगाला दुसऱ्याच्या अंतःकरणातले कधीच कळत नाही. हा अभंग शिकवतो की लोकांच्या टीकेला तोंड देताना, आपला हेतू सगळ्यांना पटवून देत बसण्याऐवजी, जो खरोखर आपले अंतःकरण पाहतो त्यालाच न्यायाधीश मानावे.
Where this applies
- Part of the Chinchwaḍa-visit 13-abhang collection (2858-2870)
- Recognizing the Pāṇḍuranga-knows-the-inside warrant
- Defense of public-bhakti against the suspicion of māna-dambha
- The bhakta's deferral-to-Lord's-judgment over public-criticism