Abhanga 2901
Tukaram refuses to be treated as divine, admits he has no right to such worship, and asks God to correct him firmly rather than let the flattery stand.
The verse
लोक म्हणती मज देव । हा तों अधर्म उपाव ॥१॥
आतां कळेल तें करीं । सीस तुझे हातीं सुरी ॥ध्रु.॥
अधिकार नाहीं । पूजा करिती तैसा कांहीं ॥२॥
मन जाणे पापा । तुका म्हणे मायबापा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Lōka mhaṇatī maja Deva — people call me Deva; hā tōm adharma upāva — this is anadharma-upāya(unrighteous-device, wrong-method). Ātām kaḷel te karī — now do what you know (to do); sīsa tujhe hātī surī — (my)sīsa(head) is in your hand — (and) thesurī(knife). Adhikāra nāhī — (I) have noadhikāra(qualification, right); pūjā karitī taisā kāmhī — (yet some) dopūjālike that, (treating me as Deva), (in some way). Mana jāṇe pāpā — (my)manaknows thepāpa; Tukā says: māyabāpā — (O) mother-father.
What it means
A striking 3-verse honest-self-position verse. Lōka mhaṇatī maja Deva — hā tōm adharma upāva — people call me Deva — this is anadharma-upāya — an unrighteous device, a wrong-thing, a mis-stepping.
The opening-position is honest-and-dangerous: Tukārām notes that people are calling-him-Deva (people-treating-him-as-divinely-special, possibly worshipping-him directly). He calls this adharma-upāya — a wrong-method, an unrighteous-arrangement. (The reason: no human-bhakta should be worshipped as Deva; that-is-fake.)
Ātām kaḷel te karī — sīsa tujhe hātī surī — now do what you know — my head is in your hand (with) a knife. The radical-petition: cut-my-head if-need-be — i.e., take-stern-measures. The bhakta-offers-his-head to be-corrected.
Adhikāra nāhī — pūjā karitī taisā kāmhī — I have no adhikāra — yet (some) do pūjā (treating-me-as-Deva). The honest-confession: I have no qualification to be-worshipped-as-Deva; yet-people-do-it-anyway.
Mana jāṇe pāpā — Tukā mhaṇe māyabāpā — my mana knows the pāpa — mother-father. The closing-claim: my-mana knows-the-pāpa (the wrongness of being treated as Deva). O Lord, intervene.
The verse pairs with 2832-2833 (anti-self-styled-Deva-witness) but turns the polemic inward — Tukārām doesn't-accept-being-treated-as-Deva. He recognizes-the-danger and asks-the-Lord-to-correct-it.
For someone today
A canonical Tukārām statement of honest self-position. People call me Deva — this is an unrighteous device. Now do what you know — my head is in your hand with a knife. I have no adhikāra — yet (some) do pūjā. My mana knows the pāpa — mother-father. The verse is the genuine bhakta's refusal to be treated as divine: (1) people calling me Deva is a wrong and unrighteous arrangement; (2) take stern measures to correct it, even to the point of cutting off my head; (3) I have no right to such worship; (4) my own heart knows how wrong it would be. The diagnostic here is that if a bhakta simply accepts being treated as divine, he himself falls into that same unrighteousness. The genuine bhakta recognizes the danger and resists it.
मराठी: हे तुकारामांचे स्वतःच्या स्थानाबद्दलचे प्रामाणिक विधान आहे. लोक मला देव म्हणतात — हा तर अधर्माचा प्रकार आहे. आता जे योग्य वाटेल ते करा — माझे मस्तक तुमच्या हातात, सुरीसह आहे. मला तसा अधिकार नाही — तरी काही जण माझी पूजा करतात. माझे मन पाप जाणते — हे मायबापा. हा अभंग खऱ्या भक्ताचा स्वतःला दैवी मानले जाण्यास नकार दर्शवतो : (१) लोक मला देव म्हणणे हा चुकीचा, अधर्मी प्रकार आहे; (२) तो सुधारण्यासाठी कठोर उपाय करावेत, अगदी माझे मस्तक कापण्यापर्यंत; (३) अशा पूजेचा मला अधिकार नाही; (४) माझ्याच मनाला हे किती चुकीचे आहे हे कळते. यातील कसोटी अशी की जर भक्त स्वतःला दैवी मानले जाणे उगाच स्वीकारत राहिला, तर तोच त्या अधर्मात सापडतो. खरा भक्त हा धोका ओळखतो आणि त्याला विरोध करतो.
Where this applies
- When people start praising or idolizing you far beyond what you actually deserve
- When you feel tempted to quietly accept flattery instead of correcting a false impression about yourself
- When you know in your own conscience that some praise or status given to you is not truly yours to keep
- When you need the courage to ask someone you trust to correct you sharply rather than let a false image of you stand