Abhanga 2962
Tukaram condemns gurus who take money for spiritual teaching without real discipline or discernment, warning that such guru and disciple pairs are bound for ruin.
The verse
गुरुमार्गामुळें भ्रष्ट सर्वकाळ । म्हणती याती कुळ नाहीं ब्रम्हीं ॥१॥
पवित्राला म्हणती नको हा कंटक । मानिती आत्मिक अनामिका ॥ध्रु.॥
डोहोर होलार दासी बलुती बारा । उपदेशिती फारा रांडापोरा ॥२॥
कांहीं टाण्या टोण्या विप्र शिष्य होती । उघडी फजिती स्वधर्माची ॥३॥
नसता करुनी होम खाती एके ठायीं । म्हणती पाप नाहीं मोक्ष येणें ॥४॥
इंद्रियांचे पेठे भला कौल देती । मर्यादा जकाती माफ केली ॥५॥
नाहीं शास्त्राधार पात्रापात्र नेणे । उपदेशून घेणें द्रव्य कांहीं ॥६॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसे गुरु शिष्य पूर्ण । विठोबाची आण नरका जाती ॥७॥
Literal translation
Guru-mārgāmuḷe bhraṣṭa sarva-kāḷa — byguru-mārga(guru-traditions) one is alwaysbhraṣṭa(corrupted); mhaṇatī yātī kuḷa nāhī Brahmī — (they) say there is noyāti-kuḷa(caste-and-clan) in Brahman. Pavitrālā mhaṇatī nakō hā kaṇṭaka — (they) tell thepavitra(pure) one —no need for this kaṇṭaka(thorn, ritual-discipline); mānitī ātmika anāmikā — (they) call (everyone)ātmika-anāmika(spiritual-without-name). Ḍōhōra hōlāra dāsī balutī bārā — ḍōhōra, hōlāra, dāsī, balutī-bārā(low-jāti groups); upadeśitī phārā rāṇḍā-pōrā — they giveupadeśain great numbers, (also to) women and children. Kāmhī tāṇyā tōṇyā vipra śiṣya hōtī — (by)tāṇyā-tōṇyā(force and trick) some makevipra(brahmins) disciples; ughaḍī fajitī sva-dharmāñcī — (this) opensfajitī(public-shame) ofsva-dharma. Nasatā karunī hōma khātī eke ṭhāyī — not having done (proper)hōma, (they) eat at one place; mhaṇatī pāpa nāhī mōkṣa yeṇe — (they) say (there is) nopāpa, (only)mokṣaby this. Indriyāñce peṭhē bhalā kaula detī — in theindriya-peṭhā(market of senses) (they) give a goodkaula(permission, license); maryādā jakātī māfa kelī — maryādā(limits) andjakātī(tolls, fees) waived. Nāhī śāstrādhāra pātrāpātra neṇe — (there is) nośāstrādhāra(scriptural-warrant); (they) don't knowpātrāpātra(suitable-or-not recipient); upadeśun gheṇe dravya kāmhī — (their) giving-upadeśa (is) for-taking-money. Tukā says: aise guru śiṣya pūrṇa — such completeguru-śiṣya(pairs); Viṭhōbāñcī āṇa narakā jātī — byViṭhōbā'soath, (they) go tonaraka.
What it means
A striking 7-verse polemic against fake-gurus of Tukārām's time — one of the most-specific-and-detailed social-criticism texts in the corpus. The verse documents-specific 17th-c-Maharashtra-practices that Tukārām condemns.
The seven-fold-charge-list: 1. Guru-mārga-makes-bhraṣṭa — claims-no-jāti-in-Brahman as a pretense for moral-license 2. Calls-pure-discipline a thorn — discourages-the-pavitra-from-discipline; calls-everyone ātmika-anāmika 3. Gives-upadeśa indiscriminately to low-jāti groups, women, children 4. By force-and-trick makes-vipras-disciples; opens-public-shame-of-sva-dharma 5. Eats-together without-proper-hōma; claims no-pāpa, only-mokṣa 6. Licenses-the-indriya-market — waives maryādā-and-jakātī 7. No-śāstra-backing, no-discrimination of-recipient, takes-money
The close: Viṭhōbāñcī āṇa narakā jātī — by the oath of Viṭhōbā, (these guru-śiṣya pairs) go to hell. The eschatological-verdict.
Note on social-context: This verse must-be-read-in-its-17th-c-context. Some of the charges (giving upadeśa-to-low-jātīs-women-children) sit-uneasily-with Tukārām's-own-bhakti-democratization (2864 all-have-adhikāra, 2369 no-caste-in-Name, 2755 śūdra-vamśī). The text appears to-attack-specific-cults that-Tukārām-saw-as-exploitative-rather-than-genuinely-democratic: the diagnostic-element is taking-money (verse 7) and no-śāstra-pātra-apātra (verse 6). The point is not the giving-of-upadeśa to-the-low-jāti, but the mercenary-and-undisciplined nature of-the-cult.
This pairs with 2844-2847 (4-abhang anti-fake-renunciate cluster) as the anti-fake-guru cluster — both criticize specific 17th-c-practices (tobacco-cannabis in 2847; mercenary-upadeśa in 2962).
For someone today
Tukaram sharply criticizes the fake gurus of his time who twist real teaching for their own gain. He describes them claiming there's no caste distinction in Brahman, then using that idea to wave away genuine spiritual discipline and hand out teaching indiscriminately for money, without any real screening of who is ready to receive it. They let people indulge every sense-desire freely, skip the proper rites, and still claim there's no sin and instant liberation. What Tukaram is really condemning isn't teaching offered broadly — elsewhere he insists devotion belongs to everyone regardless of caste — but teachers who are mercenary and undisciplined, who take money without real scriptural grounding or care for their disciples' readiness. Such guru-disciple pairs, he warns solemnly by Vithoba's own name, are headed for real ruin.
मराठी: तुकाराम आपल्या काळातील ढोंगी गुरूंवर कडक टीका करतात, जे खऱ्या शिकवणुकीचा स्वतःच्या फायद्यासाठी विपर्यास करतात. ते सांगतात की हे गुरू ब्रह्मात जात-कुळ नसते असे सांगून खऱ्या आध्यात्मिक शिस्तीला बाजूला सारतात आणि पैशासाठी कोणालाही, अधिकाराचा किंवा तयारीचा विचार न करता, उपदेश देत सुटतात. ते लोकांना मनमानी इंद्रियसुख भोगू देतात, योग्य विधी टाळतात, आणि तरीही पाप नाही व त्वरित मोक्ष मिळतो असे सांगतात. तुकारामांचा खरा आक्षेप सर्वांना उपदेश देण्यावर नाही — कारण ते स्वतः इतरत्र स्पष्टपणे सांगतात की भक्ती जातिभेदाशिवाय सर्वांची आहे — तर तो आक्षेप आहे स्वार्थी व शिस्तहीन गुरूंवर, जे शास्त्राधाराशिवाय व शिष्याच्या पात्रतेची पर्वा न करता पैशासाठी उपदेश विकतात. असे गुरू-शिष्य जोडपे, विठोबाच्या शपथेवर ते म्हणतात, खरोखर नरकात जातात.
Where this applies
- One of THE most-specific 17th-c anti-fake-guru polemics in the corpus
- Documentary-evidence of 17th-c-Maharashtra fake-guru practices
- Viṭhōbā-oath-naraka-bound anti-fake-guru-disciple warning
- Pairs with 2844-2847 (anti-fake-renunciate cluster), 2882 (mūngī-sugar humility)