Abhanga 3222
If the divine feels empty to you, the fault lies in your own accumulated patterns, not in the divine itself, and missing that deeper truth makes other practices hollow.
The verse
देव तीर्थ येर दिसे जया ओस । तोचि तया दोष जाणतिया ॥१॥
तया बरें फावे देवा चुकवितां । संचिताची सत्ता अंतराय ॥ध्रु.॥
शुद्धाशुद्धठाव पापुण्यबीज । पाववील दुजे फळभोग ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे विश्वंभराऐसें वर्म । चुकविल्या धर्म अवघे मिथ्या ॥३॥
Literal translation
Deva-tīrtha-look-ōsa-to-one — that-one's-dōṣa. Easy-for-such-one to-avoid-Deva; samchita-sattā-antarāya. Śuddhāśuddha-place gives-double-fala-bhōga. Tukā: Viśvambhara-varma; missing-which, all-dharma-mithyā.
What it means
A 3-verse observation. If-Deva-and-tīrtha-look-empty to-you, the-fault-is-in-your-samchita; missing-the-Viśvambhara-secret, all-dharma-is-mithyā.
For someone today
If God and sacred places feel empty or meaningless to you, Tukaram says the problem isn't out there, it's in your own accumulated patterns and past choices, which make it easy to keep avoiding what could actually help you. Whatever ground you stand on, pure or impure, is shaped by seeds you planted before, and it bears its fruit either way. Missing this deeper truth about the divine pervading everything makes every other religious observance you perform hollow.
मराठी: जर देव आणि तीर्थक्षेत्र तुम्हाला रिकामी किंवा निरर्थक वाटत असतील, तर तुकाराम म्हणतात, दोष बाहेर नसून तुमच्या स्वतःच्याच साठलेल्या संस्कारांत आणि आधीच्या निवडींत आहे, ज्यामुळे खरं मदत करणाऱ्या गोष्टीपासून दूर राहणं सोपं होतं. तुम्ही ज्या भूमीवर उभे आहात, शुद्ध असो वा अशुद्ध, ती आधी पेरलेल्या बीजांतून घडलेली असते आणि तिचं फळ मिळतंच. सर्वव्यापी परमेश्वराचं हे खोल सत्य चुकल्यास, इतर सर्व धार्मिक आचरण पोकळ ठरतं.
Where this applies
- When something sacred or meaningful feels empty to you and you blame the thing itself
- When you notice yourself easily avoiding practices that could actually help you grow
- When you're facing consequences that trace back to choices you made long ago
- When you go through religious or ethical motions without grasping the deeper point