Abhanga 3223
Some truths can't simply be told to you, they land only when your own mind is genuinely ready, so look after yourself and don't shrink from doing it.
The verse
काय करूं सांगतां ही न कळे वर्म । उपस्थित भ्रम उपजवितो ॥१॥
मन आधीं ज्याचें आलें होईंल हातां । तयावरी सत्ता केली चाले ॥ध्रु.॥
अभुकेचे अंगीं चवी ना सवाद । मिथ्या ऐसा वाद दुराग्रह ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आप राखावें आपणा । संकोचों चि कोणा नये आतां ॥३॥
Literal translation
What-to-do, varma-not-understood even-told; bhrama-rises. Mana-first-in-hand, then-sattā-over-it. No-chavī in-non-hungry; mithyā-vāda is-durāgraha. Tukā: protect-yourself by-yourself; don't-shrink-from-anyone.
What it means
A 3-verse observation. Varma-can't-be-conveyed; the-listener-must-already-have-mana-in-hand.
For someone today
Tukaram admits that some truths can't just be explained to you, even when someone tells you exactly what matters, you may still not really get it, and confusion rises instead. You can only truly master something once your own mind is genuinely in your own hands, ready to receive it. Someone who isn't hungry won't taste the food no matter how good it is, and arguing past that point is just stubbornness, so look after yourself, and don't shrink back from anyone in doing so.
मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात, काही सत्यं फक्त सांगून कळत नाहीत, कुणी अगदी नेमकं सांगितलं तरी तुम्हाला ते खरंच समजेलच असं नाही, उलट गोंधळ वाढतो. एखादी गोष्ट खऱ्या अर्थाने आत्मसात करायची असेल, तर आधी तुमचं स्वतःचं मन खरोखर तुमच्या हातात, तयार असायला हवं. जो भुकेलाच नाही त्याला कितीही चांगलं अन्न दिलं तरी त्याची चव कळत नाही, आणि त्यापुढे वाद घालणं म्हणजे केवळ हट्टीपणा, त्यामुळे स्वतःची काळजी स्वतः घ्या, आणि यासाठी कुणापासूनही मागे हटू नका.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's varma-not-conveyable observation