Abhanga 3261
Praising mere people instead of the Divine quietly wastes your life and becomes a sin, even if you only stand by and listen.
The verse
स्तवूनियां नरा । केला आयुष्याचा मातेरा ॥१॥
नारायणचिया लोपें । घडलीं अवघीं चि पापें ॥ध्रु.॥
जीव ज्याचें दान । त्याचा खंडूनियां मान ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे वाणी । आइके त्या दोष कानीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Praising-men, life-to-ash. Nārāyaṇa-lōpa makes-all-pāpa. Breaking-(his)-māna who-gave-jīva-dāna. Tukā: listening-to-dōṣa-vāṇī catches-dōṣa-in-ears.
What it means
A 3-verse anti-narastuti polemic. Praising-men-instead-of-Nārāyaṇa burns-life and-catches-dōṣa-by-listening.
For someone today
This verse warns against spending your life flattering people instead of remembering the Divine. Tukaram says that when you praise mere mortals as though they were the source of your life, you burn up the very life you were given, and without even noticing, you commit a kind of sin. The one who actually gave you that life, Nārāyaṇa, is quietly dishonored every time your devotion goes to someone else instead. Tukaram adds that even just listening to this kind of flattery lets the fault into your own ears.
मराठी: हा अभंग सांगतो की माणसांची खोटी स्तुती करण्यात आयुष्य वाया घालवू नये. तुकाराम म्हणतात, जेव्हा तुम्ही सामान्य माणसांची स्तुती करता, जणू तेच तुमच्या जीवनाचे मूळ आहेत, तेव्हा तुम्ही मिळालेले आयुष्य जाळून राखेसारखे करता आणि नकळत पाप घडवता. ज्याने खरोखर तुम्हाला जीवन दिले, त्या नारायणाचा मान तुम्ही अशा वेळी विसरता. तुकाराम म्हणतात, अशी स्तुती नुसती कानांनी ऐकली तरी तो दोष कानांत शिरतो.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's anti-narastuti polemic
- Companion to 2630 (vyasana-prārthanā including narastuti-as-vice)