Abhanga 3591
Do not mistake endless clever talk for real wisdom, seek people whose words are actually bound to truth rather than those who just sound wise.
The verse
कोठें आतां आम्ही वेचावी हे वाणी । कोण मना आणी जाणोनियां ॥१॥
न करावी सांडी आतां टाळाटाळी । देइन ये कळी होइल माजी ॥ध्रु.॥
घरोघरीं जाल्या ज्ञानाचिया गोष्टी । सत्यासवें गांठी न पडवी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आम्हां भाकितां करुणा । भलता चि शाहाणा शोध काढी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Where-to-spend-vāṇī — who-brings-to-mana-knowing. Don't-abandon-now-ṭāḷā-ṭāḷī — I'll-give-in-this-kaḷi. House-to-house-jñāna-gōṣṭīs — no-gāṇṭhī-with-satya. Tukā: begging-karuṇā — any-wise-man-finds-own-śōdha.
What it means
A 3-verse critique of philosophical-shopping. Where to spend my speech now? — who can bring it knowing into mana; jñāna-talk has happened house-to-house but no real-satya knot is formed; when we plead, any random wise-man pulls out his own conclusion. Sharp critique of 17th-c. religious-marketplace of competing-philosophies.
For someone today
Tukaram wonders where he can even speak his words anymore, who is really listening deeply enough to take them to heart. He refuses to keep putting things off endlessly, insisting he will speak plainly even in this confused age. He notices that talk about spiritual knowledge has spread into every house, everyone has an opinion, yet none of it actually ties itself to real truth. When people come pleading for compassion or a real answer, he says, any clever talker will just spin out his own pet theory instead of genuine understanding. This is a warning about mistaking endless clever talk for real wisdom, and a reminder to seek people who are actually bound to truth rather than just skilled at sounding wise.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराज विचारतात की आता आपले शब्द कुठे खर्च करावेत, खरोखर मनापासून ऐकून समजून घेणारा कोण आहे. ते सतत टाळाटाळ करत राहायला नकार देतात, आणि या गोंधळलेल्या काळातही स्पष्टपणे बोलण्याचा निर्धार करतात. त्यांना जाणवतं की ज्ञानाच्या गप्पा घरोघरी पसरल्या आहेत, प्रत्येकाचं मत आहे, पण त्यातलं काहीच खऱ्या सत्याशी बांधलेलं नाही. जेव्हा लोक करुणा किंवा खरं उत्तर मागत येतात, तेव्हा कोणताही चतुर वक्ता खरी समज देण्याऐवजी स्वतःचाच सिद्धांत मांडत बसतो, असं ते म्हणतात. यातून हा इशारा मिळतो की सतत केलेलं हुशारीचं बोलणं खरी शहाणपण समजण्याची चूक करू नये, आणि खरोखर सत्याशी बांधलेल्या लोकांचा शोध घ्यावा, फक्त शहाणपणा भासवणाऱ्यांचा नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel surrounded by opinions and clever talk but sense none of it is actually grounded in truth
- When you are tired of putting off honest speech and decide to say what you mean plainly
- When you seek real compassion or guidance and instead get someone's pet theory or self-serving explanation
- When you need to distinguish between people who sound wise and people who are genuinely bound to the truth