Abhanga 3670
Watering only the branches and leaves keeps the roots dry; devotion that stays on the surface never reaches the source that actually needs it.
The verse
जीविता तो माझा पिता । उखता तो उखत्यांचा ॥१॥
जनार्दनीं सरती कर्में । वाते भ्रमे अनेत्र । अपसव्य सव्यामधीं । ऐसी शुद्धी न धरितां ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे खांद्या पानें । सिंचतां भिन्न कोरडी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Jīvita-my-pitā — ukhatā-belongs-to-ukhatyas. In-Janārdana-karmas-cease — bhrama-anētra — apasavya-in-savya-without-śuddhi. Tukā: branches-leaves — sprinkling-stay-bhinna-kōraḍī.
What it means
A 3-verse text with a striking closing-image. My life is my father; the uprooted belongs-to-the-rootless. In Janārdana karmas cease; wanderings are wrong-direction; without keeping proper-rule, apasavya within savya. Tukā: just-watering branches-and-leaves, they stay separately-dry — the water doesn't reach the root. The image: superficial-watering (= ritual-without-bhāva) leaves the roots dry.
For someone today
Tukaram paints a simple picture: if you sprinkle water only on the branches and leaves of a tree, they stay dry underneath, because the water never reaches the root. He is talking about devotion that only touches the surface, rituals and gestures performed without real feeling reaching the heart. If your life's true root is God, then everything you do should be poured toward that root, not scattered over the outer branches. Real practice waters the source; everything else is just wetting leaves that dry out again.
मराठी: तुकाराम एक साधे चित्र उभे करतात, झाडाच्या फांद्या आणि पानांवर फक्त पाणी शिंपडले तर आतून ती कोरडीच राहतात, कारण पाणी मुळापर्यंत पोहोचतच नाही. ते वरवरच्या भक्तीबद्दल बोलत आहेत, मनापासून न केलेले विधी आणि हावभाव. जर आयुष्याचे खरे मूळ परमेश्वर आहे, तर आपण जे काही करतो ते त्या मुळाकडेच वाहिले पाहिजे, नुसत्या बाहेरच्या फांद्यांवर नाही. खरी साधना उगमालाच पाणी घालते, बाकी सगळे नुसते पाने ओली करणे आहे जे पुन्हा सुकून जाते.
Where this applies
- When you go through religious motions but feel nothing has actually changed inside you
- When you're busy helping everyone around a person you love but never actually connect with them directly
- When your prayer feels like a habit performed on the surface rather than something reaching your core
- When you sense your efforts are scattered outward instead of aimed at the one thing that matters most