Abhanga 3775
Only what is genuinely earned holds up when truly tested, so Tukaram chooses to display his own honest effort rather than perishable decorations or gold-plated pretense.
The verse
म्हणउनि काय जीऊं भक्तपण । जायाचीं भूषणें अळंकार ॥१॥
आपुल्या कष्टाची करूनियां जोडी । मिरवीन उघडी इच्छावसें ॥ध्रु.॥
तुके तरि तुकीं खर्याचे उत्तम । मुलाम्याच्या भ्रम कोठवरि ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पुढें आणि मागें फांस । पावें ऐसा नास न करीं देवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mhaṇauni kāya jīūm bhakta-paṇa — therefore why live as bhakta-hood; jāyāchīm bhūṣaṇe aḷamkāra — (when) ornaments and decorations will go. Āpulyā kaṣṭāchī karūniyām jōḍī — making the joining of my own toil; miravīna ughaḍī ichchhāvase — I will display openly according to wish. Tuke tari tukīm kharyāche uttama — when weighed on the balance, only the true is best; mulāmyāchyā bhrama kōṭhavari — how far the delusion of gilding? Tukā mhaṇe puḍhem āṇi māgem phāmsa — Tukā says: ahead and behind, a snare; pāvem aisā nāsa na karīm devā — do not bring about such ruin, Deva.
What it means
A 3-verse anti-pretense polemic with the merchant's balance image. Why-be-a-decorative-bhakta? — ornaments-perish; I'll-display-only-the-jōḍī-of-my-own-toil; on-the-balance only-the-true-is-uttama — how-far-can-gilding-deceive?; ahead-and-behind a-snare — Deva, don't-cause-this-ruin. The mulāmā (gilding) image was current in Tukārām's market vocabulary.
For someone today
Tukaram asks what is the point of playing the part of a devotee if all he shows are decorations and ornaments that will not last. He would rather display only what he has earned through his own honest effort, plainly and openly, than dress himself up for show. He uses the image of a merchant's scale: when something is truly weighed, only the genuine article counts, and gold plating can only fool people for so long. He asks God directly not to let him fall into ruin, caught front and back in the trap of pretending to be something he is not.
मराठी: तुकाराम विचारतात की जर फक्त दिखाव्याचे दागिने आणि सजावट दाखवायची असेल, तर भक्त असल्याचा आव आणण्यात काय अर्थ आहे, कारण ती सजावट टिकणारी नसते. त्यांना दिखाव्यासाठी नटण्यापेक्षा आपल्या स्वतःच्या प्रामाणिक कष्टाने मिळवलेले उघडपणे दाखवायला आवडेल. ते व्यापाऱ्याच्या तराजूची उपमा वापरतात: खरोखर वजन केल्यावर फक्त खरी वस्तूच टिकते, आणि सोन्याचा मुलामा फार काळ कोणाला फसवू शकत नाही. ते देवाला थेट विनवतात की मला नाश होऊ देऊ नकोस, कारण पुढे आणि मागे दोन्हीकडे ढोंगाचा सापळा आहे.
Where this applies
- When you are tempted to show off spiritual or moral credentials instead of quietly doing honest work
- When you wonder whether your good reputation is built on real effort or just surface polish
- When someone's impressive appearance turns out to be gilding rather than genuine substance
- When you feel caught between two kinds of pretense and want to escape both and be simply real