Abhanga 3813
God's generosity is never the problem; the real obstacle is our own hypocrisy, performing devotion outwardly while our true feelings lie elsewhere.
The verse
बोल नाहीं तुझ्या दातृत्वपणासी । आम्ही अविश्वासी सर्वभावें ॥१॥
दंभें करी भक्ती सोंग दावी जना । अंतरीं भावना वेगळिया ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देवा तूं काय करिसी । कर्मा दुस्तरासी आमुचिया ॥३॥
Literal translation
No-blame-on-your-dātrtva — we-aviśvāsī-by-sarva-bhāva. Dambha-bhakti — sōnga-to-jana — bhāvanā-different-in-antara. Tukā: what-will-you-do-Deva — to-our-karma-dustara.
What it means
A 3-verse self-blame-for-inner-outer-mismatch text. There is no blame on your generosity — we are unbelievers by all our state. With pride we do bhakti, show a mask to people, our inner feeling is elsewhere. What can you do, Deva, against our insurmountable karma? The clean structure: not blaming Deva, but naming the precise hypocrisy — dambha-bhakti / sōnga-to-jana / different-bhāvanā-within.
For someone today
Tukaram names a hard truth about hypocrisy here, aimed squarely at himself and people like him. God's generosity is never at fault, he says — the real problem is that we don't actually believe, not fully, even while going through the motions. We perform devotion with pride, putting on a show for others to see, while inside our real feelings are somewhere else entirely. He ends almost helplessly, asking what even God can do against a habit as deep-rooted and stubborn as that kind of inner-outer mismatch.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे ढोंगीपणाबद्दल एक कठोर सत्य सांगतात, आणि ते स्वतःलाच आणि आपल्यासारख्या लोकांना उद्देशून बोलतात. देवाच्या उदारतेत काहीच कमी नाही, असे ते म्हणतात — खरी अडचण अशी आहे की आपण खरोखर पूर्ण श्रद्धेने विश्वास ठेवत नाही, वरवर कृती करत असूनही. आपण अभिमानाने भक्तीचे नाटक करतो, इतरांना दाखवण्यासाठी सोंग घेतो, तर आतून आपली खरी भावना पूर्णपणे वेगळीकडे असते. शेवटी ते जवळजवळ हतबल होऊन विचारतात की अशा खोलवर रुजलेल्या, हट्टी अंतर्बाह्य विसंगतीविरुद्ध देवसुद्धा काय करू शकतो.
Where this applies
- When you notice your outward religious practice doesn't match what you actually feel inside
- When you're tempted to perform devotion or goodness for others to see rather than out of sincerity
- When you catch yourself blaming God or circumstances instead of examining your own lack of real belief
- When you recognize a stubborn, deep-rooted habit of hypocrisy in yourself that's hard to break