Abhanga 3836
Blindly following inherited customs without real reflection is like one blind person led by another, so you must think for yourself and decide firmly rather than drift along out of habit.
The verse
नाहीं हित ठावें जननीजनका । दाविले लौकिकाचार तींहीं ॥१॥
अंधळ्याचे काठी अंधळें लागलें । घात एकवेळे मागेंपुढें ॥ध्रु.॥
न ठेवावी चाली करावा विचार । वरील आहार गळी लावी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे केला निवाडा रोकडा । राऊत हा घोडा हातोहातीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
No-hita-from-jananī-janaka — they-show-only-laukika-āchāra. Blind-with-blind's-stick — destruction-both-ways. Don't-keep-this-chālī — do-vichāra. Outside-bait — hook-around-neck. Tukā: rōkaḍā-nivāḍā-made — rider-and-horse-hand-in-hand.
What it means
A 3-verse anti-parental-conformity text. The mother-father don't know your welfare — they only showed worldly customs. (Like) the blind taking the stick of (another) blind — destruction both backward and forward. Don't keep walking this way — reflect for yourself. Outside-bait — (the fisher) puts the hook around the neck. I have made the on-the-spot decision — rider and horse are hand-in-hand. Three sharp images: (1) blind-leading-blind for laukika-paramparā; (2) fish-bait-and-hook for sensory-temptation; (3) rōkaḍā-nivāḍā-rāūta-ghōḍā (rider-and-horse-on-the-spot — i.e., the decision is now, no procrastination). Pair with 2787 (bhakti-redeems-fallen — bhajana is pramāṇa, burn the greatness).
For someone today
Tukaram points out that our parents, however loving, often only pass down the world's ordinary customs, not real insight into what actually helps our souls. Following those customs blindly, he says, is like one blind person taking the walking stick of another blind person, both end up worse off, whichever direction they try to go. He warns that what looks like an outside treat is often bait hiding a hook, and urges you to actually think for yourself instead of just repeating habit. He ends by saying he has made his decision firmly and immediately, acting like a rider and horse moving together without hesitation.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की आपले आईवडील, कितीही प्रेमळ असले तरी, बहुतेक वेळा फक्त जगातल्या रूढी शिकवतात, खऱ्या अर्थाने आत्म्याला काय हितकारक आहे हे नाही. त्या रूढी आंधळेपणाने पाळणे म्हणजे जणू एक आंधळा दुसऱ्या आंधळ्याची काठी धरून चालतो, दोघेही कुठल्याही दिशेने गेले तरी शेवटी नुकसानच होते. ते इशारा देतात की बाहेरून दिसणारे आमिष बरेचदा गळ लपवून ठेवलेले असते, आणि नुसती सवय पाळण्याऐवजी स्वतः विचार करण्याचा आग्रह धरतात. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की त्यांनी लगेच आणि ठाम निर्णय घेतला आहे, जणू घोडेस्वार आणि घोडा एकजीव होऊन क्षणाचाही विलंब न करता पुढे जातात.
Where this applies
- When you realize you have been following family customs without ever questioning them
- When something tempting turns out to be hiding a cost or trap you didn't see
- When you feel pressured to imitate others instead of thinking through a decision yourself
- When you finally decide to act firmly and immediately instead of hesitating