Abhanga 3852
Outward marks of holiness like robes, matted hair, or austerity mean nothing on their own without real inner experience behind them.
The verse
भगवें तरी श्वान सहज वेष त्याचा । तेथें अनुभवाचा काय पंथ ॥१॥
वाढवुनी चटा फिरे दाही दिशा । तरी जंबुवेषा सहज स्थिति ॥ध्रु.॥
कोरोनियां भूमी करिती मधीं वास । तरी उंदरास काय वाणी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसें कासया करावें । देहासी दंडावें वाउगें चि ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bhagave tarī śvāna sahaja veṣa tyāñcā — saffron-cloth — well, dog wears it as natural veṣa; tethe anubhavāñcā kāya pamtha — what anubhava-pamtha there. Vāḍhavunī jaṭā phire dāhī diśā — growing jaṭā, wandering 10 directions; tarī jambuveṣā sahaja sthiti — that is jackal's natural state. Kōrōnīyām bhūmī karitī madhīm vāsa — digging bhūmi, dwelling within; tarī umdarāsa kāya vāṇī — what statement (different) from mouse. Tukā mhaṇe aise kāsayā karāve — Tukā says: why do this; dehāsī damḍāve vāuge chi — needlessly punishing the deha.
What it means
A canonical 3-verse anti-fake-renunciate text. Tukārām satirizes-the-external-marks: saffron-cloth=dog's-natural-skin; matted-locks-wandering=jackal's-natural-form; cave-digging=mouse's-natural-life. The-external-marks-prove-nothing without-anubhava-pamtha.
For someone today
Tukaram pokes fun at people who think outward signs of renunciation make them holy. A dog's fur is naturally the color of saffron cloth, but that does not make it a monk. A jackal naturally wanders in every direction with matted fur, but that does not make it enlightened. A mouse naturally digs and lives underground, but that does not make it an ascetic in a cave. So Tukaram asks, why put your body through needless hardship for looks that mean nothing on their own, without any real inner experience behind them.
मराठी: तुकाराम बाह्य वैराग्याच्या खुणांनी पवित्र झाल्यासारखे वाटणाऱ्यांची खिल्ली उडवतात. कुत्र्याचे केस नैसर्गिकरीत्याच भगव्या रंगाचे असतात, म्हणून तो काही साधू होत नाही. कोल्हा नैसर्गिकरीत्याच जटांसारख्या केसांनी दाही दिशांना भटकतो, म्हणून तो काही ज्ञानी होत नाही. उंदीर नैसर्गिकरीत्याच जमीन खणून त्यात राहतो, म्हणून तो काही गुहेतला तपस्वी होत नाही. मग तुकाराम विचारतात, आतला खरा अनुभव नसताना केवळ दिखाव्यासाठी शरीराला उगाच त्रास का द्यायचा.
Where this applies
- Canonical anti-fake-renunciate text
- Saffron/jaṭā/cave = dog/jackal/mouse natural-state canonical-satire
- Companion to 2844-2847 (anti-fake-renunciate cluster)