Abhanga 4134
Knowledge and clever talk are worthless without a genuinely steady, disciplined mind, since even a small lapse in patience can spoil everything, just as a tiny impurity ruins pure gold.
The verse
शास्त्रज्ञ हो ज्ञाते असती बहुत । परि नाहीं चित्त हाता आलें ॥१॥
क्षणा एका साटीं न धरवे धीर । तेणें हा रघुवीर अंतरतो ॥ध्रु.॥
तोळाभर सोनें रतिभार राई । मेळविल्या पाहीं नास होतो ॥२॥
हरीचे अंकित असती विरळागत । तयांसी अच्युत कृपा करी ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे काय धुडवण्या गोष्टी । जंव नाहीं गांठी चित्त आलें ॥४॥
Literal translation
Śāstrajñas-many — chitta-not-in-hand. Can't-hold-dhīra — Raghuvīra-distances. Tōḷa-gold-rati-mustard — mixed-destroyed. Hari-ankita-rare — Achyuta-krpā. Tukā: empty-chatter-no-good — until-chitta-knot.
What it means
A 4-verse chitta-control text. Śāstra-knowers and jñātas are many, but they haven't gotten the chitta into hand. They can't hold patience for even a moment; by that Rāma is distanced. An ounce of gold with a tiny-weight of mustard mixed in — destroyed. Those registered to Hari are rare; to them Achyuta shows krpā. What use is empty-chatter until the chitta is firmly in your knot? Tōḷā-of-gold-spoiled-by-rati-of-mustard is the standard purity-image — fine substance destroyed by even a small impurity.
For someone today
Tukaram observes that there are plenty of scholars and learned people around, but very few of them have actually mastered their own mind. Because they cannot hold steady patience even for a moment, the divine feels distant from them despite all their knowledge. He compares this to an ounce of pure gold ruined by mixing in just a tiny bit of mustard seed, one small impurity spoils the whole thing. Those who are truly devoted to Hari are rare, and it is only to them that grace comes, because all the clever talk in the world means nothing until your own mind is genuinely disciplined and steady.
मराठी: तुकाराम निरीक्षण करतात की शास्त्रज्ञ आणि विद्वान पुष्कळ आहेत, पण त्यांच्यापैकी फार थोड्यांनी आपले मन खरोखर काबूत आणले आहे. एका क्षणासाठीही धीर धरता येत नसल्यामुळे, सगळे ज्ञान असूनही परमात्मा त्यांच्यापासून दूर राहतो. याची तुलना ते शुद्ध सोन्याच्या तोळ्याशी करतात, ज्यात थोडीशी मोहरीची भेसळ मिसळली की सगळे सोने बिघडते, एवढी छोटी अशुद्धता पूर्ण गोष्ट खराब करते. हरीशी खरोखर एकनिष्ठ असणारे फार दुर्मीळ असतात, आणि कृपा फक्त त्यांनाच मिळते, कारण जोपर्यंत तुमचे स्वतःचे मन खरोखर शिस्तबद्ध आणि स्थिर होत नाही तोपर्यंत सगळ्या हुशार गप्पा निरुपयोगी असतात.
Where this applies
- When you have lots of knowledge or credentials but still struggle to control your own impatience
- When a small lapse of discipline undoes months of otherwise careful effort
- When you talk confidently about spiritual or personal growth but haven't actually practiced steadiness of mind
- When you admire someone whose calm, disciplined mind matters more than their book knowledge