Abhanga 4178
When family or society mocks sincere devotion as madness or shame, the fault lies with the mockery, not with the devotion.
The verse
पोरा लागलीसे चट । धरी वाट देवळाची ॥१॥
सांगितलें नेघे कानीं । दुजें मनी विठ्ठल ॥ध्रु.॥
काम घरीं न करी धंदा । येथें सदा दुश्चित्त ॥२॥
आमुचे कुळीं नव्हतें ऐसें । हें चि पिसें निवडलें ॥३॥
लौकिकाची नाहीं लाज । माझें मज पारिखें ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे नरका जाणें । त्या वचनें दुष्टाचीं ॥५॥
Literal translation
Child-latched-on — holds-temple-path. Doesn't-hear — Viṭṭhal-only-in-mana. No-house-work — always-duścitta. Not-in-our-kuḷa — this-pisē-singled-out. No-laukika-shame — own-strange-to-me. Tukā: hellward-go these-duṣṭa-vachana.
What it means
A 5-verse dramatized worldly-relative's-lament with sharp final-twist. The child has got latched on, holds the path to the temple. Doesn't listen to what's said — only Viṭṭhal in his mind. Doesn't work or do business at home, always unsettled here. This wasn't in our lineage — this madness has come singled-out. He has no shame of public-opinion; my own has become strange to me. Tukā says: those very evil-words go to hell. The first 5 verses are voiced AS the worldly-relative complaining about the bhakta-child; the closing Tukā mhaṇe delivers the verdict — those evil-words go to hell. A rare dramatic-monologue form. Could be reflecting Tukārām's own family-experience or generic householder's lament.
For someone today
Tukārām writes this as a little drama: he voices the complaints of worldly relatives about a child who has become devoted, always walking the path to the temple, deaf to advice, thinking only of Viṭṭhal, neglecting work at home, always somewhere else in mind. The family says this madness was never in their lineage, that the child has no shame about what people will say, that their own child now feels like a stranger to them. Then Tukārām delivers the twist: those very complaining words are the ones headed for ruin, not the devotion they mock. The lesson is that when a family or community mocks someone's sincere devotion as madness or embarrassment, it is the mockery, not the devotion, that is truly misguided.
मराठी: तुकाराम हे एक छोटे नाट्य म्हणून लिहितात, ते ऐहिक नातेवाईकांची तक्रार आपल्या शब्दांत मांडतात, एक मूल भक्तीत रमले आहे, नेहमी देवळाची वाट धरतो, सांगितलेले ऐकत नाही, मनात फक्त विठ्ठल, घरचे काम सोडून दिले आहे, नेहमी दुसरीकडेच लक्ष असते. कुटुंब म्हणते हे वेड आपल्या कुळात कधी नव्हते, याला लोकलज्जा नाही, आपलेच मूल आता परके वाटू लागले आहे. मग तुकाराम शेवटी पलटी मारतात, तीच टीकेची वचने नरकात जाणार आहेत, भक्ती नव्हे. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की जेव्हा कुटुंब किंवा समाज एखाद्याच्या खऱ्या भक्तीला वेड किंवा लाज समजून हिणवतो, तेव्हा चूक भक्तीची नसते, ती हिणवणाऱ्यांचीच असते.
Where this applies
- When family members mock or worry about someone who has become deeply devoted or spiritually focused
- When a person is criticized for choosing prayer or temple visits over work or worldly obligations
- When you feel like a stranger to your own family because your priorities have changed toward faith
- When someone accuses you of bringing shame for following a sincere spiritual path