Abhanga 4458
God already lives within you, so wandering outward in search of what you already carry is like a musk deer chasing its own scent through the forest.
The verse
देहीं असोनियां देव । वृथा फिरतो निर्दैव ॥१॥
देव आहे अंतर्यामीं । व्यर्थ हिंडे तीर्थग्रामीं ॥ध्रु.॥
नाभी मृगाचे कस्तुरी । व्यर्थ हिंडे वनांतरीं ॥२॥
साखरेचें मूळ ऊंस । तैसा देहीं देव दिसे ॥३॥
दुधीं असतां नवनीत । नेणे तयाचें मथित ॥४॥
तुका सांगे मूढजना । देहीं देव कां पाहाना ॥५॥
Literal translation
Deva-in-body — vrthā-wanders-nirdaiva. Deva-in-antaryāmīm — vyartha-himḍē-tīrtha-grāma. Musk-in-deer's-navel — wanders-in-forest. Sugarcane-mūla-of-sugar — so-Deva-shows-in-body. Butter-in-milk — doesn't-know-its-churned-form. Tukā-tells-mūḍha-jana — why-don't-you-see-Deva-in-body.
What it means
A canonical 5-verse anti-external-search text with 3 vivid analogies for Deva-is-inside-the-body-yet-you-search-outside. Deva being in the body — the luckless one wanders in vain. Deva is in the inner-self — yet wanders in vain in pilgrim-villages. The musk is in the navel of the deer — yet it wanders in the forest. The root of sugar is the sugarcane — so does Deva show in the body. Butter being in milk — one does not know its churned-form. Tukā tells the foolish-people — why don't you see Deva in the body? The three analogies: (1) musk-deer (the deer searches the forest for the source of musk-scent that comes from its own navel — classic Indian image of self-ignorance), (2) sugar-from-sugarcane (the sweetness has a known-source within, not somewhere else), (3) butter-in-milk (the curd's-content is already present but must be churned-out). Bridge to inner-bhakti: the body-itself contains-Deva — pilgrimage to outer-tīrthas misses the inner-presence. Pair with 4250 (sant-foot-glance-superior-to-tīrtha), 4404 (Paṇḍharī-darśana-mokṣa), 3098 (Viṭṭhal-mājhā-jīva).
For someone today
Tukārām says God is already inside you, in your own inner being, yet you keep wandering from one holy place to another looking for what you already carry, and that search wears you out for nothing. He compares this to a musk deer running through the forest chasing the scent of musk, never realizing the fragrance is coming from its own navel the whole time. He gives two more everyday pictures too: sugar's real source is the sugarcane itself, not somewhere outside it, and butter is already present in milk, it just needs to be churned out, not fetched from elsewhere. Tukārām calls people foolish for missing something this close, and asks plainly, why don't you just look for God within your own body?
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की परमेश्वर तुझ्या अंतरातच आहे, तरीही तू एका तीर्थक्षेत्रावरून दुसऱ्या तीर्थक्षेत्रावर भटकत राहतोस, जे आधीच तुझ्याजवळ आहे तेच शोधत राहतोस, आणि हा शोध व्यर्थच थकवतो. याची तुलना ते कस्तुरीमृगाशी करतात, जो स्वतःच्या बेंबीतून येणाऱ्या सुगंधाचा स्रोत शोधत जंगलभर भटकतो, पण त्याला कधीच कळत नाही की तो सुगंध त्याच्याच शरीरातून येतो. ते आणखी दोन साध्या उदाहरणे देतात: साखरेचे मूळ उसातच असते, बाहेर कुठे नाही, आणि दुधात लोणी आधीच असते, ते फक्त घुसळून काढायचे असते, कुठून आणायचे नसते. तुकाराम अशा जवळच्या गोष्टीकडे दुर्लक्ष करणाऱ्यांना मूर्ख म्हणतात, आणि सरळ विचारतात, तू स्वतःच्या शरीरातच देव का पाहत नाहीस?
Where this applies
- Tukārām's Deva-in-body — anti-external-search 3-image cluster (musk-deer/sugarcane/butter-in-milk) canonical