Dashak 1 · Samāsa 8

29 ovis

अतां वंदूं सकळ सभा । जये सभेसी मुक्ति सुल्लभा । जेथें स्वयें जगदीश उभा । तिष्ठतु भरें

atām vamdūm sakaḷa sabhā | jaye sabhesī mukti sullabhā | jethem svayem jagadīśa ubhā | tiṣṭhatu bharem

Now I shall worship the whole assembly (sakaḷa sabhā); in which assembly liberation is readily accessible (mukti-sulabhā); where Jagadīśa himself stands present, fully.

Rāmdās turns from praising individual saints and God to praising the satsang itself — the assembled body of devotees. In such an assembly liberation is not hard-won but readily available, because God himself stands present within it.

Notice how a room full of sincere people changes what's possible in you; seek out gatherings that make growth easy rather than trying to do everything alone.

श्लोक ॥ नाह । म् वसामि वैकुंठे योगिनां हृदये रवौ । मद्भक्ता यत्र गायन्ति तत्र तिष्ठामि नारद ॥ नाहीं वैकुंठीचा ठाईं । नाहीं योगियांचा हृदईं । माझे भक्त गाती ठाईं ठाईं । तेथें मी तिष्ठतु नारदा

śloka || nāha | m vasāmi vaikumṭhe yoginām hṛdaye ravau | madbhaktā yatra gāyanti tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada || nāhīm vaikumṭhīcā ṭhāīm | nāhīm yogiyāmcā hṛdaīm | mājhe bhakta gātī ṭhāīm ṭhāīm | tethem mī tiṣṭhatu nāradā

[Sanskrit śloka:] 'nāham vasāmi vaikuṇṭhe yoginām hṛdaye ravau | mad-bhaktā yatra gāyanti tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada' — I do not dwell in Vaikuṇṭha, nor in the hearts of yogis, nor in the sun; where my devotees sing, there I stand, O Nārada. [Marathi paraphrase:] I am not in Vaikuṇṭha's place; not in the yogis' heart. Wherever my devotees sing — there, O Nārada, I remain.

He grounds the claim in scripture: a Sanskrit śloka has the Lord tell Nārada that he does not dwell in heaven (Vaikuṇṭha) or in yogis' hearts but wherever his devotees sing his praise. Presence follows devotion-in-community, not geography or private meditation alone.

When you want to feel connected to what matters most, join others who are actively practicing it — presence tends to gather where people sing and act together, not just where you sit alone.

याकारणें सभा श्रेष्ठ । भक्त गाती तें वैकुंठ । नामघोषें घडघडाट । जयजयकारें गर्जती

yākāraṇem sabhā śreṣṭha | bhakta gātī tem vaikumṭha | nāmaghoṣem ghaḍaghaḍāṭa | jayajayakārem garjatī

For this reason the assembly is supreme: where the devotees sing, that is Vaikuṇṭha. With the thunder of name-chanting (nāma-ghoṣa), with cries of jaya-jaya-kāra, they roar.

Because God's presence follows the singing, the assembly itself becomes Vaikuṇṭha — heaven relocated to wherever nāma-ghoṣa (the roar of name-chanting) and jubilant cries rise up.

Let shared celebration and vocal encouragement be part of your practice, not a silent, solitary affair only — sound and community amplify what quiet effort alone cannot.

प्रेमळ भक्तांचीं गायनें । भगवत्कथा हरिकीर्तनें । वेदव्याख्यान पुराणश्रवणें । जेथें निरंतर

premaḷa bhaktāmcīm gāyanem | bhagavatkathā harikīrtanem | vedavyākhyāna purāṇaśravaṇem | jethem niramtara

The songs of loving devotees (premaḷa bhakta); Bhāgavata-stories and Hari-kīrtanas; Veda-expositions and Purāṇa-recitations — [all this] incessantly.

He catalogs what actually happens there: loving devotional singing, storytelling about the Lord, chanting, and continuous teaching from scripture — a place kept alive by unbroken activity, not occasional ceremony.

Build routines of continuous engagement — regular study, storytelling, or shared reflection — rather than relying on rare, isolated bursts of inspiration.

परमेश्वराचे गुणानुवाद । नाना निरूपणाचे संवाद । अध्यात्मविद्या भेदाभेद । मथन जेथे

parameśvarāce guṇānuvāda | nānā nirūpaṇāce samvāda | adhyātmavidyā bhedābheda | mathana jethe

The recital of the Lord's qualities (guṇānuvāda); dialogues of many expositions (nirūpaṇa); spiritual science and its distinctions and non-distinctions — all churned (mathana) there.

The assembly is a place of active inquiry, not passive listening: qualities of God are recounted, ideas are debated, and subtle distinctions are "churned" (mathana) — worked over like butter from milk — until clarity emerges.

Discuss and question what you're learning with others instead of just absorbing it silently; understanding sharpens through dialogue, not repetition alone.

नाना समाधानें तृप्ती । नाना आशंकानिवृत्ती । चित्तीं बैसे ध्यानमूर्ति । वाग्विळासें

nānā samādhānem tṛptī | nānā āśamkānivṛttī | cittīm baise dhyānamūrti | vāgviḷāsem

Many states of composure (samādhāna) and satisfaction (tṛpti); dissolution of many apprehensions (āśankā-nivṛtti); in the heart the meditation-form is seated — by verbal play (vāg-vilāsa).

The fruit of this churning is psychological: settledness, satisfaction, and the dissolving of doubts and anxieties (āśankā-nivṛtti), until the very form one meditates on becomes vividly present in the heart through the "play of words" — the discourse itself becoming a kind of vision.

Pay attention to how honest conversation can quiet your worries; let words spoken in good company do some of the work solitary worry cannot.

भक्त प्रेमळ भाविक । सभ्य सखोल सात्त्विक । रम्य रसाळ गायक । निष्ठावंत

bhakta premaḷa bhāvika | sabhya sakhola sāttvika | ramya rasāḷa gāyaka | niṣṭhāvamta

The devotees — loving, pious; cultured, deep, sāttvic; delightful, rasa-filled singers; steadfast (niṣṭhāvanta).

The roll call of assembly-members begins with devotees themselves: loving, pious, refined, deeply serious yet sāttvic (pure, clear) in temperament, gifted singers steeped in rasa (aesthetic-devotional flavor), and unwavering in loyalty.

Cultivate steadiness and warmth together — let your commitment to a practice or community be marked by both devotion and consistency, not passing enthusiasm.

कर्मसीळ आचारसीळ । दानसीळ धर्मसीळ । सुचिस्मंत पुण्यसीळ । अंतरशुद्ध कृपाळु

karmasīḷa ācārasīḷa | dānasīḷa dharmasīḷa | sucismamta puṇyasīḷa | amtaraśuddha kṛpāḷu

Ritual-disciplined, conduct-disciplined; charity-disciplined, dharma-disciplined; virtuously pure, merit-disciplined; inwardly pure and compassionate (kṛpālu).

Next come those disciplined in action: keepers of ritual, right conduct, generosity, and duty, inwardly pure and compassionate. Rāmdās stacks near-synonyms ("-disciplined") to show that true character shows in habitual practice, not isolated virtue.

Don't rely on one good deed to define your character; build consistent habits of honesty, generosity, and duty that hold up day after day.

योगी वीतरागी उदास । नेमक निग्रह तापस । विरक्त निस्पृह बहुवस । आरण्यवासी

yogī vītarāgī udāsa | nemaka nigraha tāpasa | virakta nispṛha bahuvasa | āraṇyavāsī

Yogis, the passion-freed, the indifferent; the vow-keepers, self-restrained, ascetics; the dispassionate, desireless, very numerous — forest-dwellers.

The list turns to renunciants: yogis free of craving, keepers of vows, self-restrained ascetics, and the many who have withdrawn to the forest in dispassion (virakti) and desirelessness.

Practice occasional withdrawal from noise and craving — a period of simplicity or restraint — to test how much of your desire is truly necessary.

दंडधारी जटाधारी । नाथपंथी मुद्राधारी । येक बाळब्रह्मचारी । योगेश्वर

damḍadhārī jaṭādhārī | nāthapamthī mudrādhārī | yeka bāḷabrahmacārī | yogeśvara

Staff-bearers, matted-hair-bearers; Nātha-pantha followers, mudra-bearers; some are child-celibates (bāla-brahmacārī), yogeśvaras.

He names specific ascetic orders and their outward marks — staffs, matted hair, the insignia of Nātha-panth yogis, and lifelong celibates trained from childhood — showing the assembly spans many recognized spiritual lineages, not one sect.

Respect the different outward forms genuine practice can take; don't judge sincerity only by whether it looks like your own path.

पुरश्चरणी आणी तपस्वी । तीर्थवासी आणी मनस्वी । माहायोगी आणी जनस्वी । जनासारिखे

puraścaraṇī āṇī tapasvī | tīrthavāsī āṇī manasvī | māhāyogī āṇī janasvī | janāsārikhe

Mantra-recital specialists and austerities; pilgrimage-dwellers and independent-minded; great yogis and popular ones mingling with people.

The assembly also holds specialists in mantra repetition and austerity, wandering pilgrims, independent thinkers, and — importantly — great yogis who still mix freely with ordinary people rather than staying aloof.

Stay connected to ordinary people even as you deepen your practice; real attainment shows in ease with everyone, not isolation from them.

सिद्ध साधु आणी साधक । मंत्रयंत्रशोधक । येकनिष्ठ उपासक । गुणग्राही

siddha sādhu āṇī sādhaka | mamtrayamtraśodhaka | yekaniṣṭha upāsaka | guṇagrāhī

Siddhas, sādhus, and seekers; investigators of mantras and yantras; single-minded worshippers (eka-niṣṭha upāsaka); gatherers of virtues.

Perfected adepts (siddha), holy men, and still-striving seekers (sādhaka) sit together with technical investigators of mantra and diagram (yantra), and single-pointed worshippers who make a practice of collecting good qualities wherever found.

Actively look for good qualities in the people and ideas around you and adopt them, the way a gatherer of virtues does, rather than staying fixed on one narrow source.

संत सज्जन विद्वज्जन । वेदज्ञ शास्त्रज्ञ माहाजन । प्रबुद्ध सर्वज्ञ समाधान । विमळकर्ते

samta sajjana vidvajjana | vedajña śāstrajña māhājana | prabuddha sarvajña samādhāna | vimaḷakarte

Saints, noble, learned men; Veda-knowers, śāstra-knowers, great ones; the awakened, the omniscient, composed — creators of clarity (vimala-kartā).

Saints and scholars follow — men versed in Veda and śāstra, awakened and composed, whom Rāmdās calls "creators of clarity" (vimala-kartā): their function is to remove confusion for others, not merely to possess knowledge privately.

Use what you know to clear up other people's confusion, not just to display your own understanding.

योगी वित्पन्न ऋषेश्वर । धूर्त तार्किक कवेश्वर । मनोजयाचे मुनेश्वर । आणी दिग्वल्की

yogī vitpanna ṛṣeśvara | dhūrta tārkika kaveśvara | manojayāce muneśvara | āṇī digvalkī

Yogis, learned ṛṣīśvaras; the shrewd, the logicians, the poet-lords; the muni-lords of mind-conquest (mano-jaya); and the digvalkī (travelling ascetics).

The catalog widens further to include sharp logicians and poets alongside sages who have mastered the mind (mano-jaya) and wandering ascetics who never settle in one place — intellect and discipline both belong in this company.

Don't separate sharp thinking from spiritual discipline; train both your reasoning and your self-control together.

ब्रह्मज्ञानी आत्मज्ञानी । तत्त्वज्ञानी पिंडज्ञानी । योगाभ्यासी योगज्ञानी । उदासीन

brahmajñānī ātmajñānī | tattvajñānī pimḍajñānī | yogābhyāsī yogajñānī | udāsīna

Brahma-knowers, Self-knowers; tattva-knowers, body-knowers (piṇḍa-jñānī); yoga-practitioners, yoga-knowers; the dispassionate (udāsīna).

Here are the metaphysicians proper — knowers of Brahman, of the Self (ātman), of first principles (tattva), and even of the body's subtle structure (piṇḍa) — alongside practicing yogis, all marked by dispassion.

Study yourself as carefully as you study any philosophy — body, mind, and principle together — rather than treating self-knowledge as separate from the rest of your learning.

पंडित आणी पुराणिक । विद्वांस आणी वैदिक । भट आणी पाठक । येजुर्वेदी

pamḍita āṇī purāṇika | vidvāmsa āṇī vaidika | bhaṭa āṇī pāṭhaka | yejurvedī

Panditas and Purāṇa-reciters (paurāṇika); the learned and Vedics; the bhaṭas and pāṭhakas; Yajur-Vedis.

Rāmdās now lists formal scholarly roles — panditas, professional reciters of the Purāṇas, Vedic specialists, and reciters attached to particular Vedic branches — the institutional keepers of tradition.

Value the people who patiently preserve and transmit a tradition's texts and methods, even when their role looks unglamorous next to visible leadership.

माहाभले माहाश्रोत्री । याज्ञिक आणी आग्नहोत्री । वैद्य आणी पंचाक्षरी । परोपकारकर्ते

māhābhale māhāśrotrī | yājñika āṇī āgnahotrī | vaidya āṇī pamcākṣarī | paropakārakarte

The great and virtuous, the great śrotriyas; yajña-performers and fire-keepers (agni-hotrī); physicians (vaidya) and the pañcākṣarī (five-lettered mantra specialists) — doers of others' benefit (paropakāra).

He closes this stretch on those whose learning serves the world directly — ritual specialists, physicians, and mantra-healers — summing them up as "doers of others' benefit" (paropakāra-kartā), the practical test of genuine attainment.

Ask whether your skill or knowledge actually helps someone else today; let usefulness to others be your check on whether learning has become real practice.

भूत भविष्य वर्तमान । जयांस त्रिकाळाचें ज्ञान । बहुश्रुत निराभिमान । निरापेक्षी

bhūta bhaviṣya vartamāna | jayāmsa trikāḷācem jñāna | bahuśruta nirābhimāna | nirāpekṣī

Past, future, present — they who have knowledge of the three times (tri-kāla-jñāna); well-heard (bahu-śruta), free of conceit (nirabhimāna), without expectation (nirapekṣa).

Some in the assembly have knowledge spanning past, present, and future, yet what Rāmdās stresses is their humility — deeply learned (bahu-śruta) yet free of conceit and expecting nothing in return.

Let expertise make you more humble and less demanding of recognition, not more entitled to praise.

शांति क्ष्मा दयासीळ । पवित्र आणी सत्वसीळ । अंतरशुद्ध ज्ञानसीळ । ईश्वरी पुरुष

śāmti kṣmā dayāsīḷa | pavitra āṇī satvasīḷa | amtaraśuddha jñānasīḷa | īśvarī puruṣa

Peaceful, forgiving, compassionate; pure, and firm in sattva; inwardly pure, knowledge-disciplined — divine persons (īśvarī puruṣa).

This section of the roll call ends by naming the inner qualities that unify everyone listed — patience, forgiveness, compassion, and purity — calling such people quite simply "divine persons" (īśvarī puruṣa), God-like in character if not in status.

Measure spiritual seriousness by patience, forgiveness, and compassion in daily dealings, not by titles or outward achievements.

ऐसे जे कां सभानायेक । जेथें नित्यानित्यविवेक । त्यांचा महिमा अलोलिक । काय म्हणोनि वर्णावा

aise je kām sabhānāyeka | jethem nityānityaviveka | tyāmcā mahimā alolika | kāya mhaṇoni varṇāvā

Such are the leaders of the assembly (sabhā-nāyaka); where discernment of the eternal and non-eternal (nitya-anitya-viveka) exists; their glory is incomparable — how can it be described?

Having named the members, Rāmdās now names what makes them leaders (sabhā-nāyaka): the discernment between the eternal and the transient (nitya-anitya-viveka, cf. 1.9.014, where the same discernment dissolves illusion). Their greatness, he says, exceeds description.

Practice distinguishing, in each decision, what actually lasts from what merely feels urgent — that discernment, more than any title, is what makes someone worth following.

जेथें श्रवणाचा उपाये । आणी परमार्थसमुदाये । तेथें जनासी तरणोपाये । सहजचि होये

jethem śravaṇācā upāye | āṇī paramārthasamudāye | tethem janāsī taraṇopāye | sahajaci hoye

Where there is the means of hearing (śravaṇa-upāya), and the gathering of paramārtha; there for the people, the means of crossing over (taraṇa-upāya) comes spontaneously.

Wherever the discipline of listening (śravaṇa) to spiritual teaching and a gathering devoted to the highest end (paramārtha) exist together, the way to cross over life's difficulties (taraṇa-upāya) arises naturally — it does not need to be separately manufactured.

Put yourself regularly where serious teaching is heard and lived out; the guidance you need tends to surface on its own once you keep that company.

उत्तम गुणाची मंडळी । सत्वधीर सत्वागळी । नित्य सुखाची नव्हाळी । जेथें वसे

uttama guṇācī mamḍaḷī | satvadhīra satvāgaḷī | nitya sukhācī navhāḷī | jethem vase

An assembly of men of the highest virtue, firm in sattva, excelling in sattva; where the eternal newness of joy (sukha-navhāḷī) dwells.

He describes the felt quality of such gatherings: sustained clarity and steadiness (sattva), and a joy that never grows stale — always fresh, however often experienced.

Notice which activities leave you with a joy that renews itself rather than one that fades with repetition, and give those more of your time.

विद्यापात्रें कळापात्रें । विशेष गुणांची सत्पात्रें । भगवंताचीं प्रीतिपात्रें । मिळालीं जेथें

vidyāpātrem kaḷāpātrem | viśeṣa guṇāmcī satpātrem | bhagavamtācīm prītipātrem | miḷālīm jethem

Vessels of learning, vessels of arts; worthy vessels (sat-pātra) of exceptional virtues; the beloved vessels of the Lord's affection — all meeting there.

Using the image of a "vessel" (pātra) that holds something precious, he says learning, artistic skill, virtue, and divine love all converge and are held together in this one company.

See yourself as a vessel meant to hold and pass on what is good — skill, virtue, affection — rather than hoarding any one of them separately.

प्रवृत्ती आणी निवृत्ती । प्रपंची आणी परमार्थी । गृहस्ताश्रमी वानप्रहस्ती । संन्यासादिक

pravṛttī āṇī nivṛttī | prapamcī āṇī paramārthī | gṛhastāśramī vānaprahastī | samnyāsādika

The engaged (pravṛtti) and the renunciant (nivṛtti); the worldly and the ultimate-seeker; the householder and the forest-dweller (vānaprastha); the sannyāsins and others.

The assembly cuts across life-stages and life-orientations: those active in the world and those who have renounced it, householders and forest-dwellers, sannyāsins and everyone in between — the company is not restricted to any single walk of life.

Don't assume serious practice requires leaving your household duties; householders belong in this company as fully as renunciants do.

वृद्ध तरुण आणी बाळ । पुरुष स्त्रियादिक सकळ । अखंड ध्याती तमाळनीळ । अंतर्यामीं

vṛddha taruṇa āṇī bāḷa | puruṣa striyādika sakaḷa | akhamḍa dhyātī tamāḷanīḷa | amtaryāmīm

Old, young, and child; men, women, and all others; they continually meditate on the dark-blue-one (tamāla-nīla, Kṛṣṇa) within (antaryāmī).

Age and gender make no difference either — old, young, child, men and women — all are described as continually holding Kṛṣṇa ("the dark-blue one," tamāla-nīla) in inward meditation.

Treat inward remembrance of what matters most as available to everyone around you, whatever their age or role, and don't wait for some "right stage of life" to begin your own practice.

ऐसे परमेश्वराचे जन । त्यांसी माझें अभिवंदन । जयांचेनि समाधान । अकस्मात बाणें

aise parameśvarāce jana | tyāmsī mājhem abhivamdana | jayāmceni samādhāna | akasmāta bāṇem

Such are the Lord's people; to them my homage (abhivandana); by whose [company] composure (samādhāna) is ingrained all at once (akasmāt).

Rāmdās now bows to everyone he has just described, noting the practical effect of their company: being near them settles the mind almost instantly (akasmāt), without long effort.

Seek out people whose mere presence calms you, and spend deliberate time near them — proximity to composed people is itself a practice.

ऐंसिये सभेचा गजर । तेथें माझा नमस्कार । जेथें नित्य निरंतर । कीर्तन भगवंताचें

aimsiye sabhecā gajara | tethem mājhā namaskāra | jethem nitya niramtara | kīrtana bhagavamtācem

Of such an assembly's gathering, there my salutation (namaskāra); where continually, day and night, is the Lord's kīrtana (chanting).

He repeats his salutation, this time fixing on the one unbroken activity that defines the gathering: continuous chanting of the Lord's praise, day and night without gap.

Build at least one practice into your day that you never skip — continuity, more than intensity, is what makes a habit transformative.

जेथें भगवंताच्या मूर्ती । तेथें पाविजे उत्तम गती । ऐसा निश्चय बहुतां ग्रंथीं । महंत बोलिले

jethem bhagavamtācyā mūrtī | tethem pāvije uttama gatī | aisā niścaya bahutām gramthīm | mahamta bolile

Where images of the Lord are, there one attains the highest state (uttama gati); such conclusion has been spoken by great ones (mahanta) in many books.

He grounds this claim once more in tradition: many scriptures agree that wherever sacred images (mūrti) of the Lord are properly present and honored, the highest attainment (uttama gati) follows.

Keep tangible reminders of what you're devoted to in your daily environment — visible symbols anchor practice more reliably than intention alone.

कल्लौ कीर्तन वरिष्ठ । जेथें होय ते सभा श्रेष्ठ । कथाश्रवणें नाना नष्ट । संदेह मावळती

kallau kīrtana variṣṭha | jethem hoya te sabhā śreṣṭha | kathāśravaṇem nānā naṣṭa | samdeha māvaḷatī

In the Kali age, kīrtana is supreme (kallau kīrtana variṣṭha); where that occurs, that assembly is supreme; by listening to the stories, many ruined doubts (naṣṭa samdeha) melt away.

The samāsa closes with its clinching line: "in the Kali age, kīrtana is supreme" (kalau kīrtana variṣṭha). Whatever assembly practices it becomes supreme in turn, and hearing such stories dissolves accumulated doubt.

When you're stuck in doubt or confusion, don't just think harder — go listen to or take part in shared storytelling and communal reflection; it often dissolves what solitary analysis cannot.