Abhanga 430

Don't wait for old age to turn toward God, time is already counting down, so drop your distractions now and simply say Rama's name.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A don't-close-eyes-kāḷa-counts abhang. Tukya-bamdhu mudra (Kānhōbā). Six claims:

1. डोळे झाकुनि रात्र करूं नका — काळ करीत बैसला लेखा — don't close eyes and make rātra — kāḷa sits calculating. The opening-warning: don't close your eyes (= sleep / pretend) and make it rātra (night);kāḷa(death / time) is sittingcalculatingthe count. Time-keeper-watches; don't sleep through.

2. सांडावा उगिया उपाधी — लक्ष लावुनि राहा गोविंदीं — abandon useless upādhi — fix lakṣya on Govinda. The direct-instruction: abandon uselessupādhi(superimposed-burdens / false-attributions); fix yourlakṣya(gaze / attention) onGovinda.

3. पुढें बालत्व पीडा रोग क्षय — काय भजनासि उरलें तें पाहें — ahead — bālatva, pīḍā, rōga, kṣaya — what remains for bhajana? The life-stages-warning: ahead liebālatva(re-childhood / dependence in old-age),pīḍā(suffering),rōga(illness),kṣaya(decay); see what time will remain forbhajana? Don't postpone bhajana to old-age.

4. न चळे बळ पडेल मग फासा — पुढें हुशार थोर आहे वोळसा — strength fails — phāsā will fall — ahead great vōḷasā. The future-warning: strength fails; thephāsā(trap) will fall; ahead lies a greatvōḷasā(mass-snare). Don't be naive about what's-ahead.

5. तन मन ध्यान लावुनियां नीट — जर असेल करणें गोड शेवट — tana-mana-dhyāna straight — if a sweet śēvaṭa is to be made. The complete-investment-claim: applytana-mana-dhyāna(body-mind-meditation) straightly; if a sweetśēvaṭa(end) is to be made. Sweet-end requires complete-now-investment.

6. तुकयाबंधु म्हणे दान इतुलें द्या मज दीना — राम म्हणा गा — Tukyā-bamdhu says: give this much dāna to me the dīna — say Rāma. The closing-petition: Tukya's brother says: give just-this-muchdānato me, thedīna(poor); (the only thing I ask) —say Rāma. Minimum-petition: just say Rāma.

[T]

For someone today

Don't fool yourself into thinking you have endless time. Tukaram warns that time keeps its own ledger, quietly counting the days while you sleep through life pretending it will always be day. Old age brings its own burdens, the frailty of childhood returning, sickness, and decline, and by then there may be no strength left for devotion. So drop the pointless worries and attachments cluttering your mind now, and fix your attention on Govinda while you still can. The path he offers is startlingly simple: whatever else you do, just say Rama's name, that alone is the gift he asks of you.

मराठी: स्वतःची अशी समजूत करून घेऊ नका की तुमच्याकडे अमर्याद वेळ आहे. तुकाराम महाराज सांगतात की काळ आपला हिशोब ठेवत असतो, आणि तुम्ही झोपेत आयुष्य घालवत असताना तो शांतपणे मोजत राहतो. म्हातारपणी पुन्हा लहानपणासारखी परावलंबता, आजारपण आणि क्षीणता येते, आणि तेव्हा भजनासाठी वेळच उरत नाही. म्हणून आताच निरर्थक काळज्या आणि व्यर्थ उपाधी सोडून द्या आणि जोवर शक्य आहे तोवर गोविंदावर लक्ष केंद्रित करा. त्यांनी दाखवलेला मार्ग अगदी साधा आहे, तुम्ही काहीही करा, फक्त राम म्हणा, तेवढीच त्यांची मागणी आहे.

Where this applies

• Don't sleep through; kāḷa counts. Wake up.
• Drop upādhi; gaze Govinda. Direct-instruction.
• Ahead: bālatva, pīḍā, rōga, kṣaya. Don't postpone.
• Strength-fails; vōḷasā ahead. Honest-realism.
• Tana-mana-dhyāna for sweet end. Complete-invest.
• Just say Rāma. Minimum-petition.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2464 — For today: Pāṇḍuranga is sukha-rūpa ; no wandering, no shaving, no sādhana-pressure ; Chan
• Abhanga 2477 — Like a child too absorbed in play to notice how tired he is, let go and trust the parent c
• Abhanga 2481 — Pandharpur surpasses even the greatest pilgrimage cities because people there set aside pr