Abhanga 504

A full worship ceremony can be performed entirely within yourself, turning your words, feelings, mind, senses, and body into offerings, with no external objects needed.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A complete-mānasa-pūjā-of-the-deva abhang. One of the most systematic Tukaram-formulations of internal-pūjā (mental-worship) — every external-pūjā-element has its inner-bhakti-counterpart. Six claims:

1. शब्दांचीं रत्नें करूनी अळंकार — तेणें विश्वंभर पूजियेला — words made into ratna-ornaments — Viśvambhara worshipped. Step 1: words (śabda) made intoratna-aḷamkāra(jewel-ornaments); with themViśvambhara(the world-supporter) is worshipped. Words-as-ornaments-for-the-deva.

2. भावाचे उपचार करूनि भोजन — तेणें नारायण जेवविला — bhāva-upacāra made into bhōjana — Nārāyaṇa fed. Step 2: thebhāva-upacāra(sentiment-services) made intobhōjana(food-offering); with themNārāyaṇais fed. Bhāva-as-food-for-the-deva.

3. संसारा हातीं दिलें आंचवण — मुखशुद्धी मन समर्पिलें — samsāra given the āmcavaṇa — mana offered as mukha-śuddhi. Step 3: tosamsāra(the world / worldly-ness) — given theāmcavaṇa(the rinse-water-of-after-meal-cleansing); asmukha-śuddhi(mouth-purifying-after-meal) —mana(mind) is offered. Samsāra-as-rinse-water; mind-as-mouth-cleansing.

4. रंगलीं इंद्रियें सुरंग तांबूल — माथां तुळसीदळ समर्पिलें — indriyē rangalī — surangi tāmbūla — tuḷasī-daḷa on head. Step 4: theindriyē(senses) becamerangalī(color-stained, immersed) — assurangi tāmbūla(well-colored betel-leaf, post-meal mouth-freshener); thetuḷasī-daḷa(tulasī-leaf) — placed on themāthā(head). Senses-as-betel-leaf; tulasī on the head.

5. एकभावदीप करूनि निरांजन — देऊनि आसन देहाचें या — eka-bhāva-dīpa as nirāñjana — deha as āsana. Step 5: theeka-bhāva-dīpa(one-stance lamp = the single-pointed devotional-lamp) made intonirāñjana(the lamp-waving worship-ritual); and giving thedeha(body) as theāsana(seat). Single-bhāva-as-lamp; body-as-seat-for-the-deva.

6. न बोलोनि तुका करी चरणसेवा — निजविलें देवा माजघरीं — not-speaking — Tuka does caraṇa-sevā — laid the deva to sleep in the māja-gharī. Step 6 / closing: not-speaking (mauna); Tuka doescaraṇa-sevā(foot-service); laid the deva to sleep in themāja-gharī(the inner-room of the house). Mauna-foot-service-deva-laid-to-sleep-inside. The culmination: the deva is brought into the inner-most-room of the bhakta's life.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang describes a complete act of worship performed entirely within, with no external offerings needed. Your words themselves become the jewels you adorn God with, and your heartfelt feeling becomes the meal you feed him. Your worldly life becomes the water that rinses his hands, and your mind becomes the freshening he takes afterward. Your senses, fully absorbed in devotion, become the fragrant betel leaf offered to him, and a leaf of basil placed on his head crowns the offering. Single-minded devotion becomes the lamp waved before him, and your own body becomes the seat where he sits. And in silence, tending to his feet with quiet service, Tukaram brings God to rest in the innermost room of his heart.

मराठी: हा अभंग संपूर्णपणे आतल्या आत केल्या जाणाऱ्या पूजेचं वर्णन करतो, ज्यासाठी कोणत्याही बाह्य वस्तूंची गरज नाही. तुमचे शब्दच देवाला घातलेले दागिने बनतात, आणि तुमचा मनापासूनचा भाव त्याला दिलेलं जेवण बनतो. तुमचं संसारातलं जगणं त्याचे हात धुण्याचं पाणी बनतं, आणि तुमचं मन जेवणानंतरची तोंडशुद्धी बनतं. भक्तीत पूर्णपणे बुडालेल्या इंद्रियांचा सुगंधी विडा त्याला अर्पण होतो, आणि डोक्यावर ठेवलेलं तुळशीचं पान त्या अर्पणाचा कळस बनतं. एकनिष्ठ भक्ती त्याच्यासमोर ओवाळली जाणारी निरांजनाची ज्योत बनते, आणि स्वतःचं शरीरच तो जिथे बसतो ते आसन बनतं. आणि मौन राखून, शांतपणे त्याच्या चरणांची सेवा करत, तुकाराम देवाला आपल्या हृदयाच्या आतल्या खोलीत विसावा देतात.

Where this applies

• Words = ornaments. Mānasa-aḷamkāra.
• Bhāva = food. Mānasa-bhōjana.
• Senses = betel; tuḷasī on head. Mānasa-tāmbūla.
• Body = seat; deva in māja-gharī. Mānasa-āsana-and-rest.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 4497 — Tukaram describes a life so soaked in devotion that Krishna's presence fills every ordinar