Abhanga 659

Since God already fills everything, no ritual or technique on its own is enough; simply saying God's name is itself the whole of worship.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A avaghā-bharūn-uralāsī-tujavīṇa-kāya-uralē-nāma-only-pūjā abhang. The structure is cascade-of-impossibility-questions — whatbhakti-act has any place when You have already filled-everything? — followed by the answer: Your nāma alone is all pūjā-elements.

1. Avaghā bharōni uralāsī — vāṇī, khāṇī, rasi, rūpa-gandhī. You have filled-all-and-remained-over: invāṇī(voice),khāṇī(womb / source),rasi(taste / juice),rūpa-gandhī(form-and-fragrance). You-fill-and-exceed-everything-(senses-and-source-of-everything-sensible). (This is a complete-pervasion-claim.)

2. Indriya-bandhana, puṇya-pāpa-khaṇḍana, vrata — what is uralē tujavīṇa? How-can-the-bhakti-techniques-have-meaning?: how bind the senses, cancelpuṇya-pāpa, dovrata-conduct?; what is left-(uralē)-without-You?. No-bhakti-technique-has-meaning-without-You-already-being-everywhere.

3. Eyes-closed, mantra-japa, dhyāna, bhāva-in-a-place — what is vāva tujavīṇa? How-can-the-meditation-techniques-have-meaning?: closing-eyes-and-looking,mantra-japaanddhyāna, holdingbhāvain a particularṭhāya; what isvāva(vain, empty) without You?. No-meditation-technique-has-meaning-without-You.

4. What direction, where to set foot, what is not-You, what shall I now look-at? How-can-direction-and-place-have-meaning?: which direction shall I wander, where shall I set foot — how?; what isnot-You, un-knowable as such?; what shall I now look-at?. No-direction-or-place-has-meaning-because-everything-is-You.

5. Your nāma alone is all pūjā-elements — pūjā-arcana, mantra-māḷā, dhūpa-dīpa-naivēdya-phaḷa-tāmbūla — I take the puṣpāñjali. The resolution: Yournāmaalone is thesakaḷa(entirety) ofpūjā-arcana (worship-and-arcana), mantra-māḷā (rosary), dhūpa-dīpa-naivēdya-phaḷa-tāmbūla (incense, lamp, food-offering, fruit, betel-leaf);Tuka says: I take the puṣpāñjali (handful of flowers, the closing-offering).Nāma-as-all-pūjā-elements-and-Tuka-takes-the-puṣpāñjali.

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram asks a string of honest questions: if God already fills every voice, every source, every taste and form, what could anyone possibly offer him that he doesn't already have? Every technique of devotion -- controlling the senses, keeping vows, closing your eyes to meditate, choosing a direction to walk or a spot to stand -- turns out to be pointless on its own, because there is no elsewhere that isn't already God. Rather than getting stuck in that impossible logic, Tukaram lands on a simple answer: saying God's name is itself the whole of worship, incense, lamp, offering and flowers all at once, and that is what he brings.

मराठी: तुकाराम एका पाठोपाठ एक प्रामाणिक प्रश्न विचारतात. देव आधीच प्रत्येक वाणीत, प्रत्येक उगमात, प्रत्येक रस-रूप-गंधात भरून उरलेला आहे, तर त्याला असे काय द्यावे जे त्याच्याकडे आधीच नाही? इंद्रिये आवरणे, व्रत पाळणे, डोळे मिटून ध्यान करणे, कोणत्या दिशेने जावे किंवा कुठे पाय ठेवावा हे ठरवणे — भक्तीचे हे सगळे मार्ग स्वतःहून निरर्थक ठरतात, कारण असे कुठलेच ठिकाण नाही जिथे देव नाही. या अशक्य कोड्यात अडकून न राहता तुकाराम एका साध्या उत्तरावर येतात: देवाचे नाम घेणे हीच संपूर्ण पूजा आहे — धूप, दीप, नैवेद्य आणि फूल हे सगळे त्यातच सामावलेले आहे, आणि तेच ते अर्पण करतात.

Where this applies

• You-fill-and-remain-over. Pervasion.
• Tujavīṇa—kāya uralē? Technique-impossibility.
• Vāva tujavīṇa? Meditation-impossibility.
• Kavaṇa-diśā—kavaṇē-ṭhāyī? Direction-impossibility.
• Nāma— all-pūjā —puṣpāñjali. Nāma-resolution.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 2494 — Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with