Abhanga 1022

No spiritual effort is ever wasted, whether it is listening to God's stories, temple worship, pilgrimage, or meeting saints, and even effort made without full inner feeling still counts.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A nothing-goes-in-vain-in-Hari-kathā-doing-temple-pūjā-pilgrimage-vow-saint-darśana-pure-conduct-with-or-without-bhāva-effort-doesn't-go-in-vain abhang. Effort-not-in-vain register. The anaphoric na vajē vāyām refrain (8 times). Five claims, with the closing being especially bold. Five claims:

1. ऐकतां-Hari-कथा — करितां. Hari-kathā-claim. Nothing goes in-vāyām(in-vain) in listening toHari-kathā;doing it (oneself) doesn't go vāyām.

2. देवळ-पूजा. Temple-and-pūjā-claim. Nothing in-vāyāmin going todēvaḷa;pūjā-ing Dēva doesn't go vāyām.

3. तीर्थ-व्रत. Pilgrimage-or-vow-claim. Nothing in-vāyāmintīrtha-doing;or even vrata doesn't go vāyām.

4. संत-दर्शन — शुद्ध-आचरण. Saint-darśana-and-pure-conduct-claim. Nothing in-vāyāminsamta-darśana;śuddha-ācaraṇa doesn't go vāyām.

5. Tuka: भाव-असतां-नसतां — सायास-न-वायां. Effort-not-in-vain-claim. Tuka says: withbhāvaor without; doingsāyāsa (effort) doesn't go vāyām.(Counterintuitive — most of the Gatha emphasizesbhāvaover outward action; here Tuka grants thateven the outer effortisn't wasted, evenwithout bhāva.)

[T]

For someone today

Every bit of spiritual effort you make counts, Tukaram says, nothing is ever wasted. Whether you listen to stories of God or tell them yourself, visit a temple or actually worship there, go on a pilgrimage or keep a vow, none of that effort disappears without result. Even meeting a true saint or trying to live a clean, honest life leaves its mark. And in a surprisingly generous claim, Tukaram adds that even when you go through the motions without deep inner feeling, the effort still is not wasted, it still counts for something.

मराठी: तुम्ही जे काही आध्यात्मिक प्रयत्न करता ते वाया जात नाहीत, असे तुकाराम सांगतात. हरिकथा ऐकणे असो वा स्वतः सांगणे, देवळात जाणे असो वा प्रत्यक्ष पूजा करणे, तीर्थयात्रा असो वा व्रत पाळणे, हे सर्व प्रयत्न विनाफळ जात नाहीत. संतांचे दर्शन घेणे किंवा शुद्ध आचरण ठेवण्याचा प्रयत्न करणेही वाया जात नाही. आणि विशेष म्हणजे तुकाराम पुढे जाऊन सांगतात की मनापासून भाव नसतानाही केलेला हा सायास वाया जात नाही, तोही काहीतरी अर्थ राखतो.

Where this applies

• When you feel discouraged because your prayer or ritual felt mechanical instead of heartfelt
• When you wonder if visiting a temple or going on a pilgrimage actually does anything
• When you're keeping a vow or discipline and doubt whether it really matters
• When you compare yourself to someone who seems more devoted and feel your own effort doesn't count

Related verses

• Abhanga 2464 — For today: Pāṇḍuranga is sukha-rūpa ; no wandering, no shaving, no sādhana-pressure ; Chan
• Abhanga 2490 — The divine is most reachable through the living presence of a true saint, not through a di
• 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