Abhanga 1486

True merit comes from acting wisely and generously in specific situations, not from mechanically piling up religious acts one on top of another.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Merit-contrivance-and-no-stacking abhang. A cluster of practical-merit-formulas with a closing no-stacking warning. The opening: Devā-sāṭīm jāṇā tayāsī chi āṭī — asēla jyā gānṭhīm puṇya-rāśī — forDeva's sake —know—only that one— (knows) theāṭī(contrivance); — (the one) in whosegānṭha(= knot / bundle) — there ispuṇya-rāśī(heap of merit). The Deva-aspirant-needs-puṇya-already-in-bundle — only such a one knows the contrivance. (= some prior-merit-capital is needed to contrive Hari-aimed-action.)

The Vārāṇasī-formula: nirbaḷā pāṭhavī baḷē Vārāṇasī — mēlā ālā tyāsī ardha puṇya — (one who) sends — thenirbaḷa(weak) —by force(= helping the unable) — toVārāṇasī; —whether (the weak person) dies or returns alive— tohim(the helper) —ardha-puṇya(half-merit). Helping the weak make a Vārāṇasī-pilgrimage gives the helper half-merit, regardless of the weak person's outcome. (Concrete vicarious-merit doctrine.)

The kathā-formula: kathē nidrā-bhanga karāvā bhōjanīm — tayā sukhā dhaṇī pāra nāhīm — duringkathā—nidrā-bhanga(= breaking of someone's sleep) — should be done — atbhōjana(= eating); — to thatsukha— there's nodhaṇī-pāra(= satiety-end). Wake up sleepers at the kathā so they can eat thebhōjanaof nāma; the sukha of doing this has no satiety-end. (= even waking-up-the-sleeper at kathā-time is meritorious.)

The yajña-loan-formula: yāgīm rīṇa ghyāvēm dyāvēm sukha lāhī — buḍatām cintā nāhīm ubhayatām — inyāga—take loan(ṛṇa) —giveit (use for yajña) —sukha receives(lāhī); —drowning(buḍatām — i.e., even if defaulting on the loan),no worryforboth(lender and borrower). Even taking a loan to fund a yajña is meritorious; if the borrower defaults, both parties are protected. (Striking liberality-on-loans-for-yajña.)

The closing-counsel: varma jāṇōnī karāvē — ēka na ghalāvē ēkā varī — withknowledge of the vital-secret— should be done; —oneshould not beplacedoveranother. Act with the secret-known; don't stack one (merit-act) over another (= don't pile up merit-acts mechanically; understand the varma in each).

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For someone today

For today: only the one with puṇya-rāśī in his bundle knows the contrivance for Hari; helping the weak make Vārāṇasī gets half-merit either way; breaking sleep at kathā for bhōjana has unbounded sukha; even loans for yajña are protected; act with the vital-secret known — don't pile one over another.

Where this applies

• When you help someone weaker or less able than you, even if you're unsure how it will turn out
• When you wake someone up or nudge them so they don't miss out on something good, like a shared meal or gathering
• When you're tempted to measure your goodness by counting rituals or good deeds instead of understanding what each moment actually needs
• When you take on a cost or risk, like lending help or money, to support something meaningful for others

Related verses

• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 3417 — Simple, heartfelt singing can bring you closer to the divine than years of rigid ritual, b
• Abhanga 3871 — Sit in worry-free devotion to one Lord alone, let go of every other ritual and any sense o
• Abhanga 3916 — Tukaram laments that clever arguments against ritual, sacred images, storytelling, and tem