Abhanga 1723

Since everything you could offer God already belongs to God, the one true offering left to you is chanting the divine name with real feeling.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Pūjā-meta-abhang: nothing-to-offer-because-everything-is-already-yours; only-nāma. One of Tukaram's most-celebrated theological-pūjā poems.

A 6-verse cascade through the traditional sixteen-fold pūjā (ṣōḍaśa-upacāra) — but at each step, the bhakta finds the offering-already-belongs-to-the-Lord:

Step 1 — bathing: udakē nhāṇūm tarī sva-rūpa tujhēm — bathe with water — but your own-form (is the water itself, is everything). What does it cost me? — nothing — because the very-water is your form.

Step 2 — fragrance and flowers: gandhācā sugandha puṣpācā parimaḷa — tēthē mī durbaḷa kāya karūm — chandana's fragrance, flower's perfume — there I am durbaḷa, what to do? (= the very-fragrance and perfume are you; I have nothing-original to offer.)

Step 3 — fruit, betel, rice: phaḷa-dātā tūm chi tāmbōla akṣatā — you yourself are the fruit-giver, the tāmbūla, the akṣata. You are the offering-and-the-receiver simultaneously.

Step 4 — money-offering: vāhūm dakṣiṇā jarī dhātu Nārāyaṇa — Brahma tē chi anna dujēm kāīm — offer dakṣiṇā — when the metal is Nārāyaṇa, Brahma is the very-anna — what second? (= the very-coin-metal is Nārāyaṇa; the very-food (Brahma) is also you.)

Step 5 — singing-and-dancing: gātām tūm ōmkāra tāḷī nāda-īśvara — nācāvayā thāra nāhīm kōṭhē — singing — you the Omkāra, the tāḷī, the nāda-īśvara — no place anywhere to dance. You are the song, the rhythm, the sound; nowhere outside-you to-stand-and-dance.

The closing-resolution: Tukā mhaṇē maja avaghēm tujhēm nāma — dhūpa dīpa Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari — Tuka says: to me, everything is your nāma — dhūpa, dīpa — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari. The resolution: only-the-nāma can be offered — because the nāma is the only-thing originally-the-bhakta's-act, not pre-belonging-to-the-Lord. The nāma serves as dhūpa-dīpa-and-everything-else.

This abhang is one of Tukaram's most-philosophically-rich — advaita-pūjā-paradox: every-offering-already-is-Lord, so the only-original-offering is the nāma uttered-as-bhāva.

[T]

For someone today

For today: with what shall I do pūjā, Keśīrāja? — resolve this very doubt for me now; bathe you with water — but your own-form is everything, what does it cost me?; chandana's fragrance, flowers' perfume — there I am poor, what can I do?; you yourself are the fruit-giver, the betel-and-rice — what could I now offer to you?; offer dakṣiṇā — when the very-metal is Nārāyaṇa, and Brahma itself is the anna — what second-thing remains?; singing — you are the Omkāra, the tāḷī, the nāda-īśvara — there is no place anywhere outside-you to stand-and-dance; Tuka says — to me, everything is your nāma — dhūpa, dīpa — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari.

Where this applies

• When you feel too poor or unworthy to offer God anything meaningful
• When you're preparing a ritual or offering and realize every material thing you have ultimately came from somewhere beyond you
• When you're searching for a devotional practice that requires no wealth or special resources
• When you're wondering what part of your worship is truly your own, personal gift

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