संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2320 of 4582

Abhanga 2320

Religious study, austerity, pilgrimage, sacrifice, and charity bear fruit only when joined to living remembrance of the Name; without it they are empty exertion.

When you finish a ritual or reading and feel nothing has changed inside you.

When you're tempted to judge your spiritual life by how much you've done rather than how present you were.

When you want to trim an exhausting list of religious duties down to the one thing that truly matters.

The verse

पाहुनियां ग्रंथ करावें कीर्तन । तेव्हां आलें जाण फळ त्याचें ॥१॥ नाहीं तरि वांयां केली तोंडपिटी । उरी ते शेवटी उरलीसे ॥ध्रु.॥ पढोनियां वेद हरिगुण गावे । ठावें तें जाणावें तेव्हां जालें ॥२॥ तप तिर्थाटण तेव्हां कार्यसिद्धि । स्थिर राहे बुद्धि हरिच्या नामीं ॥३॥ यागयज्ञादिक काय दानधर्म । तरि फळ नाम कंठीं राहे ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे नको काबाडाचे भरी । पडों सार धरीं हें चि एक ॥५॥

Literal translation

Having seen the grantha — do kīrtana — then know — its fruit has come. Otherwise, the tongue-beating is useless — the remainder remains at the end. After reading Veda, sing Hari-guṇas — then what's known becomes known. Tapa and tīrthāṭana — kārya-siddhi — only when the buddhi stays firm in Hari's-Name. Yāga, yajña, etc., what dāna-dharma — only if the Name remains in the throat does fruit happen. Tuka says: don't fall into the kābāḍa's burden — hold this one essence.

What it means

ALL-RELIGIOUS-ACTIONS-YIELD-FRUIT-ONLY-WITH-THE-NAME + don't-fall-into-kābāḍa-burden abhang. A 5+1-verse Name-as-essential-additive doctrine.

The Name as essential additive to all religious practices: 1. Grantha → kīrtana: reading-the-grantha is-fruitful only-if-kīrtana-follows 2. Veda → Hari-guṇa-singing: reading-the-Veda is-fruitful only-if-Hari-guṇa-singing-follows 3. Tapa-tīrthāṭana → buddhi-in-Hari-nāma: succeed only-when buddhi-is-firm-in-Hari-Name 4. Yāga-yajña-dāna-dharma → Name-in-throat: yield-fruit only-if-the-Name-stays-in-the-throat

Without the Name, all these are vāñyām tōṇḍa-piṭī (useless tongue-beating) leaving only urī (residue) at the end.

The closing — anti-kābāḍa: Tukā mhaṇē nakō kābāḍāchē bharī — paḍōm sāra dharī hē chi ēka — Tuka says: don't fall into the kābāḍa's burden — hold this one essence. Kābāḍa = labor, drudgery. Don't-fall into-the-kābāḍa's-burden; hold this-one-essence (= the Name).

[T]

For someone today

For today: grantha → kīrtana, then fruit; otherwise useless tongue-beating; Veda → sing Hari-guṇas; tapa-tīrtha → kārya-siddhi when buddhi stays in Hari's Name; yāga-yajña-dāna-dharma → fruit only if Name in throat; Tuka says — don't fall into kābāḍa-burden — hold this one essence.

Where this applies

When you're going through religious rituals or study out of obligation without feeling anything
When you wonder why a spiritual practice feels empty even though you're doing everything correctly
When you're overwhelmed by a long list of things you think you must do to be devout
When you want to simplify a cluttered spiritual routine down to what actually matters