संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2495 of 4582

Abhanga 2495

Simply speaking the Name daily is a complete spiritual practice, easier than austerities and more valuable than countless elaborate rituals.

When you feel you lack the time or resources for elaborate religious rituals

When you are tempted to adopt harsh ascetic practices to prove your devotion

When you want a daily spiritual habit simple enough to actually keep

The verse

प्राणियां एक बीजमंत्र उच्चारीं । प्रतिदिनीं रामकृष्ण म्हण कां मुरारि ॥१॥ हें चि साधन रे तुज सर्व सिद्धीचे । नाम उच्चारीं पां गोपाळाचें वाचे ॥ध्रु.॥ उपास पारणें न लगे वनसेवन । न लगे धूम्रपान पंचाअग्नतापन ॥२॥ फुकाचें सुखाचें कांहीं न वेचें भांडार । कोटी यज्ञां परिस तुका म्हणे हें सार ॥३॥

Literal translation

Creature, utter one seed-mantra — daily say Rāma-Kṛṣṇa or Murāri. This is sādhana for all siddhi — utter Gopāḷa's-name. No fast-and-feast needed — no forest-service — no smoke-drinking, no pañchāgni-tāpana. Tuka says: free-easy treasure not wasted — better than crore yajñas — this is essence.

What it means

THE BETTER-THAN-CRORE-YAJÑAS ABHANG. Companion to 2448.

The seed-mantra: prāṇiyām ēka bīja-mantra uchchārīm — prati-dinīm Rāma-Kṛṣṇa mhaṇa kām Murāri — creature, utter one seed-mantra — daily Rāma-Kṛṣṇa or Murāri. One seed-mantra (bīja-mantra) — daily Rāma-Kṛṣṇa or Murāri. A simple 1-name-mantra, compared to 2448's 5-name Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari-Viṭhṭhala-Kēśava.

The anti-ascetic rejection-list: upāsa pāraṇē (fast-and-feast), vana-sēvana (forest-service = vanaprastha), dhūma-pāna (smoke-drinking = yogic-prāṇāyāma technique?), pañchāgni-tāpana (five-fires-austerity, classic-tapasvi practice). None of these ascetic-practices needed.

THE CROWN CLAIM: Tukā mhaṇē phukāchē sukhāchē kāmhīm na vēchē bhāṇḍāra — kōṭī yajñām paris hē sāra — free-easy treasure not wasted — better than crore yajñas — this is essence. Free-easy-treasure not-wasted; BETTER than CRORE yajñas; THIS is the essence (sāra). Name-utterance > 10-million-yajñas.

[T]

For someone today

For today: daily Rāma-Kṛṣṇa or Murāri; no fast-and-feast, no forest, no pañchāgni-tāpana; better than crore yajñas.

Where this applies

When you feel spiritual practice requires austerity or hardship you cannot sustain
When you are looking for one simple daily habit instead of many complicated rituals
When you doubt that something as easy as saying a name could truly matter
When you compare your simple devotion to others' elaborate rites and feel it falls short