Abhanga 2919
THE canonical kīrtana-supremacy text. Japa, tapa, dhyāna, dhāraṇā are not needed — everything (is) in Viṭṭhal-kīrtana. O my mind — stay firm in this word; don't hold any other. Kīrtana-samādhi is the sādhana and the mudrā — they stay (by) holding (this) support. Mukti is in the house of Hari-dāsas — the four rddhi-siddhi attend.
The verse
जप तप ध्यान न लगे धारणा । विठ्ठलकीर्त्तनामाजी सर्व ॥१॥
राहें माझ्या मना दृढ या वचनीं । आणिक तें मनीं न धरावें ॥ध्रु.॥
कीर्तनसमाधि साधन ते मुद्रा । राहतील थारा धरोनियां ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मुक्ति हरिदासांच्या घरीं । वोळगती चारी ॠद्धिसिद्धि ॥३॥
Literal translation
Japa tapa dhyāna na lage dhāraṇā — japa, tapa, dhyāna, dhāraṇā are not needed; Viṭhṭhala-kīrttanā-māji sarva — everything (is) in Viṭhṭhal-kīrtana. Rāhe mājhyā manā drḍha yā vachanī — (O) my mind, stay firm in this vachana; āṇika te manī na dharāve — don't hold any other in mind. Kīrtana-samādhi sādhana te mudrā — kīrtana-samādhi (is) the sādhana and the mudrā; rāhatīla thārā dharōnīyām — they will stay (by) holding (this) thāra (support). Tukā says: mukti Hari-dāsāñcyā gharī — mukti (is) in the house of Hari-dāsas; vōḷagatī chārī rddhi-siddhi — the four rddhi-siddhi attend (them).
What it means
THE canonical 3-verse kīrtana-supremacy text. Japa tapa dhyāna na lage dhāraṇā — Viṭhṭhala-kīrttanā-māji sarva — japa, tapa, dhyāna, dhāraṇā are not needed — everything is in Viṭṭhal-kīrtana. The foundational-Vārkarī-claim: the formal-yogic-disciplines (japa, tapa, dhyāna, dhāraṇā) are unnecessary; everything is contained in Viṭṭhal-kīrtana.
Rāhe mājhyā manā drḍha yā vachanī — āṇika te manī na dharāve — stay firm in this word — don't hold any other. The discipline: don't-let-the-mind wander to other-disciplines.
Kīrtana-samādhi sādhana te mudrā — rāhatīla thārā dharōnīyām — kīrtana-samādhi is the sādhana and the mudrā — (they) stay (by) holding (this) thāra. The kīrtana-samādhi — the samādhi-state achieved-through-kīrtana — is both the sādhana (practice) and the mudrā (seal, sign). They stay-as-long-as one holds-the-kīrtana-support.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe mukti Hari-dāsāñcyā gharī — vōḷagatī chārī rddhi-siddhi — mukti is in the house of Hari-dāsas — the four rddhi-siddhi attend. The eschatological-claim: mukti is at-the-Hari-dāsa-house; even the four-rddhis-and-eight-siddhis come-as-attendants. The bhakti-supremacy over all-yogic-attainments.
For someone today
THE canonical kīrtana-supremacy text. Japa, tapa, dhyāna, dhāraṇā are not needed — everything (is) in Viṭṭhal-kīrtana. O my mind — stay firm in this word; don't hold any other. Kīrtana-samādhi is the sādhana and the mudrā — they stay (by) holding (this) support. Mukti is in the house of Hari-dāsas — the four rddhi-siddhi attend.
Three operative-claims: (1) the formal-yogic-disciplines are unnecessary; kīrtana contains-all; (2) kīrtana-samādhi is itself the practice; (3) mukti is at-the-Hari-dāsa-house, with rddhi-siddhi attending. This is the foundational textual-warrant for Vārkarī kīrtana-as-primary-discipline, replacing the formal-yogic-paths.
(Pairs with 2864 clap-hands kīrtana-opening, 2841 no-tapa-no-vanavāsa-needed-Nāma-bearers, 2855 Hari-mhaṇatām-everything-happens as the kīrtana-Nāma-supremacy cluster.)
Where this applies
- THE canonical kīrtana-replaces-japa-tapa-dhyāna; mukti-in-Hari-dāsas-house foundational claim
- Recognizing kīrtana-samādhi is the sādhana-and-mudrā claim
- Chārī-rddhi-siddhi attend Hari-dāsas claim
- Pairs with 2864 (clap-hands kīrtana), 2841 (no-tapa-no-vanavāsa), 2855 (Hari-mhaṇatām)