Abhanga 3120
Tukaram teaches that an idle mind wanders off track, so keep returning to repeating God's name again and again to stay on course.
The verse
रिकामें तूं नको मना । राहों क्षणक्षणा ही ॥१॥
वेळोवेळां पारायण । नारायण हें करीं ॥ध्रु.॥
भ्रमणांच्या मोडीं वाटा । न भरें फाटा आडरानें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे माझ्या जीवें । हें चि घ्यावें धणीवरी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Rikāme tūm nakō manā — don't (you), mana, stay empty; rāhōm kṣaṇa-kṣaṇā hī — not even for one kṣaṇa. Veḷō-veḷām pārāyaṇa — time-and-again, pārāyaṇa; Nārāyaṇa he karīm — do this Nārāyaṇa. Bhramaṇāñcyā mōḍīm vāṭā — break the paths of bhramaṇa; na bhare phāṭā āḍarāne — don't fill the junction off-track. Tukā mhaṇe mājhyā jīve — Tukā says: from my jīva; he chi ghyāve dhaṇīvarī — only this take-(it)-to dhaṇīvarī (fullness).
What it means
A 3-verse daily-discipline by Tukārām.
The discipline: Don't-stay-empty-mana; do-Nārāyaṇa-pārāyaṇa veḷō-veḷām; break-paths-of-wandering; don't-fill-junction-off-track. Tukā's-jīva: only-this-take-to-fullness.
The phāṭā (junction, road-fork) image is striking — at-the-bhramaṇa-junction, don't-take-the-āḍarāne (off-the-direct-path) route. The Name-recitation is-the-direct-path.
For someone today
Tukārām's daily-discipline. Don't (you), mana, stay empty — not even for one moment. Time-and-again, do recitation of Nārāyaṇa. Break the paths of wandering; don't fill the junction off-track. From my jīva, only this — take (it) to fullness. The verse permits the canonical daily-Name-discipline.
Where this applies
- When your mind is idle and you notice it drifting toward worry, distraction, or old habits
- When you're trying to build a steady daily practice instead of only turning to it in crisis
- When you're at a decision point and tempted to take an easier but distracting detour instead of staying on track
- When you need a simple, repeatable anchor, like a name or phrase, to keep coming back to during a scattered day