Abhanga 3795
Let everything else burn away — cleverness, reputation, cold reasoning, even the body — and keep only your heart fixed on God.
The verse
जळो ते जाणींव जळो ते शाहाणींव । राहो माझा भाव विठ्ठलपायीं ॥१॥
जळो तो आचार जळो तो विचार । राहो मन स्थीर विठ्ठलपायीं ॥ध्रु.॥
जळो हा लौकिक जळो दंभमान । लागो जीव ध्यान विठ्ठलाचें ॥२॥
जळो हें शरीर जळो हा संबंध । राहो परमानंद माझा कंठीं ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे येथे अवघें चि होय । धरीं मना सोय विठोबाची ॥४॥
Literal translation
Burn-jāṇīva-burn-śāhāṇīva — let-bhāva-at-Viṭṭhal-feet. Burn-āchāra-burn-vichāra — let-mind-still-at-Viṭṭhal-feet. Burn-laukika-burn-dambha-māna — let-jīva-meditate-Viṭṭhal. Burn-śarīra-burn-sambandha — let-paramānanda-in-throat. Tukā: here-everything-itself-is — hold-mana-toward-Viṭhobā.
What it means
THE canonical 5-verse jaḷō refrain-mantra. Let knowing burn, let cleverness burn — only my bhāva at Viṭṭhal's feet. Let formal observance burn, let cold reasoning burn — only my mind still at Viṭṭhal's feet. Let public-reputation burn, let display-pride burn — only my jīva meditating on Viṭṭhal. Let this body burn, let these relationships burn — only paramānanda in my throat. Here, everything itself happens — only hold the mind's direction toward Viṭhobā. Each verse: burn-burn-keep-only-Viṭṭhal. Tukārām's most economical articulation of exclusive-bhakti through systematic-renunciation. Pair with 3743 (Name-is-everything — the positive complement of this negative refrain), 2855 (Hari-mhaṇatām-everything-happens).
For someone today
Tukārām: burn-everything-else — keep-only-Viṭṭhal — that's-all.
Where this applies
- When you feel proud of how clever or well-read you are and sense it's crowding out simple devotion
- When you're caught up in rules and formal observance but your heart feels cold
- When you worry about your reputation or how impressive you look to others
- When you're afraid of losing your body, relationships, or worldly identity and need something steadier to hold onto