संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3799 of 4582

Abhanga 3799

Sing of God now, before this life is wasted, because nothing but sincere devotion is actually needed.

When you realize you've let time pass without turning your heart toward God

When you catch yourself competing with others instead of tending your own devotion

When you simplify your spiritual life down to one thing: genuine love and sincerity

The verse

सांगतों तरि तुम्ही भजा रे विठ्ठला । नाहीं तरि गेला जन्म वांयां ॥१॥ करितां भरोवरी दुरावसी दुरी । भवाचिये पुरीं वाहावसी ॥२॥ कांहीं न लगे एक भाव चि कारण । तुका म्हणे आण विठ्ठलाची ॥३॥

Literal translation

I-tell-you — sing-Viṭṭhal — else-janma-vāyā. Bharōvarī (rivalry) — distance-grows — bhava-purī-carries-away. Nothing-needed-only-bhāva-is-cause — Tukā: by-Viṭṭhal's-āṇa.

What it means

A 3-verse exhortation-under-oath. I am telling you — sing Viṭṭhal — else this birth has gone in vain. (If you compete with others / contest) you grow far in distance; you'll be swept away in the flood of becoming. Nothing else is needed — only bhāva is the cause. I swear by Viṭṭhal's oath. The closing āṇa-Viṭṭhalāchī (Viṭṭhal's-oath / by-Viṭṭhal-I-swear) is Tukārām's strongest oath-form — used when he wants to attest urgency or seriousness.

For someone today

Tukaram speaks with real urgency here: sing of Vitthal, he says, or this life you've been given will simply go to waste. If instead you spend your energy competing and comparing yourself with others, you only drift further away and get swept along in the flood of ordinary worldly life. Nothing elaborate is required to turn this around — only genuine devotion, sincere love, is what actually matters. He underlines how serious he is by swearing on Vitthal's own name.

मराठी: तुकाराम इथे खरोखर आग्रहाने सांगतात: विठ्ठलाचे भजन करा, नाहीतर हे मिळालेले आयुष्य वाया जाईल. त्याऐवजी जर तुम्ही इतरांशी स्पर्धा करण्यात आणि तुलना करण्यात शक्ती घालवली, तर तुम्ही आणखी दूर जाल आणि संसाराच्या प्रवाहात वाहून जाल. हे बदलण्यासाठी काही मोठे किंवा गुंतागुंतीचे करण्याची गरज नाही — फक्त खरी भक्ती, प्रामाणिक प्रेम, तेवढेच खरे महत्त्वाचे आहे. आपण किती गंभीरपणे हे सांगत आहोत हे दाखवण्यासाठी ते विठ्ठलाच्या नावाची शपथ घेतात.

Where this applies

When you feel days slipping by without any real devotion or purpose
When you find yourself competing with or comparing yourself to others instead of focusing inward
When you feel swept along by the busyness of ordinary life and want to find your footing again
When you assume spiritual growth requires something complicated rather than simple, sincere love