Abhanga 3963
Tukaram says that singing with real feeling holds all the good you need, and settling into your true self, not elaborate ritual, is what quiets a restless mind.
The verse
साधनाचे कष्ट मोटे । येथें वाटे थोर हें ॥१॥
मुखें गावें भावें गीत । सर्व हित बैसलिया ॥ध्रु.॥
दासा नव्हे कर्म दान । तन मन निश्चळि ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आत्मनष्टि । भागे चेष्ट मनाची ॥३॥
Literal translation
Sādhanāñcē kaṣṭa mōṭē — yethēm vāṭē thōra hem — sādhana's effort (is) great — here feels immense. Mukhem gāvem bhāvem gīta — sarva hita baisaliyā — sing the song with mouth with bhāva — all good (is) seated. Dāsā navhe karma dāna — tana mana niścaḷi — for the dāsa karma-dāna is not — body-mind stillness. Tukā mhaṇe ātmanaṣṭi — bhāge cheṣṭa manācī — Tukā says: by ātma-niṣṭi, mind's fidget breaks.
What it means
A 3-verse sādhana-simplification. Other-sādhana-effort-is-immense; sing-with-bhāva — all-good-in-it; the-dāsa-doesn't-need-karma-gift, just-body-mind-stillness; by-ātma-niṣṭi mind's-fidget breaks.
For someone today
Tukaram admits that formal spiritual practice can feel like enormous, exhausting effort, but then offers something far simpler: sing with your mouth and real feeling, and everything good you need is already contained in that. He says a devoted servant does not need elaborate ritual offerings, just a settled body and a quiet mind. He closes by saying that anchoring yourself in your true self is what actually calms the mind's constant restlessness.
मराठी: तुकाराम मान्य करतात की औपचारिक साधना प्रचंड आणि थकवणारा प्रयत्न वाटू शकते, पण त्यानंतर ते एक साधा उपाय देतात, मुखाने खऱ्या भावाने गाणे गा, आणि त्यातच सगळे हितकारक सामावलेले आहे. भक्ताला भपकेबाज कर्मकांडाची गरज नसते, फक्त शांत शरीर आणि स्थिर मन पुरेसे असते, असे ते सांगतात. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की स्वतःच्या खऱ्या स्वरूपात स्थिर राहणे हेच मनाची सततची चंचलता खरोखर शांत करते.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's sādhana-simplification corpus
- Companion to Name-kīrtana-supremacy texts (2448, 2864, 2919)