Abhanga 3990
You do not need to leave family life to find liberation; simply reciting the Name amid ordinary responsibilities is enough to uplift yourself and your ancestors.
The verse
संसारीं असतां हरिनाम घेसी । तरीं च उद्धरसी पूर्वजेंसी ॥१॥
अवघीं च इंद्रियें न येती कामा । जिव्हे रामनामा उच्चारीं वेगीं ॥ध्रु.॥
शरीरसंपित्त नव्हे रे आपुली । भ्रांतीची माउली अवघी व्यर्थ ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे सार हरिनामउच्चार । येर्हवी येरझार हरीविण ॥३॥
Literal translation
In-samsāra-Hari-Nāma — then-save-pūrvajas. Indriyas-don't-help — jihvā-Rāma-Nāma-quickly. Śarīra-sampatti-not-yours — bhrānti-vyartha. Tukā: sāra-Hari-Nāma-uchchāra — else-yēra-jhāra-without-Hari.
What it means
A 3-verse Name-in-samsāra text. Even while in the world, if you take the Hari-Name — only then will you save your ancestors. The whole senses cannot help; by the tongue, utter the Rāma-Name — quickly. The body-and-wealth is not yours; delusion-and-its-mother is all vain. The essence is the Hari-Name-recitation; otherwise, only coming-and-going without Hari. The argument addresses the householder: you don't have to leave samsāra — but you must say the Name to save your ancestors. The 7-generation salvation-claim is canonical Vārkarī.
For someone today
Tukaram is speaking here to ordinary householders, not renunciants, telling them they do not need to abandon their family life to find liberation. Even while fully inside the responsibilities of samsara, simply taking up the Name of Hari is enough to uplift not just yourself but your ancestors before you. None of your other senses can do this work for you; it is the tongue's job, so use it quickly to speak the Rama Name. He reminds you bluntly that your body and your wealth were never truly yours to begin with, and getting lost in that illusion is wasted effort. The real essence of practice, he says, is the plain recitation of the Name, and without it, life is just endless coming and going with no real direction.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे सामान्य गृहस्थांशी बोलत आहेत, संन्याशांशी नाही, आणि सांगतात की मुक्ती मिळवण्यासाठी कुटुंबीय जीवन सोडण्याची गरज नाही. संसाराच्या जबाबदाऱ्यांमध्ये पूर्णपणे असतानाही, फक्त हरीचे नाम घेणे पुरेसे आहे स्वतःला आणि आपल्या पूर्वजांनाही उद्धरण्यासाठी. हे काम तुमची इतर कोणतीही इंद्रिये करू शकत नाहीत, हे जिभेचे काम आहे, म्हणून लगेच रामनामाचा उच्चार करा. ते स्पष्टपणे आठवण करून देतात की तुमचे शरीर आणि तुमची संपत्ती कधीच खरोखर तुमची नव्हती, आणि त्या भ्रमात अडकून राहणे वाया गेलेले श्रम आहेत. साधनेचे खरे सार, ते म्हणतात, हरिनामाचा साधा उच्चार आहे, आणि त्याशिवाय जीवन म्हणजे केवळ दिशाहीन येरझारा आहे.
Where this applies
- When you think spiritual growth requires leaving your family and worldly responsibilities behind
- When you feel weighed down by attachment to your body, possessions, or wealth
- When you want a simple, doable practice you can do amid a busy household life
- When you feel your daily routine has become aimless and you want it to have real direction