Abhanga 4102
Sing or practice devotion with full love and no hidden expectation, release fear of the body, and real spiritual richness follows.
The verse
भावभक्तीवादें करावें कीर्तन । आशाबधी मन करूं नये ॥१॥
अन्न पाणी धन द्रव्य नारायण । विठ्ठला वांचून बोलूं नये ॥ध्रु.॥
सप्रेम करावें देवाचें कीर्तन । भय द्या सोडून शरीराचें ॥२॥
तरी मग जोडे विठ्ठलनिधान । केलिया कीर्तन सिद्धि पावे ॥३॥
देव जोडिलिया तया काय उणें । तुका म्हणे मन धीट करा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Bhāva-bhakti-kīrtana — don't-bind-mana-to-āśā. Anna-pāṇī-dhana-Nārāyaṇa — don't-speak-without-Viṭṭhal. Sa-prema-Deva-kīrtana — release-bhaya-deha. Viṭṭhal-nidhāna-jōḍē — kīrtana-sidhi. Tukā: mana-dhīṭa.
What it means
A 4-verse kīrtana-discipline text. Do kīrtana by devotion-state; don't bind your mind to expectation. Food, water, wealth, riches — all is Nārāyaṇa; don't speak (of any life-thing) without Viṭṭhal. Do Deva's kīrtana with full-love; release fear of the body. Then Viṭṭhal-treasure is gathered; the kīrtana you do attains accomplishment. For one who has gathered Deva, what deficit is there? Make the mind bold. Pair with 2864 (clap-hands kīrtana), 3902 (Lord-roams-with-kīrtana-bhakta).
For someone today
Tukaram teaches that kirtana, singing devotion aloud, should come from genuine feeling, not from a mind secretly hoping for some reward. He says everything we depend on, food, water, wealth, is really the divine itself, so there is no need to talk about life as if it were separate from God. Sing with full love and let go of the fear that clings to the body, and only then does real spiritual treasure gather and the singing itself becomes complete. Once you have truly found the divine, he says, nothing is missing, so make your mind bold and stop holding back.
मराठी: तुकाराम शिकवतात की कीर्तन, म्हणजे मोठ्याने भक्ती गाणे, हे खऱ्या भावनेतून यायला हवे, मनात कुठलीही अपेक्षा ठेवून नाही. ते म्हणतात की आपण ज्यावर अवलंबून असतो ते सर्व, अन्न, पाणी, धन, हे खरे तर देवच आहे, त्यामुळे जीवन देवापासून वेगळे आहे असे बोलण्याची गरज नाही. पूर्ण प्रेमाने गा आणि शरीराला चिकटलेली भीती सोडून द्या, तेव्हाच खरे आध्यात्मिक धन जमा होते आणि गाणेही पूर्णत्वाला पोहोचते. एकदा खरोखर देव सापडला की काहीच कमी उरत नाही, म्हणून मन धीट करा आणि मागे हटू नका असे ते सांगतात.
Where this applies
- When you catch yourself singing or praying while secretly hoping for a favor in return
- When fear about your body or safety holds you back from fully expressing your devotion
- When you separate your everyday needs like food and money from your spiritual life as if they were unrelated
- When you need courage to stop hesitating and commit fully to something you believe in