Abhanga 4136
What matters most isn't reaching some final reward or exalted state, but sustaining unbroken, loving remembrance of what you hold sacred, day after day.
The verse
न लगे देवा तुझें आम्हांसी वैकुंठ । सायुज्याचा पट न लगे मज ॥१॥
देई तुझें नाम मज सर्वकाळीं । मागेन वनमाळीहें चि तुज ॥ध्रु.॥
नारद तुंबर उद्धव प्रल्हाद । बळी रुक्मांगद नाम ध्याती ॥२॥
सद्धि मुनिगण गंधर्व किन्नर । करिताती गजर रामनामें ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे हरी देई तुझें नाम । अखंडित प्रेम हें चि द्यावें ॥४॥
Literal translation
Don't-want-Vaikuṇṭha — sāyujya-paṭa-not-needed. Give-Name-sarva-kāḷa — only-māgaṇa-Vanamāḷī. Nārada-Tumbar-Uddhava-Prahlāda-Balī-Rukmāngada-meditate-Name. Siddhis-munis-gandharva-kinnara-roar-Rāma-Nāma. Tukā: Hari-give-Name — akhaṇḍita-prema.
What it means
A 4-verse mukti-refusal canonical. I don't need your Vaikuṇṭha; the sāyujya's mantle I don't need. Give me your Name all the time — I ask only this, Vanamāḷī. Nārada, Tumbar, Uddhava, Prahlāda, Balī, Rukmāngada — they meditate on the Name. Siddhis, munis, gandharvas, kinnaras — they roar the Rāma-Name. Hari, give me your Name; give me only this unbroken love. The precedent-list (Nārada, Tumbar, Uddhava, Prahlāda, Balī, Rukmāngada) is the canonical 6-figure Name-meditators-pantheon. Pair with 2807, 3807, 3917, 4074 — the mukti-refusal cluster.
For someone today
Tukaram says he doesn't want heaven or even the ultimate state of union with the divine, all he wants is God's name with him constantly. He points to a whole lineage of great devotees, sages, and celestial beings who all meditated on and roared out that same name, showing that this simple constant remembrance was enough for them too. His real request isn't a reward or a final destination, it's just unbroken love, expressed through steady repetition of the name.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की मला स्वर्ग नको, अगदी परमात्म्याशी एकरूप होण्याची अंतिम अवस्थाही नको, मला फक्त देवाचे नाम सतत हवे आहे. ते अनेक मोठ्या भक्तांचा, ऋषींचा आणि दिव्य व्यक्तींचा दाखला देतात ज्यांनी हेच नाम ध्यानाने जपले आणि गर्जना केली, यातून हे साधे सतत स्मरणच त्यांच्यासाठी पुरेसे होते हे दाखवतात. त्यांची खरी मागणी बक्षीस किंवा अंतिम स्थान नाही, तर फक्त अखंड प्रेम आहे, जे नामाच्या स्थिर उच्चारातून व्यक्त होते.
Where this applies
- When you realize you're chasing a big reward instead of valuing the steady practice itself
- When you find more comfort in a simple daily ritual than in some distant future achievement
- When you look to the example of people you admire who found fulfillment in consistency, not status
- When you want to remind yourself that constant, quiet devotion matters more than any prize at the end