Abhanga 4142
When love and constant remembrance of what matters most become your whole practice, nothing else competes for your attention, and you can ask simply for peace at the end.
The verse
प्रेम जडलें तुझे पायीं । आणीक न सुचे मजला कांहीं ॥१॥
रात्रीदिवस तुझें ध्यान । तें चि माझें अनुष्ठान ॥ध्रु.॥
नामापरतें नेणें दुजें । ऐसें कळलें मजला निज ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे अंतकाळीं । आम्हां सोडवीं तात्काळीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Prema jaḍale tujhe pāyīm — prema attached at your feet; āṇīka na suche majalā kāmhī — nothing else occurs to me. Rātri-divasa tujhe dhyāna — night-day your dhyāna; te chi mājhe anuṣṭhāna — that itself is my anuṣṭhāna. Nāmāparate neṇē dujē — know nothing other than Name; aise kaḷale majalā nija — this nija known to me. Tukā mhaṇe antakāḷīm — Tukā says: at anta-kāḷa; āmhām sōḍavīm tātkāḷīm — release us immediately.
What it means
Tukārām's bhakti-state and end-petition: prema-attached, dhyāna-as-anuṣṭhāna, Name-only — release-at-the-end.
For someone today
Tukaram says his love has become completely fixed at God's feet, so nothing else even occurs to him as worth pursuing. His constant meditation, day and night, has itself become his spiritual practice, and he has come to know that nothing matters to him beyond the divine name. He closes with a simple, urgent request, that when his final moment comes, he be released immediately, without delay.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की माझे प्रेम पूर्णपणे तुझ्या पायाशी स्थिर झाले आहे, त्यामुळे दुसरे काहीच माझ्या मनात येत नाही. रात्रंदिवस केलेले हे ध्यानच माझी खरी साधना बनले आहे, आणि नामाशिवाय काहीही महत्त्वाचे नाही हे मला उमगले आहे. शेवटी ते एक साधी, तातडीची विनंती करतात, माझा अंतकाळ आला की मला त्वरित मुक्त कर, विलंब न करता.
Where this applies
- When one relationship or practice has become so central to your life that nothing else really draws your attention
- When a daily habit of reflection or remembrance has quietly become your main source of meaning
- When you want to express a simple, urgent hope for peace or release at a difficult final moment
- When you realize your priorities have narrowed down to one thing that truly matters to you