Abhanga 4344
Human birth is precious precisely because it is the one place where chanting God's name can set someone free, something even immortals envy.
The verse
स्वगाअचे अमर इच्छिताति देवा । मृत्युलोकीं व्हावा जन्म आम्हां ॥१॥
नारायणनामें होऊं जिवनमुक्त । कर्तिनीं अनंत गाऊं गीती ॥ध्रु.॥
वैकुंठींचे जन सदा चिंतिताति । कइं येथें येती हरिचे दास ॥२॥
यमधर्म वाट पाहे निरंतर । जोडोनियां कर तिष्ठतसे ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे पावावया पैल पार । नामंत्र सार भाविकासि ॥४॥
Literal translation
Svargāche amara ichchhitāti devā — mrtyu-lōkīm hāvā janma āmhām: svarga's amaras request the Deva — let us have janma in mrtyu-loka. Nārāyaṇa-nāme hōūm jīvana-mukta — kīrtīnī ananta gāūm gītī: by Nārāyaṇa-Nāma we'll become jīvana-mukta — sing ananta's kīrtīs in gītas. Vaikuṇṭhīmche jana sadā chintitāti — kaīm yethe yetī Hariche dāsa: Vaikuṇṭha-jana always think — when will Hari-dāsas come here. Yama-dharma vāṭa pāhe nirantara — jōḍoniyām kara tiṣṭhatase: Yama-dharma waits constantly — stands with folded hands. Tukā mhaṇe pāvāvayā paila pāra — nāma-mantra sāra bhāvikāsi: Tukā says: to reach the other shore — nāma-mantra is sāra for the bhāvika.
What it means
A 4-verse text on the uniqueness of human birth as the place where Nāma can be sung. Even amaras desire mrtyu-loka-birth; even Yama-dharma waits with folded hands for Hari-dāsas; Nāma-mantra is the sāra (essence) for crossing to the other shore.
For someone today
Tukārām declares: human birth is the rare site where Nāma works; the amaras themselves envy it; Yama himself respectfully waits.
Where this applies
- When you feel your ordinary human life is less valuable than some imagined higher existence
- When you doubt whether a simple daily practice like chanting could really matter that much
- When you feel unworthy or afraid of death and judgment
- When you want reassurance that sincere devotion earns real respect, even from powers as fearsome as death itself