I want to start a spiritual practice but don't know where to begin
Two letters, no cost, no caste — the practices that are available right now and require nothing.
You feel a pull toward something deeper, but the moment you try to act on it the path looks impossibly far away. Maybe you imagine you'd need a teacher, a quiet retreat, the right books, a free month, the right background — and since you have none of those, you keep waiting for a "real" beginning that never comes. The not-knowing-where-to-start becomes its own excuse for never starting.
Tukaram takes that excuse apart with surprising bluntness. Over and over he insists the deepest practice is also the simplest, and that it costs you nothing — no money, no leisure, no special birth, no priest, no initiation. Nāma — saying the divine name — is, in his words, just two letters, Rāma Rāma, with no price attached. You can do it sitting exactly where you are. He even runs the math on it: treating others with respect, not slandering, speaking the truth, saying the name — what do any of these actually cost you? Nothing. The reason most of us don't begin, he suggests, isn't that the door is locked; it's that we keep looking for a grander door.
So his answer to "where do I begin" is almost embarrassingly direct: begin now, where you are, with what's free. Say the name. Speak truthfully. Do one small kindness. Trust the simple form rather than waiting to qualify for an advanced one. The beginning you're searching for is already in your hands — available right now, requiring nothing you don't already have.
Abhang 61 — What does it actually cost you?
पराविया नारी माउलीसमान । मानिलिया धन काय वेचे ॥१॥ बैसलिये ठायी म्हणतां रामराम । काय होय श्रम ऐसें सांगा ॥२॥
This is Tukaram's demolition of every "I'd practice if only I had X." He lists the practices — treating others as kin not objects, not slandering, saying Rāma-Rāma while simply sitting, trusting wise teaching, speaking truth — and after each one asks: what does it cost you? What effort is that? The honest answer is nothing. His closing claim is that God is found by just this — no other effort is needed at all. For someone who doesn't know where to begin, this is the starting line: the first practices are free, and the only thing in the way is your preference for the lust, the lie, the gossip you'd have to set down.
Abhang 2381 — Two letters, no price, no qualification
नाम घेतां न लगे मोल । नाममंत्र नाहीं खोल ॥१॥ दों अक्षरांचें काम । उच्चारावें राम राम ॥ध्रु.॥
If you think you need the right credentials to begin, this abhang removes them all. Taking the name has no price; the name-mantra is not deep (not esoteric, not requiring initiation). It is two letters' work — utter Rāma Rāma. And then the famous line: there is no caste, no religion-stage, no birth-group — all are included in the name. This is the most direct possible answer to "where do I begin": the entry point costs nothing, demands no learning, and is open to anyone regardless of background. You already qualify.
Abhang 1555 — The simplest mantra there is
विठ्ठल विठ्ठल मंत्र सोपा । करी पापा निर्मूळ ॥१॥ तुका म्हणे भलते याती । विठ्ठल चित्ती ते शुद्ध ॥३॥
Here Tukaram hands you the actual practice, as small as it gets: the Viṭhṭhal-Viṭhṭhal mantra is simple — just the name, twice — and it uproots wrongdoing. He calls Viṭhṭhal a bhōḷā daivata, a guileless, easy-to-please deity. And he closes with the same leveling promise: whatever your caste, Viṭhṭhal held in the heart (citta) makes you pure. For a beginner this says: don't reach for an elaborate technique. The simplest repetition, done sincerely, is already the real thing — and it works for you exactly as you are.
Abhang 1426 — The free means people walk right past
खरें बोले तरी । फुकासाठीं जोडे हरी ॥१॥ ऐसे फुकाचे उपाय । सांडूनियां वांयां जाय ॥ध्रु.॥
If you simply speak the truth, Hari is joined to you for free. Then comes Tukaram's pointed lament: people abandon these free means and go in vain — chasing expensive, elaborate methods while missing the ones that cost nothing. He names two starting practices anyone can do today: speak truthfully, and help others — one good word is much. When everything is dropped from the mind, he says, all becomes śītaḷa, cool and soothed. This is the antidote to waiting for the "right" practice: the right one is the free one already in front of you.
Abhang 1530 — You don't have to go anywhere
सेवा ते आवडी उच्चारावें नाम । भेदाभेदकाम निवारूनि ॥१॥ न लगे हालावें चालावें बाहेरी । अवघें चि घरीं बैसलिया ॥ध्रु.॥
If part of your block is "I don't have the time or place to do this properly," Tukaram answers: true service is uttering the name with love — and there is no need to move, no need to go out; all of it happens at home, sitting where you are. You don't need a temple, a journey, or a retreat to begin. The practice travels with you and needs no special setting. Set down the mind's divisions, say the name with feeling, and you are already practicing — right here, seated.
Abhang 1547 — A ready-made first prayer
पतितपावना । दिनानाथा नारायणा ॥१॥ तुझें रूप माझे मनीं । राहो नाम जपो वाणी ॥ध्रु.॥
If you'd like actual words to start with, this abhang is almost a beginner's template — a short string of names with one simple request: Purifier of the fallen, Lord of the lowly, Nārāyaṇa — let your form stay in my mind, let my mouth recite your name. That single line, form in the mind, name on the tongue, is a complete practice you can carry. Notice the epithets too — purifier of the fallen, lord of the lowly — they are aimed precisely at the person who feels unqualified to begin. This prayer was made for exactly where you're standing.
Abhang 1509 — Sing, and step onto a boat already crossing
गायें नाचें वायें टाळी । साधन कळी उत्तम हें ॥१॥ सायासाचें नाहीं काम । घेतां नाम विठोबाचें ॥२॥
Tukaram's most joyful "how to begin": sing, dance, clap — this is the best practice for our age. It isn't somber or austere; it's the easiest, most human thing — to sing the name with others. No toil is needed when you take Viṭhobā's name. And the encouragement for the hesitant beginner: how many countless people have already crossed by this — the boat is spread out and ready, just sit on it. You're not pioneering a hard new path; you're stepping onto one that has carried crowds before you. Begin by singing, and you've already begun.
In one breath
You don't need a teacher, a retreat, a free month, or the right birth to begin — Tukaram says the deepest practice is the simplest, and it costs nothing. Start today, right where you're sitting: say the name (just two letters, Rāma Rāma), speak the truth, do one small kindness, even sing. These free means are the real beginning; the only thing in the way is waiting for a grander door than the one already open in front of you.