The Name, liberated while living
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
राम ह्मणे ग्रासोग्रासीं । तो चि जेविला उपवासी ॥1॥
धन्यधन्य तें शरीर । तीर्थांव्रतांचे माहेर ॥ध्रु.॥
राम ह्मणे करितां धंदा । सुखसमाधि त्या सदा ॥2॥
राम ह्मणे वाटे चाली । यज्ञ पाउलापाउलीं ॥3॥
राम ह्मणें भोगीं त्यागीं । कर्म न लिंपे त्या अंगीं ॥4॥
ऐसा राम जपे नित्य । तुका ह्मणे जीवन्मुक्त ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One who says Rama with every morsel of food, that one has truly feasted even while fasting. Blessed, blessed is that body. It is the very home of all pilgrimages and vows. One who says Rama while going about daily work abides in sukha-samadhi always. One who says Rama while walking the road performs a sacrifice with every step. One who says Rama in pleasure or in renunciation: no karma clings to that one's being. Says Tuka, the one who chants Rama without ceasing is a jivanmukta, liberated while still living.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
One who says Rama with every morsel of food has truly feasted even while fasting. Blessed, blessed is that body. It is the very home of all pilgrimages and vows. One who says Rama while going about daily work abides always in sukha-samadhi. One who says Rama while walking the road performs a sacrifice with every step. One who says Rama in pleasure or in renunciation: no karma clings to that one's body. Tuka says: the one who chants Rama without ceasing is a jivanmukta, liberated while still living.
What it means
Tukaram makes the Name of Rama the whole of religious practice, folded into ordinary life. Saying Rama at every mouthful turns even a fast into a feast; that body becomes the gathering-place of all pilgrimages and vows, so no journey or rite is needed elsewhere. Repeating the Name through daily work, walking, pleasure, or renunciation keeps a person in steady bliss, makes each step a sacrifice, and lets no karma stick. The claim he lands is the boldest one: such a constant chanter is a jivanmukta, free while still alive in the body, with nothing further to attain.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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