The Name, become what you chant
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
राम ह्मणतां राम चि होइजे । पदीं बैसोन पदवी घेइजे ॥1॥
ऐसें सुख वचनीं आहे । विश्वासें अनुभव पाहें ॥ध्रु.॥
रामरसाचिया चवी । आन रस रुचती केवीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे चाखोनि सांगें । मज अनुभव आहे अंगें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
By chanting Rama, one becomes Rama Himself. Sitting at His feet, one receives the supreme station. Such bliss lies in the word itself. Test it with faith and see for yourself. Once you have tasted the flavor of Rama's essence, how can any other taste appeal to you? Says Tuka, I speak having tasted it myself. I carry this experience in my very being.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Saying Rama, you become Rama himself. Sitting at his feet, you receive the supreme station. Such bliss lies in the word itself. Test it with faith and see for yourself. Once you have tasted the flavor of Rama's essence, how could any other taste appeal to you? Tuka says: I speak having tasted it myself. I carry this experience in my own body.
What it means
Tukaram makes a startling claim: the one who says Rama does not merely praise Rama but becomes Rama, and seated at his feet receives the highest station. He insists the bliss is in the word itself, not in some distant reward, and invites the listener to test it with faith and verify it firsthand. The image of taste carries the argument: once you have known the flavor of Rama, every lesser pleasure loses its savor. He closes by staking it on his own experience, saying he speaks not from hearsay but from what he carries in his own body.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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