The Name, sins burned, death barred
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
राम ह्मणतां तरे जाणता अणतां । हो का यातिभलता कुळहीन ॥1॥
राम ह्मणतां न लगे आणीक सायास । केले महा दोष तेही जळती ॥ध्रु.॥
राम ह्मणे तया जवळी नये भूत । कैचा यमदूत ह्मणतां राम ॥2॥
राम म्हणतां तरे भवसिंधुपार । चुके वेरझार म्हणतां राम ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणें हें सुखाचें हें साधन । सेवीं अमृतपान एका भावें ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
By saying Rama, the knowing and the unknowing are both saved, whatever their caste or lineage. By saying Rama, no other effort is needed. Even the greatest sins are burned away. By saying Rama, no ghost or demon can approach. Where is the messenger of death when Rama is on one's lips? By saying Rama, one crosses the ocean of worldly existence. The endless back-and-forth of rebirth comes to an end. Says Tuka, this is the instrument of happiness. Drink this nectar with one-pointed devotion.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
By saying Rama, the learned and the unlearned are both saved, whatever their caste or lineage. By saying Rama, no other effort is needed. Even the greatest sins are burned away. By saying Rama, no ghost or demon can come near. Where is the messenger of death when Rama is on the lips? By saying Rama, you cross the ocean of worldly existence. The endless coming and going of rebirth ends. Tuka says: this is the instrument of happiness. Drink this nectar with one-pointed devotion.
What it means
Tukaram lays out the Name as a complete and equal path, open to everyone regardless of caste or lineage. Saying Rama needs no other discipline added to it: it burns away even the gravest sins, keeps every ghost and demon at bay, and leaves the messenger of death with no foothold. More than protection in this life, it carries a person across the whole ocean of worldly existence and ends the endless back-and-forth of rebirth. He calls it simply the instrument of happiness and urges the listener to drink this nectar with single-pointed devotion.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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