The Name, the lover is God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नामाची आवडी तोचि जाणा देव । न धरी संदेह कांहीं मनीं ॥1॥
ऐसें मी हें नाहीं बोलत नेणता । आनुनि संमता संतांचिया ॥ध्रु.॥
नाम ह्मणे तया आणीक साधन । ऐसें हें वचन बोलो नये ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे सुख पावे या वचनीं । ज्याचीं शुद्ध दोन्ही मायबापें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Know that one who loves the Name is truly God. Hold no doubt in your mind about this. I do not speak this without understanding; I speak with the agreement and authority of the saints. One should not say that other practices are needed for the one who chants the Name. Says Tuka, joy is attained through these words by one whose both parents are pure.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Know this: the one who loves the Name is himself God. Hold no doubt of it in your mind. I do not say this without understanding. I say it with the agreement and authority of the saints. Do not say that such a one, who chants the Name, still needs some other practice. Do not speak that word. Tuka says: joy comes through these words to the one whose father and mother are both pure.
What it means
Tukaram makes a sharp claim and then defends it as something he has the right to say. The lover of the Name is not merely on the way to God; he is God. To forestall the obvious objection, Tukaram insists this is not careless talk but the settled verdict of the saints. He then closes the door on any add-on: for the one who chants the Name, no further practice is needed, and to say otherwise is forbidden. The blessing of his words reaches the one of pure descent, the heart ready to receive it.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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