The Name, easier than every discipline
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नव्हे गुरुदास्य संसारियां । वैराग्य तरी भेणें कांपे विषयां । तैसें नाम पंढरीराया । जया सायास न लगती ॥1॥
ह्मणोनि गोड सर्वभावें । आंघोळी न लगे तोंड धुवावें । अर्थचाड जीवें । न लगे भ्यावें संसारा ॥ध्रु.॥
कर्मा तंव न पुरे संसारिक । धर्म तंव फळदायक । नाम विठ्ठलाचें एक । नाशी दुःख भवाचें ॥2॥
न लगे सांडणें मांडणें । आगमनिगमाचें देखणें । अवघें तुका ह्मणे। विठ्ठलनामें आटलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Serving a guru is not possible for the worldly-minded. The renunciant trembles at the sight of sense pleasures. But the Name of Pandhari's Lord requires no such effort. Therefore it is sweet in every way: no bathing or rinsing of the mouth is required, no craving of self-interest in the soul, no need to fear the world. Worldly action is never enough for the householder. Religious duty yields only limited fruit. The one Name of Vitthal alone destroys the sorrow of worldly existence. There is no need to take up or put down anything, no need to study the scriptural traditions. Says Tuka, through the Name of Vitthal, all is resolved.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Serving a guru is beyond the worldly-minded. The renunciant trembles with fear at the senses. But the Name of Pandhari's Lord asks no such struggle. So it is sweet in every way: no need to bathe, no need to rinse the mouth, no craving of gain in the soul, no need to fear the world. Worldly action is never enough for the householder. Religious duty gives only limited fruit. The one Name of Vitthal alone destroys the sorrow of worldly life. There is nothing to take up and nothing to put down, no scripture and tradition to study. Tuka says: through the Name of Vitthal, all of it is dissolved.
What it means
Tukaram sets the Name beside the recognized paths and shows how much each one demands. Serving a guru is too much for the worldly; the renunciant lives in dread of the senses; ritual action and duty bind the householder and pay out only limited fruit. The Name of Vitthal asks none of this: no bathing, no purifying, no fear, no study, no taking up and putting down of practices. It is sweet precisely because it has no entry fee. The whole machinery of merit and discipline simply dissolves in the one Name.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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