The Name, the formless made visible
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
गोड जालें पोट धालें । अवचित वाचे आलें । ह्मणतां पाप गेलें । विठ्ठलसें वाचेसी ॥1॥
सत्य माना रे सकळ । उद्धरिला अजामेळ । पातकी चांडाळ । नामासाटीं आपुलिया ॥ध्रु.॥
चित्त पावलें आनंदा । सुखसमाधीतें सदा । ह्मणतां गोविंदा । वेळोवेळां वाचेसी ॥2॥
हें जाणती अनुभवी । जया चाड तो चोजवी । तुका ह्मणे दावी । रूप तें चि अरूपा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The belly is full and satisfied. The word came to the lips unbidden. By merely saying Vitthal, sin departed from the tongue. Believe this truth, all of you: Ajamela, sinner and fallen one, was redeemed for the sake of His Name alone. The chitta has reached bliss and abides in samadhi always. By saying Govinda, again and again, at the lips. Those who have tasted know this. The one who truly desires it cherishes it deeply. Says Tuka, He reveals that very form which is the formless.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The belly is full and content. The word came to my lips unasked. Just by saying Vitthal, sin left my tongue. Believe this truth, all of you: Ajamela, a sinner, a fallen chandala, was saved for the sake of His Name alone. The heart has reached joy and rests always in the bliss of samadhi, just by saying Govinda, again and again, at the lips. Those who have tasted it know this; the one who truly wants it cherishes it. Tuka says: He shows that very form which is the formless.
What it means
Tukaram is praising the Name as complete nourishment that needs no preparation. To utter Vitthal is enough to clear sin and fill the heart, and he cites Ajamela, the great sinner saved at death simply by calling a divine name, to insist that the Name's power has no limit and no precondition. Saying Govinda over and over keeps the chitta steadily in bliss, a samadhi reached by the tongue rather than by hard technique. Only those who have actually tasted this can confirm it; it is verified in experience, not argument. The closing claim is the boldest: through the Name the formless God makes himself visible in form.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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