The Name, a bonfire of faults
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बरवी नामावळी । तुझी महादोषां होळी ॥1॥
जालें आह्मांसी जीवन । धणीवरि हें सेवन ॥ध्रु.॥
सोपें आणि गोड । किती अमृता ही वाड ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे अच्युता । आमचा कल्पतरु दाता ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Beautiful is the garland of Your Name; it makes a bonfire of the greatest faults. It has become our very life and water, and we drink it to full satiation. It is simple and sweet, surpassing even amrita in its abundance. Says Tuka, O Achyuta, You are our wish-fulfilling tree, our giver.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Beautiful is the roll of Your names; it makes a bonfire of the greatest sins. It has become our life, our water; we drink it to the full. It is simple and it is sweet, more abundant than even the nectar of immortality. Tuka says: O Achyuta, You are our wish-granting tree, our giver.
What it means
Tukaram praises the Name as both purifier and sustenance. Reciting the string of God's names burns up even the gravest faults the way fire consumes a heap, leaving nothing. More than a cure, the Name has become his very life and his drinking-water, taken to satisfaction. He marvels that it is at once easy to use and sweet, and richer than amrita, the nectar of the gods, and closes by calling Achyuta the wish-granting tree, the giver who supplies all this freely.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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