The Name, the shared feast
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भाग्यवंतां हें चि काम । मापी नाम वैखरी ॥1॥
आनंदाची पुिष्ट अंगीं । श्रोते संगीं उद्धरती ॥ध्रु.॥
पिकविलें तया खाणें किती । पंगतीस सुकाळ ॥2॥
तुका करी प्रणिपात । दंडवत आचारियां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The fortunate ones have but one task: to measure out the Name in vaikhari. The body is nourished in the joy of it, and the listeners in their company are also uplifted. When one has harvested a rich crop, how much can one eat alone? The whole assembly feasts in abundance. Says Tuka, I bow down and prostrate before such teachers.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The fortunate ones have only one task: to measure out the Name aloud. The body is nourished in its joy, and the listeners gathered around are lifted up too. When you have harvested a rich crop, how much can you eat alone? The whole assembly feasts in plenty. Tuka says: I bow down and prostrate before such teachers.
What it means
Tukaram describes the one work of the blessed: to speak the Name aloud and keep it flowing. The joy of it nourishes the speaker, but he insists the gift cannot stay private, for those who listen are raised along with him. His image of the harvest makes the point: a rich crop is too much for one mouth, so the whole gathering is fed. He ends by bowing to the teachers who do exactly this, sharing the Name rather than hoarding it.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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