The Name, the taste of nectar
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाम घेतां मन निवे । जिव्हे अमृत चि जरवे । होताती बरवे । ऐसे शकुन लाभाचे ॥1॥
मन रंगलें रंगलें । तुझ्या चरणीं िस्थरावलें । केलिया विठ्ठलें । ऐसी कृपा जाणावी ॥ध्रु.॥
जालें भोजनसें दिसे । चिरा पडोनि ठेला इच्छे । धालियाच्या ऐसें। अंगा येती उद्गार ॥2॥
सुख भेटों आलें सुखा । निध सांपडला मुखा । तुका ह्मणे लेखा । आतां नाहीं आनंदा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When I take Your Name, the mind is cooled and the tongue tastes nothing but nectar. Such are the auspicious omens of gain. The mind is absorbed, absorbed in Your feet, made steady. Know that Vitthala has bestowed this grace. It feels as though a great feast has been enjoyed; the appetite for desire has been satisfied, and words of contentment arise naturally from the body. Joy has come to meet joy; a treasure has landed right in our mouths. Says Tuka, from now on, there is no measure to this bliss.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When I take Your Name, the mind grows cool and the tongue tastes only nectar. These are the good omens of true gain. My mind is soaked, soaked, and made steady at Your feet. Know that Vitthala has given this grace. It feels as if a full meal has been eaten; the hunger of desire is satisfied, and words of contentment rise on their own from the body. Joy has come to meet joy; a treasure has dropped right into my mouth. Tuka says: from now on there is no measuring this bliss.
What it means
Tukaram describes what taking God's Name actually does to a person from the inside. The mind cools, the tongue tastes nectar, and these sensations are the reliable signs that something real has been received. He attributes the steadiness of his absorbed mind not to his own effort but to Vitthala's grace. The Name satisfies like a full meal, quieting the hunger of craving so that contentment speaks by itself. He closes by naming the result: joy meeting joy, a treasure arriving unbidden, and a bliss past all measure.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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