The Name, urgent appeal to the world
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वेळोवेळां हें चि सांगें । दान मागें जगासि ॥1॥
विठ्ठल हे मंगळवाणी । घेऊं धणी पंगती ॥ध्रु.॥
वेचतसे पळें पळ । केलें बळ पाहिजे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे दुिश्चत नका । राहों फुका नाड हा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Again and again I say this, asking the world for this one gift: let the blessed word Vitthala be spoken. Let us feast on it together in abundance. Every moment is being spent; we must muster our strength. Says Tuka, do not remain doubtful or idle, for this opportunity is slipping away.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Again and again I say only this; I beg the world for one gift. Let the blessed word Vitthala be spoken. Let us feast on it together, our fill, seated in a row. Every moment is being spent; you must put your strength into it. Tuka says: do not stay doubtful, do not sit idle. This chance is slipping away for nothing.
What it means
Tukaram turns outward and pleads with everyone, asking the whole world for a single gift: that the name Vitthala be said. He pictures it as a shared feast, all seated together and eating their fill of the Name. Then he names the pressure honestly; time is draining away moment by moment, so this calls for real effort, not drift. The closing warning is for self-examination: doubt and idleness let a priceless opportunity, the human chance to take the Name, leak away to nothing.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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