The Name, no special hour for remembrance
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चिंतनासी न लगे वेळ । सर्व काळ करावें ॥1॥
सदा वाचे नारायण । तें वदन मंगळ ॥ध्रु.॥
पढिये सवाौत्तमा भाव । येथें वाव पसारा ॥2॥
ऐसें उपदेशी तुका । अवघ्या लोकां सकळां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Contemplation requires no special hour; it should be done at all times. Blessed is the mouth that always speaks the name of Narayana. The noblest of all pursuits is pure devotion; everything else is mere show. Says Tuka, this is the teaching he gives to all.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Remembrance needs no fixed time. It should be done at all times. The mouth that always speaks Narayana, that mouth is blessed. The highest love is the dearest thing; here all the rest is empty show. Tuka says: this is what he teaches to all people, to everyone.
What it means
Tukaram strips remembrance of any condition of time or occasion. There is no appointed hour for it; it belongs to every moment. The mouth that keeps speaking Narayana is the auspicious one, and pure love of God is the one pursuit worth having, against which all display and elaboration is hollow. He frames it as open instruction, not private practice: this is the teaching he hands to everyone alike.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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