The Name, no qualification required
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कोठें नाहीं अधिकार । गेले नर वांयां ते ॥1॥
ऐका हें सोपें वर्म । न लगे श्रम चिंतना ॥ध्रु.॥
मृत्याचिये अंगीं छाये । उपाये चि खुंटतां ॥2॥
तुका म्हणे अवघे जन । येथें मन असों द्या ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
There is no qualification needed here. Those who fail to see this waste their human lives. Listen to this simple truth: contemplation requires no laborious effort. In the shadow of Death, when all other remedies fail, let the mind rest here. Says Tuka, let all people place their minds upon this.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Here no qualification is needed. The men who missed this wasted their lives. Listen to this simple secret: remembrance costs no hard labor. In the shadow of Death, when every other remedy is cut off, let the mind rest here. Tuka says: all people, let your mind stay in this place.
What it means
Tukaram knocks away the gatekeeping around the path to God. No rank, learning, or qualification is asked here, and those who could not see this threw away their human birth. The secret is plain: remembrance demands no strenuous discipline. When death's shadow falls and every other means has run out, this is the one refuge left, the place where the mind can rest. He addresses it to everyone without exception, urging all people to fix the mind here.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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