The Name, one Name beyond every distinction
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नामाचे पवाडे बोलती पुराणें । होऊनि कीर्तन तो चि ठेला ॥1॥
आदिनाथा कंठीं आगळा हा मंत्र । आवडीचें स्तोत्र सदा घोकी ॥ध्रु.॥
आगळें हे सार उत्तमा उत्तम । ब्रह्मकर्मा नाम एक तुझें ॥2॥
तिहीं त्रिभुवनीं गमन नारदा । हातीं विणा सदा नाम मुखीं ॥3॥
कोिळयाची कीतिन वाढली गहन । केलें रामायण रामा आधीं ॥5॥
सगुण निर्गुण तुज ह्मणे वेद । तुका ह्मणे भेद नाहीं नांवा ॥6॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The Puranas sing the glory of the Name; He Himself became kirtan. In the throat of Adinatha, this mantra is supreme; He chants forever the hymn that delights Him. This essence surpasses all that is excellent; Your Name, O God, is the supreme action of Brahman itself. Narada, who wanders the three worlds, carries the veena in his hands and the Name upon his lips. The poet Valmiki's fame has spread far and wide, for he composed the Ramayana even before Rama's advent. Says Tuka, the Vedas call You both saguna and nirguna; in the Name there is no distinction at all.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The Puranas tell the great deeds of the Name; the Name itself became kirtan and stayed. In the throat of the First Lord this mantra is supreme; he chants forever the hymn he loves. This essence is higher than the highest; your one Name is the very work of Brahman. Narada, who roams the three worlds, carries the veena in his hands and the Name on his lips always. The poet's fame grew vast and deep; he made the Ramayana even before Rama came. The Vedas call you both with form and without form. Tuka says: in the Name there is no division at all.
What it means
Tukaram gathers witnesses to show the Name as the one supreme thing. The Puranas recite its powers, and it has settled into the world as kirtan itself. Even the First Lord, Shiva, keeps this mantra in his throat as the highest, chanting the hymn he loves; the Name is the very action of Brahman. Narada wanders the three worlds with veena in hand and the Name on his lips, and the poet's fame swelled so that he composed the Ramayana before Rama himself appeared, by the Name's power. The Vedas may speak of God as having form and as formless, but Tukaram lands the claim plainly: in the Name there is no such division, it holds the whole of God undivided.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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