The Name, the feast that never sates
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धन्य मी मानीन आपुलें संचित । राहिलीसे प्रीत तुझे नामीं ॥1॥
धन्य जालों आतां यासि संदेह नाहीं । न पडों या वाहीं काळा हातीं ॥ध्रु.॥
ब्रह्मरस करूं भोजन पंगती । संतांचे संगती सर्वकाळ ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पोट धालें चि न धाये । खादलें चि खायें आवडीनें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I consider my destiny blessed, for love of your name has stayed with me. I am truly fortunate now, of this there is no doubt, and I shall not fall into the hands of Death. In the company of saints I will feast on the nectar of Brahman at all times. Says Tuka, my belly is full and yet never sated; I eat and eat again with undiminished relish.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I count my destiny blessed, for love of your name has stayed with me. I am fortunate now, of this there is no doubt. I will not fall into the hands of Death. In the company of saints I will feast on the nectar of Brahman at all times. Tuka says: my belly is full and yet never full; I eat and eat again with love.
What it means
Tukaram reads his whole life as fortunate for one reason: love of the Name has taken root and stayed. From that he draws sure confidence that he is now beyond the reach of Death, the recurring fear these poems answer. He places the source of this in the company of saints, where remembrance of God is a constant feast on the nectar of Brahman. The closing paradox names the nature of that joy: spiritual delight is not like ordinary food that ends in fullness; the soul is satisfied and still hungry, eating again and again with undiminished relish.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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