The Name, fearless servants of Hari
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
करूं याची कथा नामाचा गजर । आह्मां संवसार काय करी ॥1॥
ह्मणवूं हरिचे दास लेऊं तीं भूषणें । कांपे तयाभेणें किळकाळ ॥ध्रु.॥
आशा भय लाज आड नये चिंता । ऐसी तया सत्ता समर्थाची ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे करूं ऐसियांचा संग । जेणें नव्हे भंग चिंतनाचा ॥3॥ ॥2॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let us tell His story and raise the chant of the name; what can worldly life do to us then? Let us call ourselves servants of Hari and wear those ornaments; death itself will tremble before us. Neither desire, nor fear, nor shame, nor worry can stand in the way; such is the power of the Capable One. Says Tuka, let us keep the company of those in whose presence our devotion never breaks.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let us tell His story and raise the loud chant of the Name; what can this worldly life do to us then? Let us call ourselves the servants of Hari and wear that as our ornament; death itself trembles in fear of them. Desire, fear, shame, and worry cannot stand in the way; such is the power of the Capable One. Tuka says: let us keep the company of those whose presence never breaks our remembrance.
What it means
Tukaram is describing the safety the Name gives. Once a life is filled with telling God's story and singing His Name out loud, the ordinary world loses its grip. To wear the title servant of Hari is an ornament that even death fears, because such a person belongs to God. Desire, fear, shame, and anxiety, the inner enemies, can no longer block the way, and Tukaram credits this entirely to God's power, not the devotee's own. He closes with the practical means: keep company with those in whose presence remembrance of God never lapses.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
More in this theme →