The Name, the upward river
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
प्रेम अमृताची धार । वाहे देवा ही समोर ॥1॥
उर्ध्ववाहिनी हरिकथा । मुगुटमणि सकळां तीर्थां ॥ध्रु.॥
शिवाचें जीवन। जाळी महादोष कीर्तन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे हरि । इची स्तुति वाणी थोरी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A stream of pure love, the nectar of devotion, flows even before God Himself. Hari-katha rises upward like a river flowing to the sky, the crown jewel of all sacred places. Kirtan is the life-sustenance of Shiva; it burns away the greatest sins. Says Tuka, Hari Himself praises its glory; the tongue falls short in extolling it.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A stream of the nectar of love flows, and it flows even before God Himself. Hari's story is a river that runs upward, the crown jewel of all holy places. Kirtan is Shiva's very life; it burns away the greatest sins. Tuka says: Hari Himself praises it; the tongue is too small for its greatness.
What it means
Tukaram exalts the singing of Hari's story above every other holy thing. Love pours out like a stream of nectar, and it flows toward God Himself; the story is a river that runs upward, against the ordinary downward pull, and so it crowns all places of pilgrimage. He calls kirtan the very life of Shiva and says it burns up even the gravest sins. The final turn is the boldest: Hari Himself praises this practice, and the human tongue is simply too small to measure its greatness.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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