The Name, God comes for the kirtan
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
असोत हे तुझे प्रकार सकळ । काय खळखळ करावी हे ॥1॥
आमुचें स्वहित जाणतसों आह्मी । तुझें वर्म नामीं आहे तुझ्या ॥ध्रु.॥
विचारितां आयुष्य जातें वांयांविण । रोज जन्मा गोवण पडतसे ॥2॥
राहेन मी तुझे पाय आठवूनी । आणीक तें मनीं येऊं नेदीं ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे येथें येसी अनायासें । थोर तुज पिसें कीर्तनाचें ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let all Your ways be as they are; why should I fret and argue? We know our own welfare. Your secret lies in Your own Name. When I consider it, life is passing away to no purpose; day by day, one gets tangled further in the net of birth. I shall remain remembering Your feet and allow nothing else to enter my mind. Says Tuka, You come here effortlessly when kirtan is performed; You have a great passion for it.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let all Your ways be whatever they are; why should I make a fuss and argue? We know our own good. Your secret lies in Your own Name. When I think about it, life is wasting away to no purpose; day by day one gets tangled deeper in the net of birth. I will stay remembering Your feet and let nothing else enter my mind. Tuka says: You come here without effort when kirtan is sung. You have a great madness for it.
What it means
Tukaram drops all argument about God's mysterious ways and goes straight for what works. He does not need to debate; he knows where his good lies, and the open secret of God is His own Name. He sees clearly that life slips away uselessly and that each day binds him further to the cycle of birth, so he resolves to keep his mind on God's feet alone. The closing line lands the claim with affectionate confidence: God comes effortlessly wherever His Name is sung, because He has a wild fondness for kirtan. The point is that the Name and the kirtan, not clever inquiry into God's conduct, are the sure path.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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