The Name, food sanctified by remembrance
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पवित्र तें अन्न । हरिचिंतनीं भोजन ॥1॥
येर वेठएा पोट भरी । चाम मसकाचे परी ॥ध्रु.॥
जेऊनि तो धाला । हरिचिंतनीं केला काला ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे चवी आलें । जें कां मििश्रत विठ्ठलें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
That food is truly sacred which is eaten while remembering Hari. All other eating merely fills the belly like a leather water-bag. He alone has truly dined who has spent the mealtime in contemplation of Hari. Says Tuka, the real flavor comes when the food is mixed with the presence of Vitthal.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
That food is holy which is eaten while thinking of Hari. All other eating just fills the belly, like a bag of leather. He alone has truly eaten his fill who spent the mealtime remembering Hari. Tuka says: the real taste comes when the food is mixed with Vitthal.
What it means
Tukaram takes the most ordinary act, eating, and shows where its worth actually lies. Food becomes sacred not by what is on the plate but by remembrance of Hari held during the meal; without that, eating merely stuffs the body like filling a leather water-bag. The truly satisfied person is the one whose mealtime was steeped in contemplation. The closing line gives the whole teaching its flavor: the food gains its real taste only when it is mingled with the presence of Vitthal, so that remembrance, not appetite, is the true nourishment.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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