Satire, life wasted without the Name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नामाविण काय वाउगी चावट । वांयां वटवट हरीविण॥1॥
फुकट चि सांगे लोकाचिया गोष्टी । राम जगजेठी वाचे नये ॥ध्रु.॥
मेळवूनि चाट करी सुरापान । विषयांच्या गुणें माततसे ॥2॥
बैसोनि टवाळी करी दुजयाची । नाहीं गोविंदाची आठवण ॥3॥
बळें यम दांत खाय तयावरी । जंव भरे दोरी आयुष्याची ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे तुला सोडवील कोण । नाहीं नारायण आठविला ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Without the Name, all talk is empty chatter; without Hari it is a waste of breath. One freely gossips about other people's affairs, yet the name of Rama never comes to one's lips. One gathers a crowd and indulges in drink, intoxicated by the pleasures of the senses. One sits and mocks others, with never a thought of Govinda. Death bares his teeth, waiting for that person, until the rope of their lifespan is fully drawn out. Says Tuka, who will save you when you have never once remembered Narayana?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Without the Name, what is all this idle prattle? Without Hari it is wasted noise. For nothing he tells the world's gossip, while Rama, lord of the world, never comes to his tongue. He gathers a crowd, drinks liquor, and grows drunk on the taste of the senses. He sits and mocks other people, with no remembrance of Govinda. Yama grinds his teeth, waiting for him, until the rope of his lifespan is fully paid out. Tuka says: who will free you, when you have never once remembered Narayana?
What it means
Tukaram strips the value out of a life spent in talk that leaves out the Name. Gossip about other people pours out freely while Rama, lord of the world, never reaches the tongue, so all the chatter is wasted breath. The same person gathers a crowd, drinks, and gets intoxicated by sense pleasures, and uses his sitting hours to mock others, never once remembering Govinda. Over all of this Yama waits, grinding his teeth, until the measured rope of the lifespan runs out. The closing question turns on the listener: with Narayana never once remembered, who is left to save you?
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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