The Name, the guide on the road
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कळे न कळे त्या धर्म । ऐका सांगतों रे वर्म । माझ्या विठोबाचें नाम । अटाहासें उच्चारा ॥1॥
तो या दाखवील वाटा । तया पाहिजे त्या नीटा । कृपावंत मोटा । पाहिजे तो कळवळा ॥ध्रु.॥
पुसतां चुका होतो वाटा । सवें बोळावा गोमटा । मोडों नेदी कांटा । घेऊं सांटा चोरासी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मोल । न लगें द्यावें वेचावे बोल । विठ्ठल विठ्ठल । ऐसा छंद मनासी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Whether you understand dharma or not, listen, I will tell you the secret. Cry out the Name of my Vitthal with full-throated fervor. He will show you the paths you need, whatever they may be; the compassionate One will answer your yearning. When you lose your way, He walks beside you as a gracious guide; He will not let thorns prick you or thieves assail you. Says Tuka, no price need be paid, no words need be spent; just let the mind chant Vitthal, Vitthal.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Whether you understand dharma or not, listen, I will tell you the heart of it. Call out the name of my Vithoba with all your force. He will show you the paths you need, whatever they are. The greatly compassionate One will answer your longing. When you lose your way he walks beside you as a kind guide. He lets no thorn prick you. He takes the road away from thieves. Tuka says: no price need be paid, no words need be spent. Just keep the mind set on this: Vitthal, Vitthal.
What it means
Tukaram speaks to people anxious about whether they grasp dharma, and sets that worry aside: the secret is simply to cry out Vithoba's name with full force. He casts God as a guide on a dangerous road who shows the right paths, walks alongside the one who has lost the way, keeps thorns from the feet, and steers clear of thieves. The compassion is what answers, not the seeker's learning or effort. The closing line strips the cost down to nothing: no payment, no elaborate words, only the mind held steady on the repeated name, Vitthal, Vitthal.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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