The Name, do not let the sweetness slip
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हरिनामवेली पावली विस्तार । फळीं पुष्पीं भार बोल्हावला ॥1॥
तेथें माझ्या मना होई पिक्षराज । साधावया काज तृप्तीचें या ॥ध्रु. ॥
मुळऴिचया बीजें दाखविली गोडी । लवकर चि जोडी जालियाची ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे क्षणक्षणां जातो काळ । गोडी ते रसाळ अंतरेल ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The vine of Hari's Name has grown and spread wide, laden with the weight of flowers and fruit. Let my mind become a royal bird there, to feast upon it and attain satisfaction. From the very first seed the sweetness was revealed, and the harvest came quickly. Says Tuka, time passes moment by moment; do not let this luscious sweetness slip away.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The vine of Hari's Name has grown and spread wide. It is heavy with flowers and fruit. Let my mind become a royal bird there, to feed and be satisfied. From the very first seed the sweetness showed itself, and the harvest came quickly. Tuka says: time goes by moment after moment. Do not let this rich, juicy sweetness be lost.
What it means
Tukaram pictures the Name as a vine grown enormous, bent under flower and fruit, and asks his mind to perch on it like a bird and eat its fill. The point of the image is its ease: from the very first seed the taste was there, and the harvest was quick, so the reward of the Name is not far off or hard-won. Against that he sets the warning of the last verse, that time runs out moment by moment. The sweetness is offered now, and the only loss is to let the passing minutes carry it away unenjoyed.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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