Exhortation, the Name brings God running
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
गर्जत जावें नामावळी । प्रेमें टाळी वाहोनि ॥1॥
येणें सुखें पुढती धांवे । भेटी सवें गोपाळा ॥ध्रु.॥
लोटांगण घाला तळीं । वंदा धुळी संतांची ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे विठ्ठल लाहो । ऐसा बाहो उभारा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
March onward chanting the Name, clapping your hands with love. By this joy, God Himself comes rushing forward to meet you, the cowherd Lord. Prostrate yourselves at the saints' feet and bow to the dust beneath them. Says Tuka, raise the cry, Victory to Vitthal!.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Go on chanting the string of Names, clapping your hands with love. By this joy he comes running forward to meet you, the cowherd Gopal. Throw yourself flat on the ground; honor the dust of the saints. Tuka says: raise the cry, Victory to Vitthal, lift up your arms.
What it means
Tukaram gives a simple practice and promises a swift answer. Chant the Names aloud, clap with love, and that very joy draws Gopal himself running forward to meet you. He sets the inward singing beside outward lowliness: prostrate full length and bow to the dust of the saints, since reverence for them is part of the path. The raised arms and the shout of Victory to Vitthal turn private devotion into a shared, audible cry that pulls God near.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
More in this theme →