The Name, true wealth
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धनें वित्तें कुळें । अवघियानें ते आगळे ॥1॥
ज्याचे नारायण गांठीं । भरला हृदय संपुटीं ॥ध्रु.॥
अवघें चि गोड । त्याचें पुरलें सर्व कोड ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे अस्त । उदय त्याच्या तेजा नास्त॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In wealth, property, and lineage, he excels beyond all others whose heart holds Narayana, treasured within the casket of his breast. Everything becomes sweet for him; every desire of his is fulfilled. Says Tuka, his radiance knows neither sunset nor end.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In wealth, in money, in family, he stands above everyone else. Who is he? The one who has Narayana tied in his knot, packed into the casket of his heart. For him everything is sweet. Every longing of his is filled. Tuka says: his light has no sunset and no end.
What it means
Tukaram redefines what it means to be rich. The truly wealthy person is not the one with money, property, and lineage, but the one who carries Narayana close, knotted into the cloth at his waist, sealed inside his own chest. To such a person everything tastes sweet and every desire is already met, because the wanting has been answered at its root. Tuka closes by naming the difference between this and worldly fortune: ordinary light rises and sets, but this radiance never goes down and never ends.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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