The Name, my only practice
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न करीं पठन घोष अक्षरांचा । बीजमंत्र आमुचा पांडुरंग ॥1॥
सर्वकाळ नामचिंतन मानसीं । समाधान मनासी समाधि हे ॥ध्रु.॥
न करीं भ्रमण न रिघें कपाटीं । जाईन तेथें दाटी वैष्णवांची ॥2॥
अनु नेणें कांहीं न वजें तपासी । नाचें दिंडीपाशीं जागरणीं ॥3॥
उपवास व्रत न करीं पारणें । रामकृष्ण ह्मणें नारायण ॥4॥
आणिकांची सेवा स्तुती नेणें वाणूं । तुका ह्मणे आणु दुजें नाहीं ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I do not recite scriptures with loud chanting of syllables; my seed-mantra is Panduranga. At all times, the mind dwells in the contemplation of the Name; this is my meditation, this is my samadhi. I do not wander on pilgrimages or sit in caves; I go where the Vaishnavas gather. I know no other practice and do not undertake austerities; I dance in the procession and stay awake through the night. I observe no fasts or vows; I simply repeat Rama, Krishna, Narayana. Says Tuka, I know no other praise or service; there is nothing second to this.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I do not chant scripture aloud, syllable by syllable. My seed-mantra is Panduranga. All the time, in my mind, I dwell on the Name. That is my peace; that is my samadhi. I do not wander on pilgrimage. I do not hide in mountain caves. I go where the Vaishnavas crowd together. I know no other practice. I do not go in for austerities. I dance beside the dindi, awake all night. I keep no fasts, no vows, no breaking of fasts. I just say Rama, Krishna, Narayana. I do not know how to serve or praise anyone else. Tuka says: there is nothing second to this.
What it means
Tukaram lays his whole religion on a single thing and refuses every alternative. Against loud recitation, pilgrimage, cave-dwelling, austerity, fasts, and vows, he sets one practice: ceaseless remembrance of the Name, Panduranga as his seed-mantra. He recasts the prized states of the contemplatives, peace and samadhi, as simply what this remembrance already gives. The one company he keeps is the gathering of devotees, where he dances and stays awake through the kirtan night. The point is exclusive devotion: not that other paths are condemned, but that for him nothing stands second to the Name.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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