The Name, just speak it
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नव्हे मी शाहाणा । तरी ह्मणा नारायणा ॥1॥
तुह्मां बोलवाया कांहीं । ये च भरलोंसे वाहीं ॥ध्रु.॥
आणावेति रूपा । कोपलेती तरी कोपा ॥2॥
कळोनि आवडी । तुका ह्मणे जाते घडी॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I may not be wise, yet I will speak the name of Narayana. I have come rushing with this one purpose: to call upon You. Bring Yourself into form, or if You are angered, then be angry. Says Tuka, knowing this love, do not let this fleeting moment pass.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am not wise. Even so, say it: Narayana. I have come rushing here for one thing only, to call on you. Come into form for me; or if you are angry, then be angry. Tuka says: knowing this love, do not let the moment slip away.
What it means
Tukaram admits he has no cleverness to offer, so he falls back on the one thing he can do, speak the name Narayana. That single purpose, to call on God, is what has brought him hurrying. He dares God either to appear in visible form or, if displeased, to show that anger openly, anything rather than silence. The urgency is the point: this present moment of love must not be wasted, because the time to call is now and it is passing.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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