The rite ends, the Name remains
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देवी देव जाला भोग सरला यावरी । सांगाया दुसरी ऐसी नाहीं उरली ॥१॥
हरिनाम देवनाम तुम्ही गाऊनियां जागा । पेंठवणी मागा नका ठेवूं लिगाड ॥ध्रु.॥
शेवटीं सुताळी बरवी वाजवावी डांक । ताळा घाली एक सरलियाचे शेवटीं ॥२॥
गुंडाळा देव्हारा मान देती मानकरी । तुका म्हणे बरीं आजि कोडीं उगविलीं ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The goddess has become the God; the experience is exhausted and no other power remains to speak of. Sing the divine name of Hari and stay awake; claim your reward and leave no entanglements behind. At the close, sound the final drum well and seal the tally of what has been accomplished. Says Tuka, wrap up the shrine, let the custodians give due honor; today all riddles have been solved.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The goddess has become God; the offering is finished, and there is no other left to speak of. Sing the name of Hari, the name of God, and stay awake. Ask for your reward; do not leave loose ends behind. At the close, sound the final drum well; set the last beat when it is all over. Wrap up the shrine; let the keepers of honor give what is due. Tuka says: today, well done, the riddles have all been solved.
What it means
This is the close of the worship Tukaram has been describing, and he uses the closing of a rite to make a deeper claim: the Goddess and God are one, so the form of the offering ends while the truth does not. What carries on past the ceremony is the Name, sung in wakefulness, with no unsettled business left behind. The final drumbeat and the folding up of the shrine are the ordinary signs that the rite is complete and rightly honored. The last line names the gain: today the tangles have been undone, the work has come out well.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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