The Name, hold to Your own pledge
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
4277. नामासारिखी करणी । हे तों न दिसे त्रिभुवनीं ॥1॥
सिलंगणीचें सोनें । ठेवूं नये तें गाहाण ॥ध्रु.॥
आदित्याचीं झाडें । काय त्याचा उजड पडे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देवा । िब्रदें सोडोनियां ठेवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
There is nothing in the three worlds equal to the Name in its power. Gold from the touchstone should never be mortgaged. Can the sun's trees ever cause darkness to fall? Says Tuka, O God, do not set aside Your own sacred pledges.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
There is no act in all three worlds equal to the Name. Gold proved by the touchstone should never be pawned away. Can the sun, the tree of light, ever let darkness fall? Tuka says: O God, do not set aside Your own sacred pledges.
What it means
Tukaram declares that nothing anywhere matches the power of the Name, then guards that claim with two images. Gold once tested true is never handed over as pawn; the Name, once known to be supreme, must not be treated as a mere bargaining chip. And the sun cannot produce darkness, because giving light is simply what it is. In the same way, God has bound himself by promises of mercy that belong to his very nature. So the closing line is half plea, half reminder: keep faith with the pledges You have made, for to break them would be to act against Yourself.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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