Experience, the root of bliss seen within
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आनंदाचा कंद गाइयेला गीतीं । पाहियेला चित्तीं देवराव ॥1॥
देवराव तो ही आहे निश्चयेसीं । अखंड नामासी बोलवितो ॥2॥
बोलवितो मज कृपा तो करूनि । तुका ह्मणे मनीं धरा भाव ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The root of all bliss has been sung in song. The Lord has been seen within the chitta. That Lord is truly present; He continually inspires the chanting of the Name. He makes me speak, bestowing His grace. Says Tuka, hold this devotion in your chitta.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The root of all bliss has been sung in song. The Lord has been seen within the heart. That Lord is truly there, beyond doubt; He keeps the unbroken Name speaking. He makes me speak, showing me His grace. Tuka says: hold this feeling in your heart.
What it means
Tukaram reports an inward seeing: the source of all joy, which he has been singing about, has now been beheld within his own heart, not somewhere far off. He insists this presence is certain, not imagined, and that it is what keeps the Name flowing on his lips without break. He even credits his own speech to God's grace working through him, so the singing is itself a gift. He turns to the listener with the only instruction that fits such an experience: hold this same feeling in your own heart.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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