The Name, wake and give before the end
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
रामकृष्ण गीती गात । टाळ चिपळ्या वाजवीत । छंदें आपुलिया नाचत । नीज घेऊनि फिरत गा ॥१॥
जनीं वनीं हा अवघा देव । वासनेचा हा पुसावा ठाव । मग वोळगती वासुदेव । ऐसा मनीं वसूं द्यावा भाव गा ॥ध्रु.॥
निज दासाची थोर आवडी । वासुदेवासि लागली गोडी । मुखीं नाम उच्चारी घडोघडीं । ऐसी करा हे वासुदेवजोडी गा ॥२॥
अवघा सारूनि सेवट जाला । प्रयत्न न चले कांहीं केला । जागा होई सांडुनि झोपेला । दान देई वासुदेवालागा ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे रे धन्य त्याचें जिणें । जींहीं घातलें वासुदेवा दान । त्याला न लगे येणें जाणें । जालें वासुदेवीं राहणे गा ॥४॥
गांवगुंड - अभंग १
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Singing the songs of Rama and Krishna, clapping cymbals, dancing in his own rapture, the wandering minstrel goes from door to door while the world sleeps. Everywhere, in town and forest, God pervades all; wipe away the stain of desire and let the Vasudeva-singers serve you. Great is the love of the Lord's true servant; the sweetness of Vasudeva has seized him, and the divine name rings on his lips at every moment. When the end of all accounts arrives and no effort can avail, wake from your slumber and give to the Vasudeva-singer. Says Tuka, blessed is the life of those who gave that gift; they need never come and go again, for they have come to dwell in Vasudeva.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Singing the songs of Rama and Krishna, ringing the cymbals and the small clappers, dancing in his own delight, he takes his rest and goes his round. In town and in forest, all of this is God. Wipe out the place where desire lives. Then Vasudeva will answer you; let that feeling live in your mind. The Lord's own servant has a great love; the sweetness of Vasudeva has taken hold of him. The Name is on his lips at every moment. Make this your union with Vasudeva. When everything is over and the end has come, no effort you make will work anymore. So wake up, throw off your sleep, and give your gift to Vasudeva. Tuka says: blessed is the life of those who gave their gift to Vasudeva. For them there is no more coming and going; they have come to dwell in Vasudeva.
What it means
Tukaram joins two themes here: the all-pervading presence of God and the urgency of acting before death. The seer's claim is that town and forest alike are wholly God, so the work is simply to wipe out the place where desire lives, and then the divine answers from everywhere. The servant who keeps the Name on his lips at every moment is offered as the model of the love being described. The warning is the familiar one made concrete: when the end comes, no effort will avail, so the gift must be given now while there is still waking life to give it. The reward is release from the round of coming and going, to 'dwell in Vasudeva,' which is the poem's name for liberation.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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