The Name, even gods envy human birth
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
स्वगाअचे अमर इिच्छताति देवा । मृत्युलोकीं व्हावा जन्म आह्मां ॥1॥
नारायणनामें होऊं जिवनमुक्त । किर्त्तनीं अनंत गाऊं गीती ॥ध्रु.॥
वैकुंठींचे जन सदा चिंतिताति । कइं येथें येती हरिचे दास ॥2॥
यमधर्म वाट पाहे निरंतर । जोडोनियां कर तिष्ठतसे ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे पावावया पैल पार । नामंत्र सार भाविकासि॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The immortals of heaven desire, O God, to take birth in the mortal world. Through Narayana's Name we shall become liberated while alive, singing the songs of the Infinite in kirtan. The beings of Vaikuntha constantly wonder when the servants of Hari will come among them. Yama himself waits ceaselessly, standing with folded hands. Says Tuka, for crossing to the far shore, the mantra of the Name is the essence for the faithful.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The immortals of heaven long, O God, to be born in the mortal world. Through Narayana's Name we become liberated while still alive, and sing the songs of the Infinite in kirtan. The people of Vaikuntha keep wondering when the servants of Hari will come among them. Yama himself waits without end, standing with folded hands. Tuka says: to reach the far shore, the mantra of the Name is the essence for the faithful.
What it means
Tukaram turns the usual ranking of worlds upside down. The immortals in heaven, who are supposed to be the lucky ones, actually long to be born here in the mortal world, because only here can one sing the Name and become liberated while still alive. The frame the plain layer holds back is why earth is the privileged place: the Name and kirtan are available to a living body, and through them one is freed now, not after death. He sharpens it with two images, the residents of Vaikuntha eagerly awaiting Hari's servants, and Yama, the lord of death, standing with folded hands before such a devotee instead of dragging him off. Tuka's closing line states the means simply: for the faithful, the mantra of the Name is the one essential thing that carries them across.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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