The Name, the final weapon
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ब्राह्मणा न कळे आपुलें तें वर्म । गंवसे परब्रह्म नामें एका ॥1॥
लहानथोरासि करितों प्रार्थना । दृढ नारायणा मनीं धरा॥ध्रु.॥
सर्वांप्रति माझी हे चि असे विनंती । आठवा श्रीपती मनामाजी ॥2॥
केशव नारायण करितां आचमन । ते चि संध्या स्नान कर्म क्रिया ॥3॥
नामें करा नित्य भजन भोजन । ब्रह्मकर्म ध्यान याचे पायीं ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे हें चि निर्वाणींचें शस्त्र । ह्मणोनि सर्वत्र स्मरा वेगीं ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The brahmin does not know his own true essence. The supreme Brahman is found through the Name alone. I entreat all, young and old: hold Narayana firmly in your minds. This is my humble prayer to everyone: remember Shripati in the depths of your mind. Uttering 'Keshava, Narayana' while performing the daily rituals, that itself becomes the evening prayer, the bathing, and every observance. Let the Name be your daily worship, your sustenance, your meditation at His feet. Says Tuka, this is the ultimate weapon; therefore, remember it everywhere without delay.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The brahmin does not know his own secret. The supreme Brahman is found through the one Name. I pray to small and great alike: hold Narayana firmly in your mind. This is my one request to all of you: remember Shripati within your mind. Say Keshava, Narayana while you sip the water, and that itself is your evening prayer, your bath, your every rite. Make the Name your daily worship and your daily food, and let your sacred duty and your meditation be at his feet. Tuka says: this is the weapon for the last hour. So remember it everywhere, and quickly.
What it means
Tukaram tells even the learned brahmin that the essence he searches for in ritual is reached only through the Name. He pleads with everyone, high and low, to hold Narayana fast in the mind. Then he folds all the prescribed observances into the Name: utter Keshava and Narayana, and that single act stands in for the twilight prayer, the ritual bath, and every duty, becoming worship, food, and meditation at once. He calls the Name the weapon for the moment of death, the one thing that holds when nothing else can. The closing urgency, remember it everywhere and without delay, makes the practice immediate rather than something saved for later.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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