The Name, the effortless mantra
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जयजय ह्मणा राम । हातें टाळी वाचे नाम ॥1॥
आटाआटी नाहीं ज्यास । न वेचे मोल न पडे खांस ॥ध्रु.॥
आपण ह्मणे आणिकां हातीं । यज्ञादिकीं नये ते गति ॥2॥
आसन भोजन करितां काम । ध्यानसमाधि ह्मणतां राम ॥3॥
मंत्र जपा हा चि सार। वर्णा याती जयजयकार ॥4॥
ह्मणतां राम ह्मणे तुका । वेळोवेळां चुकों नका ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Say 'Victory, victory' to Rama. Clap your hands and speak the Name aloud. There is no strain in this, no cost, no hardship. Say it yourself and help others say it too. The state attained by this cannot be reached through rituals and sacrifices. Whether sitting, eating, or going about your work, let saying Rama be your meditation and samadhi. This is the essence of all mantras and chanting, the victorious cry for all castes and communities. Says Tuka, keep saying Rama; do not miss a single opportunity.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Say 'Victory, victory' to Rama. Clap your hands and speak the Name aloud. There is no strain in this, no cost, no hardship. Say it yourself, and put it into the hands of others too. The state this gives cannot be reached by sacrifices and rites. Sitting, eating, working: let saying Rama be your meditation and your samadhi. This is the very essence of all mantras and chanting, the victory cry for every caste and community. Tuka says: keep saying Rama; do not miss it, time after time.
What it means
This abhanga presses the Name as the easiest and highest practice at once. Tukaram emphasizes that it asks nothing hard: no expense, no strain, only the voice and the clapping hands, so anyone can do it anywhere. He sets it above ritual and sacrifice, saying it reaches a state those cannot, and that repeating Rama through ordinary activity is itself meditation and samadhi. He calls it the essence of all mantras and, pointedly, the cry open to every caste and community, which removes the gatekeeping of ritual. The closing urging is simply not to let any moment slip past unfilled by the Name.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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