The Name, the devotee tastes what God cannot
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कमोदिनी काय जाणे तो परिमळ । भ्रमर सकळ भोगीतसे ॥१॥
तैसें तुज ठावें नाहीं तुझें नाम । आम्ही च तें प्रेमसुख जाणों ॥ध्रु.॥
माते तृण बाळा दुधाची ते गोडी । ज्याची नये जोडी त्यासी कामा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मुक्ताफळ शिंपीपोटीं । नाहीं त्याची भेटी भोग तिये ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Does the night-lotus know its own fragrance? It is the bee who enjoys it fully. In the same way, you do not know the sweetness of your own name; it is we who taste that bliss of love. The mother eats grass, while the child savors the sweetness of her milk; what one cannot use serves another. Says Tuka, the pearl is born in the oyster's belly, yet the oyster never knows its splendor.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Does the night-lotus know its own fragrance? It is the bee who enjoys it fully. So you do not know the sweetness of your own name; only we know that bliss of love. The mother eats grass, the calf tastes the sweetness of her milk. What one cannot use serves another. Tuka says: the pearl is born in the oyster's belly, yet the oyster never knows its splendor.
What it means
Tukaram makes a bold claim: the devotee tastes a sweetness in God's Name that God himself does not taste. He proves it with everyday images. The flower holds the fragrance but the bee enjoys it; the cow eats plain grass but the calf drinks the sweet milk; the oyster grows the pearl but never sees how lovely it is. In each case the one who produces the treasure is not the one who relishes it. So the Name belongs to God, but the joy of the Name is the lover's portion. It is a tender boast that turns devotion into the one experience God has handed over entirely to those who love him.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
More in this theme →