The Name, the simple mantra
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
काय नव्हे केलें । एका चिंतितां विठ्ठलें ॥1॥
सर्व- साधनांचें सार । भवसिंधु उतरी पार ॥ध्रु.॥
योगायागतपें । केलीं तयानें अमुपें ॥2॥
तुका म्हणे जपा । मंत्र तीं अक्षरी सोपा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What cannot be accomplished by contemplating Vitthal alone? It is the essence of all spiritual practices, carrying one across the ocean of worldly existence. Through Him, immeasurable sacrifices, rituals, and austerities are performed. Says Tuka, this chant is a simple mantra of just a few syllables.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
What cannot be done by thinking on Vitthal alone? It is the essence of every practice. It carries you across the ocean of this world. Through it, countless yogas and sacrifices and austerities are accomplished. Tuka says: chant it. The mantra is easy, only a few syllables.
What it means
Tukaram sets the simple remembrance of Vitthal above the whole apparatus of religious effort. To dwell on the Name is the essence that all other practices were only reaching toward, and it alone ferries one across the sea of birth and death. He claims that this single act quietly contains the fruit of countless yogas, sacrifices, and austerities. The point is reassurance and invitation: the highest thing is also the easiest, a mantra of just a few syllables, open to anyone willing to chant.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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