The Name, treasure at the lips
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जवळी मुखापाशीं । असतां नेघे अहनिनशीं ॥1॥
भवनिदानळण नाम । विठ्ठल विठ्ठल नासी काम ॥ध्रु.॥
सुखाचें शेजार । करूं कां नावडें घर ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ठेवा । कां हा न करी चि बरवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
It is right here, near your very lips, yet you will not take it, day or night. The Name destroys worldly existence; chanting "Vitthal, Vitthal" annihilates all lust and desire. When comfort lies next door, why refuse to make your home there? Says Tuka, why does no one recognize this treasure and make good use of it?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
It is right here, near your very lips, and still you will not take it, day or night. The Name burns up worldly existence; saying "Vitthal, Vitthal" destroys all craving. When comfort lives right next door, why refuse to make your home there? Tuka says: why does no one see this treasure and put it to good use?
What it means
Tukaram is astonished at how close the remedy lies and how stubbornly people leave it untaken. The Name of God is already at the mouth, free and constant, yet day and night people will not speak it. He states what it does: chanting "Vitthal, Vitthal" consumes the cycle of worldly existence and dissolves desire at the root. He frames it as a house of comfort standing right next door, a treasure within arm's reach, and the only mystery is human refusal. The poem presses the listener with the plain question of why one would walk past such a gift instead of taking it up.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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