Words Are the Only Clothes I Wear

"Words are the only jewels I possess.

Words are the only clothes I wear.

Words are the only food that sustains my life.

Words are the only wealth I distribute among people.

Says Tuka, witness the Word -- He is God.

I worship Him With my words."

-- Sant TukaRama

Tukaram Freed From Karma

"God is now my sanchit, prarabdh and kriyaman karmas;

They are of no consequence to me anymore;

I am freed from the effects of age and death.

In unity as in diversity, the Divine is all pervading.

The omnipresent Lord, O Tuka, is ever at play within me."

-- Sant TukaRama

Contemplating God In Meditation

"We must forget bodily consciousness like a deer which is infatuated by music.

We must look up to God, as the young ones of a tortoise look up to their mother.

As a fountain rises upwards, even so must one's spirit rise to God.

One should entertain no idea whatsoever, except that of God."

-- Sant TukaRama

Chanting God's Name as a Bhakti Practice

Simran: The art of remembering God by repeating his name verbally, or repeating it within as in Manas Jappa: a mental or internal repetition done "with the tongue of thought".

"A single word said with an attentive mind is better than a thousand when the mind is far away." (Evagrius)

The sole way to the realisation of God, according to Tukarama, is the constant repetition of God's name:

"Sit silent," says Tukarama, "compose thy mind and make it pure, and then happiness will know no bounds. God will certainly come and dwell in his heart. This will be the result of thy long effort. Meditate time after time on God's name ...... says Tuka, "that this will surely come to pass, if thou hast one-pointed devotion" (Abg.1132). "The uttering of the name of God is indeed an easy way for reaching Him. One need not go to a distant forest. God will Himself come to the house of a devotee. One should sit at a place, concentrate his mind, invoke God with love, and utter His name time after time. I swear by God's name," says Tuka, "that there is no other way for reaching God: indeed, this is the easiest of all ways" (Abg. 1698). "If we only utter the name of God, God will stand before us. In that way should we meditate on Him." (Abg. 2021). There are always difficulties which intervene before God is reached. These are dispelled by the power of devotion. "The Name will lead to God if no obstacle intervenes. A fruit becomes ripe on a tree only if it is not plucked" (Abg. 695). "The ship of God's name," says Tuka, "will ultimately carry one across the ocean of life. It will save both the young and the old" (Abg. 2457). "The whole body feels cool when one meditates on the Name. The senses forget their movements. . . . By the sweet nectar-like love of God, one is full of energy and all kinds of sorrow depart immediately" (Abg. 1543).

-- Tukaram, edited by R.D. Ranade, SUNY Press, NY

Repeat the Name of God

"He who utters the Name of God while walking,

gets the merit of a sacrifice at every step.

Blessed is his body. It is itself a place of

pilgrimage. He who says 'God' while doing his

work, is always merged in samadhi.

He who utters the Name of God

while eating, gets the merit of a fast

even though he may have taken his meals.

He who utters the Name of God without

intermission receives liberation while living

[jiva mukti, liberation of the soul].

"Can one be entangled in the mire of

Illusion

When the Name of the Lord is constantly

on his lips?

One who ceaselessly meditates on Him,

While walking, talking, eating or sleeping,

While engaged in worldly duties,

The Lord is with him at all times.

"Repeat constantly the Name of the Lord,

And know that devotion is indispensable

for deliverance.

Thus the devotee becomes the Lord

Himself,

And thus has the Lord become Tuka."

(gatha 4161)

Third Eye -- Inner Visions of Light

"The soul has been cast in the human body,

It reveals itself as the light of the eye.

To realize the Lord,

Saints and Masters denote landmarks;

Whoever turns attention inward,

Captures these inner signs.

He perceives the vast Parbrahm,

Intensely hard to cross.

I shut off outer communication,

And still myself at the eye center;

I gaze at the inner sky, O Tuka, and lo!

The Supreme Spirit comes to dwell within."

Inner Sound and Light

"Tuka is absorbed in the surging wave

of Sound Divine;

Its resplendence spreads through his

innermost being.

The Lord has made His home in me,

The lamp of eternal Light has been

kindled.

The all-pervading Sound, O Tuka, is

the Lord Himself."

(chhandbadh gatha)