Surrender, the dull mind that only meditates
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न कळे तत्वज्ञान मूढ माझी मती । परि ध्यातों चित्तीं चरणकमळ ॥1॥
आगमाचे भेद मी काय जाणें । काळ तो चिंतनें सारीतसें ॥ध्रु.॥
कांहीं नेणें परि ह्मणवितों दास । होइल त्याचा त्यास अभिमान ॥2॥
संसाराची सोय सांडिला मारग । दुराविलें जग एका घायें ॥3॥
मागिल्या लागाचें केलेंसे खंडण । एकाएकीं मन राखियेलें ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे अगा रखुमादेवीवरा । भक्तकरुणाकरा सांभाळावें ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I do not understand the subtleties of philosophy; my intellect is dull. Yet I meditate on the lotus feet in my chitta. I do not understand the distinctions of scripture. I pass my time in contemplation. I know nothing, yet I call myself a servant. Whatever pride arises from this, let it rest with Him. I have abandoned the ways of the world and cut off from society in one stroke. The old attachments have been severed; I have kept my mind fixed on the One alone. Says Tuka, O Lord of Rakhumai, O compassionate one toward Your devotees, protect me.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I do not understand philosophy; my mind is dull. Yet I meditate on the lotus feet in my heart. What do I know of the fine distinctions of scripture? I pass my time in contemplation. I know nothing, yet I call myself His servant; whatever pride comes from that, let it rest with Him. I have left the ways of the world and abandoned its road; in one stroke I have put the world far away. The old attachments I have cut off; all at once I have kept my mind fixed on the One. Tuka says: O Lord of Rakhumai, compassionate to Your devotees, protect me.
What it means
Tukaram makes a virtue of admitting he is no scholar. He says philosophy is beyond his dull mind and the subtleties of scripture are closed to him; all he can do is meditate on the lotus feet and let his days pass in remembrance. He even hands the title of servant back to God, saying if there is any pride in calling himself one, let that be God's affair, not his. Then he reports a decisive break: in a single stroke he has dropped the world, cut its road, severed his old attachments, and fixed his mind on the One alone. Owning nothing but this surrender, he closes by appealing to the Lord of Rakhumai, the one compassionate to his devotees, to protect him.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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