Surrender and the inner secret of conduct
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तुझा शरणागत जालों मी अंकित । करीं माझें हित पांडुरंगा ॥1॥
पतितपावन तुझी ब्रीदावळी । ते आतां सांभाळीं मायबापा ॥ध्रु.॥
अनाथाचा नाथ बोलतील संत ऐकोनियां मात विश्वासलों ॥2॥
न करावी निरास न धरावें उदास । देई याचकास कृपादान ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे मी तों पातकांची रासी । देई पायापासीं ठाव देवा ॥4॥
सत्यवादी करी संसार सकळ । अलिप्त कमळ जळीं जैसें ॥ध्रु.॥
घडे ज्या उपकार भूतांची दया । आत्मिस्थति तया अंगीं वसे ॥2॥
नो बोले गुणदोष नाइके जो कानीं । वताौनि तो जनीं जनादनन ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे वर्म जाणितल्याविण । पावे करितां सीण सांडीमांडी ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have become Your surrendered servant, O Panduranga. Look after my welfare. Purifier of the Fallen is Your banner of glory. Uphold it now, O Father and Mother. The saints say You are the Lord of the helpless. Hearing their words, I have come to faith in You. Do not leave me desolate; do not turn away in indifference. Give the gift of Your grace to this beggar. Says Tuka, I am a heap of sins. Give me a place at Your feet, O God. One who lives truthfully conducts the whole of life untouched, like a lotus in water. One in whom compassion and service to all beings dwell, the state of abiding in the Self lives within that one. One who neither speaks nor listens to the faults or virtues of others is Janardana himself, moving among the people. Says Tuka, without knowing the inner secret, one only tires oneself out with starts and stops.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have become Your surrendered servant, O Panduranga. Look after my good. Purifier of the Fallen is the banner of Your glory. Hold it up now, O Mother and Father. The saints say You are the Lord of the helpless. Hearing this, I trusted You. Do not cast me off; do not turn away cold. Give this beggar the gift of Your grace. Tuka says: I am a heap of sins. Give me a place at Your feet, O God. The truthful one lives through the whole of worldly life untouched, like a lotus in water. The one in whom service and compassion for all beings happen, the state of the Self lives in that one's body. The one who neither speaks the faults and merits of others nor takes them in through the ear, that one is Janardana himself, moving among people. Tuka says: without knowing the inner secret, you only tire yourself with starting and stopping.
What it means
This poem turns on a hinge. It opens as a pure surrender: Tukaram throws himself on Panduranga's title, Purifier of the Fallen, calling God to live up to His own banner for a beggar who is a heap of sins. Then it shifts to describe what a truly surrendered life looks like from inside. The truthful person lives in the world like a lotus on water, wetted but not soaked. Where compassion and service to all beings actually happen, the abiding in the Self is already there, and one who refuses to trade in others' faults and virtues is God walking among people. The closing warning is the key: without grasping this inner secret, all the outward starting and stopping of practice is just self-exhaustion.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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