Confession, empty-handed surrender
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वांयां जातों देवा । नेणें भक्ती करूं सेवा ॥1॥
आतां जोडोनियां हात । उभा राहिलों निवांत ॥ध्रु.॥
करावें तें काय। न कळें अवलोकितों पाय ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे दान । दिलें पदरीं घेईन ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am going to waste, O God. I know not how to perform bhakti, how to serve You. Now I simply stand with folded hands, quiet and still. What should I do? I do not know. So I gaze upon Your feet. Says Tuka, whatever grace You bestow, I shall receive and hold close.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am going to waste, O God. I do not know how to do bhakti, how to serve you. So now I fold my hands and stand quiet and still. What should I do? I do not know; I gaze at your feet. Tuka says: whatever you give, I will receive it and hold it close.
What it means
Tukaram confesses that he has no skill in devotion and no method of service, and that on his own his life is being wasted. He stops trying to perform and simply stands still with folded hands at the feet. The not-knowing is not laziness; it is the end of self-effort, where gazing at the feet is all that is left to do. What remains is pure receiving: he asks for nothing in particular and promises to keep whatever grace is placed in his hands.
Confession and Sin
Raw, unflinching accounts of personal failure, weakness, and the weight of sin.
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