Fear, crying out for rescue
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भय वाटे पर । न सुटे हा संसार ॥1॥
ऐसा पडिलों कांचणी । करीं धांवा ह्मणउनी ॥ध्रु.॥
विचारितों कांहीं । तों हें मन हातीं नाहीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देवा । येथें न पुरे रिघावा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am afraid that I shall never escape this worldly existence. I have fallen into such a trap; therefore I cry out for Your help. Whenever I try to think, the mind is not in my hands. Says Tuka, O God, even my entry here is not within my reach.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Fear takes hold of me. This worldly life will not release me. I have fallen into such a trap. So I cry out for You to come running. I try to think it through. Then I find the mind is not in my hands. Tuka says: O God, even my way in here is beyond my reach.
What it means
Tukaram names plain fear and asks for help in the same breath. He sees that samsara will not let go of him, and that he has fallen into a snare he cannot work loose. When he tries to reason his way out, he finds even his own mind is not under his control. He confesses that he cannot manage so much as his entry here, which is why he calls on God to come running. The poem makes helplessness itself the prayer: the trap is real, the mind is unreliable, and the only move left is to cry out.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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