Surrender, praise and insult touch nothing
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जो मानी तो देईल काई । न मनी तो नेईल काई ॥1॥
आह्मां विठ्ठल सर्वभूतीं । राहो चित्तीं भलतैसा ॥ध्रु.॥
आध्येन तें जना काई । जल्पें वांयांविण ठायीं ॥2॥
वंदी निंदी तुज तो गा। तुका ह्मणे पांडुरंगा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The one who honors You gives You nothing lasting. The one who insults You takes nothing real away. For us, Vitthal dwells in all beings. Let Him remain in the chitta, however He will. What can idle prattle do to anyone? Words spoken in vain settle nowhere. Says Tuka, whether they praise or revile You, O Panduranga, it is You they touch.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The one who honors you gives you nothing that lasts. The one who insults you takes nothing real away. For us, Vitthal lives in every being. Let him stay in the heart however he wishes. What can idle chatter do to anyone? Words spoken for nothing settle nowhere. Tuka says: whether they praise you or revile you, O Panduranga, it is you they touch.
What it means
Tukaram is steadying himself against the noise of human opinion. Praise adds nothing to God and insult subtracts nothing, so neither should rule a devotee's heart. Because Vitthal dwells in all beings, every word, kind or cruel, lands on God and not on a separate self. The point is not to silence others but to stop staking your peace on their verdict; empty talk has no place to settle when the heart is fixed on Panduranga. Surrender here means letting God remain in the chitta on his own terms, untouched by reputation.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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