Surrender, lay down the burden
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देवाचिये माथां घालुनियां भार । सांडीं किळवर ओंवाळूनि ॥1 ॥
नाथिला हा छंद अभिमान अंगीं । निमित्याचे वेगीं सारीं ओझें ॥ध्रु.॥
करुणावचनीं लाहो एकसरें । नेदावें दुसरें आड येऊं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे सांडीं लटिक्याचा संग । आनंद तो मग प्रगटेल ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Place your burden upon God's head and cast off the carcass as an offering. This pointless vanity clings to your body; swiftly surrender its weight to the one appointed. With words of compassion, gain everything in a single stroke, and let nothing else come in the way. Says Tuka, abandon the company of falsehood, and joy will then reveal itself.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Lay your burden on God's head; cast off this carcass like an offering waved away. This useless craving, this pride, clings to your body; quickly hand its weight to the One appointed to carry it. With words asking for mercy, win everything in a single stroke, and let nothing else come between. Tuka says: drop the company of what is false, and then joy will show itself.
What it means
Tukaram tells you to stop carrying what was never yours to carry. The burden is the load of self-will and self-importance, and the body itself is called a carcass to be offered up, not clutched. He says vanity and craving stick to us, so set the weight down on the One whose job it is to bear it, and ask for mercy plainly, in one stroke, with nothing else allowed to interfere. The last line names the condition: as long as we keep company with the false, joy stays hidden; let that go, and it appears on its own.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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