The one doorway, Vithoba's feet within
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भ्रमना पाउलें वेचिलीं तीं वाव । प्रवेशतां ठाव एक द्वार ॥1॥
सार तीं पाउलें विठोबाचीं जीवीं । कोणीं न विसंभावीं क्षणभरि ॥ध्रु.॥
सुलभ हें केलें सकळां जीवन । काुंफ्कावें चि कान न लगेसें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे येथें सकळ ही कोड । पुरे मूळ खोड विस्ताराचें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The steps of wandering were all in vain; the single doorway is found only when one enters the true place. Those essential steps are the feet of Vithoba, held within the jiva. Let no one forget them even for a moment. He has made the water of life easily accessible to all, so that none need even strain their ears. Says Tuka, here all curiosity is satisfied; the root flaw of endless expansion is ended.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
All the steps of wandering were wasted. The one doorway is found only when you enter the true place. The essential steps are Vithoba's feet, held inside the living soul. Let no one forget them, even for a moment. He has made the water of life easy for everyone; you need not even strain your ears. Tuka says: here every longing is met; the root flaw of endless spreading out is over.
What it means
Tukaram contrasts restless seeking with arrival. All the wandering led nowhere; there is one door, and it opens only when you reach the true place. That place is Vithoba's feet, carried within the soul itself, and he warns against forgetting them for even a moment. God has made the water of life simple and within reach of all, no straining required. The closing line names the disease being cured: the mind's endless branching and expansion, which finally ends here, where every longing is satisfied.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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