Devotion, the fruit of many lives
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बहुतां जन्मींचें संचित । सबळ होय जरि बहुत । तरि चि होय हरिभक्त । कृपावंत मानसीं ॥1॥
असे भूतदया मानसीं । अवघा देखे हृषीकेशी । जीवें न विसंबे तयासी । मागें मागें हिंडतसे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे निविनकार । शरणागतां वज्रपंजर । जे जे अनुसरले नर । तयां जन्म चुकलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Only when the merit of many births accumulates in great abundance does one become a devotee of Hari, with a mind that is gracious and compassionate. Such a one holds compassion for all beings in the mind and sees Hrishikesha everywhere. With their very jiva they do not forget him and follow behind him wherever they go. Says Tuka, the Lord is unchanging, a fortress of diamond for those who surrender. Whoever has followed him has been freed from rebirth.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Only when the merit of many births gathers in great abundance does one become a devotee of Hari, with a mind that is gracious and kind. Such a one holds compassion for all beings in the mind, and sees Hrishikesha everywhere. With his very life he does not forget him, and follows behind him wherever he goes. Tuka says: the Lord is unchanging, a fortress of diamond for those who surrender. Whoever has followed him has escaped rebirth.
What it means
Tukaram frames true devotion as rare and hard-won, the harvest of merit stored across many lifetimes, so that becoming Hari's devotee is not a casual choice but a culmination. The marks of such a soul are inward and ethical: a mind softened to compassion for every creature, and an eye that sees Hrishikesha in all things. Devotion here is constant attention, never forgetting God and walking always behind him. The closing image gives the reward and the security together: the unchanging Lord becomes a diamond fortress for whoever surrenders, and that surrender is what ends the round of rebirth.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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