Arati, the formless who takes every form
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भक्तिप्रतिपाळक उत्सव सोहळा । मंगळें तुज गाती आबळ बाळा ॥1॥
जय देव जय देव जय गरुडध्वजा । श्रीगरुडध्वजा। आरती ओवाळूं तुज भक्तीकाजा ॥ध्रु.॥
गुण रूप नाम नाहीं जयासी। चिंतितां तैसा चि होसी तयांसी ।
मत्स्य कूर्म वराह नरसिंह जालासी। असुरां काळ मुणि ठाके ध्यानासी ॥2॥
सहजर रूपें नाम सांवळा ना गोरा । श्रुति नेती ह्मणती तुज विश्वंभरा।
जीवनां जीवन तूं चि होसी दातारा । न कळे पार ब्रह्मादिकां सुरवरां ॥3॥
संतां महंतां घरीं ह्मणवी ह्मणियारा । शंखचक्रगदाआयुधांचा भारा ।
सुदर्शन घरटी फिरे अवश्वरा । सकुमार ना स्थूळ होसी गोजिरा ॥4॥
भावेंविण तुझें न घडे पूजन । सकळ ही गंगा जाल्या तुजपासून ।
उत्पित्त प्रळय तू चि करिसी पाळण । धरूनि राहिला तुका निश्चयीं चरण ॥5॥
काय तुझा महिमा वणूप मी किती । नामें मात्रे भवपाश तुटती ।
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Protector of devotees, festival of joy, even little children sing your auspicious praises. Victory to you, bearer of the Garuda banner; we wave the lamp before you for the sake of devotion. Without name or form, you become whatever your devotees desire: fish, tortoise, boar, and Narasimha you became. Death to demons, yet the object of the sages' meditation. Your true color is neither dark nor fair; the Vedas say 'not this, not this,' O sustainer of the universe. You are the life of all life, the giver, whose limits even Brahma and the gods cannot fathom. In the homes of saints you gladly call yourself their servant, though you carry the weight of conch, disc, mace, and all weapons. The Sudarshana whirls ceaselessly; you are neither delicate nor large, but perfectly lovely. Without true feeling your worship cannot be accomplished. All the holy rivers have sprung from you. Creation, dissolution, and preservation you alone perform. Says Tuka, I hold fast to your feet with absolute certainty.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Protector of the devoted, festival of joy, even small children sing your blessings. Victory to you, victory, victory, bearer of the Garuda banner; we wave the lamp before you for devotion's sake. You have no quality, form, or name of your own; yet as your devotees hold you in mind, so you become for them. You became the fish, the tortoise, the boar, Narasimha; you are Death to demons, and the goal the sages seek in meditation. Your true form has no name and is neither dark nor fair; the Vedas say "not this, not this" and call you sustainer of the world. You alone are the life of all that lives, the giver; even Brahma and the gods cannot find your far edge. In the homes of saints and great souls you let yourself be called their servant, though you bear the conch, disc, and mace, a whole weight of weapons. The Sudarshana wheels around you without ceasing; you are neither slight nor huge, but lovely. Without true feeling, your worship cannot be done; all the holy rivers have flowed out from you. Creation, dissolution, and the keeping of all things, you alone do it. Tuka says: I have caught hold of your feet and stay there, fixed and certain.
What it means
The arati holds two truths about God together: he is formless and nameless in himself, yet he takes whatever form his devotee imagines. Tukaram lists the avatars, fish through Narasimha, as proof that the One without quality becomes terrible to demons and sweet to meditating sages alike. The Vedas can only point by negation, "not this, not this," and even Brahma cannot find God's limit; he is the life inside all life. The tender turn is that this same boundless one will be called the servant in a saint's house, though he carries every cosmic weapon. The condition the poem presses is bhav, true inner feeling: without it worship does not land, however correct the ritual. Tukaram ends not with argument but with grip, holding the feet with settled certainty.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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