Farewell, weary of a false world
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बोलिलों तें आतां पाळावें वचन । ऐसें पुण्य कोण माझे गांठी ॥1॥
जातों आतां आज्ञा घेऊनियां स्वामी । काळक्षेप आह्मी करूं कोठें ॥ध्रु.॥
न घडे यावरि न धरवे धीर । पीडतां राष्टध देखोनि जग ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तुह्मी दिसे मोकलिलें । काय आतां आलें जीवित्वाचें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The words I have spoken must now be honored. What merit in my store could equal such grace? I take your leave now, O Lord; where else shall we spend our remaining time? I can endure no further, nor hold my patience, seeing the world oppressed by falsehood. Says Tuka, you have set me free; what value remains now in this life?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The words I spoke, I must now keep. What merit do I have in my store to deserve such grace? I take my leave now, my Lord. Where else can I pass my time? It cannot go on. I cannot hold my patience, seeing the world crushed under falsehood. Tuka says: you seem to have set me free. What worth is left now in this life?
What it means
This is a poem of departure, spoken to Vitthal at the end. Tukaram knows his words were a vow and now feels bound to honor them by leaving. He wonders aloud what good he ever did to earn this grace, then asks where else a life could be spent if not at the Lord's side. The reason he can stay no longer is the world itself: it is ground down by falsehood, and he can no longer bear to watch. To be set free, here, is not loss but release from a life whose value has drained away.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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