Surrender, holding God to his honor
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तुझा ह्मणऊनि जालों उतराई । त्याचें वर्म काई तें मी नेणें ॥1॥
हातीं धरोनियां दावीं मज वाट । पुढें कोण नीट तें चि देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
देवभक्तपण करावें जतन । दोहीं पक्षीं जाण तूं चि बळी ॥2॥
अभिमानें तुज लागली हे लाज । शरणागतां काज करावया ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे बहु नेणता मी फार । ह्मणऊनि विचार जाणविला ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
By calling myself yours, I became free of debt. The secret of how that works, I do not know. Take me by the hand and show me the path; which way is right, only you know, O God. Protect the bond between God and devotee; on both sides of that bond, you alone are strong. Your own honor compels you, for you are bound by the shame of caring for those who surrender. Says Tuka, I am utterly ignorant; that is exactly why I have laid these thoughts before you.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Because I called myself yours, I became free of debt. How that works, I do not know. Take me by the hand and show me the way. Which path is right ahead, only you know, O God. Guard the bond between God and devotee; on both sides of it, you alone are the strong one. Your own honor binds you to act for those who surrender. Tuka says: I am deeply ignorant, and that is exactly why I have laid these thoughts before you.
What it means
Tukaram presses a quiet claim on God's reputation. Simply by naming himself God's own, he says his debts are cleared, though he cannot explain the mechanism. He asks to be led by the hand because he cannot see the right road, and then reminds God that the very bond between the Lord and the one who takes refuge is God's to protect. The pointed line is about honor: a God who is known as the rescuer of those who surrender would be shamed if he failed even one of them. So Tukaram offers his ignorance openly, trusting that God's own good name is now on the line.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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