Saints, lowest place at their feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सेवीन उिच्छष्ट लोळेन अंगणीं । वैष्णवां चरणीं होइन जोडा ॥1॥
ऐसें जन्म आतां मज देई देवा । आवडी हे जीवा सर्व काळ ॥ध्रु.॥
त्यांचे चरणरज येती अंगावरी । वंदीत ते शिरीं जाइन मागें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे येथें राहिलासे भाव । सकळ ही वाव जाणोनियां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I will eat the remnants of their meals, roll in the dust of their courtyards, and become sandals at the feet of the Vaishnavas. O God, grant me such a birth, for this is my longing at all times. May the dust of their feet fall upon me, and I will follow behind, bowing my head to receive it. Says Tuka, this alone is my aspiration, knowing all else to be hollow.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I will eat the leftovers of their meals. I will roll in the dust of their courtyards. I will become the sandals at the feet of the Vaishnavas. O God, give me such a birth as this, for this is my longing at every hour. Let the dust of their feet fall on my body; I will follow behind them, bowing my head to receive it. Tuka says: this alone is what my heart holds, for I know all else is hollow.
What it means
Tukaram asks God for the lowest possible place, not the highest. He wants to eat the saints' leftovers, roll in their courtyard dust, and be the sandals beneath their feet, and he begs to be born for this and nothing else. The longing is total: he will walk behind them just to catch the dust off their feet on his head. The reason is in the last line, that he has weighed everything else and found it empty, so the only thing worth wanting is the lowest service to the devotees of God.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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