Prayer, asking to be proven a true servant
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ऐसें सत्य माझें येईल अंतरा । तरि मज करा कृपा देवा ॥1॥
वचनांसारिखें तळमळी चित्त । बाहेरि तो आंत होइल भाव ॥ध्रु.॥
तरि मज ठाव द्यावा पायांपाशीं । सत्यत्वें जाणसी दास खरा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे सत्य निकट सेवकें । तरि च भातुकें प्रेम द्यावें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If my sincerity is truly known to your chitta, then grant me your grace, O God. Let my inner feeling match my spoken words, so that what is outside is also what is within. Then give me a place beside your feet, for you know in truth whether I am a genuine servant. Says Tuka, if I am proven a faithful and intimate devotee, then bestow upon me the gift of your love.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
If this sincerity of mine reaches your heart, then show me your grace, O God. My mind churns to make the feeling match the words, so that what is outside is also what is within. Then give me a place at your feet. In truth you know whether I am a real servant. Tuka says: if I am truly your close servant, then grant me the morsel of your love.
What it means
Tukaram asks God to test the truth of his devotion and reward it only if it is real. His longing is that his inward feeling and his spoken words become one, with no gap between the outside and the inside, and he leaves the judging to God, who alone can see whether the servant is genuine. The reward he begs is a place at God's feet, nearness rather than status. The closing image is humble and tender: if he is truly counted an intimate servant, let God feed him love the way one hands a child a small morsel.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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