Faith, God keeps his pledge
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उपेिक्षला येणें कोणी शरणागत । ऐसी नाहीं मात आईिकली ॥1॥
आतां काय ब्रीद सांडील आपुलें । ठायींचें धरिलें जाणोनियां ॥ध्रु.॥
माझ्या दोषासाटीं होइल पाठमोरा । ऐसा कोण पुरा भोग बळी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे रूप आमुच्या कैवारें । धरिलें गोजिरें चतुर्भुज ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have never heard of anyone who sought His refuge being forsaken. Will He now abandon His own ancient pledge, which He holds by nature? Will He turn away from me because of my faults? No sin is strong enough to overpower Him. Says Tuka, He took on that beautiful four-armed form for our sake alone.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have never heard of anyone who took his refuge being forsaken. Will he now throw away his own ancient vow, which he holds by his very nature? Will he turn his back on me because of my faults? What sin is strong enough to overpower him? Tuka says: for our sake alone he took on that lovely four-armed form.
What it means
Tukaram steadies himself against the fear that his sins will disqualify him by appealing to God's own character. He has never heard of a single refuge-seeker being abandoned, so the pattern of God's mercy is unbroken. God's vow to protect those who surrender belongs to his nature, not to the worthiness of the one who comes, and no amount of sin is powerful enough to override it. The closing image grounds the whole confidence: God took on his beautiful form for the sake of devotees, which means turning his back on a sinner would betray the very reason he appears.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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