Autobiography, not my words but God's
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नेणें अर्थ कांहीं नव्हती माझे बोल । विनवितों कोपाल संत झणी ॥1॥
नव्हती माझे बोल बोले पांडुरंग । असे अंगसंगें व्यापूनिया ॥ध्रु.॥
मज मूढा शक्ति कैंचा हा विचार । निगमादिकां पार बोलावया ॥2॥
राम कृष्ण हरी मुकुंदा मुरारि । बोबडा उत्तरीं हें चि ध्यान ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे गुरुकृपेचा आधार । पांडुरंगें भार घेतला माझा ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I know nothing of meaning; these words are not my own. I pray the saints will not be angered. These are not my words; it is Panduranga who speaks, pervading me through and through. How could a fool like me possess such insight, when even the Vedas struggle to express it? Rama, Krishna, Hari, Mukunda, Murari: this stammering repetition is my only meditation. Says Tuka, I lean on the grace of the guru; Panduranga has taken on my entire burden.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I know nothing of the meaning. These words are not mine. I beg the saints: do not be angry. These are not my words. It is Panduranga who speaks, filling me through and through. How would a fool like me have such understanding, to speak of what is beyond even the Vedas? Rama, Krishna, Hari, Mukunda, Murari: this stammering is my only meditation. Tuka says: I lean on the grace of the guru. Panduranga has taken up my whole burden.
What it means
Tukaram disclaims authorship of his own verses and hands the credit to God. He addresses the saints first, asking forgiveness in case his words presume too much, then insists the presumption is not his: it is Panduranga who speaks through him. He measures his own capacity honestly, an unlettered man who could not on his own utter truths the Vedas strain to reach, so the speaking must come from elsewhere. His one practice is the simplest, the broken repetition of God's names, and even that he calls his only meditation. The poem rests the whole thing on grace, the guru's and God's, and on the trust that the Lord has shouldered his burden entirely.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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