Prayer, let the past be past
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
असो मागें जालें । पुडें गोड तें चांगलें ॥1॥
आतां माझे मनीं । कांहीं अपराध न मनीं ॥ध्रु.॥
नेदीं अवसान । करितां नामाचें चिंतन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे बोले । तुज आधीं च गोविलें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let the past be past; what lies ahead, let it be sweet and good. From now on, hold no offense in Your mind against me. Do not let me falter in the contemplation of Your name. Says Tuka, I have already bound You by these words from the very start.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let what is gone be gone; let what comes ahead be sweet and good. From now on, hold no offense against me in Your mind. Do not let me lose heart while I dwell on Your name. Tuka says: by these very words I have already bound You, from the very start.
What it means
Tukaram asks for a clean slate: let the past stay in the past and let the road ahead be good, with no grudge held against him. His one ongoing request is steadiness, that he never falter or lose strength while keeping God's name in mind. The closing line is the daring turn: he claims his words themselves have already tied God down. By praying this way he holds God to his own nature as the one who forgives, so the prayer is less a plea than a binding already accomplished.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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