Devotion, the lover's bold complaint
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न बोलावें परी पडिला प्रसंग । हाकलितें जग तुझ्या नामें ॥1॥
लटिकें चि सोंग मांडिला पसारा । भिकारी तूं खरा कळों आलें ॥ध्रु.॥
निलाजिरीं आह्मी करोनियां धीर । राहिलों आधार धरूनियां ॥2॥
कैसा नेणों आतां करिसी शेवट । केली कटकट त्याची पुढें ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे कांहीं न बोलसी देवा । उचित हे सेवा घेसी माझी ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I would rather not speak, but circumstances force my hand; I challenge the world with Your name. All this grand display was a pretense; You turn out to be the real beggar, that much is clear now. Shamelessly and with firm resolve, we have stayed, clinging to Your support. I do not know how You will bring this to its end; whatever commotion was made, it now lies ahead. Says Tuka, You say nothing, O God; You simply accept my service as if it were Your rightful due.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I would rather not speak, but the moment forces me. I challenge the whole world with Your name. The grand display was a pretense. You turn out to be the real beggar; that is clear now. Shameless and firm, we have stayed, holding to Your support. I do not know how You will end this. Whatever trouble was made now lies ahead. Tuka says: You say nothing, O God. You simply take my service as Your due.
What it means
Tukaram speaks to God in the bold, half-accusing voice of a lover who has waited too long. He admits he would rather keep quiet, but the situation forces it out, and he flings God's name at the world as his challenge. Then he turns the tables: the show of God's grandeur is a pretense, and it is God who is the true beggar, dependent on the devotee's love. He confesses to clinging shamelessly, with nowhere else to go, while God stays silent and simply accepts his service as if owed it. The complaint is itself an act of intimacy and trust.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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