Longing, match Your deeds to Your name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तरले ते मागें आपुलिया सत्ता । कमाई अनंता करूनियां ॥1॥
उसनें फेडितां धर्म तेथें कोण । ते तुज अनन्ये तुह्मी त्यांसी ॥ध्रु.॥
मज ऐसा कोण सांगा वांयां गेला । तो तुह्मी तारिला पांडुरंगा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नांवासारिखी करणी । न देखें हें मनीं समजावें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Those who were saved in the past did so by their own merit, having earned the grace of the Infinite. When repaying a debt, what credit is there? They were devoted to You, and You to them. Tell me, O Panduranga, who as worthless as me have You ever saved? Says Tuka, let Your deeds match Your name; consider this in Your mind.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Those who were saved before were saved by their own earned merit; they had built up credit with the Infinite. When You only repay a debt, where is the generosity in that? They were devoted to You, and You to them. Tell me, who as worthless as me have You ever saved, O Panduranga? Tuka says: let Your deeds match Your name; turn this over in Your mind.
What it means
Tukaram argues that the famous rescues of the past prove nothing about God's mercy. Those devotees had merit of their own; saving them was merely God settling a debt, an exchange between two who were already devoted to each other, and there is no special grace in paying back what is owed. The real test would be to lift up someone with no merit at all, someone worthless like himself. So he challenges God to act in a way that actually fits His reputation for mercy, and to weigh this honestly rather than rest on past accounts.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →