Faith, the Name endures
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न पालटे एक । भोळा भक्त चि भाविक ॥1॥
येरां नास आहे पुढें । पुण्य सरतां उघडें ॥ध्रु.॥
नेणे गर्भवास । एक विष्णूचा चि दास ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे खरें । नाम विठोबाचे बरें ॥3॥
॥ स्वामींनीं पत्र पंढरीनाथास पंढरीस पाठविलें ते अभंग ॥ 66 ॥
संतांबरोबर पाठविल्या पत्राचे अभंग 36
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One who never wavers is the innocent, the simple devotee, the truly faithful. For all others, ruin awaits when their merit is exhausted. The true servant of Vishnu never knows the womb again. Says Tuka, the name of Vithoba is the only real and enduring truth.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
One alone never wavers: the innocent, simple, faithful devotee. For all others, ruin waits ahead, laid bare when their merit runs out. The true servant of Vishnu never enters the womb again. Tuka says: the name of Vithoba is the one thing that is real and good.
What it means
Tukaram sets the steadfast devotee against everyone who trusts in earned merit. The simple, faithful heart never changes, while those who lean on accumulated good deeds face ruin once that store is spent. The servant of Vishnu, by contrast, is freed from the round of birth, never returning to the womb. What makes the difference is not a balance of merit but devotion to the Name. Tuka declares the name of Vithoba the only thing that truly lasts and truly does good.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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