Faith, single-minded devotion
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धीर तो कारण एकविधभाव । पतिव्रते नाहो सर्वभावें॥1॥
चातक हे जळ न पाहाती दृष्टी । वाट पाहे कंठीं प्राण मेघा ॥ध्रु.॥
सूर्यविकाशनी नेघे चंद्रामृत । वाट पाहे अस्तउदयाची॥2॥
धेनु येऊं नेदी जवळी आणिकां । आपुल्या बाळकाविण वत्सा ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे नेम प्राणांसवेंसाटी । तरी च या गोष्टी विठोबाची ॥4॥ ॥6॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Patience is the key, and single-minded devotion. A chaste wife serves with her whole being. The chataka bird will not look at any other water; it holds its life in its throat, waiting only for the rain cloud. The sun-facing lotus refuses the moonlight and waits solely for dawn. A cow will not let any other calf near; she gives milk only for her own. Says Tuka, when devotion is pledged at the cost of one's life, only then do these truths about Vithoba hold.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Patience is the key, and one undivided love. A faithful wife serves with her whole being. The chataka bird will not look at any other water. It holds its life in its throat, waiting only for the rain cloud. The lotus that opens to the sun refuses the moon's nectar. It waits only for dawn. A cow lets no other calf come near. She gives her milk only for her own. Tuka says: when you pledge your devotion at the cost of your life, only then do these things about Vithoba come true.
What it means
Tukaram gathers four pictures of love that will accept no substitute. The chaste wife, the chataka bird that drinks only rain, the sun-lotus that scorns the moon, the cow that nurses only her own calf: each one is set on a single object and turns away from all others. He is describing what devotion to Vithoba must be like, not a hedged or comparison-shopping love but an exclusive one. The closing line names the cost: these truths only open to the devotee who has staked his very life on that one love.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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