Prayer, keep my mind from wandering
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां माझ्या भावा । अंतराय नको देवा ॥1॥
आलें भागा तें करितों । तुझें नाम उच्चारितों ॥ध्रु.॥
दृढ माझें मन। येथें राखावें बांधोन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे वाटे । नको फुटों देऊं फांटे॥3॥ ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O God, do not place any obstacle before my devotion now. I do what comes to me: I utter Your name. Keep my mind firmly anchored here; do not let it branch off in other directions. Says Tuka, do not let it wander astray.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now, O God, put no obstacle in the way of my devotion. I do what falls to me to do: I speak your name. Hold my mind firm, keep it bound here. Tuka says: on the road, do not let it break off into side paths.
What it means
Tukaram prays not for things but for an unbroken devotion, asking God to remove whatever would block it. His own part is simple and he is already doing it: he keeps uttering the Name. What he cannot manage alone is his restless mind, so he asks God to bind it in place and not let it scatter down side roads. The stakes are that the practice fails not from lack of effort but from a mind that branches off, and only God can hold it steady.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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