Devotion, the pain of slander against God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नको दुष्टसंग । पडे भजनामधीं भंग ॥1॥
काय विचार देखिला । सांग माझा तो विठ्ठला ॥ध्रु.॥
तुज निषेधितां । मज न साहे सर्वथा ॥2॥
एका माझ्या जीवें । वाद करूं कोणासवें॥3॥
तुझे वणूप गुण । कीं हे राखों दुष्टजन ॥4॥
काय करूं एका। मुखें सांग ह्मणे तुका ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not keep the company of the wicked; it brings disruption to devotion. Tell me, O Vitthal, what course of action do You see? I cannot bear it when someone speaks against You. With my single life, how shall I argue with everyone? Shall I praise Your virtues, or shall I guard against these wicked people? Says Tuka, tell me, what shall I do with this one mouth?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not keep wicked company; it breaks the worship apart. Tell me, O Vitthal, what plan do you see? When someone denies you, I cannot bear it at all. With one life, how can I argue against everyone? Shall I sing your virtues, or shall I keep guarding against these wicked men? Tuka says: tell me, what can I do with one mouth?
What it means
Tukaram brings a real grievance to Vitthal: bad company wrecks his devotion, and he cannot stand to hear God denied or insulted. He feels outnumbered, one life and one mouth set against a crowd of mockers, and torn between two tasks. He cannot both praise God's glories and fight off the slanderers at the same time. The prayer asks God himself for a plan, and points the listener inward: notice how the company you keep can break your worship, and how little one person can do alone against it.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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