Prayer, make me free as crystal
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उपाधिवेगळे तुह्मी निविनकार । कांहीं च संसार तुह्मां नाहीं ॥1॥
ऐसें मज करूनि ठेवा नारायणा । समूळ वासना नुरवावी ॥ध्रु.॥
निसंग तुह्मांसी राहणें एकट । नाहीं कटकट साहों येक ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नाहीं मिळों येत शिळा । रंगासी सकळा स्पटिकाची ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You are free of worldly entanglement, O Narayana; You are beyond all modification. You have no worldly ties whatsoever. Make me the same way; let not a single trace of desire remain. You dwell in solitary detachment; You cannot bear even a moment of commotion. Says Tuka, a crystal cannot take on the color of any stone it is placed beside.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You are free of every entanglement. You are beyond all change. You have no worldly ties at all. Make me the same, O Narayana. Let not one trace of desire remain. You dwell alone, unattached. You cannot bear even a moment of commotion. Tuka says: a crystal cannot take on the color of any stone you set beside it.
What it means
Tukaram prays to be made like the God he addresses: untouched, unchanging, free of every worldly tie. He asks that desire be removed completely, not merely managed, down to the last trace. The image of God dwelling alone and unable to bear commotion describes the stillness Tukaram wants to share. The closing simile carries the whole prayer: a true crystal stays clear no matter what colored stone is laid beside it, taking on no stain. He is asking to become that clear, so that the world's colors pass over him without dyeing him.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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