Prayer, every sense given to God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
येणें मुखें तुझे वणाअ गुण नाम । तें चि मज प्रेम देई देवा ॥1॥
डोळे भरूनियां पाहें तुझें मुख । तें चि मज सुख देई देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
कान भरोनियां ऐकें तुझी कीर्ती । ते मज विश्रांती देई देवा ॥2॥
वाहें रंगीं टाळी नाचेन उदास । हें देई हातांस पायां बळ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे माझा सकळ देहभाव । आणीक नको ठाव चिंतूं यासी ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
With this mouth, let me praise Your qualities and Name. Grant me that love, O God. Let my eyes drink in the sight of Your face. Grant me that joy, O God. Let my ears be filled with Your glory. Grant me that peace, O God. Let my hands clap in rapture and my feet dance in abandon; give these limbs the strength to serve. Says Tuka, let my entire bodily existence be for this alone. Let my mind seek no other dwelling.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
With this mouth let me speak Your qualities and Your Name. Grant me that love, O God. Let my eyes fill with the sight of Your face. Grant me that joy, O God. Let my ears be filled with Your glory. Grant me that rest, O God. Let me clap my hands in the rapture and dance free of all care; give my hands and feet that strength. Tuka says: let my whole bodily being be for this alone. Let my mind look for no other dwelling.
What it means
Tukaram offers God his entire body, sense by sense, asking that each be turned wholly toward Him. The mouth is for the Name, the eyes for His face, the ears for His glory, the hands and feet for clapping and dancing in worship; and for each he asks the matching gift of love, joy, rest, and strength. He does not want these senses for any other use. The closing lines name the stake: the whole bodily existence is to be devoted to God alone, and the mind is to seek no other home, so that nothing in him is left over for the world.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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