Surrender, turning to face the Master
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तेव्हां होतों भोगाधीन । तुह्मां भिन्न पासूनि ॥1॥
आतां बोलों नये ऐसें । आनारिसें वेगळें ॥ध्रु.॥
सन्मुख जालों स्वामीकडे । भव औठडे निराळे ॥2॥
चिंतिलें तें चिंतामणी । फिटे धणी तों द्यावें ॥3॥
सहज िस्थत आहे अंगीं । प्रसंगीं ते वंचेना॥4॥
तुमची देवा धरिली कास । केला नास प्रपंचा ॥5॥
तुका ह्मणे जाणोनि वर्म । कर्माकर्में ठेविलीं ॥6॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I was once subject to sensory pleasures, separate from You. Now I should not speak in that old, different way. I have turned to face my Master; worldly bonds stand apart on their own. The wish-fulfilling gem grants whatever is contemplated; give until full satisfaction is reached. This poise abides naturally in the body and does not deceive in times of need. I have grasped Your hem, O God, and destroyed my worldly attachments. Says Tuka, knowing the inner truth, I have laid aside both action and inaction.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Once I was a slave to pleasures, cut off from you. Now I should not speak in that old, separate way. I have turned to face my Master, and the bonds of the world fall away on their own. The wish-stone gives whatever you think of; give to me until I am wholly full. This poise rests easily in me; it does not fail me when I need it. I have caught hold of your hem, O God, and ruined my whole worldly affair. Tuka says: now that I know the secret, I have laid down both action and inaction.
What it means
Tukaram marks the turning of a whole life. He used to be ruled by the senses and kept apart from God, and he resolves never again to live or speak from that old separateness. The moment he turns to face his Master, the ropes of the world drop away by themselves, and he asks the wish-fulfilling Lord to keep giving until he is completely satisfied. He testifies that this new steadiness is not borrowed for the occasion but lives in him and will not betray him in need. The closing lines name what he has done and why. Holding God's hem, he has deliberately wrecked his worldly career; knowing the inner secret, he has set down the whole anxious accounting of right deeds and wrong.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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