Sincerity is enough, the unbreakable embrace
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देवासी तो पुरे एकभाव गांठी । तो चि त्याचे मिठी देइल पायीं ॥1॥
पाहोनि राहीन कवतुक निराळा । मी मज वेगळा होऊनियां ॥ध्रु.॥
कांहीं नेघें शिरीं निमित्त्याचा भार । न लगे उत्तर वेचावें चि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जीवें पडिलिया गांठी । मग नाहीं मिठी सुटों येत ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For God, a single thread of sincere devotion suffices; that alone earns the embrace of His feet. I shall stand apart and watch the spectacle, having become separate from my own self. I shall not take upon my head the burden of intermediaries; no answer need be spoken. Says Tuka, once the bond with the jiva is truly knotted, that embrace can never be undone.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For God, one knot of sincere love is enough. That alone wins his feet's embrace. I will stand apart and watch the wonder, having made myself separate from myself. I will not carry on my head the burden of go-betweens. No answer needs to be spoken. Tuka says: once the bond with the soul is tied, then the embrace can never be loosened.
What it means
Tukaram strips devotion down to one thing: a single thread of sincere feeling is all God asks, and that alone earns the embrace of his feet. He then sets himself to one side to watch as a spectator, become separate from his own self, letting God do the work. He refuses every intermediary; he will carry no middleman on his head and owes no spoken answer to anyone. The closing claim is the sharp one: once God knots himself to the soul, that embrace can never be undone.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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