Prayer, leaving the verdict to God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
समर्थपणें हे करा संपादणी । नसतें चि मनीं धरिल्याची॥1॥
दुसयाचें येथें नाहीं चालों येत । तरि मी निवांत पाय पाहें ॥ध्रु.॥
खोटियाचें खरें खरियाचें खोटें । मानलें गोमटें तुह्मांसी तें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तुह्मां सवें करितां वाद । होईजेतें निंद जनीं देवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Accomplish this with the strength of authority; do not cling to what need not be held. Nothing foreign prevails here; that is why I quietly gaze at Your feet. What is false You call true, and what is true You call false; You approve whatever pleases You. Says Tuka, when one argues with You, O God, one inevitably earns blame in the eyes of the world.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In your full strength, settle this matter. Do not hold in mind what need not be held. Nothing of another's prevails here. So I quietly watch your feet. You call the false true and the true false. Whatever pleases you, you approve. Tuka says: when one argues with you, God, one only earns blame before the world.
What it means
Tukaram hands the whole dispute to God's authority, asking him to settle it with his own strength and to drop whatever does not need holding. He admits that nothing outside of God carries weight here, so rather than press his case he simply keeps his eyes on God's feet and waits. He notes, half in protest and half in surrender, that God overturns human judgments at will, calling the false true and the true false, approving only what pleases him. The closing line is the resigned wisdom: to argue with such a God is pointless, for the one who quarrels with him only ends up blamed in the eyes of the world.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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