Devotion, the saints set Him there
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पुढीलांचे सोयी माझ्या मना चाली । मताची आणिली नाहीं बुद्धी ॥1॥
केलासी तो उभा आजवरी संतीं । धरविलें हातीं कट देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
आहे तें ची मागों नाहीं खोटा चाळा । नये येऊं बळा लेंकराशीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माझा साक्षीचा वेव्हार । कृपण जी थोर परी तुह्मी ॥3॥
लागटपणें मी आलों येथवरी । चाड ते दुसरी न धरूनि ॥ध्रु.॥
दुजियाचा तंव तुह्मांसी कांटाळा । राहासी निराळा एकाएकीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आतां यावरी गोविंदा । मजशीं विनोदा येऊं नये ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
My mind does not follow its own course; it has not imported any willful notion. The saints have made You stand here until now; they have placed the handle of devotion in my hands, O God. I ask only for what already exists; this is no false pretense. One should not use force with a little child. Says Tuka, my dealings are witnessed; yet You, O Lord, are exceedingly frugal. I have come this far through sheer persistence, holding no other desire. Since You dislike the company of strangers, You keep Yourself apart. Says Tuka, after this, O Govinda, do not come to me with mere pleasantries.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
My mind does not run after its own ideas. It carries no willful notion of its own. The saints have made You stand here until now; they put the handle of devotion into my hand, O God. I ask only for what already is; this is no false game. One should not strong-arm a little child. Tuka says: my dealings are all in plain sight; You, Lord, are very stingy, yet You are mine. I came this far by sheer persistence, holding no other wish. You dislike the company of strangers, so You keep apart, alone. Tuka says: from now on, Govinda, do not come to me with mere pleasantries.
What it means
Tukaram leans on the saints, not on himself. He says his mind is not chasing its own clever schemes; the saints are the ones who set Vitthal standing before him and pressed devotion into his hands. So he asks only for what is already his by right, and he warns God not to use force or evasion with him, since he is like a small child clinging to a parent. The tone turns half-teasing: he calls God close-fisted, admits he got this far only by refusing to leave, and asks God to drop the polite small talk and simply give Himself.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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