Faith, the Name saves sinners
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी असों नििंश्चतीनें । एक्या गुणें तुमचिया॥1॥
दुराचारी तरले नामें । घेतां प्रेम ह्मणोनि ॥ध्रु.॥
नाहीं तुह्मां धांव घेता। कृपावंता आळस ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे विसरूं कांहीं । तुज वो आई विठ्ठले ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We rest in perfect certainty, relying upon this one quality of Yours: that wrongdoers have been saved by taking Your Name with love. You are never slow to rush to our aid, O compassionate One. Says Tuka, can I ever forget You, O Mother Vitthal?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We rest in perfect certainty. We rely on this one quality of yours: that wrongdoers have been saved by taking your Name with love. You are never slow to run to our aid, O compassionate one. Tuka says: how could I ever forget you, O Mother Vitthal.
What it means
Tukaram explains where his calm comes from: not from his own goodness, but from one proven trait of God. He has seen that even wrongdoers are carried across when they take the Name with love, and on that single fact he rests without anxiety. He adds that the compassionate Lord never delays, never grows lazy about coming to help. The poem closes in tenderness, addressing Vitthal as Mother and asking how such a one could ever be forgotten; certainty here is the fruit of love, not of merit earned.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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