Experience, burden laid on God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हा गे माझा अनुभव । भक्तिभाव भाग्याचा ॥1॥
केला ॠणी नारायण । नव्हे क्षण वेगळा ॥ध्रु.॥
घालोनियां भार माथा। अवघी चिंता वारली ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे वचन साटीं । नाम कंठीं धरोनि ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This is my experience: devotion is the fortune of the blessed. I have made Narayana my debtor; He is never apart from me for even a moment. Having placed the entire burden on His head, all worry has vanished. Says Tuka, holding the Name in my throat, I have fulfilled His promise.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is my own experience: devotion is the fortune of the blessed. I have made Narayana my debtor. He is not apart from me for a single moment. I placed the whole burden on his head, and all my worry is gone. Tuka says: holding the Name in my throat, I have kept his word.
What it means
Tukaram is reporting from his own life, not arguing a theory. He says devotion is the real good fortune, and through it he has turned the relationship around so that Narayana is now in his debt and never leaves his side. The center of it is the act of handing God the entire load of his cares: once the burden is on God's head, his own anxiety simply ends. The proof is the Name held constantly in his throat, and he reads his own freedom from worry as God making good on his promise to those who trust him.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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