मराठी मूळ
आळस पाडी विषयकामीं । शक्ती देई तुझ्या नामीं॥1॥
हे चि विनवणी विनवणी । विनविली धरा मनीं ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिक वचना मुकी वाणी । तुमच्या गजाॉ द्यावी गुणीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पाय डोळां । पाहें एरवी अंधळा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Make me sluggish toward sensual desires, and grant me strength in Your Name. This is my one and only prayer; hold it in your minds. Let my tongue be mute for any other speech, and give it eloquence only for singing Your praise. Says Tuka, let me see Your feet with my eyes; otherwise I am blind.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Make me slow toward the cravings of the senses. Give me strength in Your Name. This is my one prayer, my only prayer; hold it in Your mind. Let my tongue go mute for any other speech. Give it eloquence only for singing Your praise. Tuka says: let me see Your feet with my eyes; without them I am blind.
What it means
Tukaram asks not to be strong against desire by force, but to be made sluggish toward it, as if the appetite for the senses simply lost its pull. The strength he wants is not his own willpower but a power lodged in the Name. He narrows everything to one request and presses God to keep it in mind. Then he asks for his very speech to be retuned: dumb toward small talk, fluent only in praise. Without the sight of God's feet, he counts himself blind, however much else he can see.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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