Autobiography, Hari-katha is my mother
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बोलाचे गौरव । नव्हे माझा हा अनुभव ॥1॥
माझी हरिकथा माउली । नव्हे आणिकांसी पांगिली ॥ध्रु.॥
व्याली वाढविलें। निजपदीं निजवलें ॥2॥
दाटली वो रसें । त्रिभुवन ब्रह्मरसें ॥3॥
विष्णु जोडी कर । माथां रज वंदी हर ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे बळ । तोरडीं हा किळकाळ ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This is not the grandeur of mere words; this is my lived experience. My Hari-katha is my true mother; she is not parceled out to others. She gave birth to me, nurtured me, and laid me to rest in my own true nature. She is overflowing with the nectar of the three worlds, the essence of Brahman. Vishnu folds his hands before her; Shiva bows his head to her dust. Says Tuka, Death itself is held in chains at the feet of this power.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is not the grandeur of mere words. This is my lived experience. My Hari-katha is my true mother; she is not parceled out to others. She gave me birth, she raised me, and she laid me to rest in my own true nature. She is overflowing with the nectar of the three worlds, the essence of Brahman. Vishnu folds his hands before her. Shiva bows his head to her dust. Tuka says: Death itself is held in chains at the feet of this power.
What it means
Tukaram insists that what he speaks is not fine talk but something he has actually lived. He calls the telling of God's story, the Hari-katha, his true mother, who bore him, raised him, and finally settled him in his own real nature. He raises her higher still, calling her the nectar of all three worlds and the essence of Brahman, so great that even Vishnu joins his palms and Shiva bows to her dust. The final image names the full stake: before this power, death itself stands bound in chains, so the devotional telling he lives by is what conquers even dying.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
More in this theme →