Veneration of saints, blessed lineage
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जगीं ऐसा बाप व्हावा । ज्याचा वंश मुक्तीस जावा॥1॥
पोटा येतां हरलें पापा । ज्ञानदेवा मायबापा ॥ध्रु.॥
मुळीं बाप होता ज्ञानी । तरी आह्मी लागलों ध्यानीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मी पोटींचें बाळ । माझी पुरवा ब्रह्मींची आळ ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Blessed is the father whose lineage attains liberation. O Dnyanadeva, O dear parent, when you came into the womb, sin itself was destroyed. Your father was a man of wisdom, and therefore we too were drawn into contemplation. Says Tuka, I am the child of that very womb; fulfill my longing for union with the Absolute.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let such a father be born into this world, whose lineage goes on to liberation. When he came into the womb, sin itself was undone, O Dnyanadeva, dear father and mother. From the start the father was a man of wisdom, and so we too were drawn into contemplation. Tuka says: I am the child of that womb; fulfill in me this longing for Brahman.
What it means
Tukaram is praising Dnyanadeva and claiming his spiritual descent. The truly blessed parent, he says, is the one whose line leads on to liberation, and Dnyanadeva is exactly that: at his very coming, sin was undone. He calls him father and mother both, because spiritual lineage is the real parentage here. Since the source was a man of wisdom, those who follow are drawn into contemplation as if by inheritance. Standing in that line, Tukaram asks for the child's birthright: fulfill in me this longing for Brahman.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
More in this theme →