Testimony, God made my own
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
माझा पाहा अनुभव । केला देव आपुला ॥1॥
बोलविलें तें चि द्यावें । उत्तर व्हावें ते काळीं ॥ध्रु.॥
सोडिलिया जग निंद्य । मग गोविंद ह्मणियारा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे धीर केला । तेणें याला गोविलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
See my own experience: I have made God my own. Whatever He prompts me to speak, that answer must come forth at the right time. Once I let go of the world's approval, Govinda became my constant companion. Says Tuka, I held firm patience, and by that I won Him over.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Look at my own experience: I have made God my own. Whatever he prompts me to say, that answer comes out when the time is right. I let go of the world's praise and its blame, and then Govinda became the one I call my own. Tuka says: I held firm and patient, and by that I bound him to me.
What it means
Tukaram is offering his own life as the proof, not an argument. He says God has become his own so completely that even his words are no longer self-generated; what he is prompted to speak comes out at the right moment. The turning point was letting go of the world's approval and blame; once that grip was gone, Govinda became his constant. The closing claim is bold: patient, unwavering holding-on did not just earn God's notice, it bound God to him.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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