Vocation, the spoken word of Vitthal
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उजळावया आलों वाटा । खरा खोटा निवाड ॥१॥
बोलविले बोल बोलें । धनीविठ्ठला सन्निध ॥ध्रु.॥
तरी मनीं नाहीं शंका । बळें एका स्वामीच्या ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नये आम्हां । पुढें कामा गबाळ ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have come to illumine the path and distinguish the true from the false. I speak only the words I am made to speak, for my master Vitthal stands near. There is no doubt in my mind, for I have the strength of my one Lord. Says Tuka, worthless things are of no use to us hereafter.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have come to light up the road and to settle what is true and what is false. I speak only the words I am made to speak, for my master Vitthal stands near. There is no doubt in my mind, for I have the strength of my one Lord. Tuka says: shoddy, worthless stuff will not serve us in what lies ahead.
What it means
Tukaram describes his own work and where its authority comes from. His task is to clear the path and to draw the line between the true and the false, but he insists the words are not his own invention: Vitthal stands near and puts them in his mouth. Because the strength is his one Lord's and not his own, there is no doubt left in him to argue with. The warning at the end is plain: anything cheap or impure will be useless when we face what comes after this life.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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