Prayer, to see God everywhere
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जिकडे पाहे तिकडे देव । ऐसा भाव दे कांहीं ॥1॥
काय केलों एकदेशी । गुणदोषीं संपन्न ॥ध्रु.॥
पडें तेथें तुझ्या पायां। करीं वायां न वजतें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे विषमें सारी । ठाणें धरी जीवासी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Grant me such a vision that wherever I look I see only God. Why have I been made so limited, loaded down with virtues and faults? Wherever I may fall, let it be at Your feet; let nothing I do be in vain. Says Tuka, the uneven path takes a firm hold upon the jiva.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Wherever I look, let me see God. Give me at least this much vision. Why was I made so small, so full of merits and faults? Wherever I fall, let me fall at your feet; let nothing I do go to waste. Tuka says: the uneven road takes a firm grip on the jiva.
What it means
Tukaram asks for one gift: eyes that find God in every direction. He looks at himself honestly, a narrow creature loaded with both virtues and faults, and does not pretend otherwise. His petition is not for success but for safety, that whatever befall him, he land at God's feet and nothing be wasted. The closing line warns why the prayer matters: the broken, uneven road of worldly life seizes the soul and holds it fast, so the soul that does not fix its sight on God will be caught by the ground it walks on.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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