Steady mind, prayer for lasting sweetness
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
केलियाचें दान । करा आपुलें जतन ॥1॥
माझी बुिद्ध िस्थर देवा । नाहीं विषयांचा हेवा ॥ध्रु.॥
भावा अंतराय । येती अंतरती पाय ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जोडी । आदीं अंतीं राहो गोडी॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Guard well what has been given to you and protect your own store. My intellect is steady, O God; I have no craving for sensory pleasures. When obstacles arise in devotion, the feet of God grow distant. Says Tuka, may this sweetness endure from the beginning to the very end.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Guard what has been given; keep your own store safe. My mind is steady, O God; I have no craving for the senses. When obstacles come into devotion, the feet grow distant. Tuka says: this is the gain; from the beginning to the end, let the sweetness stay.
What it means
Tukaram speaks of protecting devotion as one protects a treasure that has been entrusted. He reports his own state: the mind is steady and free of longing for sense pleasures, which is the condition that keeps God near. He names the danger plainly, that when obstacles enter the heart's devotion, God's feet seem to withdraw. So his prayer is for endurance: the real gain is the sweetness of devotion, and he asks that it hold firm from the first to the last.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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