Confession, kept at God's feet despite himself
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मज नष्टा माया मोह नाहीं लोभ । अधिक हो क्षोभ आदराचा ॥1॥
धिग हें शरीर अनउपकार । न मनी आभार उपकाराचा ॥ध्रु.॥
मजहून नष्ट आहे ऐसा कोण । नावडे मिष्टान्न बहुमोल ॥2॥
न दिसती मज आपलेसे गुण । संचित तें कोण जाणे मागें ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे देखोनियां काई । पांडुरंगा पायीं राखियेलें ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Pitiable that I am, I have no attachment, no greed, no covetousness, yet my eagerness is excessive. Cursed is this ungrateful body that does not honor the kindness done to it. Is there anyone more wretched than I, who does not even relish costly, delicious food? I cannot see any virtues of my own; who knows what my past karma truly holds? Says Tuka, seeing whatever it is in me, Panduranga has still kept me at His feet.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Wretch that I am, I have no attachment, no clinging, no greed, yet my eagerness only grows worse. Cursed be this thankless body that does not feel the debt of a kindness. Who is more ruined than I, who does not even relish costly, delicious food? I see no virtues of my own; who knows what my past deeds hold? Tuka says: seeing whatever there is in me, Panduranga has still kept me at his feet.
What it means
Tukaram makes a harsh self-accounting and finds nothing in himself to lean on. He admits he is restless and overeager even while claiming freedom from greed, and calls his own body ungrateful for not honoring the kindness shown it. He cannot name a single virtue of his own, and does not know what his past karma has stored up. The honesty turns the searchlight inward, not outward. The last line is the grace: with full knowledge of all this wretchedness, Panduranga has kept him at his feet anyway, so the rescue is mercy, not merit.
Confession and Sin
Raw, unflinching accounts of personal failure, weakness, and the weight of sin.
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