True worship, contentment over strain
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पूजा समाधानें । अतिशयें वाढे सीण ॥१॥
हें तों जाणां तुम्ही संत । आहे बोलिली ते नीत ॥ध्रु.॥
पाहिजे तें केलें । सहज प्रसंगीं घडलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे माथा । पायीं ठेवीं तुम्हां संतां ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
True worship lies in contentment; excessive effort only increases suffering. You saints know this well; what has been spoken is the right way. Whatever was needed was done; it happened naturally as the occasion arose. Says Tuka, I place my head at the feet of you saints.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Worship rests in contentment; too much effort only swells the weariness. You saints know this; what has been said is the right way. Whatever was needed was done; it happened of itself as the moment came. Tuka says: I lay my head at your feet, you saints.
What it means
Tukaram says that real worship lives in a settled, contented heart, not in piling on more and more strenuous ritual, which only adds exhaustion. He appeals to the saints as those who already know this to be true. The right things, he notes, got done on their own when the occasion arose, without his forcing them. He closes by bowing his head at the saints' feet, placing himself under those who understand that ease and trust, not anxious effort, are the heart of devotion.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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