Surrender, strength through giving up
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी जालों बिळवंत । होऊनियां शरणागत ॥1॥
केला घरांत रिघावा । ठायीं पडियेला ठेवा ॥ध्रु.॥
हातां चढलें धन। नेणं रचिलें कारण ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मिठी । पायीं देउनि केली सुटी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We have become powerful by becoming surrendered souls. We entered the house and found the treasure lying there. Wealth has come into our hands, a cause crafted by forces beyond our knowing. Says Tuka, by embracing the feet, we have won our freedom.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We have become strong by becoming people who surrender. We made our way into the house, and the treasure was lying right there. Wealth has come into our hands; we do not know what set it up for us. Tuka says: clinging to his feet, we have won our freedom.
What it means
Tukaram states the paradox at the heart of bhakti: surrender is not weakness but the source of his strength. By giving himself up he gained entry to the house, and inside, the treasure was simply waiting to be found, not earned. He confesses he does not understand the hidden cause that arranged this gift, which keeps it grace and not achievement. The last line resolves the paradox: it was by holding on to God's feet, the very act of surrender, that he won his freedom.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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