Confession, stained through many births
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भांडवल माझें लटिक्याचे गांठी । उदीम तो तुटी यावी हा चि ॥1॥
कैसी तुझी वाट पाहों कोणा तोंडें । भोंवतीं किं रे भांडे गर्भवास ॥ध्रु.॥
चहूं खाणीचिया रंगलोंसें संगें । सुष्ट दुष्ट अंगें धरूनियां ॥2॥
बहुतांचे बहु पालटलों सळे । बहु आला काळें रंग अंगा ॥3॥
उकलूनि नये दावितां अंतर । घडिचा पदर सारूनियां ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे करीं गोंवळें यासाटीं । आपल्या पालटीं संगें देवा ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
My capital is tied up in falsehood; this trade is bound to end in loss. With what face shall I look for You, cycling through birth after birth? I have been colored by association with all four forms of life, taking on bodies both good and bad. Through many disguises and many ages, much dye has stained this being. Even when trying to show what lies within, the folds of the garment keep covering it up. Says Tuka, O Lord, take charge of this muddled one and transform me by Your own touch.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
My whole capital is a bundle of lies. A trade like this can only end in ruin. With what face do I watch for you? I keep turning in the womb, birth after birth, hemmed in on every side. I have been dyed by the company of all four kinds of life, taking bodies good and bad. Through many disguises and many ages I have been changed again and again; dark colors have soaked into me. Even when I try to open myself and show what is inside, the folds of the cloth fall back and cover it. Tuka says: gather up this tangled one, O God. Change me by your own touch.
What it means
Tukaram confesses that everything he has built his life on is false, so the whole transaction of his existence runs at a loss. The image is of a soul cycling helplessly through birth after birth in every order of creatures, stained like cloth by every association until the original color is lost. He admits he cannot even uncover his own true heart: every time he tries, the layers fall back over it. So he stops trying to clean himself and hands the work to God: gather up this muddled creature and re-dye him by your own touch. The transformation he needs is one only the Lord can make.
Confession and Sin
Raw, unflinching accounts of personal failure, weakness, and the weight of sin.
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