The marks of one the saints visit
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जे कां सिच्चदानंदीं नित्यानंदु । जे कां मोक्षसिद्धी तीर्थ वंदूं रे ॥१॥
भाव सर्वकारण मूळ वंदु । सदा समबुद्धि नास्ति भेदु।
भूतकृपा मोडीं द्वेषकंदु । शत्रु मित्र पुत्र सम करीं बंधु रे ॥ध्रु.॥
लघुत्व सर्वभावें अंगीकारीं । सांडीमांडी मीतूंपण ऐसी थोरी रे ॥२॥
अर्थकामचाड नाहीं चिंता । मानामान मोह माया मिथ्या ।
वर्ते समाधानीं जाणोनि नेणता । साधु भेट देती तया अवचिता रे ॥३॥
मनीं दृढ धरीं विश्वास । नाहीं सांडीमांडीचा सायास ।
साधुदर्शन नित्यकाळ त्यास । तुका म्हणे जो विटला जाणीवेस रे ॥४॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let us bow to that eternal bliss which is pure being, consciousness, and joy, which is the liberation, the attainment, the holy place itself. Devotion is the root cause of everything; let us bow to that even-mindedness in which there is no division. Cultivate compassion for all beings, uproot the root of hatred, and regard enemy, friend, and son alike. Embrace humility with your whole being; abandon all sense of "I" and "you," for that is true greatness. Where there is no anxiety for wealth or desire, where honor, dishonor, attachment, and illusion are recognized as false, where one lives in contentment, knowing yet appearing unknowing, there the saints appear of their own accord. Hold firm faith in your heart without the strain of picking and choosing. Says Tuka, the one who has grown weary of his own cleverness enjoys the constant sight of the saints.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Bow to that eternal joy which is being, awareness, and bliss; bow to it as liberation, as attainment, as the holy place itself. Devotion is the root cause of all; bow to that even mind in which there is no division. Have mercy on every creature; break the root of hatred; hold enemy, friend, and son the same. Take lowliness on with your whole being; let go of all I and you, for that is true greatness. Where there is no craving for wealth or pleasure, no worry, where honor and dishonor, attachment and illusion are seen as false, where one lives content, knowing yet seeming not to know, there the saints come of their own accord. Hold firm faith in the heart; have no struggle of picking and choosing. The one who has grown sick of his own cleverness, Tuka says, has the saints in sight always.
What it means
Tukaram lays out the inner shape of a person the saints will seek out unbidden. It begins in worship of the one reality, being, awareness, bliss, and of the even mind that sees no division. Then it turns practical: mercy for every creature, the root of hatred pulled up, enemy and friend and son held alike, and the whole weight of I and mine set down, which he calls the real greatness. Such a person carries no craving for wealth or pleasure and no fear of honor or dishonor, living content and knowing while seeming to know nothing. The poem ends by naming who qualifies: the one who has grown weary of his own cleverness, who holds steady faith without the strain of constantly choosing, is the one the saints are always near.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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