Autobiography, devotion deepens under blows
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पावतों ताडन । तरी हें मोकलितों जन ॥1॥
मग मी आठवितों दुःखें । देवा सावकाश मुखें ॥ध्रु.॥
होती अप्रतिष्ठा । हो तों वरपडा कष्टा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मान । होतां उत्तम खंडन ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When I suffer blows and abuse, I let go of the world. Then, in my sorrow, I remember God and address Him with calm and measured words. When I am dishonored and beset by hardship, that is when devotion deepens. Says Tuka, when honor and pride are broken, the highest good emerges.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When the blows fall, I let go of people. Then, in my pain, I remember God and speak to him with calm, slow words. When I am dishonored and worn down by hardship, that is when devotion grows. Tuka says: when honor and pride are broken, the highest good comes.
What it means
Tukaram reports from his own life that suffering is what turns him toward God. When he is beaten down and the world abuses him, he stops clinging to people and instead remembers God, speaking to him calmly out of his sorrow. He names the surprising pattern: dishonor and hardship are not obstacles to devotion but the very conditions in which it deepens. The closing line states the principle plainly, pointed at the seeker's own pride rather than at any tormentor: when honor and self-importance are broken, the highest good is what emerges.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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