Faith, hold fear lest his feet slip away
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धरावें तों भय । अंतरोनि जाती पाय ॥1॥
जाल्या तुटी देवासवें । काय वांचोनि करावें ॥ध्रु.॥
कोणासी पारिखें । लेखूं आपणासारिखें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे असो । अथवा हें आतां नासो॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Fear must be held close, lest the feet of God slip away. If the bond with God is severed, what use is living on? Whom should I regard as a stranger when everyone is like myself? Says Tuka, let this life endure, or let it perish now; it matters not.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Fear is the thing to hold on to, or his feet will slip away from me. If the bond with God is cut, what is the use of living on? Whom shall I count as a stranger, when everyone is like myself? Tuka says: let this life last, or let it be destroyed now; it is all the same.
What it means
Tukaram says the one fear worth keeping is the fear of losing God: a healthy dread that he might let the divine feet slip from his grasp. If that bond were ever severed, living on would be pointless. From that single attachment flows a wide one: he can no longer treat anyone as a stranger, because he sees all beings as himself. The closing line shows how light life itself has become; with God held fast, whether the body endures or perishes now is a matter of indifference.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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