Faith, the burden made sweet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सेवट तो होती तुझियानें गोड । ह्मणऊनि चाड धरीतसों ॥1॥
देऊं भोगाभोग कलिवरचा भार । साहों तुज थार त्याचमधीं ॥ध्रु.॥
तुझ्या बळें कांहीं खटपट काम । वाढवावा श्रम न लगे तो ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आह्मी चेंपलों या भारें । तुमचें तें खरें देवपण ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In the end, everything turns sweet because of You, and that is why I hold on to this longing. I will offer up the burden of this body, enduring what comes while staying at Your feet. Through Your strength, no further effort or toil is needed. Says Tuka, we are crushed under this weight; Your divinity alone is the true relief.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In the end it all turns sweet because of You; that is why I keep this longing. I will hand over the burden of this body and bear what comes, staying at Your feet. By Your strength no further struggle or toil is needed. Tuka says: we are crushed under this weight; Your godhood is the true relief.
What it means
Tukaram holds on through hardship by keeping his eyes on the end, where everything turns sweet because God is the one bringing it. That trust is why he refuses to let go of his longing. He offers up the whole load of the body and its experiences and resolves to endure it all without leaving God's feet. Resting on God's strength, he says no extra striving is even required. The closing line names both the pain and the cure honestly: we are crushed flat under this weight, and the only real relief is that God is truly God and can lift it.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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