Devotion, the mind absorbed in Hari
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पुत्राची वार्ता । शुभ ऐके जेवीं माता ॥१॥
तैसें राहो माझें मन । गातां ऐकतां हरिगुण ॥ध्रु.॥
नादें लुब्ध जाला मृग । देह विसरला अंग ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पाहे । कासवीचें पिलें माये ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
As a mother's heart overflows with joy upon hearing good news of her son, so let my mind remain absorbed in singing and hearing the qualities of Hari. The deer, captivated by music, forgets its very body. Says Tuka, see how the baby tortoise gazes upon its mother with love.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
As a mother takes in good news of her son, may my mind rest like that while singing and hearing the qualities of Hari. The deer is caught by the sound and forgets its own body. Tuka says: see how the baby tortoise watches its mother.
What it means
Tukaram is praying for a certain quality of attention and giving three pictures of it. He asks that his mind, while singing and hearing the praises of Hari, hold the way a mother's heart holds when she hears good news of her son: wholly, gladly, with nothing held back. The deer drawn by music until it forgets its own body shows attention so complete that self drops away. The baby tortoise gazing toward its mother, fed by that gaze alone in the old image, shows a love that lives by looking. Together they ask that devotion be absorbed, self-forgetting, and sustained by simple longing toward God.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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