Prayer, the patient advocate
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हेचि वादकाची कळा । नाहीं येऊं येत बळा ॥1॥
धीर करावा करावा । तरी तो आहे आह्मां देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
रिघावें पोटांत। पायां पडोन घ्यावा अंत ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे वरि । गोडा आणावा उत्तरीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This is the art of the advocate: one cannot win by force alone. One must have patience, and yet that patience is already with us, O Lord. One must enter into the very heart of the matter, fall at the feet, and discover the final outcome. Says Tuka, bring the sweet one forth in Your answer.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is the advocate's art: you cannot win by force alone. One must hold patience; and that patience is already ours, O Lord. Get inside the very heart of it, fall at the feet, and see it through to the end. Tuka says: bring the sweet one out in Your answer.
What it means
Tukaram likens prayer to a skilled advocate's craft, where pushing by sheer force fails. The winning quality is patience, and he claims devotees already possess it as their grounding. His method is intimate, not aggressive: get inside the matter and fall at the feet, then stay until the case is resolved. The closing turn is addressed to God, asking that the answer come wrapped in sweetness rather than severity. The teaching is that the right way to press God is steady, lowly persistence, trusting that this draws out tenderness rather than rebuff.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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