Exhortation, run to his feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
करीं ऐसी धांवाधांवी । चित्त लावीं चरणापें ॥1॥
मग तो माझा मायबाप । घेइल ताप हरूनी ॥ध्रु.॥
बहुतांच्या मतें गोवा । होऊं जीवा नेदावा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे करुणाबोलें । धीर विठ्ठलें निघेना ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Make this effort and rush to fix the mind upon His feet. Then He, my mother and father, will remove all suffering. Do not allow the jiva to be confused by the many opinions of others. Says Tuka, when compassionate words are spoken, even Vitthal cannot hold back His patience.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Make this kind of hurry. Fix your mind on his feet. Then he, my mother and father, will take your suffering away. Do not let your soul be tangled in the many opinions of others. Tuka says: when you speak words full of sorrow, even Vitthal cannot hold his patience back.
What it means
Tukaram urges the listener to run, not stroll, and to fasten the mind on God's feet. The promise is direct: God, who is mother and father, will then lift away the burning of suffering. He warns against a real danger to that single focus, the crowd of conflicting opinions that can entangle a soul and pull it off course. The closing turn is tender: heartfelt, sorrowful words move God himself, so that even Vitthal cannot keep his composure and stay aloof. The verse pushes the hearer toward urgent, plain-spoken prayer rather than clever debate.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
More in this theme →