Surrender, the master's honor at stake
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां देवा मोकिळलें । तुह्मी भलें दिसेना ॥1॥
आतां नाहीं जीवभाव । उरला ठाव वेगळा ॥ध्रु.॥
सांभाळुन घ्यावें देवा । आपणासवा यावरि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नग्न भाज । तरि ते लाज स्वामीसी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Now, O God, I have set myself free, and things no longer appear as they did. Now the sense of separate selfhood is gone, and no separate place remains. Take charge and keep me with You from now on, O God. Says Tuka, if Your servant goes naked, the shame is on the master.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now, God, I have let myself go, and nothing looks the way it did. Now there is no separate sense of I; no separate place is left. Take charge of me, God, and keep me with You from here on. Tuka says: if Your servant goes about naked, the shame falls on the master.
What it means
Tukaram describes the surrender as already done: he has released his grip on himself, and the old way of seeing has dissolved. With the sense of a separate self gone, there is no longer any place standing apart from God. From inside that emptiness he hands himself over completely and asks God to take charge and keep him close. The sharp closing line makes the surrender total: a servant who is left exposed shames his own master, so Tukaram puts the responsibility for his care squarely on the Lord he belongs to.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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