Prayer, leave my path to you
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जेणें होय हित । तें तूं जाणसी उचित ॥1॥
मज नको लावूं तैसें । वांयां जायें ऐसें पिसें ॥ध्रु.॥
धरितोसी सत्ता । होसी सकळ जाणता ॥2॥
चतुराच्या राया । अंगीकारावें तुकया॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You know what serves my welfare, and You know what is fitting. Do not set me upon a path of madness that leads nowhere. You hold all authority, and You are the knower of all things. O King of the wise, please accept Tuka.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You know what is good for me, and you know what is fitting. Do not set me on a path of madness that leads nowhere. You hold all power; you are the knower of everything. O King of the wise, accept Tuka.
What it means
Tukaram lays his whole direction in God's hands. He admits that God, not he, knows what truly serves his welfare and what is fitting, so he begs not to be led down some futile, maddening road of his own choosing. He grounds the plea in what God is: the holder of all authority and the knower of all things. Calling God the King of the wise, he asks only to be accepted. The stake is surrender of judgment itself: the devotee stops trusting his own sense of the right path and asks the all-knowing one to choose it for him.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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