Plea for grace, worn out by karma
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां तरी मज सांगा साच भाव । काय म्यां करावें ऐसें देवा ॥1॥
चुकावया कर्म नव्हतें कारण । केला होय सीण अवघा चि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नको पाहूं निरवाण । देई कृपादान याचकासी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Now at least tell me the truth, O God. What should I do? There was never any way to escape karma. All effort has turned to mere exhaustion. Says Tuka, do not wait for my last extremity. Grant the gift of grace to this beggar.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now at least tell me the truth, O God. What should I do? There was never any way to escape karma. All my effort has turned to nothing but exhaustion. Tuka says: do not wait for my last extremity. Grant the gift of grace to this beggar.
What it means
Tukaram comes to God empty, asking only to be told the truth of his situation. He admits there was never any path by which he could outrun his own karma; striving against it has only left him spent. So he stops bargaining and asks for the one thing he cannot earn: grace. He calls himself a beggar and begs God not to hold back the gift until he is at the very end, but to give it now.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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