Faith, only the Name is asked
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
होईल तो भोग भोगीन आपुला । न घलीं विठ्ठला भार तुज ॥1॥
तुह्मांपासाव हें इच्छीतसें दान । अंतरींचें ध्यान मुखीं नाम ॥ध्रु.॥
नये काकुलती गर्भवासांसाटीं । न धरीं हें पोटीं भय कांहीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मज उदंड एवढें । न वांचावें पुढें मायबापा॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Whatever suffering is destined, I will endure it myself. I will not place that burden upon You, O Vitthal. What I desire from You is this gift alone: constant remembrance within and Your name upon my lips. I will not beg and plead out of fear of rebirth, nor will I hold any terror in my chitta. Says Tuka, this much is more than enough for me. Do not let me live on beyond this, O mother and father.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Whatever suffering is destined for me, I will bear it myself. I will not lay that burden on you, Vitthal. This is the only gift I want from you: your remembrance held within, your name on my lips. I will not whimper in fear of being born again. I will hold no such dread in my heart. Tuka says: this much is more than enough for me. Let me not live on past this, O mother and father.
What it means
Tukaram refuses to use God as an escape from his own karma. He accepts whatever pain is fated and will not hand that weight to Vitthal; the single thing he asks for is the Name, remembered inside and spoken aloud. He explicitly drops the common motive of bhakti as a way to dodge rebirth, saying he will not plead out of fear of another birth. Calling God mother and father, he asks not to outlive this one gift, because once you have the Name, nothing further is needed.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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