Faith, holding the feet though struck
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
माझें मन पाहे कसून । परि चित्त न ढळे तुजपासून॥1॥
कापुनि देइन शिर । पाहा कृपण कीं उदार ॥ध्रु.॥
मजवरि घालीं घण । परि मी न सोडीं चरण ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे अंतीं । तुजवांचूनि नाहीं गति ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Test my mind and see. My chitta will not waver from You. I will cut off my head and offer it. See then whether I am miserly or generous. Strike me with Your hammer, but I will not release Your feet. Says Tuka, in the end, there is no salvation without You.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Test my mind and see. My chitta will not waver from You. I will cut off my head and offer it. See then whether I am miserly or generous. Strike me with Your hammer, but I will not let go of Your feet. Tuka says: in the end, there is no path for me but You.
What it means
Tukaram throws his whole self open to inspection, daring God to test whether his devotion will hold. He answers the test in advance: he would cut off his own head and offer it, proof that he gives without holding back. Even under the hammer, even in pain, his grip on God's feet will not loosen. The last line names why there is no other refuge: at the end of everything, only God is the way through.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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