Cry for help, come running
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आळस आला अंगा । धांव घालीं पांडुरंगा ॥1॥
सोसूं शरीराचे भाव । पडती अवगुणाचे घाव ॥ध्रु.॥
करावीं व्यसनें। दुरी येउनि नारायणें ॥2॥
जवळील दुरी । जालों देवा धरीं करीं॥3॥
ह्मणउनि देवा । वेळोवेळां करीं धावा ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे पांडुरंगा । दुरी धरूं नका अंगा ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Laziness has overtaken my body; rush to my aid, O Panduranga. I endure the moods of this body as the blows of bad qualities rain down. Narayana, come near and drive away these vices. I have strayed far from You, O Lord; take me by the hand. Therefore, O God, come rushing to my rescue again and again. Says Tuka, Panduranga, do not hold me at a distance.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Laziness has come over my body. Come running, Panduranga. I bear the moods of this body, and the blows of my bad qualities keep falling. Narayana, come close and drive these habits away. I am near You, yet I have gone far; God, take me by the hand. So, God, again and again I call You to come. Tuka says: Panduranga, do not hold me away from You.
What it means
Tukaram is praying out of weakness, not strength. He names a sluggishness that has crept into his body, and the way his own faults strike at him like blows he cannot stop. He does not pretend to fix himself; he asks Narayana to come near and drive the habits out, and to take him by the hand. The ache underneath is that he is near God and still feels far, so he calls again and again, and his last word is the plea not to be kept at a distance.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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