Faith, devotion makes God the debtor
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
विठोबाचे पायीं जीव म्यां ठेविला । भक्तिभावें केला देव ॠणी ॥1॥
देव माझा ॠणी आहे सहाकारी । परसपरवारि भवभय ॥ध्रु.॥
भवभयडोहीं बुडों नेदी पाहीं । धरूनियां बाही तारी मज ॥2॥
तारियेले दास पडिल्या संकटीं । विष केलें पोटीं अमृतमय ॥3॥
अमृतातें सेवीतसे नामरसा । तोडियेला फांसा बंधनाचा ॥4॥
बंधनाचा फांसा आह्मीं कांहीं नेणों । पाय तुझे जाणों पद्मनाभा ॥5॥
पद्मनाभा नाभिकमळीं ब्रह्मादिक । त्रैलोक्यनायक ह्मणविसी ॥6॥
ह्मणविसी देवा दासाचा अंकित । मनाचा संकेत पाहोनियां ॥7॥
पाहोनियां दृढ निश्चय तयाचा । तो चि दास साचा जवळीक ॥8॥
जवळीक जाली ब्रह्मीं सुखावले । मार्ग दाखविले मूढा जना ॥9॥
मूढा जनामाजी दास तुझा मूढ । कास तुझी दृढ धरियेली ॥10॥
धरियेले तुझे पाय रे विठ्ठला । तुका सुखी जाला तुझ्या नामें ॥11॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I placed my life at Vithoba's feet and made God my debtor through devotion. God is my debtor and my ally, saving me from the terror of worldly existence. He does not let me drown in the well of worldly fear, but holds my arm and pulls me across. He has rescued His servants in times of distress, turning poison in their bellies into nectar. I drink the nectar of His name-juice; the noose of bondage has been cut. I know nothing of bondage's snare; I know only Your feet, O Padmanabha. From Your lotus-navel sprang Brahma; You are called the Lord of the three worlds. You call Yourself the servant of Your servants, watching the intent of their hearts. The one whose resolve is firm is the true devotee, closest to You. In that closeness, the jiva rejoices in Brahman; the path has been shown to the ignorant. Says Tuka, among the ignorant, I am Your ignorant servant, and I have held fast to Your waist.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I placed my life at Vithoba's feet. By devotion I made God my debtor. My God is my debtor and my helper. He keeps the fear of this world away. He does not let me drown in the deep well of worldly fear. He holds my arm and carries me across. He has saved his servants in their troubles. He turned the poison in their bellies into nectar. I drink the nectar of the Name. The noose of bondage is cut. I know nothing of the noose of bondage. I know only your feet, Padmanabha. Padmanabha, from your navel-lotus came Brahma and the rest. You are called the lord of the three worlds. You call yourself the slave of your slave, watching the secret of his mind. Seeing his firm resolve, that one is the true servant, close to you. In that closeness the jiva rejoices in Brahman, and the path is shown to the foolish people. Among the foolish people I am your foolish servant. I have held your support fast. I have held your feet, Vitthal. Tuka says: Tuka has grown happy through your Name.
What it means
Tukaram makes a daring claim: by sheer devotion, the servant has put God in his debt. Having laid his life at Vithoba's feet, he says God now owes him rescue, and so God holds his arm above the deep well of worldly fear and carries him across, just as He once turned poison to nectar in the bellies of His devotees. The instrument of all this is the Name, whose sweetness cuts the noose of bondage so cleanly that Tukaram says he no longer even knows what bondage is. The poem then names the strange reversal at the heart of bhakti: the Lord of the three worlds, from whose navel-lotus Brahma was born, willingly calls Himself the slave of His slave, won over by a devotee's firm resolve. Tukaram places himself last in line, the most foolish among foolish people, and says that holding fast to those feet is exactly what has made him happy.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
More in this theme →