Confession, the whole burden on Vithoba
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
संतजना माझी यावया करुणा । ह्मणउनी दीन हीन जालों ॥1॥
नेणें योग युक्ती नाहीं ज्ञान मति । गातसें या गीती पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
भाव भक्ती नेणें तप अनुष्ठान । करितों किर्त्तन विठ्ठलाचें ॥2॥
ब्रह्मज्ञान ध्यान न कळे धारणा । एका नारायणा वांचूनियां ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे माझा विटोबासी भार । जाणे हा विचार तो चि माझा ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have become poor and lowly so that the saintly ones may show me compassion. I know no yoga, no technique, no wisdom, no intellect. I sing these songs of Panduranga. I know neither devotion nor austerity nor ritual practice. I perform Vitthal's kirtan alone. I understand neither Brahman-knowledge, nor meditation, nor concentration, except for Narayana alone. Says Tuka, my entire burden is upon Vithoba. He alone knows what is right for me.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have become poor and lowly so that the saints might take pity on me. I know no yoga, no technique, no wisdom, no quick mind; I just sing these songs of Panduranga. I do not know devotion, or austerity, or ritual; I only sing Vitthal's kirtan. I understand no knowledge of Brahman, no meditation, no holding the mind still, nothing but Narayana alone. Tuka says: my whole burden is on Vithoba; he alone knows what is right for me.
What it means
Tukaram empties his hands of every credential before he asks for help. He says his low, poor condition is itself the appeal, drawing the saints' compassion; he claims no yoga, no learning, no sharp intellect. All he can do is sing the Name of Panduranga, and he denies even devotion, austerity, and ritual as his own achievements. Knowledge of Brahman, meditation, concentration: he disowns them all, holding only to Narayana. Stripped of every method, he sets the entire weight of his life on Vithoba, trusting that God alone knows what is good for him.
Confession and Sin
Raw, unflinching accounts of personal failure, weakness, and the weight of sin.
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