Faith, the only support
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जरी तुझा मज नसता आधार । कैसा हा संसार दुहावला ॥1॥
ऐसा बळी कोण होइल पुरता । जो हे वारी चिंता आशापाश ॥ध्रु.॥
मायामोहफांसा लोकलाजबेडी । तुजवीण तोडी कोण एक ॥2॥
हें तों मज कळों आलें अनुभवें । बरें माझ्या जीवें पांडुरंगा ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे यास तूं चि माझा गोही । पुरी भाव नाहीं जना लोका ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If I did not have Your support, how could I have endured this worldly life? Who else is strong enough to ward off the anxiety of desire and attachment? The snare of illusion and the fetters of worldly shame: who but You can sever them? This I have come to know by experience, deep in my jiva, O Panduranga. Says Tuka, You alone are my witness in this. The world and its people do not fully understand.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
If I did not have Your support, how could I have borne this worldly life? Who else is strong enough to drive off the dread of desire and attachment? The snare of illusion, the chain of worldly shame: who but You can cut them? This I have come to know from my own experience, deep in my life, O Panduranga. Tuka says: in this You alone are my witness. The people of the world do not truly understand.
What it means
Tukaram testifies that God's support is the one thing that made his life in the world bearable. He names the forces that bind a person, the anxiety of desire and attachment, the snare of illusion, the chain of caring what others think, and asks who but God is strong enough to cut them. The claim is not borrowed from scripture but earned: he says he knows it from his own experience, deep in his being. Then he marks how private that knowledge is. The world cannot see it and does not understand, so God alone stands as witness to what God has done for him.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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