Prayer, kept a servant forever
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हें चि सुख पुढे मागतों आगळें । आनंदाचीं फळें सेवादान ॥1॥
जन्मजन्मांतरीं तुझा चि अंकिला । करूनि विठ्ठला दास ठेवीं ॥ध्रु.॥
दुजा भाव आड येऊं नेदीं चित्ता । करावा अनंता नास त्याचा ॥2॥
अभय देऊनि करावें सादर । क्षण तो विसर पडों नेदीं ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे आह्मी जेजे इच्छा करूं । ते ते कल्पतरू पुरविसी ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This is the greater joy I ask for going forward: the fruit of bliss in service and self-offering. Birth after birth, make me Your own, O Vitthal; keep me as Your servant. Do not let any second thought enter my mind; O Infinite One, destroy it at once. Grant me assurance and make me attentive. Do not let me forget You for even a moment. Says Tuka, whatever desires we hold, You, like the wish-fulfilling tree, fulfill them all.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is the greater joy I ask for from here on: the fruits of bliss that come from service and self-giving. Birth after birth, make me Your own, O Vitthal. Keep me as Your servant. Do not let a second thought come between my mind and You. O Endless One, destroy it at once. Give me Your assurance and make me attentive. Do not let me forget You for even a moment. Tuka says: whatever desires we hold, You, the wish-granting tree, fulfill them all.
What it means
Tukaram asks for the one boon that does not end in rebirth's weariness but deepens it into joy: to be God's servant, life after life. The reward he wants is not release from service but the bliss that service itself gives. He prays against the one thing that could spoil it, the second thought, any rival attachment that comes between his mind and God, and asks God to destroy it instantly and keep him alert and unforgetting. The final line names why he dares ask so much: God is the wish-fulfilling tree, who grants whatever the heart truly desires. So Tukaram makes sure his deepest desire is only to belong to God.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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