Faith, indifferent to praise or blame
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कोणी निंदा कोणी वंदा । आह्मां स्वहिताचा धंदा॥1॥
काय तुह्मांसी गरज । आह्मी भजूं पंढरिराज ॥ध्रु.॥
तुह्मांसारिखें चालावें । तेव्हां स्वहिता मुकावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे हो कां कांहीं । गळ दिला विठ्ठल पायीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let some slander us, let some praise us; our business is our own spiritual welfare. What concern is it of yours? We worship the Lord of Pandhari. If we were to follow your ways, we would lose our own good. Says Tuka, let whatever may happen; I have cast my anchor at Vitthal's feet.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let some slander us, let some praise us; our work is our own good. What is it to you? We worship the Lord of Pandhari. If we walked your way, we would lose our own welfare. Tuka says: let whatever comes, come; I have dropped my anchor at Vitthal's feet.
What it means
Tukaram sets the opinions of others aside as none of his concern. Praise and blame are treated as the same noise, because his real business is his own spiritual good, kept through worship of the Lord of Pandhari. To bend his path to please the crowd would be to trade away that good, and he refuses the bargain. The closing image is the firm one: he has cast his anchor at Vitthal's feet, so the surface weather of approval or insult cannot move him. Whatever happens, he stays held.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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