Devotion as a loan, settle the account
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भक्तिॠण घेतलें माझें । चरण गाहाण आहेत तुझे॥1॥
प्रेम व्याज देई हरी । माझा हिशेब लवकरी करीं ॥ध्रु.॥
माझें मी न सोडीं धन । नित्य करितों कीर्त्तन ॥2॥
तुझें नाम आहे खत । सुखें करी पंचाईत ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे गरुडध्वजा । यासी साक्ष श्रीगुरुराजा ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have taken a loan of devotion, and Your feet are my collateral. Pay me the interest of divine love, O Hari; settle my account quickly. I will not let go of my wealth; daily I perform kirtan. Your Name is my written bond; hold the tribunal at Your pleasure. Says Tuka, O Lord of the Garuda banner, the Guru Himself is witness to this.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have taken a loan, and the loan is mine. Your feet are the pledge I hold against it. Pay me the interest, Hari: pay me in love. Settle my account quickly. I will not give up my wealth; every day I sing your kirtan. Your Name is the written bond. Hold the court whenever you please. Tuka says: Lord of the Garuda banner, the Guru himself is witness to this.
What it means
Tukaram presses his claim on God in the language of a moneylender's ledger. The loan is his devotion; the collateral he holds is God's own feet; the interest he demands is divine love, and he wants the account settled now. His daily kirtan is the capital he refuses to surrender, and God's Name is the signed bond that makes the debt legally binding. By turning love into a contract with the Guru as witness, he makes grace something he can rightfully insist on rather than only beg for.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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