Prayer, guard the senses
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पापाची वासना नको दावूं डोळां । त्याहुनि अंधळा बराच मी ॥1॥
निंदेचें श्रवण नको माझे कानीं । बधिर करोनि ठेवीं देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
अपवित्र वाणी नको माझ्या मुखा । त्याजहुनि मुका बराच मी ॥2॥
नको मज कधीं परस्त्रीसंगति । जनांतुन माती उठतां भली ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे मज अवघ्याचा कांटाळा । तूं एक गोपाळा आवडसी ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not let my eyes see sinful sights; I would rather be blind than that. Let my ears not hear slander; make me deaf instead, O God. Let no impure speech come from my mouth; I would rather be mute than that. Never let me fall into the company of another's wife; let the earth swallow me rather than that. Says Tuka, I am weary of everything else. You alone, O Gopala, are dear to me.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not show my eyes the desire for sin; I would rather be blind than that. Let no slander reach my ears; make me deaf instead, O God. Let no impure speech leave my mouth; I would rather be mute than that. Never let me near another man's wife; let the earth swallow me before that. Tuka says: I am sick of everything else. You alone, Gopala, are dear to me.
What it means
Tukaram prays for protection by way of his own senses, and he means it starkly: he would sooner lose a faculty than misuse it. Better blind than to look with sinful longing, better deaf than to hear slander, better mute than to speak impurely, better dead than to go near another's wife. The harshness is aimed at the temptations themselves, not at the body, which he is willing to sacrifice to stay clean. Underneath it all is one positive wish: he is weary of everything that is not God, and Gopala alone is dear.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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