Prayer, crying at the saints' door
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
झाड कल्पतरू । न करी याचकीं आव्हेरू ॥१॥
तुम्ही सर्वी सर्वोत्तम । ऐसे विसरतां धर्म ॥ध्रु.॥
परिसा तुमचें देणें । तो त्या जागे अभिमानें ॥२॥
गार्हातण्यानें तुका । गर्जे मारुनियां हाका ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The wish-fulfilling tree never turns away one who asks. O saints, you who are the best among all, how can you forget this sacred duty? The touchstone gives to all, yet remains proud and awake in its own nature. Says Tuka, burdened by my household life, I cry out loudly at your door.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The wish-granting tree never turns away one who asks. You saints are the best of all; how do you forget this duty? The touchstone gives to whoever comes, awake and sure in its own nature. Tuka says: weighed down by my household life, I stand at your door and cry out loud.
What it means
Tukaram presses his appeal on the saints by holding two images before them. The wish-granting tree turns no beggar away, and the touchstone turns iron to gold for whoever brings it; both give freely and stay true to what they are. If even these do their work without fail, how can the saints, who are the highest of all, forget the same duty toward one who asks? He names his own weight openly: his household life burdens him, and that is why he is here. So he does not ask quietly; he stands at their door and cries aloud, claiming the help that givers by their nature owe to those who come.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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