Grateful surrender, safe on the shore
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बरें जालें आजिवरी । नाहीं पडिलों मृत्याचे आहारीं । वांचोन आलों एथवरी । उरलें तें हरी तुह्मां समर्पण ॥1॥
दिला या काळें अवकाश । नाहीं पावलें आयुष्य नाश । कार्या कारण उरलें शेष । गेलें तें भूस जावो परतें ॥ध्रु.॥
बुडणें खोटें पावतां थडी । स्वप्नीं जाली ओढाओढी । नासली जागृतीची घडी । साच जोडी शेवटीं गोड घास ॥2॥
तुह्मासि पावविली हाक । तेणें निरसला धाक । तुमचें भातें हें कवतुक । जे शरणागत लोक रक्षावे ॥3॥
रवीच्या नावें निशीचा नाश । उदय होतां चि प्रकाश । अतां कैचा आह्मां दोष । तूं जगदीश कैवारी ॥4॥
आतां जळो देह सुख दंभ मान । न करीं याचें साधन । तूं जगदादि नारायण । आलों शरण तुका ह्मणे ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
It is well that until today I have not fallen into Death's jaws. I have survived this far; whatever remains of life, O Hari, I offer to You. Time has granted me this reprieve; my lifespan has not yet come to destruction. The purpose still has a remainder; let what is gone be gone like chaff. The fear of drowning vanishes upon reaching the shore. There was a struggle in the dream, but the waking hour has come. The final morsel is the sweetest. I called out to You, and by that my terror was dispelled. It is Your nature and Your vow to protect those who seek refuge. As the sun rises, night is destroyed and light appears at once. What fault then can remain in us? You, Lord of the World, are our champion. Now let the body, comfort, pride, and vanity burn. I will not pursue them any longer. You are the primal Narayana. Says Tuka, I have come to Your shelter.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
It is well that until now I have not fallen into Death's mouth. I have lived this far. Whatever is left, Hari, I give to you. Time has granted me this room. My life has not yet run to its end. The work still has a remainder. Let what is gone go like chaff. The drowning was false; I have reached the shore. The struggle was in a dream. The waking hour has come. The last morsel is the sweetest. I called out to you, and my fear was cleared away. It is your nature and your vow to protect those who come for refuge. When the sun rises, night is destroyed; light comes the moment it dawns. What fault can be left in us then? You, Lord of the world, are our champion. Now let the body, comfort, pride, and honor burn. I will not work to win them. You are the primal Narayana. Tuka says: I have come to your shelter.
What it means
Tukaram counts his survival as grace and offers the remainder of his life back to Hari. The years he still has are not his to spend on himself; what is past he lets fall away like chaff, keeping only what serves the real purpose. He reframes his earlier terror as a dream of drowning from which he has now woken safe on the shore, the last stretch of the journey turning out to be the sweetest. His confidence rests not on his own worth but on the Lord's settled nature and vow to protect everyone who takes refuge, the way sunrise simply abolishes the night. From that footing he renounces the chase after the body's comfort, pride, and honor, and stands plainly in God's shelter.
Surrender and Acceptance
The conditions of spiritual receptivity and the letting go of the separate self.
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