Self-defense, peace amid slander
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाहीं आह्मी विष्णुदास । करीत आस कोणांची ॥1॥
कां हे नष्ट करिती निंदा । नेणों सदा आमुची ॥ध्रु.॥
असों भलते ठायीं मनें । समाधानें आपुलिया ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे करूं देवा । तुझी सेवा धंदा तो ॥3॥ ॥13॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We are servants of Vishnu; we do not depend upon anyone. Why then do these wicked people always slander us? Let us dwell wherever we please, at peace within ourselves. Says Tuka, O God, serving You is our only occupation.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We are servants of Vishnu; we depend on no one. Why then do these wicked people always slander us? Let us live wherever we please, at peace within ourselves. Tuka says: O God, serving You is our only work.
What it means
Tukaram answers his slanderers by stating where he stands. As a servant of Vishnu he owes nothing to anyone, so the attacks puzzle him: there is no debt or rivalry to explain them. Rather than fight back, he claims his freedom to live anywhere and stay settled within himself, untouched by the noise. The whole of his life, he says, is one occupation only, the service of God, and that is enough.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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