Renunciation that came unbidden
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
त्याग तंव मज न वजतां केला । कांहीं च विठ्ठला मनांतूनि ॥1॥
भागलिया आला उबग सहज । न धरितां काज जालें मनीं ॥ध्रु.॥
देह जड जालें ॠणाच्या आभारें । केलें संवसारें कासावीस ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे गेला आळसकिळस । अकर्तव्य दोष निवारिले ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Renunciation came to me without even trying, O Vitthal. I did not cast anything out of my mind deliberately. Exhaustion itself bred disgust, and detachment arose naturally in the heart. The body had grown heavy under the burden of obligations; worldly life had made me miserable. Says Tuka, laziness, apathy, and the tendency toward wrongdoing have all been removed.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Renunciation came to me without my even trying, O Vitthal. I cast nothing out of my mind on purpose. Weariness brought disgust of itself, and without my holding to it, detachment settled in the heart. The body had grown heavy under the weight of debts; worldly life had worn me out. Tuka says: laziness and apathy are gone, and the pull toward wrong deeds has been cleared away.
What it means
Tukaram is being honest that his renunciation was not a heroic act of will. He did not deliberately renounce anything; exhaustion with the world bred a natural disgust, and detachment arose on its own. He names the plain causes: a body bent under debt and a worldly life that had simply ground him down. Out of that ordinary failure and fatigue, something good came: the laziness, apathy, and drift toward wrongdoing fell away. The quiet point is that God can use even our being worn out and defeated. What looked like mere collapse turned, in Vitthal's hands, into a real and cleansing detachment.
Renunciation
The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.
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