Prayer, carry me where the saints have gone
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पुढिलाचें इच्छी फळ । नाहीं बळ तें अंगीं ॥1॥
संत गेले तया ठाया । देवराया पाववीं ॥ध्रु.॥
ज्येष्ठांचीं कां आह्मां जोडी। परवडी न लभों ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे करीं कोड । पुरवीं लाड आमुचा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I desire the fruit that the great ones attained, but I lack their strength. O Lord, lead me to the place where the saints have gone. How can we be matched with the elders? We cannot attain that station. Says Tuka, fulfill my longing; indulge this wish of mine.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I want the fruit that the great ones reached. But I do not have their strength in me. The saints have gone to that place; O Lord, bring me there too. How can we be matched with the elders? We cannot reach that high station on our own. Tuka says: grant my wish; indulge this longing of mine.
What it means
Tukaram wants the very destination the great souls attained, and admits at once that he lacks the power to climb there himself. He will not pretend to be the equal of the elders; he says plainly that their station is beyond his reach by his own effort. So the whole abhanga becomes a request for transport rather than achievement: take me to where the saints already are. He asks God to indulge him, to treat his longing as a child's wish a father would simply fulfill out of love.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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