Devotion, only Your love sets me dancing
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
निर्धाराचें अवघें गोड । वाटे कोड कौतुक ॥1॥
बैसलिया भाव पांयीं । बरा तई नाचेन ॥ध्रु.॥
स्वामी कळे सावधान। तरि मन उल्हासे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आश्वासावें । प्रेम द्यावें विठ्ठले ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Everything of firm resolve is sweet. It feels like delight and wonder. When bhava has settled at Your feet, only then will I dance properly. When it becomes known that the Lord is attentive, the mind exults. Says Tuka, give me reassurance; give me Your love, O Vitthal.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When the resolve is firm, everything is sweet. It feels like delight and wonder. When my devotion has settled at Your feet, only then will I dance as I should. When I know the Lord is watching with care, my mind leaps up. Tuka says: reassure me; give me Your love, O Vitthal.
What it means
Tukaram describes how everything tastes sweet once the heart is set with firm resolve. But he is honest that the resolve depends on God. His devotion has to settle at God's feet before he can truly dance, and his mind only lifts when he knows the Lord is attentive to him. So the poem ends as a request, not a boast. He asks Vitthal for reassurance and for love, since the joy he longs to feel can only come once that love is given. Delight here is a gift waiting on God's response.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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