Faith, hold Pandhari in the mind
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नव्हे आराणूक परि मनीं वाहे । होईल त्या साहे पांडुरंग ॥1॥
पंढरीसि जावें उदेग मानसीं । धरिल्या पावसी संदेह नाहीं ॥ध्रु.॥
नसो बळ देह असो पराधीन । परि हें चिंतन टाकों नको ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देह पडो या चिंतनें । पुढें लागे येणें याजसाटीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
It may not bring rest, yet if one holds it in the mind, Panduranga sustains. Keep the resolve to go to Pandhari alive in the mind. If you hold fast, you will reach Him; there is no doubt. Even if the body lacks strength and is in another's power, do not abandon this contemplation. Says Tuka, let the body fall in this very contemplation. It is for this purpose alone that what comes next follows.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
It may bring no rest, but I carry it in my mind. Panduranga will support the one who does. Keep the longing to go to Pandhari alive in your mind. Hold it, and you reach Him. There is no doubt. Let the body have no strength. Let it be in another's power. Even so, do not give up this remembering. Tuka says: let the body fall while remembering this. What comes after follows for exactly this reason.
What it means
Tukaram is teaching a faith that does not depend on circumstances. Even when the wish to reach Pandhari brings no ease and the journey looks impossible, he says simply holding it in the mind is enough, for Panduranga himself sustains the one who holds it. The body may be weak or trapped under someone else's control, but the inner remembering must not be dropped. The final stake is death itself: let the body fall while still remembering, because it is for the sake of this remembering that whatever comes next will come.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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