[ page of original manuscript from Tukaram's abhangas ;
(lit.immortal) ; devotional lyric or song-form in the Marathi language ]
( 1608 - 1649 ) ( 1598 - 1650 )
Tukaram was a bhakta by nature and farmer by trade and was likely born at Dehu near Poona in the State of Maharashtra where his ancestral home is still said to exist.All creatures have become divine to me,
I have transcended time and space,
And I shall never be born again . . .
I am smaller than the atom,
But I've expanded to the outer limits of space . . .
What is left of Tuka is only
For the benefit of others[ Gatha 993 (P. M. Lad)]
Tukuram inherited devotion to God from his family. The family deity was Vitthal, or Pandurang— a form of Krishna worshipped in the famous temple in Pandharpur. His devotion took greater focus after the disaster that befell his family and many others.
Some say Tukaram received his spiritual initiation from Chaitanya in a dream. Others say that it was during a period of intensive meditation that Tukaram's Guru, Babaji Raghavachaitanya, initiated him in 1619, whereupon he renounced his inheritance gave himself completely to meditation and kirtan.
Tukaram believed the body to be the temple of the living lord and idol worship and rituals had no meaning for him. His all-embracing love and forbearance and his special compassion for animals compare with the saintliness of St. Francis of Assisi.
He had much need to be forbearing, for his envious comtemporaries from the upper classes condemned and reviled him for his spontaneous witnessing of the Love of God. Oblivious to the misunderstanding and spite of his detractors, Tukaram bequeathed to his fellow men and posterity many wonderful songs, chants and poems in praise of the Divine and the spiritual Way. Nearly five thousand lyrics in the Marathi language have been consolidated into a volume known as the Tukaramachi Gatha.
The woman saint Bahinabai exclaims in one of her songs that "Jnanadeva laid the foundation, and Tukaram became the pinnacle".
[ page of original manuscript from Tukaram's abhangas
;
(lit.immortal) ; devotional lyric or song-form in the
Marathi language ]
links
A visit to Tukaram's village,
Dehu, Maharashtra, India
(excerpt from Swami Durgananda's pilgrimage with Baba
Muktananda in 1978)
Tukaram:
The Great 17th Century Saint from Maharashtra,
from neonblue.com, includes bio, abhangs, and movie ref.
Tukaram
Giri's biography
bibliography
English
The Poet-Saints of Maharashtra
special issue of Darshan magazine
#80 (November, 1993)
SYDA Foundation
Tukaram: Saint of Maharashtra
Chandravati Rajwade
Radha Soami Satsang Beas
Punjab, India. 1978
Tukaram
R. D. Ranade
Paperback / Published 1994
information and order from:
amazon.com
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Tukaram : The Poet Saint of Maharashtra
(Monumenta Indica Series, No. 8)
Justin E. Abbot
Hardcover / Published 1996 (1927)
information and order from:
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Village Songs of Western India :
Translations from Tukaram
John S. Hoyland (Translator)
Paperback / Published 1980
information and order from:
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Eating Hunger:
Selections from the Poems of Tukarama (1608-1649)
Paperback, 73pp.
ISBN: 1889298247
Rhwymbooks/April 1998
information and order from:
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Life of Tukaram
Abbott, Justin E.
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980.
The Poems of Tukarama
Frazer, J. Nelson and Marathe, K.B., trans.
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1981.
Tukaram
K. V. Belsare
Maharashtra Information Centre
New Delhi
The Life and Teachings of Tukaram
Fraser, J. Nelson, and Edwards, J. F.
Psalms of Maratha Saints
Macnicol, Nicol
Calcutta: Association Press;
London: Oxford University Press.
Mysticism in Maharashtra
Ranade, R. D.
Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan
The Saint-Poets of Maharashtra
Sardar, G. B.
Bombay: Orient Longman
Tukaram's Teachings
Sharma, S. R.
Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan.
Hindi
Tukaram Gatha San
Jain, Narain Prasad
Marathi
Santancha Prasad
Bhave, Acharya Vinoba
Pavnar: Paramadham Prakashan
Tukaram Maharaj Gatha
Jog, Vishnuboa
Bombay: Keshav Bhikaji Dhavle
Shri Tukaram Gatha
Joshi, P. N.
Bombay: Surekha Prakashan
Shri Tukaram Gatha
Khandarkar, Shankar Maharaj
Saunsthan Umarkhed (Maharashtra): Shri Sitaram Maharaj
Shri Tukaram Babachi Abhang-Gatha
Lad, P. M.
Government of Maharashtra, 1973
Shri Tukaram Charitra
Government of Maharashtra
Tukaram Charitra
Paithankar, Anant
Poona: Sant Wangmay Prakashan
Shri Tukaram Charitra
Pangarkar, L. R.
Sakshatkari Sant Tukaram
Pendse, S. D.
Poona: Continental Prakashan
Tukaram Wachanamrit
Ranade, R. D.
Poona: Venus Prakashan
Bhakticha Dangora
Tulpule, G. V.
Sakshatkar-Pathawar Tukaram
Tulpule, G. V.
Shri Tukaramachi Gatha
Wadapurkar, T. R
Pandharpur: Digambar Hari Telang, 1933.
