Sant Tukaram

Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari

Bhakta Tukaram (also known as Sant Tukaram Maharaj) was an extraordinary saint in 17th-century Maharashtra. He is among the foremost of the saints of the Varkari devotional tradition. He composed close to 4,500 devotional poems, called Abhangs. He also popularized community-oriented worship with Kirtans. His Abhang songs were devoted to Lord Vitthala of Pandharpur. Lord Vitthala is the form by which Sri Krishna is worshipped in Maharashtra. The other names for the Lord are Panduranga, Vithoba and Pandharinatha.

Bhakta Tukaram was born in the  year 1608 at a village called Dehu in Poona district of Maharashtra. His family deity was Lord Vithoba of Pandharpur.

The Lord pulled Tukaram towards Himself by putting him through severe misfortunes. He lost his parents at the age of 17. His sister-in-law also died about this time, and his elder brother renounced the world seeking salvation. Debtors would not repay whatever was due to him, and creditors would press him for the money due to them. Tukaram tried his hand in several ventures of trade, but always came back either with empty hands or with a loss, as he would be very kind and honest to his customers. He would give away everything he had, including borrowed money to poor people in need.

During the famine of 1629-1630, his first wife, son and the few remaining cattle died. The promissory notes of monies due the family became dead letters of credit as nothing could be realised in a famine. Tukaram's real mission in life began at this stage.

He was so much disgusted with life that he left his house and village and disappeared into the nearby Bhamnath forest. For 15 days he stayed there concentrating on the Almighty without food, water or sleep. After the 15th day, he realised his oneness with the Supreme Consciousness, and Lord Vithoba visited him in His true form.

After this Bhakta Tukaram had no love for his household, wife or relations. He gathered all the promissory notes which were in the house, and all the account books, and threw them into the Indrayani river. Then, with his own hands, he reconstructed the family temple which had fallen into disrepair and began to spend his life— day and night — in Bhajan and Kirtan. His mind at that time was described by him thus: "O God! Kindly grant that I should never forget You. My body is made up of the 5 elements which I have to return with interest at the end. My conclusion is that there is no well-wisher for me other than You, O Panduranga!"

As a result of his whole-hearted devotion, Bhajan and Kirtan, Bhakta Tukaram was rewarded with Guru Upadesh. The Guru visited him in a dream. Tukaram describes this, the greatest event of his life, thus: "The Sadguru came to me in a dream and was really very kind to me, though I had done nothing to deserve it. He met me when I was going to the river for a bath and placed his hand on my head and blessed me. He said that his name was Babaji Chaitanya, and gave the names of his two preceding Gurus as Raghava Chaitanya and Keshava Chaitanya. He advised me to do Japa of Ramakrishna Hari. I adopted my Guru on the tenth day of the bright half of the month Magh." This was about the month of January 1632. Babaji Chaitanya was the fourth generation disciple of Sant Jnanadev.

Tukaram Maharaj now began to spend his life more and more in devotional practices, study of the poems and works of great saints like Jnanadev, Namdev and Eknath, Bhagwad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, etc. Then one day, he had a dream in which Sant Namdev appeared with Lord Panduranga, woke him and advised him to make devotional songs. The divine art of making poems came naturally to Tukaram. People started getting attracted to him - more so as he did not seek anything materially for himself or for his own worldly welfare.

His fame was resented by some people, and they sent a report against him to Rameshwar Shastri, a learned Brahmin of the time. Shastri told Tukaram that he saw in his poems, a deliberate attempt to explain the principles of the Shrutis which Tukaram, as a Shudra by caste, had no right to do; he must therefore stop making poems, and as for the poems he had already made, they should be drowned in the Indrayani river. Tukaram held all Brahmins in great reverence, and therefore, he immediately brought out of his home all the poems, bound them together, tied a big stone round the bundle, and threw it into the river. Tukaram did not mind the taunts, but he was worried. Here he was merely, singing the praise of God in his poems, and that was not the monopoly only of the Vedas and the Shrutis. Moreover, he had been commanded by Lord Panduranga Himself to spread Bhakti among the people through the poems.

Bhakta Tukaram then sat on the bank of the river Indrayani in constant prayer to Lord Panduranga to show him the correct path. For 13 days he thus sat unmoved, without water, food or sleep. On the last day, one of Tukaram's followers, in a dream, saw Lord Panduranga coming to him and telling him, "Go to the river; there you will find the poems of Tukaram floating on the surface intact." At once the man went to the river and brought to the bank the bundle of poems. Tukaram Maharaj was moved by the mercy of God and delivered 5 poems blaming himself for doubting the word of God, and for putting Him to so much trouble of having to preserve the poems in water for 13 days. This, however, was not sufficient for Tukaram who always held the word of a Brahmin as worthy of respect as that of the holy scriptures, and he continued not making poems.

Soon after this event, Rameshwar was cursed by a Muslim Fakir one day when he trespassed into the Fakir's garden. He started feeling a burning sensation all over his body. In despair he went to Alandi and sat before the Samadhi of Sant Jnaneshwar, and prayed to him to relieve him of the suffering. At night he saw Jnaneshwar in a dream who addressed him: "You entertain hatred in your mind towards Tukaram, who is the greatest devotee of Vithoba. Go and surrender to Tukaram; all your bodily pains will vanish." Rameshwar, however, was afraid that Tukaram might curse him. So he sent a letter to Tukaram apologising and asking for forgiveness. Tukaram Maharaj had nothing but supreme love towards everybody, even towards his persecutors. On receiving the letter, he sent a reply to Rameshwar in the following verse:

"If the mind is pure, even your enemies become your friends; you have no danger from cruel animals like tigers or serpents. Even poison becomes as beneficial to you as the nectar of heaven. All unhappiness will be converted into happiness and even suffering due to the burning of the body will vanish. You will come to love all creatures as you love yourself; you will entertain equal vision towards all. Tuka says, 'Narayan has showered His mercy on me. That is why I feel like this towards all beings.' "

As Rameshwar read the reply and came to the words, "and even suffering due to the burning of the body will vanish," his body became free of all suffering and thus it was firmly impressed on him that he had done great injustice to Tukaram. From that time on Rameshwar became a great admirer and an ardent follower of Sant Tukaram Maharaj.

After this incident, Tukaram's name and fame spread far and wide; but he himself remained poor. He was always doing Bhajan and Kirtan and earned nothing. The burden of maintaining the family consisting of himself, wife and children fell on his poor wife. Tukaram was so absorbed in his Bhajan that he generally forgot food. His wife had to take his food, search for him and serve him wherever he was to be found. Mostly he was found on the Bhamgiri hill. Tukaram's wife had to undergo many difficulties in maintaining the family. She was a good woman though she was apt to lose her temper sometimes. Tukaram himself acknowledged her devotion and purity.

One of Tukaram's admirers promised him some grain every day if he would look after his fields of corn and protect them from birds. Tukaram Maharaj agreed as he thought that he would find a solitary place to sing the praises of God. When Tukaram went to the fields, all the birds flew away. He was so upset that the poor birds were deprived of their food. In a few days, however, the birds lost their shyness and fear and began to feed regularly on the corn.

The owner of the fields hauled up Tukaram, and in spite of all the protests of Tukaram about kindness to God's creatures and duty to allow them to feed freely, he was made to give a promissory note to the owner for the loss. After the harvest, however, it was found that the farmer, instead of losing, had got double the expected quantity. The farmer was so overjoyed that he sent Tukaram the excess quantity which, as was to be expected, Tukaram distributed to the poor.

One day the great Maratha chief Shivaji Maharaj came to meet Tukaram and stayed with him for several days. Shivaji Maharaj was so much impressed and moved by the Bhajans of Tukaram that he, for the moment, wanted to give up his kingdom and take to Bhajan and follow Tukaram. But Tukaram dissuaded him from doing so. He reminded Shivaji of his duty to his subjects and advised him thus: "In order to realise God, it is not necessary to give up food or water and go to a forest. If the worldly pleasures come to you of themselves, enjoy them by all means, but only in the name of God who dwells in all of us. Do not desire anything and do not give up anything. This is my simple and only advice to you." Shivaji returned to his court a happier and a more contented man. 

Bhakta Tukaram knew intuitively that Samarth Swami Ramdas would be Shivaji Maharaj's Guru, and it was Tukaram who introduced Swami Ramdas to Shivaji Maharaj.

Tukaram Maharaj always advocated Bhakti in the form of repeating His Name and in the form of Bhajan, singing His praises. He said that Bhakti was the higher form of devotion and service, and was even higher than Mukti. He would spend many, many days and nights doing Bhajan. He used to get invitations from nearby villages to go over there and do Bhajan with the villagers.

Once, he was performing Kirtan at Lohagaon, a village near Dehu, and there was a large concourse of people doing Bhajan with him. Among them was a Brahmin named Joshi who had come to the Bhajan leaving his only dying child with its mother. The child died and the mother became very miserable. She came to where Tukaram was sitting in the Bhajan and upbraided him that he was the cause of making her husband indifferent to the dying child and thus responsible for the child's death. Tukaram immediately began to pray to God to grant life to the child. He sang an extempore song in the most earnest and moving terms possible in which the whole audience joined with the most heartfelt devotion. Lord Pandharinath granted their prayer and the child came to life and joined in the Bhajan.

When Tukaram's end was near, he told his friends that he would be going away in a few days. The night before his departure, he performed a Kirtan which was memorable in many respects. The subject was Harikatha. Tuakaram Maharaj said, "Harikatha is like the union of three holy rivers—God, the devotee and His Name. By listening to it, all one's sins are burnt off and one is purified. Even the pebbles lying around become holy and fit to be worshipped."  On hearing that his death was nearing, the people of the whole village assembled round him and he exhorted them thus:

"Though you all bear the responsibilities of family life, never forget Panduranga. Pandharpur is very near you. It is the Vaikuntha on this earth. Go and worship the Lord there. It is my experience that the Name of the Lord alone will save you at the time of death. I prostrate before you and beseech you with tears never to forget the Name of the Lord. Always do Kirtan and Bhajan of Lord Narayana. Do not be anxious about your material welfare. The Lord will look to it. This is all ephemeral. The Lord's Name is eternal. Do Japa of Ramakrishna Hari."

Thus passed away one of the greatest saints of Maharashtra with God's Name of his lips, singing praises of Him. Sant Tukaram Maharaj left this world in the year 1649 when he was 41 years old. Lord Vishnu sent His own chariot and servants to bring Tukaram to His abode. The spot from where Tukaram was taken to Vaikuntha is now the site of Vaikunth Gaman Sthan temple.