Tukaram, after his return from the Bhamnath forest, had transformed so much that he completely ignored all domestic responsibilities and instead spent his time in meditation, prayer and in writing abhangs, his devotional poems in praise of Lord Vithoba. With no income, he and his family were very poor. The burden of providing for the family fell on his wife. But even when she did manage to find money to buy food and cook a meal, Tukaram immersed in prayer would forget all about dinner. His wife would then go searching for him and serve him his food wherever she found him.
A compassionate follower of his wanting to ease Tukaram’s financial difficulties offered to give Tukaram some grain from his field for each day that Tukaram worked on the field. Tukaram was required to protect the farmer’s crop of corn from birds. Tukaram agreed to take on the assignment as it would give him the solitude he needed to pen his poems, meditate and pray.
The moment Tukaram, entered the field and sat down, the terrified birds fled the field. This upset Tukaram. He loved all beings and he felt guilty for causing the birds to be denied their food. However, observing Tukaram’s quiet and calm demeanor the birds lost all their fear of him and returned to the fields. They merrily pecked at the grain and ate to their hearts content. Kind Tukaram did nothing to shoo them away. One day the farmer noticed that Tukaram instead of scaring the birds was allowing them to feast on his crop. He walked up to Tukaram and shouted angrily, “I gave you this job out of the kindness of my heart because I realized your family had no means of earning. And look how you have repaid me. Instead of protecting my crop you are allowing these wretched birds to destroy my whole field. What will happen to my income now? I am not about to let you get away with this. You will have to pay me for the loss I incur on account of your negligence.”
Not one to argue Tukaram agreed to compensate the farmer for his loss. The farmer even insisted that Tukaram sign a promissory note to this effect. Tukaram signed the note but had absolutely no idea how he was going to earn the money to recompense the farmer. Tukaram trusted Lord Vithoba to look after him and his family.
When it was time to harvest the crop the farmer was astonished to find that his yield was not less but in fact more than double his regular yield. He was overjoyed and sent the excess quantity to Tukaram. Tukaram true to his nature immediately distributed the grain to all the poor.
Tukaram advocated Bhakti, complete devotion to the Lord. His bhajans and kirtans were so mesmerizingly beautiful that not only would people flock to hear him but they would also invite him to their own villages to sing. Once, he was invited to Lohagaon, a village near Dehu. There at a large concourse huge crowds gathered to hear Tukaram sing bhajans and to join him in the singing. Among them was a Brahmin named Joshi. Joshi had come despite the fact that his only child was critically ill. Despite his wife’s protest Joshi had insisted that he could not miss the opportunity of hearing Tukaram perform his abhangs. So leaving his vexed wife at home to care for their child he too joined the crowds at the concourse. Tragically while Joshi was completely engrossed in singing along with Tukaram his child died. His distraught wife was beside herself with grief. Cradling the lifeless body of her child she confronted her husband and with tears flowing copiously she cried, “How could you leave your dying child to come here to sing with this man?”
Before her husband could say a word she turned with rage filled eyes and looked at Sant Tukarama and said, “It is because of you that my child died without his father by his side. You made a father indifferent to his own child’s suffering. If my husband had been there he may have been able to save my child. I blame you for the death of my only son.”
In the hushed urgency of a desperate moment, Tukaram's compassionate gaze fell upon the inconsolable mother, her anguished eyes reflecting the depths of a mother's heartache. Without a moment’s hesitation, he closed his eyes, and as though from deep within his soul emanated a melody, a fervent prayer of devotion. His song was an outpouring of the most earnest and moving terms imaginable. Sensing the intensity of the plea, the whole crowd joined in unison, their collective voices expressing their heartfelt faith in the Lord. Their voices rose like a divine offering to the Lord. In those transcendent moments, they were not merely individuals, but a congregation of souls bound by a shared yearning, an ardent plea for divine intervention.
Moved by the sincerity of their invocation, the benevolent Lord Vithoba’s grace descended and the pulse of life was rekindled within the still form of the child. The collective sorrow was transformed into amazed jubilation. The child, now fully alive and active joined in the chorus of the Bhajan. Tukaram continued to sing his eyes shut tightly but now his lyrics had seamlessly turned into words of heartfelt gratitude.
It was miracles like these that stood testament to Tukaram’s strong belief in the incredible, transformative powers of faith and devotion.
One year, Tukaram’s village was devastated by severe drought. People were starving. Tukaram decided to harvest the sugarcane from his small farm, to provide something to eat for his family. He was fortunate that he managed to get a bullock-cart full of sugarcane. As he was riding home Sant Tukaram saw a poor beggar on the roadside. Moved by the beggar’s plight Sant Tukaram stopped his bullock cart and gave some of the sugarcane to the beggar. As he headed home he saw others too who were starving and he stopped and shared the sugarcane. In this manner he gave away most of his sugarcane. When he reached home there was just one stalk of sugarcane left in the bullock cart.
Seeing him return his wife excitedly rushed out of their house to help Tukaram unload the bundles of sugarcane. To her utter dismay she saw that there was only one stalk in the cart. She asked, “What is this? There is just one stalk in the cart. Was the yield from our field completely destroyed by the drought?”
Sant Tukaram simply and truthfully recounted exactly what had happened. His wife was livid to hear that he had given the entire crop away. She was so furious that she violently snatched the sugarcane from Tukaram’s hand. As she did so, the stalk broke into two pieces. Saint Tukaram remained calm in the face of her ire. Picking up the two pieces, he smiled and said “God is great. There are now two pieces – one for each of us. Now we will not starve!”
His wife was surprised at his cheerful response and felt ashamed for having berated him for his generosity. She fell at his feet and apologized.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, one of India’s most renowned rulers was a devotee of Sant Tukaram. One Ekadasi day, Shivaji came to listen to Tukaram performing kirtans. Some Muslim soldiers who had discovered Shivaji’s whereabouts decided to send a huge battalion of 2000 soldiers to capture him. They surrounded the house where Tukaram was singing his devotional songs. Shivaji’s men apprised him of the situation. They warned Shivaji that there could be no escape from the house. . Shivaji thought to himself, “If there is anyone who can save me it is Lord Vithoba Himself. Besides if I am to die I could not ask for a better day to do so than Ekadasi, in the midst of the exalted company of saints and sages and singing the praises of the Lord.”
Unmindful of the threat and knowing that Sant Tukaram would wish him to remain at the kirtan, Shivaji remained and continued to listen to the abhang.
One of the Muslim soldiers surreptitiously entered the house and looked all around for Shivaji but could not see him anywhere. When he informed his commander that he could not find Shivaji in the crowd the commander most annoyed ordered, “Go in there and kill as many people as you can. That way you will definitely kill Shivaji too.”
Just at that moment Shivaji came out mounted his horse and charged off. The soldiers were amazed at how swiftly and adroitly Shivaji had escaped. The entire battalion of 2000 followed in full speed. They were confident that they would soon surround him and take him captive. The chase began. The pursuit went on for several hours. They covered over 40 miles and even ventured into the dense forest but to no avail. Then all of a sudden the fleeing horseman disappeared from right in front of their eyes leaving the soldiers completely bewildered.
The horseman was in fact none other than Lord Vithoba Himself. The chase had left the soldiers exhausted and they were now far away from the house where Sant Tukaram was performing his abhangs. In fact by the time the soldiers had ended their chase Tukaram had completed his devotional session and Shivaji had left the house surprised to see that not a single soldier was waiting to capture him!
Shivaji was such a sincere and ardent devotee of Sant Tukaram that there was even a point in his life when he considered giving up his kingdom to follow Sant Tukaram. Tukaram dissuaded him by reminding him of his duty to his subjects and to Dharma. Tukaram explained, "In order to realize God, it is not necessary to give up food or water and go to the 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."
One day a learned Brahmin came to meet Sant Tukaram. He had studied all the scriptures in details and yet not attained Self Realization. Holding the treatise, Vivek Sindhu in his hand he approached Tukaram and said, “Maharaj, I have read this treatise over and over again, but still I have not got Self Realization. Could you explain its meaning to me?”
Sant Tukaram humbly replied, “I am not a great scholar myself. Other than Haribhakti, I know nothing. How then can I help you?”
Not willing to accept this, the Brahmin continued, “I will read the religious composition to you, please listen to it and then explain it to me.”
Tukaram nodded agreement. He then pulled a rug over his head and his entire body. The Brahmin though a bit confused with Tukaram’s actions began to read aloud from the text. He read page after page but there was no explanation forthcoming from the saint. The Brahmin continued reading. After a while because he had not received even a single explanation he pulled the rug off from Sant Tukaram. To his utter horror there below the rug was Tukaram his fingers pressed tightly to his ears, immersed in Namasmarana (the continuous repletion of the Lord’s name)!
Disappointed at what he thought to be the saint’s disinterest in the treatise, the Brahmin said, “Maharaj, I came to you to discover the path to liberation. However, you have closed your ears and not even listened to a single line I read.”
Tukaram smiled and replied, “Bhudev (this was how Brahmins were respectfully addressed in those days), God is everywhere and without achieving Him there is no liberation. One should not presume that a specific path alone will take you to God. If you have faith you attain God. When someone does not attain God through his/her spiritual practice, it does not mean that that particular practice is inadequate; it is just that the amount of spiritual practice is inadequate. You must have faith in whatever spiritual practice you adopt for yourself. I have faith in Namasmarana. This is the only path I know.”
There were many more wonderful events in Tukaram's life and several of them completely inexplicable. His fame spread and he had many followers. Yet,
Tukaram continued to remain humble and unaffected.
After a while Tukaram grew weary of this life. He prayed to the Lord to take him to Vaikunta where he wished to remain at the Lord’s feet, worshiping Him.
Tukaram knew when it was time for him to leave his mortal body. He told his friends and followers that he was going away for a few days. The night before his departure, Tukaram performed a Kirtan which was memorable in many respects. The subject was Harikatha. Tukaram 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. This is the easiest way to attain heaven."
He exhorted his followers with the words, “"Though you all bear the responsibilities of family life, never forget Panduranga. Never forget to worship Him and sing His praises.”
In his last discourse Tukaram included, with undeniable humility, these words, “All of you have protected and maintained me in your midst for such a long time. I can never repay you and I am very grateful to you. I shall ever pray to Vithoba to bless you all and take you to heaven after this life. This is my goodbye to you. I prostrate before you and beseech you with tears never to forget the Name of the Lord.”
Tukaram one of the greatest saints of Maharashtra passed away in 1649 with God's Name on his lips and singing His praises. He was forty-one years old.
LIFE LESSONS
1. Like Tukaram we should learn to be generous.
2. Like Tukaram we should remain humble
3. Like Tukaram we must be compassionate to those less fortunate than us.
4. Like Tukaram we should have implicit faith in God.
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