Sant Tukaram was a great devotee and a great saint. Immersed in Lord Krishnas’s devotion his birth gave a new dimension to the concept of devotion itself. He was a great poet too and was also the pioneer saint of the long-standing Bhakti movement in India. For this reason, he is addressed as Sant Tukaram.
The ray of hope that Saint Tukaram Ji ignited through his practice and devotion still burns brightly in the hearts of the people. His speech depicted the situation at that time. The depth and reverence seen in Tukaram Ji’s speech was very surprising.
Tukaram’s voice has been serious, delightful, effective and poignant. He renounced his body on the day of the Krishna Paksha of Falgun month. The spiritual side which is reflected in the literature of saints and poets and their collection of ideas is also visible in Tukaram Ji.
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Tukaram’s life period
Sant Tukaram was born in a village called Dehu in Pune. There is no consensus among scholars regarding the time of birth of Saint Tukaram. Hence there are differences between scholars with regard to his date of birth.
Sant Tukaram was born in a clan that believed deeply in Lord Pandharpur. The members of this clan contributed a lot to Pandharpur Yatras. They lead a religious life no matter where they were. They had a good social status Dehu village. Coming from a Mahajan lineage Sant Tukamas’ family was renowned and well known.
Tukaram Ji’s mother’s name was Kanakai Ji and her father’s name was Bahela. Tukaram Ji gets a lot of affection from his parents in his childhood. The religious atmosphere he saw in the family also has a great impact on his life.
Unfortunately, Tukaram Ji had to bear the death of his parents in his teens. There was a lot of change in his life after the death of his parents. After this, around the same time, a famine affected the entire region, it affected his family as well. Due to severe famine, his life partner and only son died.
The death of his wife and child due to hunger shocked him beyond words. He was surrounded by problems on all sides. His second wife’s nature was also very harsh. Sant Tukaram was a very big landowner at that time. A lot of lies, shrewdness and separation troubled his mind a lot.
All of this tired Tukaram. His second wife “Jija Bai” had a very harsh speech. Tukaram Ji did not have any kind of fascination anymore. He was fed up with the environment around him. He wanted to submerge himself in devotion to God. To get rid of worldly pleasures, Tukaram Ji started going to a hill called Bhavnath near his village. He committed all his time to God’s devotion. He spent his entire day chanting Lord Vitthal’s name.
Saint Tukaram Ji entry into devotion
Saint Tukaram Ji embarked on the path of his devotion by the grace of his Guru. Freed from greed and malice, Tukaram Ji, eager to attain salvation Tukaram Ji meets a Sadhu named Baba Ji Chaitanya. BabaJi teaches him the Mantra “Ramkrishna Hari”. The changes that were then seen in Sant Tukaram depicts the corresponding change in his environment. It is said that he dreamt of his Guru and after that, he was able to attain complete devotion.
On receiving the desired guidance from his Guru, Sant Tukaram devoted everything of his life in devotion. Nearly all the years of his life were spent in teaching Bhakti to the people. Tukaram Ji’s nature was so pure and peaceful that he had no hatred towards anyone. He was gifted with the quality of forgiving everyone.
That is why it is said that those who condemned him also had a liking for him. In fact, some of them even apologized for doing so. Eventually, those who were evil to him also became his devotees. He used to propagate The Bhagavad Gita with full devotion. His teachings opened the doors to charity. He spent his entire life refuting Adharma.
Compositions by Tukaram Ji
Saint Tuka Ram Ji had composed many devotional works. Whatever Tukaram Ji sang was an expression of his mind. These were in the form of ‘Abhang’. Abhang means the songs or verses which are sung in praise of Lord Vitthal or Vithoba. The saints of Maharashtra sang these Abhang verses in the regional languages to awaken the society.
Apart from Abhang, no other special literary work of his is known. His disciples carried forward the devotional songs sung by him and wrote them. It is believed that the influence of the works composed by Saint Dnyaneshwar and Shri Eknath was very much reflected in the language of Sant Tukaram Ji. The imprint of Dnyaneshwari composition and Eknathi Bhagwat texts are clearly visible on his ideas.
Thoughts of Saint Tukaram Ji
Saint Tukaram Ji tried his utmost to help people overcome the despair and lull in their lives through his devotional preachings. He always stressed more that all people are children of one God and are hence equal. There should be no discrimination between anyone. He played an important role in the promotion of religion.
Sant Tukaram Ji has been considered a propagator of Maharashtra religion. The Bhakti movement gained intensity through his principles. Tukaram Ji had a profound influence on the social ideology of that time. Fraud on caste and varna system. Their contribution to making the system flexible by the principle of equality will always be memorable.