Tukaram

Sant Tukoba - The Singing Saint of Maharashtra

In the pre-dawn darkness of 17th-century Dehu, a village potter would climb the banks of the Indrayani River, his heart so full of divine love that songs poured from him like water from a broken dam. Tukaram's bhajans didn't just praise God—they were the spontaneous overflow of a soul that had discovered the Beloved living in every grain of dust, every breath, every moment of ordinary life. When orthodox Brahmins demanded he stop composing in the "vulgar" Marathi tongue, legend says he threw his poems into the river—only to have Vitthal himself return them, commanding that these songs of the heart must reach the people.

Chronological Timeline

• 1608 - Born in Dehu village, Maharashtra, into a Shudra (lower caste) family of grocers and farmers
• 1620s - Begins showing deep devotional tendencies, drawn to Vitthal worship at nearby Pandharpur
• 1630s - Marries Rakhumabai; experiences material prosperity in family trade business
• 1640s - Suffers devastating losses: famine destroys crops, business fails, first wife dies, leaving him with children
• 1645 - Remarries Jijai (Avalai), who becomes his spiritual companion and support
• 1647 - Experiences profound spiritual crisis and awakening; begins intense devotional practices
• 1649 - Receives mystical initiation in a dream from Sant Namdev; starts composing abhangas (devotional poems)
• 1650-1660 - Period of intense spiritual practice and composition; thousands of abhangas flow from him
• 1661 - Confrontation with orthodox Brahmins who object to his spiritual authority as a Shudra
• 1662 - The famous "river incident" - throws his poems into Indrayani River after Brahmin pressure
• 1665 - Establishes regular satsangs; disciples begin gathering around him
• 1670 - Composes some of his most profound philosophical abhangas on the nature of reality
• 1649-1681 - Continuous outpouring of devotional poetry; estimated 4,500 abhangas attributed to him
• 1681 - Mahasamadhi at age 73; according to tradition, walks into a divine light (vaikuntha) while singing

The Journey from Seeker to Sage

The spiritual hunger

Tukaram's path to sainthood was carved by suffering that would have crushed a lesser soul. Born into a family of Kunbi farmers and grocers, he experienced early prosperity that suddenly collapsed like a house of cards. Famine devastated his crops, his business crumbled, and his beloved first wife Rakhumabai died, leaving him alone with young children and crushing debt. But rather than breaking him, this suffering became the crucible that refined his soul. He would later sing: "When troubles come like floods, the devotee swims across on the name of God."

Even in childhood, Tukaram had shown an unusual attraction to the divine. While other children played, he would sit absorbed in thoughts of Vitthal, the beloved deity of Maharashtra. His family's regular pilgrimages to Pandharpur planted seeds of devotion that would later bloom into an all-consuming love. The material losses of his thirties didn't create his spiritual hunger—they revealed it, stripping away everything that had concealed his soul's deepest longing.

The quest and the practices

After his first wife's death, Tukaram entered what can only be described as a spiritual emergency. He would disappear for days, wandering the hills around Dehu in a state of divine intoxication, sometimes forgetting to eat or return home. His family worried he was losing his mind, but Tukaram was actually finding his soul. He practiced severe austerities—fasting for days, sitting motionless in meditation, weeping for hours in longing for God.

His second wife, Jijai, became not just his life partner but his spiritual companion. Unlike many saints whose families opposed their spiritual intensity, Jijai supported Tukaram's devotional practices, even when it meant material hardship. She understood that her husband was not abandoning worldly duties but fulfilling a higher calling. When neighbors criticized Tukaram for his spiritual absorption, Jijai would defend him, saying, "He may forget the world, but he never forgets God."

The guru-disciple relationship

Tukaram's initiation came through a mystical dream-vision of Sant Namdev, the great 13th-century poet-saint of Maharashtra. In this vision, Namdev gave him a mantra and blessed his mission to sing God's glory in the language of the people. This dream-initiation was crucial because it bypassed the orthodox requirement of Brahmin spiritual authority. Tukaram belonged to the Varkari tradition, which emphasized direct devotional experience over ritual orthodoxy.

The relationship with his invisible guru Namdev continued throughout his life. Tukaram would often speak of receiving guidance and inspiration from the earlier saint, creating a lineage that transcended physical death. This mystical guru-disciple relationship gave Tukaram the spiritual authority to teach and compose, despite his low caste status in a rigidly hierarchical society.

The teaching emerges

Around 1649, at age 41, Tukaram began composing abhangas—devotional poems in Marathi that combined profound spiritual insight with the simple language of farmers and merchants. These weren't scholarly treatises but spontaneous outpourings of a heart drunk on divine love. He would compose while working in his fields, walking to Pandharpur, or sitting by the river at dawn.

His early disciples were drawn not by his learning—he was largely unlettered—but by the authenticity of his realization. When Tukaram sang about God, listeners felt they were hearing someone who had actually met the Beloved. His abhangas spread through Maharashtra like wildfire, carried by wandering kirtankars (devotional singers) and memorized by common people who found in them a spirituality that spoke their language.

Daily life of the realized

Even after his spiritual awakening, Tukaram maintained the life of a householder. He farmed his small plot of land, cared for his family, and participated in village life. But everything was transformed by his constant awareness of God's presence. He would sing while plowing, compose while walking, and turn every mundane activity into worship.

His daily routine included pre-dawn meditation by the river, where many of his most beautiful abhangas were born. He would then work in his fields or shop, always with the name of Vitthal on his lips. Evenings were spent in satsang with growing numbers of devotees who came to hear his songs and receive his simple, direct teachings about devotion.

Core Spiritual Teachings

His essential realization

Tukaram's fundamental insight was that God is not distant but intimately present in every moment of ordinary life. His realization can be summed up in his famous abhanga: "The whole universe is filled with God. Where can I go to find Him? He is already here, in my heart, in my breath, in every grain of sand." This wasn't philosophical speculation but lived experience—Tukaram had discovered the divine presence so completely that he could no longer see anything as separate from God.

His teaching emphasized that spiritual realization doesn't require abandoning the world but seeing the world correctly. The farmer plowing his field, the mother nursing her child, the merchant conducting business—all could be forms of worship if done with awareness of God's presence. This democratized spirituality, making the highest realization available to anyone, regardless of caste, education, or social status.

Key teachings and practices

The Path of Nama (Divine Name): Tukaram taught that constant repetition of God's name was the most direct path to realization. But this wasn't mechanical chanting—it was the practice of keeping the heart constantly turned toward the divine. He sang: "The name of Rama is like a wish-fulfilling tree. Whatever you ask while chanting it, you will receive." For Tukaram, the name contained the full presence of God.

Surrender and Grace: Unlike paths that emphasized human effort, Tukaram taught complete surrender to divine grace. He believed that the ego's attempts to achieve God through its own efforts were futile. True devotion meant offering everything—successes and failures, joys and sorrows—to God and trusting completely in divine will. "I am yours, you are mine—what more is there to understand?" he would sing.

Devotional Singing as Spiritual Practice: Tukaram elevated kirtan (devotional singing) from entertainment to a supreme spiritual practice. His abhangas were designed not just to convey information about God but to induce states of divine love and remembrance. He taught that when a group sings God's name together with sincere devotion, the divine presence becomes tangible among them.

The Religion of Love: Tukaram consistently taught that love (prema) was higher than knowledge, ritual, or austerity. He sang: "Pandits may know the scriptures by heart, ascetics may perform severe penances, but without love, all their efforts are like decorating a corpse." This love wasn't sentimental emotion but the soul's recognition of its essential unity with God.

Social Equality in Spiritual Life: Revolutionary for his time, Tukaram taught that spiritual realization was equally available to all castes and both genders. His satsangs included people from all social levels, and he consistently opposed Brahminical claims to spiritual monopoly. When orthodox priests objected to his teaching, he replied: "God doesn't ask about caste when He enters the heart."

Their teaching methodology

Tukaram's primary method was transmission through song and personal example. His abhangas worked on multiple levels—they were beautiful poetry that people loved to sing, practical spiritual instruction disguised as devotional verse, and vehicles for transmitting states of consciousness. When people sang his compositions with devotion, they often experienced the same divine love that had inspired them.

He also taught through his daily life, showing how an ordinary householder could live in constant communion with God. Visitors to Dehu would find him working in his fields or shop, but always radiating a joy and peace that spoke more powerfully than any sermon. His teaching was never theoretical—it was always the sharing of his own lived experience of God's presence.

Stages of the path

Tukaram outlined a simple but profound spiritual progression: first comes shraddha (faith), then bhakti (devotion), leading to prapatti (surrender), and finally to the state of constant smarana (remembrance of God). He taught that this path was available to anyone willing to sincerely call upon God's name and gradually surrender their ego-will to divine will.

He emphasized that the goal wasn't to escape the world but to see God in the world. The highest realization, according to Tukaram, was the state where every breath becomes a prayer, every action becomes worship, and every moment becomes a celebration of divine presence.

The Lineage and Legacy

The immediate sangha

Tukaram's direct disciples included people from all walks of life—farmers, merchants, women, and even some Brahmins who were drawn by his authentic realization. Notable among them was Bahina Bai, a woman saint who became one of Maharashtra's greatest devotional poets. His influence on her shows how Tukaram's teaching transcended gender barriers in a patriarchal society.

His son Mahadev and other family members also became carriers of his teaching, but Tukaram emphasized that spiritual lineage was more important than blood lineage. Anyone who sincerely practiced his teachings and experienced divine love became part of his spiritual family. The Varkari tradition that he helped revitalize continues to this day, with millions of devotees making annual pilgrimages to Pandharpur.

The teaching stream

Tukaram's influence on Marathi culture and Indian spirituality cannot be overstated. His abhangas became the devotional literature of Maharashtra, sung in homes, temples, and during the famous Varkari pilgrimages. He helped establish Marathi as a legitimate language for spiritual expression, paving the way for later saint-poets.

His emphasis on devotional singing influenced the development of classical Indian music, with many of his compositions becoming part of the concert repertoire. The great musician Pandit Bhimsen Joshi often said that singing Tukaram's abhangas was his highest spiritual practice.

Contemporary relevance

In our age of spiritual materialism and complex techniques, Tukaram's simple message remains revolutionary: God is already here, available to anyone who calls with a sincere heart. His teaching that ordinary life can be transformed into worship speaks directly to contemporary seekers who struggle to balance spiritual practice with worldly responsibilities.

His social message—that spiritual realization transcends caste, class, and education—remains urgently relevant in a world still divided by artificial hierarchies. Tukaram showed that the highest wisdom often comes not from universities but from hearts broken open by love and suffering.

Distortions and clarifications

Some modern interpretations have reduced Tukaram to a social reformer or folk poet, missing the profound mystical dimension of his realization. While he certainly challenged social inequalities, his primary mission was spiritual—to awaken divine love in human hearts. His social teachings flowed from his spiritual realization, not from political ideology.

Another distortion is the sentimentalization of his devotion, presenting it as mere emotional expression rather than a rigorous spiritual path. Tukaram's bhakti was based on complete surrender of the ego, which requires tremendous spiritual courage and discipline.

The Sacred and the Human

The personality of the master

Tukaram embodied the perfect balance of divine intoxication and practical wisdom. Those who met him described a man who could be found weeping in ecstasy one moment and giving practical advice to farmers the next. His personality was marked by extraordinary humility—he consistently referred to himself as God's servant and never claimed any special status.

He had a wonderful sense of humor and often used wit to deflate spiritual pretension. When learned pandits would challenge his authority to teach, he would respond with gentle humor that exposed their ego while maintaining compassion. His laughter was said to be infectious, and even his critics often found themselves charmed by his genuine simplicity.

Miracles and siddhis

While many miraculous stories surround Tukaram, he himself downplayed supernatural powers, teaching that the greatest miracle was the transformation of the human heart through divine love. The most famous miracle associated with him is the story of his abhangas returning from the river after he threw them in response to Brahmin pressure—a story that emphasizes divine protection of authentic spiritual teaching.

Other stories tell of his ability to heal through his songs, his prescient knowledge of events, and his power to induce spiritual states in others through his presence. But Tukaram consistently taught that such powers were distractions from the real goal of losing oneself in God's love.

Tests and teaching moments

One of the most significant tests in Tukaram's life came when orthodox Brahmins, jealous of his influence, demanded that he stop composing and teaching, claiming that as a Shudra, he had no right to spiritual authority. Rather than fight them directly, Tukaram threw his compositions into the river, demonstrating perfect surrender to God's will. The legend that Vitthal himself returned the poems shows how divine grace protects authentic teaching.

He often taught through paradox and apparent contradiction. When disciples complained about worldly difficulties, he would remind them that suffering was God's gift to deepen devotion. When they became too otherworldly, he would emphasize the importance of fulfilling worldly duties with devotion.

The embodied divine

Tukaram's approach to the body was neither ascetic rejection nor indulgent attachment, but sacred acceptance. He saw the body as a temple of God and taught that physical needs should be met simply while keeping the heart focused on the divine. His own life demonstrated this balance—he worked physically hard, maintained his family responsibilities, but never let bodily concerns distract from spiritual remembrance.

As he aged, Tukaram's body became increasingly frail, but his devotional intensity only increased. He taught that physical decline was natural and should be accepted gracefully while maintaining inner focus on the eternal. His final songs express complete readiness to merge with the divine, showing no fear of death but rather eager anticipation of union with the Beloved.

Transmission Through Words

On the omnipresence of God: "Where shall I go to see my Lord? He is present in every place. In the temple and in the mosque, in the Hindu and in the Turk. In the running water and in the still pool, in the market and in the forest. Wherever I look, there I see Him smiling at me."

On the power of the divine name: "The name of Rama is a boat to cross the ocean of existence. It is medicine for all diseases, food for the hungry, water for the thirsty. Tuka says: Keep this name always on your tongue and in your heart—it will never fail you."

On surrender and grace: "I tried to climb the mountain of God with my own strength and fell again and again. Then I learned to let God carry me, and I reached the summit without effort. The ego struggles and fails; love surrenders and succeeds."

A teaching story: "A man spent years learning to walk on water, proud of his spiritual achievement. One day he met a simple devotee who crossed the same river on a boat for two paisas. 'Why waste your life learning tricks?' asked the devotee. 'God is not impressed by our abilities but by our love.'"

On devotional practice: "Sing the name of God as a mother sings lullabies to her child—with love, with tenderness, with complete attention