Tukaram was born in a low caste family of a shopkeeper in Dehu. His first wife suffered from Asthma so he took a second wife who unfortunately proved troublesome. A great famine raged over Maharashtra, Tukaram was so hard hit that his first wife died of starvation crying, ‘give me food, give me food’. The terrible calamity proved to be the turning point in Tukaram’s life and ignited his spiritual quest.

Through the process of constant contemplation and introspection he discovered the colossal pride and self importance seated within him. He saw greed, hatred, jealousy, anger and passion pulling him down. Thus like all seekers, Tuka suffered from all the human weaknesses, and embarked his spiritual quest from the bottom of the ladder. He had no support and faced all the trials and conditionings through introspection and meditation. He realized the teachings of all philosophies yielded but one meaning; the omnipotence of God.

In the beginning, he found the old conditionings and ambitions drawing his attention away from his spirit. Gradually it dawned upon him to follow the path of devotion;
‘You must surrender yourself to God, be faithful to one’s self and chant his name.’
When he found it difficult to maintain the mood of surrender he did not seek the company of saints for inspiration but in order to imbibe humility, he undertook the meanest task in village;
“Only when one becomes small as an atom, one rises to the sky”.
In fact the villagers thought he was mad. But He did not care for their rational and logic; he strived for communion with God in the realm of his own heart. He ardently prayed and prayed for it. But without love, surrender was not possible.

Initially the task of surrendering to God seemed impossible because it entailed a voluntary elimination of his conditionings and ambitions, but as his devotion grew deeper, love elevated and nurtured him, and he tasted the divine nectar. Love became the essence of his prayers. Through love alone, he experienced
the universal ocean of Divine love.

“I cannot forget him now, he follows me everywhere.
He has stolen my precious heart.
He has manifested himself and I have become mad after him.
I hear nothing, I am speechless, how can I describe Him?
My whole being is ecstatic with love.”

Tuka’s prayer was not a begging for the mundane things, but a thirst for God. He prayed fervently for his company, “forgive me I shall never put you to such trouble on my account.”
When he got connected, his compassion embraced all humanity, and he served God by serving His children. He saw God in every being, and sought to awaken the latent love for God in every being.

“I see the whole world in my soul,
When I see the lord all agony vanishes,
I am transported into Ananda (bliss).
Bliss leads to greater bliss.
I have been so blessed
To have seen the formless one.
I came to see Vithal and myself become Vithal.”

His whole being vibrated with divine joy, he did not know how to convey it so he expressed it in abhangs (songs literally meaning ‘immortal words’) and danced his way to the Lord;
“because it is His creation, He prevails everywhere therefore, He is happy to guide whoever seeks him.”
He assured patience and prayers were the key to surrender; after listening comes thinking, then contemplation followed by meditation and finally Karma and Bhakti converge in collective consciousness.

“Blessed I am to have seen your feet today,
now I have gone beyond time.
Divine Ananda is overflowing through my body.
This very body becomes divine
when I sing your praise.
The waves and the ocean become one.
God envelopes me all around.
All things merge into unity.
All creatures have become Divine to me.
I do not belong to any place or time.
I witness my own death
And this mortal merges into God.
I am as I am.”

However, Bhakti should not be mistaken for renunciation of social life; ‘ to seek God in the world it is not the world one must deny.’
He believed in the institution of marriage and family life. However, his approach to life was of moderation, a normal life in which each individual leads a responsible and dutiful life, while in the divine pursuit. A society that practices Dharma is spontaneously blessed with a living and a vital culture, producing great spiritual men. This is how he instructed the mighty emperor Shivaji who was so intoxicated by Tuka’s
devotional songs that he wanted to cast aside his kingdom in pursuit of God. Tuka instructed him to worship the Lord in the service to his subjects;

” Salvation can be attained by doing one’s duty selflessly. It is the duty of the King to protect his subjects, fight and vanquish the foe. As a father looks after the welfare of his family, similarly when a King sees his subjects happy, he feels happy. Benevolence is the greatest attribute of a King. He should give alms generously, be righteous, just and impartial. Seeing God in all beings, there should be compassion towards all. In worship there should be love for God. Be fair in business dealings. Falsehood is the greatest sin. Following these tenets you will become a “jivan-mukta”. Why then go to the jungle to worship the Lord, for God will come to your own house.”

Shivaji prostrated before him and returned to his kingdom. Not long before, Shivaji returned with an offering of gold coins and a gift of a town. But Tuka whose mind was free from desire shunned it;

“What need have I of riches
When my soul is fulfilled within?
What is the lamp before the sun?
I have only one desire,
That you should surrender to God.
One does not have to abandon one’s family
Or social ties when the soul is at peace.”

“Non-attachment is an attitude of mind, it is a state of inner contentment where there is no question of being attached or detached. It is attachment to ‘I’, ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’ that estranges the individual from the inner self. Non-attachment can be attained through self-restraint, sincerity, forgiveness and love of God.
The one who is filled with love of God goes beyond fear, anxieties or distractions.” He could give a Brahmin the gift of turning copper coin into gold but his poor wife did not even possess a broken jewel. Eight siddhis were always at his command but he did not even store sufficient grain for a single day. He cooked for one person and miraculously fed a multitude.

It is easier to practice austerities and do penance than to face life’s daily irritants with patience, compassion and detachment. An old weary window was going to the bazar to buy oil, but lost strength to go further. Tuka came to her rescue and brought the oil. To the widow’s amazement, the oil lasted much
longer than before. As the miracle of the oil lasting so long spread, everyone sought Tuka to buy oil for them and it lasted longer.

On another occasion, unruffled by a menacing dog, Tuka told him, “There is no bark in me, why do you keep it in yourself.” The dog was instantly calmed and after that followed Tuka home.

“When the heart is purified with sincerity
Then even enemies become friends,
Tigers may come near but will never attack one,
Poison offered to such a one will turn into nectar,
Any harm directed towards him will result into good,
Harsh words will sound polite ,
Any pain afflicted will become the source of happiness,
The flames of fire will turn cool,
For God, All Merciful is please,
If one’s heart is full of compassion,
If one loves others more than oneself,
God will look upon such a one with an
Eye of mercy and bless his heart with His presence.”

He denounced elaborate rituals and the priestly class;
“Like pipes carved out of carrots are these new Yogis,
They cram a lot but they only accumulate Ego,
Knowledge little, pride great,
Such hypocrites should be beaten and shooed.”

A infuriated Brahmin commanded Tukaram to throw aways his manuscripts in the river. For many days Tuka was dejected. However, he forgave the Brahmin and even cured him.
By the grace of God, thirteen days later, the manuscript was found floating on the water.
In another interesting anecdote Tuka undertook to guard a corn field. He watched birds feed the corn but did not have the heart to shoo them away. He observed how the birds ate a few kernels but took nothing home. Seeing this he prayed to the Lord to make his soul like the birds. And lo! When Tuka returned the
corn field was full again.

He did not discriminate between caste, creed, or a sinner. Though he condemned a sin, he forgave the sinners, advising them to cease their sinful lives and take the path of God. He asked them to forget the past as he had redeemed them of their sin. He had implicit faith in the Divine spirit within each individual and endeavored to ignite it.

Once a Brahmin was possessed by a devil who demanded that if the Brahmin bequeathed the good deeds of a sacrifice to him then he would free him. As the Brahmin was poor, he could not perform the necessary sacrifices. He wandered from place to place requesting people to give him the good deed of their sacrifice. When Tukaram heard of it, he vibrated some water and gave it to the Brahmin. The Brahmin drank the water and he was cleansed of the devil.

Tuka attributed creation of universe to God’s inherent power of Shakti. Shakti is both maya and creative. God enjoys his creation but seems to play hide and seek with it. When man forgets God and looks at the show world, he is deluded by Maya under the blanket of ignorance. The ego is the cause of delusion. The dominating ego eclipses the attention, and in the darkness of ignorance one easily falls into temptation. However, Tuka showed through bhakti one is able to recognize the hand of God everywhere and the curtain of ignorance drops.

Tukaram was aware of the growing moral degradation in the world. He foresaw the coming of “Kali”. At such a critical time, when unrighteousness increases beyond limit, the balance of nature is upset and the working of Divine will is hampered, then God assumes a human form to fight evil forces. God has infinite love for his creation and assumes visible forms like incarnations to uphold Dharma and destroy the evil.