Sant Tukaram Maharaj also referred as Santshreshta, Jagadguru,Tukoba and Tukobaraya, was a 17th-century Hindu poet and sant of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra, India.
He was part of the egalitarian, personalized Varkari devotionalism tradition. Sant Tukaram Maharaj is best known for his devotional poetry called Abhanga and community-oriented worship with spiritual songs known as kirtans. poetry was devoted to Vitthala or Vithoba.
Tukaram was born in modern day Maharastra state of India. His complete name was Tukaram Bolhoba Ambiye. The year of birth and death of sant Tukaram has been a subject of research and dispute among 20th-century scholars. He was either born in the year 1598 or 1608 in a village named Dehu, near Pune in Maharashtra, India.
Sant Tukaram’s first wife was Rakhama Bai, and they had a son named Santu. However, both his son and wife starved to death in the famine of 1630–1632. The deaths and widespread poverty had a profound effect on Tukaram, who became contemplative, meditating on the hills of Sahyadri range (Western Ghats) and later wrote he "had discussions with my own self".Tukaram married again, and his second wife was Avalai Jija Bai.
He spent most of his later years in devotional worship, community kirtans (group prayers with singing) and composing Abhanga poetry .
Abhanga :-
करावी ते पूजा मनीची उत्तम
लौकिकाचे काम काय असे||
कळावे तयासी कळे अंतरीचे
कारण ते साचे साचा अंगी||
अतिशयांती लाभ किंवा घात
फळ देते चित्त बिजा ऐसे
तुका म्हणे जेणे राहे समाधान
ऐसे ते भजन पत पाखी||
The best workship of God can be performed by the mind . There is no need of instrument and implement for performing a Puja.
The purpose of workshop is to understand the mind , to understand the truth.
The final benefit or loss will be caused by the mind .
Mind is the seed that gives birth to the tree of action.
The 18th-century biographer Mahipati, in his four volume compilation of the lives of many Bhakti movement sants, included Tukaram. ... Dilip Chitre translated writings of Sant Tukaram into English in the book titled Says Tuka for which he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1994.
