Publisher's Synopsis
Born in the little village of Dehu, sixteen miles north-west of Poona, probably in the year 1608 A.D., the poet Tukaram was by caste a Sudra and by occupation a corn retailer. After a famine brought distress and bankruptcy, he devoted himself to the family God, Vitthoba of Pandharpura. He soon became a well known teacher and crowds of people were attracted to his kathas and bhajans. The circumstances of his death are unknown. The popular account states that he ascended into heaven in the car of visnu, a note on the Dehu manuscript of his poems says that Tukoba started on pilgrimage and was, apparently, seen no more. The Life of Tukarama: I Autobiography. Thoughts about the world. Humility, sin and misery. Prayers. How he awoke. His own disqualifications. His motives. The nature of his mission. Appeals. His sense of authority and assurance. A prayer for a pupil. Consolation and happiness in God. Admonitions to himself. Some incidents in his life. Descriptions and Invocations. Pandhari. Dehu V. The Nature of God In Himself. His relation to the world. Union with God necessary. Distinction from God necessary. The all-pervading character of God. The universality of God's grace. God's power. The power of God's name. God's generosity and condescension. God's protecting love. The problem of Action. The perplexing aspect of the world. The impossibility of escaping our past. Nothing is gained by works of law or austerities. Our faith a reward of merit. The sense of sin. Remonstrances with god. Prayers. The conditions of acceptation. The necessity of experience. Triumphant happiness. Raillery of God. Faith and trust.
