The great Vaisnava saint, Tukarama, was born in Deha, Maharashtra in 1608. Srila Prabhupada writes: “It is said that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu initiated Tukarama when he visited Pandarapura, and thus Tukarama became his disciple. Tukarama Acaraya became very famous in the Maharashtra province, and he spread the sankirtan movement all over the provence.” [ CC Madhya 9.282 purport ] Tukarama appeared much after Lord Caitanya, but in his writings states that one day Mahaprabhu appeared to him in a dream ( a vision ) and gave him diksa, or initiation. As Srila Prabhupada writes, Tukarama spread the Bhakti cult far and wide, often against fierce opposition. On the day he departed from this world a huge crowd gathered near a large tree that he was lying under. Suddenly Garuda appeared with a flower airplane and in front of everyone picked up Tukaram and flew him back to the spiritual world in his self-same body. Even common people witnessed this miracle. Each year on that day the same tree shakes violently in separation from the great saint. Pilgrims gather from all over India to watch the event.
During my short stay in Pune we drove to Deha and visited the original home of Tukaram. We also visited the temple where his deities, Sri Vittal Rukmini, are being worshipped and the place of his bhajan on a small mountain. We took bath in a nearby sacred river where a number of his pastimes took place. Here is just one of the many thousands of beautiful slokas that Tukarama wrote: “Having collected tremendous merits by chanting the holy names, now I’ve opened a market place to distribute these unparalleled treasures. In this market place of bliss the only commodity is the holy name of Lord Rama. Free of cost, it bestows easy deliverance from ocean of suffering. Many fortunate stalwarts have in the past stocked this great treasure. In this market there is no question of falsehood, cheating or danger in making transactions. Rather it will purify the consciousness with the slightest effort.”
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- By Indradyumna Swami
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