Bharat R. Gugane,
Asst Professor in English,
Bhonsala Military College,
Rambhoomi,Nashik.
bharatgugane@gmail.com
Abstract:
Tukaram has been considered across the world as one of the greatest poet saints of our country. He has been the source of inspiration to many students and researchers. There is ample literature discussing literary and other aspects of his poetry. His poetry has great political, economical, religious and cultural significance. He has used poetry for his poetic and spiritual vision of life. His life was evident to prove that his life and his poetry were not different. He acted as he spoke. I think, it is imperative to study and understand Tukaram’s poetic vision. Present Paper is an attempt to study and understand his poetic vision.
Key Terms- Abhanga, Varakari Sampradaya, Bhakti Movement, Bhagwat Dharma,Owi
Full Paper-
‘The Poetic Vision of Saint Tukaram’
“Tukaram is a national poet.”
-Sir Alexander Grant
The great British Educationist and the former Vice Chancellor of Bombay University, Sir Alexander Grant described Tukarm as a national poet. I believe that he is not only national poet but an international poet, who have surpassed the boundaries of time and place. In his essay published in fortnightly review of 1867, Grant said,
“It is impossible to convince the superiority of Christianity to a person who is singing the verses of Tukaram.”
Grant tried to preach Tukaram to the west and also to Indians. Being a Christian he rated Tukaram’s poetry supreme over Christianity. It is the power of Tukarams Poetry that, a foreigner who had the special assignment to preach Christianity openly agreed the supremacy of Tukaram. However our own people made a big mistake of not understanding Tukaram in its true sense. Since Tukarama’s time we found, there was a tradition among his contemporaries to the present time to abolish and reject his poetry and also to magnify and preach his
Bibliography: 12. Shivaramkishna,M, Sumita Roy; Poet Saints of India, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 1996 - 260 pages 13