Saint Tuka Ruka Ram was born in the year 1608, near the Pune city in the village called as the Dehu. Pune city lies in the Maharashtra state, and due to this reason, he was very well versed with the Marathi Language. Form the very childhood days he was very good at writing and used to write several poems and songs dedicated to god. He belonged to family of Kshatriya and his family was very pious and used to worship lord Saint Tuka Ram Jayanti. But due to certain uneven circumstances he lost his father and mother. Although his family was having good business, but Tuka ram was not in that state to control that. And increasing losses in the business forced him to leave his native place.
As from the very childhood days, he was very keen in studying about the things that are related to god like prayers etc. He used to write songs and poems by himself. But in various places of his writing he has wrote that these words are not his and they are the words that are told to him by the god, and he just the medium to convey these words to the people. He was travelling on the path of Moksha and due to this reason he was completely submerged in to the devotion towards the god.
It is said that once upon a time, King Shivaji offered him jewels and other attracting materialistic things. But he refused to accept them and he said that, these materialistic does not matters in his life of saint. He used to spend most of his time in Sadhana. In the mean time he used to read Purans and other description that are related to god. His poems and other songs are deeply connected to the god and relate stories that are spiritual in nature.
In many places, his songs and poems have been picked to explain the saying of the gods. For instance, in various places in the Guru Granth Sahib, his sayings have been included. His life more or less was quite simple which involved spiritual study for most of the time. He was quite good in the Marathi language also and used to write most of his work in this language only. There are collections of around 4500 abhangas and they are famously also called as Gatha.
One of his best works for those he is remembered till date is abhangas. These abhangas used to tell about various topics related to god. One of the best things about his poems were that, at the very beginning he used to write that, these words are merely written by him and accepting or not accepting these words are merely the choice of the reader. This was the reason why he was so much acclaimed for his work in the fields of writing apart from the basic fact that he was good at his work of writing. Saint Tuka Ram attained his Moksha in the year 1648 and it is said that, during this day only he attained his enlightenment.
How People Celebrate Sant Tukaram Jayanti
Every year, people mostly that are belonging to the state of Maharashtra celebrate this Jayanti with great reverence. Generally people attend the functions in which the sayings of the Tuka ram are recited. Many people participate in the cultural events that involve singing of the poems that were written by the saint Tuka Ram.
Special programs in schools are also organized, and plays that depict the life of this saint are performed with great joy. In normal day today chores also, his work is recited by people and the melodies that he used to use in his work are impeccable.