Praise of the saints, God serves them
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
संतांचें सुख जालें या देवा । ह्मणऊनि सेवा करी त्यांची ॥1॥
तेथें माझा काय कोण तो विचार । वर्णावया पार महिमा त्यांचा ॥ध्रु.॥
निर्गुण आकार जाला गुणवंत । घाली दंडवत पूजोनियां ॥2॥
तीथॉ त्यांची इच्छा करिती नित्यकाळ । व्हावया निर्मळ आपणांसी ॥3॥
अष्टमा सिद्धींचा कोण आला पाड । वागों नेदी आड कोणी तया ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे ते बिळया शिरोमणी । राहिलों चरणीं निकटवासें ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
God Himself is delighted by the saints. That is why He serves them. Who am I, and what is my capacity to describe their glory? The formless One took form and became the quality-bearing One. He prostrates before them and worships them. The holy places long to visit them at all hours, in order to purify themselves. What does the prestige of the eight supernatural powers matter? None of them can stand in the saints' way. Says Tuka, they are the crown jewels of all the powerful. I have remained at their feet in intimate nearness.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The saints have become God's own happiness. That is why he serves them. Who am I to weigh it? What capacity have I to tell the limit of their glory? The formless One took on form and quality; he bows down full length before them and worships them. The holy places long, at every hour, to visit the saints, so that they themselves may be made clean. What weight do the eight powers carry next to them? None of those powers can stand in their way. Tuka says: they are the crown jewels of all who are strong. I have stayed at their feet, living close.
What it means
Tukaram lifts the saints above everything else by pointing at who waits on them: God himself. The formless takes form and prostrates before them, and the holy tirthas come to them to be purified, so the saints are the source rather than the receivers of holiness. Even the eight siddhis, the supernatural powers most seekers crave, cannot block or overshadow them. Against that height Tukaram refuses to rank himself; he only claims the one thing he wants, to live pressed close to their feet. The poem makes nearness to the saints, not power or status, the true treasure.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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