Saints, water to the thirsty
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
त्रुशाकाळें उदकें भेटी । पडे मिठी आवडीची ॥1॥
ऐसियाचा हो कां संग । जिवलग संतांचा ॥ध्रु.॥
मिष्टान्नाचा योग भुके । ह्मणतां चुके पुरेसें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माते बाळा । कळवळा भेटीचा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When a thirsty person finds water, an embrace of love follows at once. Seek such company: the company of saints, intimate and dear to the jiva. When fine food meets true hunger, there is fullness; no need to say more. Says Tuka, like a mother meeting her child, there is a deep tenderness in that reunion.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When a thirsty man finds water, he embraces it with longing. Keep that kind of company: the company of saints, dear and close to the soul. When real hunger meets good food, it is filled; there is no more to say. Tuka says: like a mother meeting her child, there is a deep ache of tenderness in that meeting.
What it means
Tukaram describes why the company of saints matters by pointing to plain bodily need. A thirsty man does not weigh whether to drink; he seizes the water with longing, and that is the love we should feel for the saints, who are as close to the soul as life itself. The second image says the same: true hunger meeting good food is simply satisfied, no argument needed. He ends on the tenderest note, a mother reunited with her child, to show that meeting the saints is not cool approval but a warm, aching gladness.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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