Creation as God's play
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कौतुकाची सृष्टी । कौतुकें चि केलें कष्टी ॥1॥
मोडे तरी भलें खेळ । फांके फांकिल्या कोल्हाळ ॥ध्रु.॥
जाणणियासाटीं। भय सामावलें पोटीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे चेता । होणें तें तूं च आइता ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This creation was made for sport, and through that sport, suffering was also created. If the game breaks, so be it; when it scatters, there is a great commotion. For the one who knows, fear itself is contained within the belly. Says Tuka, wake up! That which is to happen, you yourself have brought about.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This whole creation was made for play. And through that play, suffering was made too. If the game breaks, that is fine. When it scatters, there is a great uproar. For the one who knows, fear is held inside the belly. Tuka says: wake up. Whatever is to happen, you yourself have already brought it about.
What it means
Tukaram looks at the world and sees it as God's sport, and he refuses to pretend that the sport is gentle. The same play that makes the world also makes its pain. He stays calm about this: if the game falls apart, so be it, even when others raise a great commotion. The one who truly knows keeps fear contained instead of being ruled by it. His closing call, wake up, points to the hard truth that what comes to us is already shaped by our own doing, so the place to look is inward.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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