The nature of God, wonder at the play
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आश्चर्य या वाटे नसत्या छंदाचें । कैसें दिलें साचें करोनियां ॥1॥
दुजियासी तंव अकळ हा भाव । करावा तो जीव साक्ष येथें ॥ध्रु.॥
एकीं अनेकत्व अनेकीं एकत्व । प्रकृतिस्वभाव प्रमाणें चि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे करूं उगवूं जाणसी । कुशळ येविशीं तुह्मी देवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am filled with wonder at this play and how You have made it so convincingly real. This devotion is unfathomable to another; here, the jiva itself stands as witness. In the One You show the many, and in the many You show the One, each according to its own nature. Says Tuka, You know how to create and how to resolve. In this, O God, You are supremely skillful.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am full of wonder at this strange game. How have you made it feel so truly real? To anyone else this devotion is beyond grasp; here the living soul itself stands as the witness. In the One you show the many; in the many you show the One, each according to its own nature. Tuka says: you know how to set the knot and how to undo it. In this, O God, you are the skillful one.
What it means
Tukaram is gazing at creation as a deliberate play and is astonished at how convincing the illusion is. He admits that this inner devotion cannot be proved to an outsider; the only witness to it is the soul that actually lives it. He sees God working both ways at once, hiding the many inside the One and revealing the One inside the many, fitting each form to its own nature. The closing image is of a knot: God alone knows how to tie up the world in apparent bondage and how to loosen it again. The poem rests in trust that the same hand that bound the soul is skillful enough to free it.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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