राम
गाथा 142The Nature of God

Nature of God, whole love to each

Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram

मराठी मूळ

बैसवुनि फेरी । गडियां मध्यभागीं हरी । अवघियांचें करी । समाधान सारिखें ॥१॥

पाहे तो देखे समोर । भोगी अवघे प्रकार । हरुषें झेली कर । कवळ मुखीं देती ते ॥ध्रु.॥

बोले बोलतिया सवें । देतील तें त्यांचें घ्यावें । एक एका ठावें । येर येरा अदृश्य ॥२॥

तुका म्हणे देवा । बहु आवडीचा हेवा । कोणाचिया जीवा । वाटों नेदी विषम ॥३॥

Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)

English Translation

Seating them in a circle, Hari at the centre, He satisfies every one of them equally. Whoever looks sees Him directly before them. He savours every kind of offering. With delight He catches in His hands the morsels they place at His mouth. He speaks along with each one speaking, accepts whatever each one gives. Each knows only their own exchange; to all others, it remains unseen. Says Tuka: God is jealous of His love for each. He lets no soul feel the slightest inequality.

We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.

In Plain Words

He seats them all in a circle with Hari himself at the center, and he satisfies every one of them just the same. Whoever looks up sees him directly in front of their own face. He relishes every kind of offering, and delightedly catches in his hands the morsels they lift to his mouth. He talks with each one as they talk to him, and takes whatever each one gives; each knows only his own exchange with the Lord, and to all the others it stays unseen. Tuka says: God is jealous in his love for each one, and he lets not a single soul feel even the smallest inequality.

What it means

A tender picture of God among his devotees at the feast, and a quiet resolution of a hard question: how can God love everyone fully at once? Tukaram shows him seated at the center of the circle, yet directly facing each devotee, talking privately with each, accepting each one's offering, so that every devotee has God wholly to himself and never sees the others' share. The lovely phrase is that God is jealous of his love for each, guarding it so that no one ever feels less loved than another. Divine love is not divided among many; it is given whole to each, all at the same time.

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The Nature of God

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