Krishna, catch God by his feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बळें डाईं न पडे हरी । बुद्धि करी शाहणा तो ॥१॥
मोकळें देवा खेळों द्यावें । सम भावें सांपडावया ॥ध्रु.॥
येतो जातो वेळोवेळां । न कळे कळा सांपडती ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे धरा ठायींच्या ठायीं । मिठी जीवीं पायीं घालुनियां ॥३॥
सुतुतू - अभंग १
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Hari does not fall by force; the wise one uses his wits. Let God play freely, so that He may be caught with equal feeling. He comes and goes again and again; His arts remain hidden until the moment of capture. Says Tuka, seize Him right where He stands by throwing your arms around His feet with all your life.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Hari does not fall by force; the wise one uses his wits. Let God play freely, so he can be caught with even, equal feeling. He comes and goes, again and again; his arts stay hidden until the moment he is caught. Tuka says: seize him right where he stands, throwing your arms around his feet with all your life.
What it means
Tukaram lays out the strategy for catching God, who cannot be taken by force, only by wisdom. You must let him play freely and meet him with steady, even-tempered devotion, sama bhāva, rather than grasping. He keeps coming and going, his arts concealed, until the very instant he is caught. The closing instruction is the heart of it: do not chase him about; seize him right where he stands by throwing your arms around his feet with your whole life. The teaching is that God is held not by effort or cleverness but by total, loving surrender at his feet.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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