Devotion, the secret treasure of love
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आनंदें एकांतीं प्रेमें वोसंडत । घेऊं अगणित प्रेमसुख ॥1॥
गोप्य धन वारा लागों यास । पाहों नेदूं वास दुर्जनासी ॥ध्रु.॥
झणी दृिष्ट लागे आवडीच्या रसा । सेवूं जिरे तैसा आपणासी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे हें बहु सकुमार । न साहावे भार वचनाचा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In joyful solitude, overflowing with love, let us drink this boundless nectar of devotion. This secret treasure must be shielded from the wind; we must not let the wicked catch even its scent. Beware lest the evil eye fall upon this beloved sweetness; let us absorb it quietly within ourselves. Says Tuka, this love is exceedingly delicate and cannot bear even the weight of words.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In joyful solitude, overflowing with love, let us take this measureless sweetness of love. It is a hidden treasure; let no wind touch it. Let us not let the wicked even catch its scent. Beware the evil eye on this beloved sweetness; let us drink it quietly into ourselves, so it sinks in. Tuka says: this is very tender. It cannot bear even the weight of words.
What it means
Tukaram is describing the love of God as something so delicate it must be hidden to survive. He wants it tasted in solitude, overflowing and without measure, and then guarded like a buried treasure that even a breath of wind could spoil. The wicked must not be allowed near it, not even to smell it, and the evil eye must not fall on it. Most tellingly, he says this love cannot bear even the weight of words: to speak it too freely is to coarsen it. So the devotee drinks it quietly inward, letting it settle, rather than displaying it.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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