God good, mighty, beloved of all
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देव भला देव भला । मिळोनि जाय जैसा त्याला॥1॥
देव उदार उदार । देतां नाहीं थोडें फार ॥ध्रु.॥
देव बळी देव बळी। जोडा नाहीं भूमंडळीं ॥2॥
देव व्हावा देव व्हावा । आवडे तो सर्वां जीवां ॥3॥
देव चांगला चांगला । तुका चरणीं लागला ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
God is good; He mingles and becomes one with whoever approaches Him. God is generous; when giving, He knows no measure of too little or too much. God is mighty; there is no equal to Him in all the world. Everyone in all creation loves God. Says Tuka, God is good, and I have fallen at His feet.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
God is good, God is good; He blends in and becomes like whoever comes to Him. God is generous, generous; when He gives, there is no too little or too much. God is mighty, God is mighty; there is no match for Him in all the earth. Let God be had, let God be had; every living being loves Him. God is good, good. Tuka has fallen at His feet.
What it means
Another short litany of God's qualities, each repeated for emphasis. He is good in a particular way: He meets each person where they are and becomes one with them. He gives without measuring, neither stingy nor calculating. He is mighty beyond any rival in the world, and yet every creature loves Him. The point of stacking these together is the closing surrender: a God this good, this generous, this strong, and this universally loved is one to fall before, and Tukaram lays himself at His feet.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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