God seen, who knows the heart
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देव पाहों देव पाहों । उंचे ठायीं उभे राहों ॥1॥
देव देखिला देखिला । तो नाहीं कोणां भ्याला ॥ध्रु.॥
देवा कांहीं मागों मागों । जीव भाव त्यासी सांगों ॥2॥
देव जाणे देव जाणे । पुरवी मनींचिये खुणे ॥3॥
देव कातर कातर । तुका ह्मणे अभ्यंतर ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let us look for God; let us stand on high ground to see Him. God has been seen, and He fears no one. Let us ask God for something; let us tell Him our mind's desire. God knows, He truly knows; He fulfills the deepest signs of the mind. Says Tuka, God is tender; He dwells within.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let us look for God, let us look for God; let us stand on high ground to see Him. God has been seen, He has been seen; He has never feared anyone. Let us ask God for something, let us ask Him; let us tell Him the truth of our heart. God knows, God knows; He fulfills the hidden signs of the mind. God is tender, tender. Tuka says: He lives within.
What it means
This poem moves from seeking God to finding Him to confiding in Him. It begins as a call to climb to high ground and look out for Him, then announces that He has been seen, a God who has never been afraid of anyone. Having found Him, the devotee is urged to ask Him plainly and to pour out the heart, because He already knows the unspoken longings of the mind and answers them. The closing turn brings the search home: the God sought on high ground is tender, and He dwells within. Looking outward ends in finding Him inside oneself.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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