Faith, the ocean of mercy
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
परि तो आहे कृपेचा सागर । तोंवरी अंतर पडों नेदी॥1॥
बहुकानदृष्टी आइके देखणा । पुरोनियां जना उरलासे॥ध्रु.॥
सांगितल्याविणें जाणे अंतरिंचें । पुरवावें ज्याचें तैसें कोड ॥2॥
बहुमुखें कीर्ती आइकिली कानीं । विश्वास ही मनीं आहे माझा ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे नाहीं जात वांयांविण । पािळतो वचन बोलिलों तें ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Yet He is an ocean of mercy; He will not let the distance last too long. He hears with many ears, sees with many eyes; having filled all beings, He remains still more. Without being told, He knows the mind's secrets and fulfills each one's longing as it truly is. Through many mouths, His fame has reached my ears, and my faith in Him remains firm. Says Tuka, He never lets things go to waste; He keeps the word He has spoken.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
But He is an ocean of mercy; until I reach Him, He will not let the distance hold. He hears with many ears, sees with many eyes; He has filled all beings, and still more of Him remains. Without being told, He knows what is inside; He fulfills each one's longing just as it is. From many mouths His fame has reached my ears, and that faith is firm in my mind. Tuka says: nothing with Him goes to waste; He keeps the word He has spoken.
What it means
After the dread of being forgotten, Tukaram answers his own fear with what he knows of God's nature. He calls God a boundless ocean of mercy who will not allow the separation to last forever. The middle verses lean on God's all-pervading reach: He hears and sees through countless ears and eyes, fills every being and yet overflows beyond them, and knows each heart's wish without being told. Tukaram grounds his confidence not in feeling but in testimony and trust, the fame reported through many mouths, and rests on the plain assurance that God wastes nothing and keeps His given word, so the waiting cannot end in abandonment.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
More in this theme →