Nature of God, the cow running to her calf
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वोरसोनि येती । वत्सें धेनुवेच्या चित्तीं ॥1॥
माझा कराया सांभाळ । वोरसोनियां कृपाळ ॥ध्रु.॥
स्नेहें भूक तान । विसरती जाले सीण ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कौतुकें । दिलें प्रेमाचें भातुकें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
As calves run back to the cow, ever present in her chitta, so the merciful Lord brings His own back to care for me. In their love, they forget hunger and thirst and all the weariness of the journey. Says Tuka, with tender delight, He has sent the gift of love.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
As calves come rushing, always kept in the cow's heart, so the merciful Lord comes overflowing to take care of me. In their love they forget hunger and thirst and all their weariness. Tuka says: in tender delight, he has sent the gift of love.
What it means
Tukaram reaches for the homeliest image of God's tenderness: a cow whose calf is never out of her heart, the way the merciful Lord keeps His own ones in mind and comes spilling over with care. The love is so strong it makes hunger, thirst, and the weariness of the long road simply fall away, on both sides of the reunion. The point is that God does not wait to be coaxed; He comes overflowing, of His own delight. And the meeting is itself the present: with that same tender delight, the Lord has sent the gift of love.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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