Inwardness, God already knows
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी बोलों तें तुज कळे । एक दोहीं ठायीं खेळे॥1॥
काय परिहाराचें काम । जाणें अंतरींचें राम ॥ध्रु.॥
कळोनियां काय चाड । माझी लोकांसी बडबड ॥2॥
कारण सवें एका । अवघें आहे ह्मणे तुका ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What we say, You understand; the One plays in both places. What need is there for explanation? Rama knows the innermost secret. When You already know, what is the point of my chatter before the world? Says Tuka, the cause is one, and everything is contained in it.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
What we say, You understand. The One plays in both places. What is the use of explaining? Rama knows what is inside the heart. When You already know, what good is my chatter before the world? Tuka says: the cause is one, and everything rests in it.
What it means
Tukaram is dropping the need to perform his faith for an audience. God already understands every word, because the same One lives in him and in God alike. So explanations are pointless: Rama reads the heart directly, and noisy talk before other people adds nothing. The poem lands on a quiet trust that one source holds everything, which makes the inner knowing enough and the public show unnecessary.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
More in this theme →