Nature of God, the Lord who serves unasked
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भक्तां समागमें सर्वभावें हरि । सर्व काम करी न संगतां ॥1॥
सांटवला राहे हृदयसंपुष्टीं । बाहेर धाकुटी मूतिन उभा॥ध्रु.॥
मागण्याची वास पाहे मुखाकडे । चिंतिल्या रोकडे मनोरथ ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जीव भाव देवापायीं । ठेवूनि ते कांहीं न मगती ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
With His devotees, Hari does everything wholeheartedly, attending to all needs without being asked. He is stored away within their hearts, yet He stands outside in a small form upon the brick. He watches their faces, waiting for them to ask; their wishes are fulfilled the moment they are thought. Says Tuka, those who have placed their lives and love at God's feet ask for nothing at all.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
With his devotees, Hari does everything wholeheartedly; he tends to every need before they ask. He is stored away inside their hearts, and at the same time he stands outside in a small form on the brick. He watches their faces, waiting to see what they want; their wishes are granted the moment they think them. Tuka says: those who have laid their life and love at God's feet ask for nothing at all.
What it means
Tukaram shows God as the eager servant of those who love him, attending to their needs before a word is spoken. He holds two images at once: Hari hidden deep within the heart, and Hari standing visible on the brick at Pandhari in his small dark form. God watches the devotee's face the way an anxious lover does, ready to fulfill a wish the instant it forms. And the deepest turn is the last: those who have given themselves entirely no longer ask for anything, because the giving has already filled them.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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