Nature of God, you reap what you sow
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आवडीचें दान देतो नारायण । बाहे उभारोनि राहिलासे॥1॥
जें जयासी रुचे तें करी समोर । सर्वज्ञ उदार मायबाप ॥ध्रु.॥
ठायीं पडिलिया तें चि लागे खावें । ठायींचे चि घ्यावें विचारूनि ॥2॥
बीज पेरूनियां तें चि घ्यावें फळ । डोरलीस केळ कैंचें लागे ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे देवा कांहीं बोल नाहीं । तुझा तूं चि पाहीं शत्रु सखा ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Narayana gives each person what they desire; He stands with open arms, waiting. Whatever pleases each one, He places before them; the all-knowing, generous Lord is our Father and Mother. But whatever you have sown in your own place, that is what you must eat; choose wisely and take only what belongs to you. You sow a seed and harvest that same fruit; a vine cannot bear bananas. Says Tuka, God is not to blame in this; You are Your own friend and Your own enemy.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Narayana gives each one the gift of what they love; He stands with His arms held open. Whatever pleases each person, He sets before them; generous to all, He is mother and father. But whatever is sown in your place is just what you must eat; take only what is yours, and choose with care. You sow a seed and you harvest that same fruit; how can a vine bear bananas? Tuka says: God is in no way to blame. See for yourself, you are your own enemy and your own friend.
What it means
Tukaram holds two truths together: God's open-handed giving and the strict justice of cause and effect. Narayana, like a mother and father, stands with open arms and gives each person what they truly desire, holding nothing back. Yet what you harvest is exactly what you sowed; you eat only what grew in your own field, and a vine cannot suddenly yield bananas. So God is not to be blamed for what your life brings; the giving meets the seed you planted. The hard, freeing conclusion: you yourself, by what you choose and sow, are your own enemy or your own friend.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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