Krishna's play, God placed in the middle
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हे चि अनुवाद सदा सर्वकाळ । करुनियां गोपाळकाला सेवूं ॥१॥
वोरसलें कामधेनूचें दुभतें । संपूर्ण आइतें गगनभरी ॥ध्रु.॥
संत सनकादिक गोमट्या परवडी । विभाग आवडी इच्छेचिये ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मधीं घालूं नारायण । मग नव्हे सीण कोणा खेळें ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let this be our practice at all times: to partake of the cowherd feast and serve it with devotion. The wish-fulfilling cow has yielded her milk in abundance, filling the sky with its fullness. The saints like Sanaka and others form a fine assembly, each receiving a share according to their heart's desire. Says Tuka, let us place Narayana in our midst, and then no one shall feel weary in this play.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let this be our practice always: to share the cowherd feast and serve it with love. The wish-granting cow has poured out her milk in plenty, ready and filling the whole sky. The saints, Sanaka and the others, make a fine gathering, each taking the share his heart desires. Tuka says: let us place Narayana in the middle, and then no one will grow weary in the play.
What it means
Tukaram turns the kala into a rule for the whole spiritual life: make the shared feast of devotion your constant work. The provision is endless, for the wish-fulfilling cow fills the very sky, so there is enough for every desire; the great sages gather and each receives according to his longing. The decisive instruction is the last line: put Narayana, God, in the center of the play. With God at the middle of everything shared, the play never tires anyone out, because the joy is not in the things passed around but in the presence they circle.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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