Saints, the seed shows in the fruit
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
काय तुह्मी जाणां । करूं अव्हेर नारायणा ॥1॥
तरी या लटिक्याची गोही । निवडली दुसरे ठायीं ॥ध्रु.॥
कळों अंतरींचा गुण । नये फिटल्यावांचून ॥2॥
आणिलें अनुभवा । जनाच्या हें ज्ञानदेवा ॥3॥
आणीक कोणी मिती । त्यांच्या चिंतनें विश्रांति॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे बीज पोटीं । फळ तैसें चि सेवटीं ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do you think, O Narayana, that You can simply ignore us? Then let this falsehood be tested in another court. One's inner quality cannot be known until it has been fully proven. Dnyanadeva brought this truth to the experience of the world. Others too have found peace through contemplation of such saints. Says Tuka, the seed in the womb produces the same fruit at the end.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do you think, Narayana, that you can just turn us away? Then let this falsehood be tested in another court. The quality hidden inside cannot be known until it is fully proved. Dnyanadeva brought this truth into the world's own experience. Others too have found rest by contemplating such saints. Tuka says: the seed in the womb is the same as the fruit at the end.
What it means
Tukaram presses a near-legal claim on God and on the proof of true saints. He challenges Narayana, half in boldness, half in love: you cannot simply dismiss your devotees, and if you try, the case can be carried to another court. His point is that inner quality stays unknown until it is tested and proved in the open, and this is exactly what Dnyanadeva did, bringing the truth of God into the lived experience of ordinary people. Others have found peace by dwelling on such saints. The closing image seals it: what is hidden in the seed is what shows in the fruit, so a true saint's end reveals what was always within.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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