God who loves the lowly, not the clever
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हरि गोपाळांसवें सकळां । भेटे गळ्या गळा मेळवूनी ॥१॥
भाविकें त्यांची आवडी मोठी । सांगे गोष्टी जीविंचिया ॥ध्रु.॥
योगियांच्या ध्याना जो नये । भाकरी त्यांच्या मागोनि खाये ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे असे शाहाणियां दुरी । बोबडियां दास कामारी ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Hari embraces all the cowherd boys, pressing neck to neck in a warm gathering. His love for the devoted ones is immense, and he speaks to them of the innermost matters of the heart. The one whom yogis cannot reach in their deepest meditation goes begging for bread among his friends. Says Tuka, he stays far from the clever and wise, but he becomes the servant and attendant of those who call him in stammering words.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Hari embraces all the cowherd boys, pressing neck to neck in a warm gathering. His love for the devoted ones is great, and he tells them the secrets of his heart. The one whom yogis cannot reach in their deepest meditation goes begging for bread among these friends. Tuka says: he stays far from the clever and the wise, and becomes the servant and attendant of those who call him in stammering words.
What it means
Tukaram draws the contrast the whole cluster has been building toward. The same Krishna the yogis cannot grasp in profound meditation freely begs bread from his cowherd friends and pours out his heart to them. The radical reversal is stated plainly: he keeps his distance from the learned and the clever, and makes himself the servant of those who call him in broken, stammering words. The poem overturns the usual ranking of seekers. Simple love reaches God where mastery and intellect cannot, and he answers it not as a master but as a servant.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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