The Name, God comes running of His own accord
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मुंगीचिया घरा कोण जाय मूळ । देखोनियां गूळ धांव घाली ॥1॥
याचकाविण काय खोळंबला दाता । तोचि धांवे हिता आपुलिया ॥ध्रु.॥
उदक अन्न काये ह्मणे मज खा ये । भुकेला तो जाये चोजवीत ॥2॥
व्याधी पिडिला धांवे वैद्याचिया घरा । दुःखाच्या परिहारा आपुलिया ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे जया आपुलें स्वहित। करणें तो चि प्रीत धरी कथे ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Who goes searching for an ant's home? Seeing jaggery, the ant rushes toward it of its own accord. Does the giver wait for the beggar? He Himself runs toward His own welfare. Do water and food ever say 'come eat me'? The hungry one goes seeking on his own. One afflicted with disease runs to the doctor's house for the cure of his own suffering. Says Tuka, whoever cares about his own well-being will naturally be drawn to the sacred story.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Who goes searching for an ant's home? Seeing the jaggery, the ant rushes toward it on its own. Does the giver wait for the beggar? He Himself runs toward His own welfare. Do water and food say 'come, eat me'? The hungry one goes seeking on his own. One sick with disease runs to the doctor's house, for the cure of his own suffering. Tuka says: whoever cares for his own true good will love the sacred story of God.
What it means
Tukaram answers a quiet objection: why must I seek God, why not wait for Him to find me? With everyday pictures he shows that the one who needs the thing is the one who moves toward it. The ant smells the jaggery and runs; nobody comes hunting the ant's nest to bring it. The hungry man goes to the food, the sick man goes to the doctor, because the gain and the cure are his own. So the listener who truly cares about his own welfare will be drawn, of his own accord, to hearing and dwelling on God. The seeking is not a burden laid on you; it is simply what a person does when he understands where his good lies.
The Nature of God
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