The saints, ask only for their company
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देव वसे चित्तीं । त्याची घडावी संगती ॥1॥
ऐसें आवडतें मना । देवा पुरवावी वासना ॥ध्रु.॥
हरिजनासी भेटी । नहो अंगसंगें तुटी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जिणें । भलें संतसंघष्टणें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Seek the company of one in whose chitta God dwells. This is what the mind loves; O God, fulfill this desire. Let there be meeting with Hari's devotees, and may that bond never be broken. Says Tuka, a life spent in the company of saints is a life well lived.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Seek the company of one in whose heart God lives. This is what my mind loves; God, grant me this one craving. Let me meet the devotees of Hari, and let that closeness never be cut off. Tuka says: a life is good when it is worn smooth by rubbing against the saints.
What it means
Tukaram asks God for one thing only, the company of people in whose hearts God dwells. He names it as the desire his mind truly loves and begs that this craving, and not the others, be fulfilled. He wants to meet Hari's devotees and stay in unbroken closeness with them. The last line gives the reason: a life is well spent when it is pressed and rubbed against the saints, the way a rough stone is smoothed by constant friction.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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