True worship, the cleansed mind
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देवाच्या उद्देशें जेथें जेथें भाव । तो तो वसे ठाव विश्वंभरें ॥1॥
लोभाचे संकल्प पळालियावरी । कैंची तेथें उरी पापपुण्या ॥ध्रु.॥
शुद्ध भक्ती मन जालिया निर्मळ । कुश्चळी विटाळ वज्रलेप ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ज्याचें तयासी च कळे । प्रांत येतो फळें कळों मग ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Wherever devotion is directed toward God, there the Lord of the Universe makes His abode. When the impulses of greed have fled, what question remains of sin or merit? When pure devotion makes the mind spotless, all notions of impurity become as unbreakable as a diamond seal. Says Tuka, only the one who experiences it truly knows; the proof comes in its own time through the fruit it bears.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Wherever the heart turns toward God, there the Lord of the universe makes His home. Once the schemes of greed have run off, what room is left for sin or merit? When pure devotion makes the mind clean, all the old marks of defilement are sealed away as hard as diamond. Tuka says: only the one who lives it knows it; the proof comes in time, through the fruit.
What it means
Tukaram is describing where God truly dwells and what happens to the mind that loves Him. God settles wherever devotion is aimed, so the place of worship is the heart, not a site. When greedy plans drain away, the whole bookkeeping of sin and merit loses its footing, because that ledger ran on craving. Pure devotion does not merely cover impurity but seals it shut, fixed like a diamond. He ends by refusing to argue the point: this is known only by tasting it, and time will show the fruit.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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