Nature of God, the formless and the loving form
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
निष्ठ तो दिसे निराकारपणें । कोंवळा सगुणें प्रतिपाळी॥1॥
केला च करावा केला कइवाड । होईल तें गोड न परेते ॥ध्रु.॥
मथिलिया लागे नवनीत हातां । नासे वितिळतां आहाच तें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आतां मनाशीं विचार । करावा तो सार एकचित्त ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The formless appears stern in its impersonal aspect, but the One with form tenderly nurtures through gracious qualities. The effort already made must be continued and carried through; what is sweet cannot be abandoned. When milk is churned, butter comes to hand, but if melted carelessly it simply dissolves. Says Tuka, now deliberate with the mind and fix upon the essence with single-pointed attention.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The formless looks stern in its bare, shapeless aspect. The One with form tenderly cares for us through His gracious qualities. What is begun must be done; the work taken up must be carried through. What turns out sweet should not be let go. Churn the milk and butter comes to your hand; but melt it carelessly and the thin stuff is lost. Tuka says: now reason it out with the mind, and fix on the essence with one undivided heart.
What it means
Tukaram compares two ways of meeting God and points toward the one he trusts. The formless absolute strikes him as austere and forbidding, while God with form, saguna, tenderly nurtures the devotee through His loving qualities. He urges that the path once begun be carried through, since what proves sweet must not be abandoned. The image of churning makes the point: steady effort yields butter, the real substance, but careless handling loses even what you had. The close calls for clear, single-pointed reflection that settles on this essence and holds to it.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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