Refuge in the saints, dancing
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कुळींची हे कुळदेवी । केली ठावी संतांनीं ॥1॥
बरवें जालें शरण गेलों । उगविलों संकटीं ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिला रूपा ही बळें । करूनि खळें हरिदासीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे समागमें । नाचों प्रेमें लागलों ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This is our family deity, made known to us by the saints. It is well that I took refuge; I was rescued from distress. The devotees of Hari pulled me firmly into their fold. Says Tuka, through their company I have begun to dance in love.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is the deity of our house. The saints made her known to me. It is good that I went for refuge. I was pulled out of my trouble. The servants of Hari took hold of me. They drew me firmly into their fold. Tuka says: in their company I have begun to dance, dancing in love.
What it means
Tukaram names what the saints gave him: not a new god, but the knowledge of the God who was always his own house deity. He calls his turning to them a refuge, and says it pulled him out of distress. The force is theirs, not his: the devotees of Hari did not coax him, they gripped him and dragged him in. And the end of that grip is not duty but dancing; the company of the saints turns into love that breaks out as dance.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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