True worship, the image is not the god
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
केला मातीचा पशुपति । परि मातीसि काय म्हणती । शिवपूजा शिवासी पावे । माती मातीमाजी सामावे ॥१॥
तैसे पूजिती आम्हां संत । पूजा घेतो भगवंत । आम्ही किंकर संतांचे दास । संतपदवी नको आम्हांस ॥ध्रु.॥
केला पाषाणाचा विष्णु । परी पाषाण नव्हे विष्णु । विष्णुपूजा विष्णुसि अर्पे । पाषाण राहे पाषाणरूपें ॥२॥
केली कांशाची जगदंबा । परि कांसें नव्हे अंबा । पूजा अंबेची अंबेला घेणें । कांसें राहे कांसेंपणें ॥३॥
ब्रम्हानंद पूर्णामाजी । तुका म्हणे केली कांजी । ज्याची पूजा त्याणें चि घेणें। आम्ही पाषाणरूप राहणें ॥४॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
They make Shiva's image out of clay, but can clay be called Shiva? The worship of Shiva reaches Shiva, while the clay returns to clay. In the same way, when saints are worshipped, it is God who receives that worship. We are mere servants and attendants of the saints; we do not seek the status of sainthood for ourselves. They make Vishnu's image out of stone, but the stone is not Vishnu. The worship of Vishnu reaches Vishnu, and the stone remains as stone. They make the image of the Goddess from bronze, but bronze is not the Goddess. The worship of the Goddess reaches the Goddess, and bronze remains as bronze. Says Tuka, in the fullness of Brahman's bliss, all this is like diluted gruel. The worship belongs to the one who is worshipped; we remain as we are, like stone.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
They make Shiva from clay, but who calls the clay Shiva? The worship of Shiva reaches Shiva; the clay sinks back into clay. In the same way the saints are worshipped, and it is God who receives that worship. We are servants, the slaves of the saints; we do not want the rank of sainthood for ourselves. They make Vishnu from stone, but the stone is not Vishnu. The worship of Vishnu reaches Vishnu; the stone stays as stone. They make the Goddess Jagadamba from bronze, but the bronze is not the Goddess. The worship of the Goddess reaches the Goddess; the bronze stays as bronze. Tuka says: in the fullness of Brahman's bliss, all of this is thin gruel. The worship belongs to the one worshipped; we stay as we are, like stone.
What it means
Tukaram separates the image from the one it points to. Clay, stone, and bronze are only the form a worshiper happens to use; the worship itself travels through to Shiva, Vishnu, or the Goddess, while the material stays exactly what it was. He turns this on himself and his fellow saints: when people honor them, it is God who actually receives it, so he refuses any claim to sainthood and keeps the place of a servant. Measured against the fullness of Brahman, all these honors are watered-down gruel, not the real thing. The humility is precise: he chooses to remain inert as stone and let the worship pass on to the one it truly belongs to.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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