The saints, wealth that never runs dry
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भाग्यवंता ऐशी जोडी । परवडी संतांची ॥1॥
धन घरीं पांडुरंग । अभंग जें सरेना ॥ध्रु.॥
जनाविरहित हा लाभ । टांचें नभ सांटवणें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे विष्णुदासां । नाहीं आशा दुसरी॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O fortunate one, what a treasure is the abundance of saintly company. The wealth in that home is Panduranga Himself, an inexhaustible store that never runs dry. This gain is beyond the reach of ordinary people; it is like storing the sky in a container. Says Tuka, the servants of Vishnu harbor no other desire.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Fortunate one, what a treasure to gain: the abundance of the saints. The wealth in that house is Panduranga himself, unbroken, never used up. This gain is out of reach for ordinary people; it is like packing the sky into a small space. Tuka says: the servants of Vishnu have no other desire.
What it means
Tukaram is praising the company of saints as the one fortune worth having. The riches in their house are not goods but God: Panduranga himself, a store that is inexhaustible and never runs out. He warns that this gain is not available to worldly grasping; it is as impossible to seize as fitting the whole sky into a small container. So the servants of Vishnu want nothing else, because to want this is already to want everything.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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