Joy overflowing, sing together
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पोट धालें आतां जीवनीं आवडी । पुरवावे परवडी बहुतांचे ॥1॥
काय आंचवणा तांतडीचें काम । मागील तीं श्रम न पवावीं ॥ध्रु.॥
वाढितिया पोटीं बहु असे वाव । सांभािळतां ठाव काय वांचे ॥2॥
दाविल्यावांचूनि नाहीं कळों येत । तेथें ही दुिश्चत एकपणें ॥3॥
नावेचा भार तो उदकाचे शिरीं । काय हळू भारी तये ठायीं ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे गीतीं गाऊनि गोविंद । करूं ब्रह्मानंद एकसरें॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Now that my hunger is satisfied, let me share this nourishing love with the abundance of many. Why this urgency as if something will be snatched away? Let none suffer the hardships of the past. The one who serves has vast room within; why hoard when there is a place to store everything? Things cannot be known without being shown; even there, one must not be anxious about standing alone. The burden of the boat rests upon the water; is it heavy for the water? Says Tuka, let us sing songs of Govinda and create one continuous stream of Brahmananda.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
My hunger is fed now; the love within me has its delight. Let it be shared out among the many. Why this rush, as if it will be snatched away? Let no one go through the old hardships again. The one who serves has vast room inside; why hoard, when there is room to hold it all? A thing cannot be known until it is shown; even then, do not fret about standing alone. The boat's weight rests on the water; is it heavy for the water there? Tuka says: let us sing songs of Govinda and make one unbroken stream of the bliss of Brahman.
What it means
Tukaram speaks from fullness rather than need: his own hunger is satisfied, so now the love must be shared with everyone, not hoarded. He gently corrects the anxious grasping of the spiritual life, the fear that grace will be snatched away, since the one who truly serves has endless room within. His images make the point that giving costs the giver nothing: as a boat's weight is no burden to the water that holds it, the love poured out is no loss. The poem ends in communal song, the many singing Govinda's name together until it becomes one continuous stream of divine bliss.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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