Saints, the shop that never empties
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
घातला दुकान । देती आलियासी दान ॥1॥
संत उदार उदार । भरलें अनंत भांडार ॥ध्रु.॥
मागत्याची पुरे । धणी आणिकांसी उरे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पोतें । देवें भरिलें नव्हे रितें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The saints have opened their shop and give freely to all who come. The saints are generous beyond measure; their storehouse is filled with infinity. The one who asks is satisfied, and still abundance remains for others. Says Tuka, the bag that God has filled is never empty.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
They have opened a shop and give a gift to everyone who comes. The saints are generous, generous; their storehouse is filled with the endless. The one who begs is filled, and still there is enough left over for others. Tuka says: the bag that God has filled is never empty.
What it means
Tukaram pictures the saints as keepers of an open shop where everything is given away, never sold. Their store is filled with the infinite, so generosity has no ceiling: each beggar leaves satisfied, and the supply is undiminished for the next. The point lands in the closing line. Because it is God who fills their bag, it can never run dry, which is why the saints can give so freely.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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