Faith, what God gives is sweet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
रडोनियां मान । कोण मागतां भूषण ॥१॥
देवें दिलें तरी गोड । राहे रुचि आणि कोड ॥ध्रु.॥
लावितां लावणी । विके भीके केज्या दानी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे धीरा । विण कैसा होतो हिरा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Who ever gained honor by weeping and begging for it? What God gives freely is truly sweet; both relish and delight remain with it. If you cultivate a garden, it yields fruit you can sell, give away, or enjoy. Says Tuka, without patience, how can a stone ever become a diamond?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Who ever won an ornament by weeping and begging for it? What God gives freely is sweet; the taste and the delight of it stay. Tend a garden and it bears fruit you can sell, give away, or enjoy. Tuka says: without patience, how does a stone ever become a diamond?
What it means
Tukaram is teaching how grace is actually received. Honor that is wrung out by complaint and pleading is worthless; what God grants freely carries a lasting sweetness and joy. He grounds this in plain images: a tended garden yields fruit you can use every way, and a stone becomes a diamond only through long pressure and time. The lesson is patience and trust rather than grasping demand. One waits on God's giving and does the steady work, and the reward, when it comes, is genuine and stays.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
More in this theme →