Faith, the sprout shows the fruit
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
शिळा जया देव । तैसा फळे त्याचा भाव ॥1॥
होय जतन तें गोड । अंतरा येती नाड ॥ध्रु.॥
देव जोडे भावें । इच्छेचें तें प्रेम घ्यावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मोड दावी । तैशीं फळें आलीं व्हावीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
To one for whom a stone is God, God rewards according to that faith. What is held dear with care becomes sweet; those who come between are obstacles. God is won through feeling; the love of a sincere wish should be accepted. Says Tuka, the sprout reveals what fruit will follow.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
To the one for whom a stone is God, God rewards according to that faith. What is kept with care turns sweet; those who come in between are obstacles. God is won through feeling; take up the love of a sincere wish. Tuka says: the sprout shows what fruit will come.
What it means
Tukaram makes faith, not the object, the thing that counts. If a person holds even a plain stone as God, God answers that faith and rewards it accordingly, which is why what we tend with care turns sweet. People who come between, sowing doubt, are obstacles to that ripening. God is reached by feeling, so the sincere longing of the heart is what to take up and hold. He ends with a simple farmer's image: just as the first sprout already tells you what fruit the plant will bear, the faith you plant now decides what it will grow into.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
More in this theme →