Joy, the endless profit with God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सुखाचे व्यवहारीं सुखलाभ जाला । आनंदें कोंदला मागें पुढें ॥1॥
संगती पंगती देवासवें घडे । नित्यानित्य पडे तें चि सांचा ॥ध्रु.॥
समर्थचे घरीं सकळ संपदा । नाहीं तुटी कदा कासयाची॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे येथें लाभाचिया कोटी । बहु वाव पोटीं समर्थाचे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In this commerce of joy, a profit of happiness has been gained; bliss overflows in every direction. Fellowship and feasting happen naturally with God; what recurs daily becomes the lasting truth. In the house of the Capable One there is every abundance; there is never any shortage of anything. Says Tuka, here the profits run into crores, for the Capable One's heart holds infinite capacity.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In this trade of joy, a profit of happiness has come. Bliss is packed full, behind and ahead. Company and shared feasting happen with God Himself. What recurs each day becomes the lasting truth. In the house of the Capable One is every abundance. There is never any shortage of anything. Tuka says: here the profits run into crores, for the Capable One's heart holds room without end.
What it means
Tukaram describes the life of devotion as a kind of joyful commerce that only ever turns a profit. Once you trade in this happiness, bliss fills time in every direction, behind and ahead, and the daily nearness of God, His company and the shared meal, becomes the one thing that lasts. He pictures God as the Capable One whose house holds every abundance and never runs short. The point is that this wealth cannot be exhausted: the gains run into crores because God's own heart has infinite room, so there is no ceiling on what the devotee receives.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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