Nature of God, drawn by your own need
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अिग्न हा पाचारी कोणासी साक्षेपें । हिंवें तो चि तापे जाणोनियां ॥1॥
उदक ह्मणे काय या हो मज प्यावें । तृषित तो धांवे सेवावया ॥ध्रु.॥
काय वस्त्र ह्मणे यावो मज नेसा । आपुले स्वइच्छा जग वोढी ॥2॥
तुक्यास्वामी ह्मणे काय मज स्मरा । आपुल्या उद्धारा लागूनियां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Does fire call anyone with special invitation? The one who is cold comes to warm himself of his own accord. Does water say, 'Please come and drink me'? The thirsty one runs to it eagerly. Does a cloth say, 'Come and wear me'? The world is drawn by its own desire. Says the Lord of Tuka, 'Do I say, remember me?' You do it for your own salvation.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Does fire call out to anyone with a special invitation? The one who is cold comes of himself to warm himself, knowing where the heat is. Does water say, come and drink me? The thirsty one runs to it to drink. Does the cloth say, come and wear me? The world is drawn by its own wish. The Lord of Tuka says: do I say, remember me? You do it for your own deliverance.
What it means
Tukaram uses three plain examples to show that God makes no appeal. Fire never invites the cold man; he comes on his own because he knows it will warm him. Water never asks to be drunk, yet the thirsty run to it; cloth never asks to be worn, yet the world reaches for it out of its own desire. In the same way God does not beg you to remember him. The remembrance is for your own deliverance, and the lack, if there is one, is only in the one who does not come.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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