Devotion, the unbroken thread
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चित्ताचें बांधलें जवळी तें वसे । प्रकाशीं प्रकाशे सर्वकाळ ॥1॥
अंतरीं वसावी उत्तम ते भेटी । होऊं कांहीं तुटी न सके चि ॥ध्रु.॥
ब्रह्मांड कवळे आठवणेसाटीं । धरावा तो पोटीं वाव बरा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे लाभ घरिचिया घरीं । प्रेमतंतु दोरी न सुटतां॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What the chitta has bound close, that dwells near; what shines in the light, shines at all times. Let the meeting take place within, so that no separation can ever occur. For the sake of remembrance one can embrace the whole universe; it is good to keep that space within the chitta. Says Tuka, the profit lies right at home, so long as the thread of love remains unbroken.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
What the mind has bound close stays near; what shines in the light shines all the time. Let that best meeting live inside me, so that no break can ever come between us. For the sake of remembering, one can hold the whole universe; it is good to keep that space inside the heart. Tuka says: the gain is right here at home, as long as the thread of love is not let go.
What it means
Tukaram is teaching where the meeting with God actually happens. Whatever the mind binds close to itself stays present, and he wants that highest meeting to live within him so that no separation can ever open up. He says one can hold the entire universe in the heart for the sake of remembrance, so it is worth keeping that inner room ready. The closing turn is that nothing has to be sought far away: the whole profit is found at home, in the heart, for as long as the thread of love is never released.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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