Nature of God, the silent mover
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चित्ताचा चाळक । त्याचें उभय सूत्र एक ॥1॥
नाचवितें नानाछंदें । सुखें आपुल्या विनोदें ॥ध्रु.॥
चंद्र कमळणी । नाहीं धाडीत सांगोनि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे उठी । लोह चुंबकाचे दृष्टी॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The mover of the mind holds both strings as one. He makes us dance in all manner of moods, delighting in His own playful joy. The moon does not send a message to the lotus, yet the lotus blooms at its gaze. Says Tuka, iron rises of its own accord at the mere glance of the magnet.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He moves the mind. He holds both its strings as one. He makes us dance in every kind of mood, delighting in his own play. The moon sends no message to the lotus. Tuka says: yet iron rises by itself at the mere glance of the magnet.
What it means
Tukaram describes how God works on the soul without a word being spoken. He is the one who moves the mind, holding both its strings, and he sets us dancing through every mood for the sheer joy of his own play. The two images make the point: the moon never sends instructions, yet the lotus opens to it, and iron is drawn upward by nothing more than the magnet's nearness. The lesson is that the pull of God needs no command or explanation; presence alone moves the soul, the way the magnet moves the iron.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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