Devotion, love shows on the surface
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आवडी येते कळों । गुणें चिन्हें उमटती ॥1॥
पोटीचें ओठीं उभें राहे । चित्त साहे मनासी ॥ध्रु.॥
डाहोळे याची भूक गर्भा । ताटीं प्रभा प्रतिबिंबे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मानोन घ्यावें । वाटे खावें वाटतें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When love stirs within, it makes itself known through signs and symptoms. What is in the chitta stands upon the lips; the chitta consents to the mind. Just as a pregnant mother's cravings reveal what the womb holds, so one's inner radiance is reflected outwardly. Says Tuka, accept what arises; eat what you feel like eating.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When love comes, it can be known; its qualities and signs show themselves. What is in the heart stands upon the lips; the heart goes along with the mind. Just as a pregnant woman's cravings tell what the womb holds, the inner light is reflected outward. Tuka says: accept what arises; eat what you feel like eating.
What it means
Tukaram observes that real love for God cannot stay hidden; it betrays itself through signs you can read. What fills the heart rises to the lips, and the inner state and the outward speech move together. His homely image is the pregnant woman whose cravings reveal what the womb is forming: in the same way, what is growing inside a devotee shines out and can be seen. The closing line trusts that inner pull as a guide, accept whatever rises within you and follow the genuine craving, because the longing that surfaces is itself the reliable sign of what is truly being carried within.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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