Faith, the limits of human means
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वैद वाचविती जीवा । तरी कोण ध्यातें देवा ॥१॥
काय जाणों कैसी परी । प्रारब्ध तें ठेवी उरी ॥ध्रु.॥
नवसें कन्यापुत्र होती । तरि कां करणें लागे पती ॥२॥
जाणे हा विचार । स्वामी तुकयाचा दातार ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If physicians could truly save lives, who would then remember God? Who knows in what manner destiny keeps something in reserve? If vows alone could produce sons and daughters, why would a husband be needed? He who knows this truth is Tuka's Lord, the generous giver.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
If physicians could save lives, who would still meditate on God? Who knows in what way destiny holds something back? If vows alone made sons and daughters, why would a husband be needed? Tuka says: the one who knows this truth is Tuka's Lord, the generous giver.
What it means
Tukaram tests the things people lean on instead of God. He notes that doctors do not finally save us and vows do not by themselves produce children, so the credit people give to human means is misplaced. Behind every outcome stands destiny, which keeps its own reserve no one can read. The poem lands on where real reliance belongs: the Lord, the generous giver, is the one who truly knows and holds these matters.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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