The saints, sacred discourse our life
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मां कथा आवश्यक । येर संपादूं लौकिक ॥1॥
जैसी तैसी माय बरी । मानिल्या त्या माना येरी ॥ध्रु.॥
व्यालीचा कळवळा । जीव बहुत कोंवळा ॥2॥
कवतुकें वावरें । तुका ह्मणे या आधारें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For us, sacred discourse is essential; we manage all other worldly matters as they come. A mother is good just as she is; honor those who accept you. A mother's tender concern springs from a very soft chitta. Says Tuka, it is by such play and movement, by this very support, that we live.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For us, holy discourse is the one thing needful; the rest of worldly business we just manage as it comes. A mother is good just as she is; honor those who take you as their own. A mother's tender care rises from a very soft heart. Tuka says: it is by this play, by this very support, that we live.
What it means
Tukaram names what is essential for those given to God: the company and telling of sacred things, while ordinary affairs are handled only as they fall due. He likens the saints and God to a mother, loved as she is and honored because she receives you as her own. A mother's concern flows from a heart kept tender, and so does the saints' care for the seeker. The poem rests its whole weight on that support: it is by this gentle holding, this play of grace, that the devotee is able to live at all.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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