The saints, service is the highest gain
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हें तों एक संतांठायीं । लाभ पायीं उत्तम ॥1॥
ह्मणवितां त्याचे दास । पुढें आस उरेना ॥ध्रु.॥
कृपादान केलें संतीं। कल्पांतीं ही सरेना ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे संतसेवा । हा चि हेवा उत्तम॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This is the one supreme gain found at the feet of the saints. By being called their servant, no further desire remains. The gift of grace bestowed by the saints will never be exhausted even at the end of creation. Says Tuka, service to the saints is the highest aspiration.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is the one supreme gain, found at the feet of the saints. When you are called their servant, no further longing remains. The grace the saints gave will not run out even at the end of the world. Tuka says: service to the saints, this alone is the best thing to want.
What it means
Tukaram sets the company of the saints above every other prize. To win a place at their feet, to be counted simply as their servant, is enough to empty the heart of any other craving. The gift of grace they pour out is not a small or perishable thing; he says it will not be exhausted even when creation itself dissolves. So the one worthy ambition, the only desire worth keeping, is to serve them.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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