Experience, all of it was for the best
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पाहातां हें बरवें जालें । कळों आलें यावरी ॥1॥
मागिलांचा जाला झाडा । त्या निवाडास्तव ॥ध्रु.॥
विसांवलें अंग दिसे । सरिसे अनुभव ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे बरें जालें । देवें नेलें गवसूनि ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Looking back, all that happened was for the best. After this, understanding has dawned. The accounts of the past have been cleared; that is the purpose of this reckoning. The body appears rested, and the experience is consistent throughout. Says Tuka, it is good that God found me and caught me up in His embrace.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Looking back, all that happened turned out well; I see it clearly now. The old accounts have been settled, and that was the whole point of the reckoning. My body feels rested, and the experience holds steady throughout. Tuka says: it is good. God found me and gathered me into His hold.
What it means
This is the calm that comes after the struggle is over. Tukaram looks back over his life and sees that every hard turn was working toward good. The debts of the past, his old karma, have been cleared like a settled account, which is what the whole ordeal was for. Body and experience are at rest now, and he traces it all to one cause: God reached out, found him, and took hold of him.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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