Nature of God, the mother's discipline
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
क्षोभ आणि कृपा मातेची समान । विभाग जतन करुनि ठेवी ॥1॥
क्षणभंगुर ते उपजली चिंता । खरी अखंडता आवडीची ॥ध्रु.॥
सिकवूं जाणे तें गोमाटियासाटीं । लोभें नाहीं तुटी निश्चयेंसी ॥2॥
अघवें चि मिथ्या समया आरतें । देता तो उचितें काळ जाणे ॥3॥
न करी वेव्हार नेदी गांजूं कोणा । भेडसावी तान्हें हाऊ आला ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे करी जिवाची जतन। दचकूनि मन जवळी आणी ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A mother's anger and her grace are equally part of her love; she apportions each with care and keeps a balance. The anxiety she feels is momentary, but her abiding love is unbroken. She teaches and corrects for the sake of the child's good, and her resolve never falters out of affection. All superficial moods vanish in their season; the giver knows the right time for each gift. She does not deal in transactions or let anyone bully her child; she frightens the infant only with a pretend threat. Says Tuka, she guards the life of her child, and a sudden start draws the wandering mind back close.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A mother's anger and her grace are the same thing. Both come from her love. She measures out each one with care and keeps them in balance. The worry she feels passes in a moment. Her love does not break; it stays whole. She teaches and corrects only for the child's good. Her resolve never weakens out of fondness. All the surface moods are false and pass in their time. The one who gives knows the right hour for each gift. She drives no bargains. She lets no one bully her child. She frightens the little one only with a pretend threat. Tuka says: she guards the child's very life. A sudden start, and she draws the wandering mind back close.
What it means
Tukaram reads God's dealings with the soul through the figure of a mother. Her scolding and her kindness are not opposites but two motions of one love, parceled out with care; the anger flares and fades, but the love underneath never breaks. So when correction comes, it is for the child's good, never a withdrawal of affection, and the scary moments are pretend threats, not real abandonment. The frame this hands you is how to take God's hard treatment: the surface moods are momentary and false, the giver knows the right time for each gift, and the apparent fright is only the means by which the mother startles the straying mind back to her side.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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