Nature of God, knower set apart
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देव जाणता देव जाणता । आपली च सत्ता एकाएकीं॥1॥
देव चतुर देव चतुर । जाणोनि अंतर वर्ततसे॥2॥
देव निराळा देव निराळा । अलिप्त विटाळा तुका ह्मणे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
God is the knower, God is the knower; His authority operates all by itself, alone. God is the clever one, God is the clever one; knowing the inner truth, He acts accordingly. God stands apart, God stands apart; Says Tuka, He remains untouched by all impurity.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
God knows, God knows; his power works all by itself, alone. God is clever, God is clever; he knows the inner heart and acts by it. God stands apart, God stands apart; Tuka says: he is untouched by any defilement.
What it means
This abhanga names God by three things, each repeated so the claim lands. First, he is the knower whose authority needs nothing outside itself to act. Second, his cleverness is that he reads the inner truth of a person and responds to that, not to the surface. Third, he stands wholly apart, untouched by any impurity. Tukaram is saying you cannot fool such a God or stain him; he sees the heart and remains clean of everything he watches.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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