Fellowship of saints, true gain
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
गुणांचा चि सांटा । करूं न वजों आणिका वाटा॥1॥
करिती छंद नानापरी । भरोन सिणती आडभरी ॥ध्रु.॥
नेमली पंगती। आह्मां संतांची संगती ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे लीळा । येर कवतुक पाहों डोळां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let us gather only virtues and not wander onto other paths. Others pursue various whims, filling themselves and then tiring from the strain. Our appointed company is the fellowship of saints. Says Tuka, this is our divine play. All else we simply watch as a spectacle.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let us gather only virtues. Let us not wander off onto other paths. Others chase one whim after another; they fill themselves up and then tire from the strain. Our appointed seat is fixed: the company of saints. Tuka says: this is our play. Everything else we just watch, a passing show before the eyes.
What it means
Tukaram sets one pursuit against all the others. He wants to collect only good qualities and stay on the single road, rather than scatter onto the many paths people try. He sees others driven by changing fancies, gorging on them and then worn out by the effort, getting nowhere. Against that he names his own assigned place: a seat at the table of the saints' fellowship. That company is his delight and his real life; the rest of the world's striving he treats as a spectacle he merely watches go by.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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