The saints, dust as holy water
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
संतपाउलें साजिरीं । गंगा आली आह्मांवरी ॥1॥
जेथें पडे रजधुळी । तेथें करावी अंघोळी ॥ध्रु.॥
स्वेतबंद वाराणसी। अवघीं तीथॉ तयापासीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे धन्य जालों । संतसागरीं मिळालों ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The beautiful feet of the saints have brought the Ganga flowing over us. Wherever the dust of their feet falls, there one should bathe. The holy city of Varanasi, and all the sacred waters, reside near them. Says Tuka, blessed am I, for I have merged into the ocean of the saints.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The beautiful feet of the saints have brought the Ganga flowing over us. Wherever the dust of their feet falls, there one should bathe. Varanasi and all the holy waters live near them. Tuka says: blessed am I, for I have merged into the ocean of the saints.
What it means
Tukaram turns the geography of pilgrimage inside out. The sacred river does not wait at a distant place; it flows wherever the saints walk, so the true bathing ground is the dust of their feet right here. Varanasi and every holy water already dwell beside them, which means the company of the saints is itself the pilgrimage. He ends in plain gratitude: to be among them is not to visit the ocean but to dissolve into it. The claim is that nearness to living holy people outweighs any famous shrine.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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