Faith, God as parent
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न घडे मायबापें बाळकाचा घात । आपणादेखत होऊं नेदी ॥1॥
कां मी मनीं चिंता वाहूं भय धाक । काय नव्हे एक करितां तुज ॥ध्रु.॥
वर्म जाणे त्याच्या हिताचे उपाय । तान भूक वाहे कडिये खांदीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तूं गा कृपावंत भारी । ऐसें मज हरी कळों आलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A mother and father would never harm their child; they would not let harm come even before their own eyes. Then why should I carry worry, fear, and dread in my mind? Is anything impossible for You? A parent knows the remedies for the child's welfare, carrying its hunger and thirst upon hip and shoulder. Says Tuka, You are exceedingly compassionate, O Hari. This I have come to understand.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A mother and father would never harm their child. They would not let harm come to it before their own eyes. So why should I carry worry, fear, and dread in my mind? Is anything impossible for You? A parent knows the remedies for the child's welfare, and carries its hunger and thirst on hip and shoulder. Tuka says: You are exceedingly compassionate, O Hari. This I have come to understand.
What it means
Tukaram argues himself out of fear by picturing God as a parent. No mother or father lets their child come to harm in front of them, so his own dread is misplaced and even insulting to that care. He notes that a parent not only protects but knows the cure for what ails the child and carries its hunger and thirst as its own. The point is that anxiety is faithlessness; it acts as if God were less attentive than an ordinary parent. His conclusion is quiet certainty: he has come to understand that Hari's compassion is greater than he feared, so the worry can be set down.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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