Devotion, the mother and child
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
स्वामिसेवा गोड । माते बाळकाचें कोड ॥1॥
जेंजें मागावें भातुकें । तेंतें पुरवी कौतुकें ॥ध्रु.॥
खेळविलें कोडें । हरुषें बोले कीं बोबडें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे लाड । तेथें पुरे माझें कोड ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The service of the Lord is sweet. A mother delights in her child's play. Whatever toy the child asks for, she provides it with delight. She plays with the child joyfully, smiling when it babbles. Says Tuka, there my every desire is fulfilled in that tender love.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The service of the Lord is sweet, like a mother's delight in her child's play. Whatever toy the child asks for, she gives it gladly. She plays with it happily, smiling when it babbles. Tuka says: in that tender love every desire of mine is fulfilled.
What it means
Tukaram describes serving God through the simplest tenderness there is, a mother with her small child. The work is not duty but delight: she gives the child whatever it asks, plays along, and smiles even at its babbling. He places himself as the child in this love, trusting that God indulges the devotee the way a mother indulges her little one. The closing line is the whole point: inside that love nothing more needs to be sought, because every desire is already met.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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