Nothing here is merely ordinary
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आहा रे भाई । गंगा नव्हे जळ । वृक्ष नव्हे वड पिंपळ । तुळसी रुद्राक्ष नव्हे माळ । श्रेष्ठ तनु देवाचिया ॥१॥
समुद्र नदी नव्हे पैं गा । पाषाण म्हणों नये लिंगा । संत नव्हती जगा । मानसा त्या सारिखे ॥२॥
काठी म्हणों नये वेतु । अन्न म्हणों नये सांतु । राम राम हे मातु । नये म्हणों शब्द हे ॥३॥
चंद्र सूर्य नव्हती तारांगणें । मेरु तो नव्हे पर्वता समान । शेष वासुकी नव्हे सर्प जाण । विखाराच्या सारिखे ॥४॥
गरुड नव्हे पाखरूं । ढोर नव्हे नंदिकेश्वरू । झाड नव्हे कल्पतरू । कामधेनु गाय न म्हणावी ॥५॥
कूर्म नव्हे कासव । डुकर नव्हे वराह । ब्रम्हा नव्हे जीव । स्त्री नव्हे लक्ष्मी ॥६॥
गवाक्ष नव्हे हाड । पाटाव नव्हे कापड । परीस नव्हे दगड । सगुण ते ईश्वरीचे ॥७॥
सोनें नव्हे धातु । मीठ नव्हे रेतु । नाहीं नाहीं चर्मांतु । कृष्णजिन व्याघ्रांबर ॥८॥
मुक्ताफळें नव्हेति गारा । खड्याऐसा नव्हे हिरा । जीव नव्हे सोइरा । बोळवीजे स्वइच्छेनें ॥९॥
गांव नव्हे द्वारावती । रणसोड नव्हे मूर्ति । तीर्थ नव्हे गोमती । मोक्ष घडे दर्शनें ॥१०॥
कृष्ण नव्हे भोगी । शंकर नव्हे जोगी । तुका पांडुरंगीं । हा प्रसाद लाधला ॥११॥
सौर्यान - अभंग ११
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The Ganga is not mere water. The banyan and the pipal are not ordinary trees. The rosary of tulsi or rudraksha is not a common necklace; they are the sacred body of God. The ocean and rivers are not the same, and one must not call the Shiva-linga a mere stone. The saints are not ordinary people. A staff is not just a stick; consecrated food is not common grain. The words 'Rama Rama' are not idle syllables. The sun, moon, and stars are not mere lamps; Mount Meru is not an ordinary hill. Shesha and Vasuki are not common serpents. Garuda is not an ordinary bird; Nandikeshvara is not a beast of burden. The wish-fulfilling tree is not firewood; the divine cow Kamadhenu must not be called a common cow. The cosmic tortoise is not a mere turtle; the divine boar is not a pig. Brahma is not an ordinary soul; Lakshmi is not an ordinary woman. A window-frame is not a bone; fine silk is not common cloth; the touchstone is not a rock; all these are attributes of the divine. Gold is not base metal; salt is not sand; the hides of the black deer and the tiger are not mere leather. Pearls are not pebbles; the diamond is not like an ordinary stone. The soul is not a relative to be bade farewell at one's own whim. Dwaraka is not a common town; the idol in the battlefield is not a mere image; the Gomati is not an ordinary stream; liberation is won by their sight. Krishna is not a worldly lover; Shankara is not a common ascetic. Says Tuka, in Panduranga's presence I have received this understanding as grace.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Ah, brother. The Ganga is not just water. The banyan and the pipal are not just trees. Tulsi and rudraksha are not just a string of beads. They are the high body of God. The ocean and the river are not the same. Do not call the linga a mere stone. The saints are not like the rest of the world; they are not like ordinary people. Do not call the staff a mere stick. Do not call the offered food common grain. The words Rama, Rama are not just sounds; do not call them mere words. The sun and moon are not the same as the stars. Meru is not like other mountains. Know that Shesha and Vasuki are not like common snakes; they are not like ordinary serpents. Garuda is not just a bird. The bull Nandikeshvara is not a mere beast. The tree is not just a tree; it is the wish-granting tree. Do not call Kamadhenu an ordinary cow. The Kurma is not just a tortoise. The boar is not just a pig. Brahma is not just a creature. The woman is not just a woman; she is Lakshmi. The window is not just a bone. The fine silk is not just cloth. The touchstone is not just a stone. These are the forms of God with attributes. Gold is not just a metal. Salt is not just sand. No, it is not mere hide: the black-deer skin, the tiger skin. Pearls are not pebbles. The diamond is not like an ordinary stone. The soul is not a relative you can send off as you please. The town is not just a town; it is Dwaraka. Ranchhod is not just an image. The river is not just the Gomati; liberation comes from their sight. Krishna is not a worldly pleasure-seeker. Shankara is not a common ascetic. Tuka says: at Panduranga's feet I have received this grace.
What it means
Tukaram chants a long string of denials to wake the eye that sees only surfaces. River, tree, stone, beads, food, the very syllables Rama Rama: he insists each one is not the mere object it appears to be, because the divine has entered it. The litany sweeps from sacred places and emblems to gods, animals, metals, and at last to the soul itself, which is not a relative you can dismiss at will. The point is not that these things are magical, but that nothing touched by God can be reduced to its plain material; to call the linga a stone or the Name idle sound is to miss what is truly present. He closes by tracing this changed sight to a gift: standing before Panduranga, he received the grace to see the holy in everything.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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