The hidden doer, grace to the humble
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नेदी दुःख देखों दासा नारायण । ठेवी निवारून आल्या आधीं ॥1॥
आधीं पुढें शुद्ध करावा मारग । दासांमागें मग सुखरूप ॥2॥
पर्वतासि हात लाविला अनंतें । तो जाय वरतें आपेंआप ॥3॥
आपल्याआपण उचलिला गिरी । गोपाळ हे करी निमित्यासि ॥4॥
निमित्य करूनि करावें कारण । करितां आपण कळों नेदी ॥5॥
दिनाचा कृपाळु पतितपावन । हें करी वचन सांच खरें ॥6॥
सांगणें न लगे सुखदुःख दासा । तुका ह्मणे ऐसा कृपावंत ॥7॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Narayana does not let His servants see suffering. He clears the obstacles before they arrive. He cleans the path ahead and then follows behind His servants, keeping them safe. The Infinite One put His hand to the mountain, and it rose upward of its own accord. He lifted the mountain by Himself, using the cowherds only as a pretense. He uses instruments while doing the work Himself, never revealing that He alone is the doer. He is gracious to the humble, the Purifier of the Fallen. He makes these words come true. A servant need not tell God his joys and sorrows. Says Tuka, such is the Compassionate One.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Narayana does not let his servants see suffering. He sets the danger aside before it ever arrives. First he makes the road ahead clean, then walks behind his servants to keep them safe. The Infinite One laid his hand on the mountain, and it rose up of its own accord. He lifted the hill himself, using the cowherds only for show. He does the work himself and uses others as the instrument, never letting it be known that he alone is the doer. He is kind to the lowly, the one who purifies the fallen. He makes these words come true. A servant need not tell God his joys and sorrows. Tuka says: such is the Compassionate One.
What it means
The poem looks behind the spectacle and names who is really doing the lifting. The cowherds seem to hold the mountain, but it rises on its own under his hand; they are only the instruments he uses to keep himself hidden. Tukaram draws out the pattern. God clears the danger before it lands, walks behind his own to guard them, and works in secret so the credit never falls to him. The last lines land the comfort: you do not even have to recite your troubles to him, because such is his compassion that he has already acted.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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