God among them, the world forgotten
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
लोकां कळों आला देव आह्मांमधीं । टाकिली उपाधि तिहीं शंका ॥1॥
शंका नाहीं थोरां लाहानां जीवांसि । कळला हा हृषीकेशी मग ॥2॥
मग मनीं जाले निर्भर सकळ । संगें लोकपाळ कृष्णाचिया ॥3॥
कृष्णाचिया ओंव्या गाणें गाती गीत । कृष्णमय चित्त जालें त्यांचें ॥4॥
त्यांसि ठावा नाहीं बाहेरिल भाव । अंतरीं च वाव सुख जालें ॥6॥
सुखें तया दीस न कळे हे राती । अखंड या ज्योती गोविंदाची ॥6॥
चिंतनें चि धालीं न लगे अन्नपाणी । तुका ह्मणे मनीं समाधान ॥7॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The people realized that God was among them. They cast aside all doubt and suspicion. Neither the great nor the small nor any creature harbored any uncertainty. They recognized Hrishikesha. Then all chittas became filled with peace, dwelling in the company of Krishna. They sang ovis and songs about Krishna. Their minds became entirely absorbed in Krishna. They had no awareness of the outside world; within, the space was all joy. In that joy, they could not distinguish day from night, for the light of Govinda shone unbroken. Through contemplation alone they were satisfied; food and water were no longer needed. Says Tuka, contentment filled their minds.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The people came to know that God was among them, and they threw off the load of all their doubt. Great souls and small, every living thing, had no more uncertainty: they had recognized Hrishikesha. Then all of them were filled with peace, in the company of Krishna. They sang verses about Krishna and sang their songs, and their minds turned entirely into Krishna. They had no awareness left of any outer thing; within, the empty space had become joy. In that joy they could not tell day from night, for the light of Govinda never went out. Through remembrance alone they were full; they needed no food or water. Tuka says: their minds were at rest.
What it means
Once the cowherds know who is among them, doubt simply drops away, in the great and the small alike, and the whole village settles into Krishna. Tukaram describes a mind so absorbed that the outer world falls silent and the inner space fills with joy. The marks he names are old signs of deep absorption: day and night blur, hunger and thirst fade, and remembrance alone keeps them full. What began as a storm has ended in steady inner peace.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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