Saints, the nearest door
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आलिंगनें घडे । मोक्ष सायुज्यता जोडे ॥१॥
ऐसा संताचा महिमा । जाली बोलायाची सीमा ॥ध्रु.॥
तीर्थे पर्वकाळ । अवघीं पायांपें सकळ ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देवा । त्यांची केली पावे सेवा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
By their embrace, liberation as sayujya-union is attained. Such is the greatness of the saints; the limit of speech has been reached. All sacred places and auspicious times rest at their feet. Tuka says: service done to them reaches God.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
One embrace from them, and the union with God that is final freedom is yours. Such is the greatness of the saints, and here speech reaches its limit and stops. Every holy river, every sacred day, all of it rests at their feet. Tuka says: any service done to them reaches God himself.
What it means
Tukaram exalts the company of the saints above all pilgrimage. Their mere embrace, he says, grants sayujya, the soul's union with God, which is liberation; words simply run out trying to praise them. All the sacred rivers and auspicious days that people travel to find are already gathered at the saints' feet. And the practical heart of it: you do not need to reach God past them, for service rendered to the saints reaches God directly. The holy person is the nearest door.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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