Devotion, the lover of God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जाणे भक्तीचा जिव्हाळा । तो चि देवीचा पुतळा ॥1॥
आणीक नये माझ्या मना । हो का पंडित शाहाणा ॥ध्रु.॥
नामरूपीं जडलें चित्त । त्याचा दास मी अंकित ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नवविध । भक्ती जाणे तो चि शुद्ध ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The one who knows the warmth of devotion is the true image of the Divine. No scholar or learned man appeals to my heart otherwise. The one whose mind is absorbed in the Name and form of God, I am that one's servant, marked as his own. Says Tuka, the one who knows the ninefold devotion is the truly pure one.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The one who knows the warmth of devotion, that one is the very image of God. No one else draws my heart, be he a scholar, be he wise. The one whose mind is fixed on the Name and form, I am that one's marked servant. Tuka says: the one who knows the ninefold devotion, that one alone is pure.
What it means
Tukaram sets the standard for what makes a person worthy of honor, and it is not learning. The one who knows the inner warmth of devotion he treats as the living image of God, while no scholar or clever man wins his heart for cleverness alone. He goes further and binds himself as servant to anyone whose mind is glued to God's name and form. The closing line names the measure: it is the one who lives the ninefold path of devotion, hearing, praising, remembering, and the rest, who counts as truly pure. Devotion, not erudition, is what he bows to.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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