God's mercy, the lowly are dearest
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कृपावंत किती । दीनें बहु आवडती ॥1॥
त्यांचा भार वाहे माथां । करी योगक्षेमचिंता ॥ध्रु.॥
भुलें नेदी वाट । करीं धरूनि दावी नीट ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जीवें । अनुसरतां एका भावें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
How merciful He is. The humble and lowly are most dear to Him. He carries their burden upon His own head and takes care of their yoga-kshema, their getting and their head and attends to their welfare. He does not let them lose their way; holding them by the hand, He shows them the straight path. Says Tuka, when one follows Him with single-minded devotion, all this is given.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
How merciful He is. The humble and the lowly are most dear to Him. He carries their burden on His own head, and He worries over their getting and their keeping. He does not let them lose the way; He holds them by the hand and shows them the straight path. Tuka says: this is given to the one who follows Him with the soul, in single-hearted faith.
What it means
Tukaram describes the kind of God he trusts: one whose favorite is not the strong but the poor and helpless. Such a God does not stand back and watch; He shoulders their burden Himself and takes responsibility for their welfare, their getting and their keeping. When they wander, He does not scold from a distance; He takes them by the hand and walks them onto the straight road. The one condition is wholehearted devotion, following Him with the whole soul and a single feeling.
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