All beings are kin, one thread
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देवाच्या संबंधें विश्व चि सोयरें । सूत्र ओढे दोरें एका एक ॥1॥
आहाच हें नव्हे विटायासारिखें । जीव जीवनीं देखें सामावलें ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिकांचें सुख दुःख उमटे अंतरीं । एथील इतरीं तेणें न्यायें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ठसावलें शुद्ध जाती । शोभा चि पुढती विशेषता ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Through its connection with God, the whole world becomes family. One thread pulls all into relation with each other. This is no mere gesture to be wearied of; life is absorbed into life, as I see it. The joys and sorrows of others arise within one's own heart, and by the same principle, what is here is also there. Says Tuka, what is stamped in purity only grows more beautiful with time.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Through the bond with God, the whole world is family. One thread pulls each into relation with each. This is no thin gesture you grow tired of; life is taken up into life, as I see it. The joy and sorrow of others rise in your own heart, and by that same rule, what is here is also there. Tuka says: what is stamped in pure birth only grows more beautiful afterward.
What it means
Tukaram lands the claim that devotion to God makes the whole world one's own family. The relation is not loose sentiment that wears thin; it is life absorbed into life, a single thread tying everyone to everyone. The test of it is that another's joy and sorrow rise inside your own heart, and by the same law your own state is mirrored in others. He says this kinship, once stamped purely into a person, does not fade with use but grows more beautiful over time.
The Nature of God
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