God's Power
मराठी मूळ · गाथा 452
आहा रे भाई । गंगा नव्हे जळ । वृक्ष नव्हे वड पिंपळ । तुळसी रुद्राक्ष नव्हे माळ । श्रेष्ठ तनु देवाचिया ॥१॥
समुद्र नदी नव्हे पैं गा । पाषाण म्हणों नये लिंगा । संत नव्हती जगा । मानसा त्या सारिखे ॥२॥
काठी म्हणों नये वेतु । अन्न म्हणों नये सांतु । राम राम हे मातु । नये म्हणों शब्द हे ॥३॥
चंद्र सूर्य नव्हती तारांगणें । मेरु तो नव्हे पर्वता समान । शेष वासुकी नव्हे सर्प जाण । विखाराच्या सारिखे ॥४॥
गरुड नव्हे पाखरूं । ढोर नव्हे नंदिकेश्वरू । झाड नव्हे कल्पतरू । कामधेनु गाय न म्हणावी ॥५॥
कूर्म नव्हे कासव । डुकर नव्हे वराह । ब्रम्हा नव्हे जीव । स्त्री नव्हे लक्ष्मी ॥६॥
गवाक्ष नव्हे हाड । पाटाव नव्हे कापड । परीस नव्हे दगड । सगुण ते ईश्वरीचे ॥७॥
सोनें नव्हे धातु । मीठ नव्हे रेतु । नाहीं नाहीं चर्मांतु । कृष्णजिन व्याघ्रांबर ॥८॥
मुक्ताफळें नव्हेति गारा । खड्याऐसा नव्हे हिरा । जीव नव्हे सोइरा । बोळवीजे स्वइच्छेनें ॥९॥
गांव नव्हे द्वारावती । रणसोड नव्हे मूर्ति । तीर्थ नव्हे गोमती । मोक्ष घडे दर्शनें ॥१०॥
कृष्ण नव्हे भोगी । शंकर नव्हे जोगी । तुका पांडुरंगीं । हा प्रसाद लाधला ॥११॥
सौर्यान - अभंग ११
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation · I.P. 254
OH brother, the Ganges is no common water, the banyan and peepul are not mere trees, tulsi and rudraksha rosaries are not necklaces, they are manifestations of God. The sea is not a stream, you must not call the linga a stone. The saints are not like worldly men; you must not call the ascetic’s staff a cane, nor holy food by the name of wheat; Rama-Rama you must not call words of common conversation. The sun and the moon are not mere stars; Meru is not a hill. The serpent of Siva and Vasuka are not poisonous snakes. Garuda is not a bird. The bull of Siva is not a head of cattle. The wishing-tree is not a mere tree, nor the wishing-cow a cow. The tortoise of the world is more than a tank tortoise. Varaha is not a wild boar. Brahma is more than the soul of man. Lakshmi is not a mere woman. A holy sprinkling horn is not a bone; the silk robe of a goddess is not a piece of cloth. The magic stone Parlksha is not a stone; it is a manifestation of the goddess. Gold is not a common metal, nor salt a kind of sand; the ascetic’s deer-skin and tiger-skin are not hides. Pearls arc not flints, nor diamonds pebbles; the soul is not a guest to be dismissed whemyou desire. Dvaraka is not a mere village, nor Krishna’s image a mere figure. The Gomati is not a mere place of pilgrimage; the very sight of them brings liberation; Krishna is not a mere pleasureseeker, nor Siva an ascetic. Tuka says, He has obtained in Panduranga alone all the bliss that these things can give.
Tr. J. Nelson Fraser & K.B. Marathe (1909)
The Nature of God
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