Exhortation, the donkey of the world
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कां रे दास होसी संसाराचा खर । दुःखाचे डोंगर भोगावया ॥1॥
मिष्टान्नाची गोडी जिव्हेच्या अगरीं । मसक भरल्यावरी स्वाद नेणे ॥ध्रु.॥
आणीक ही भोग आणिकां इंिद्रयांचे। नाहीं ऐसे साचे जवळी कांहीं ॥2॥
रूप दृिष्ट धाय पाहातां पाहातां। न घडे सर्वथा आणि तृष्णा ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे कां रे नाशिवंतासाटीं। देवासवें तुटी करितोसी ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Why have you become the donkey of worldly life, O man, carrying mountains of sorrow upon your back? The sweetness of fine food lingers only at the tip of the tongue. Once the leather bag is full, it knows no more taste. So too with every other pleasure of the senses: nothing real, nothing lasting, remains close at hand. The eye is never satiated, no matter how long you gaze at beauty. Craving remains. Says Tuka, why, for the sake of what is perishable, do you sever your bond with God?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Why have you become the donkey of worldly life, carrying mountains of sorrow? The sweetness of fine food lasts only at the tip of the tongue; once the belly is full, it knows no taste. So with every other pleasure of the senses: nothing real, nothing close to lasting, stays. The eye is never filled, however long it gazes at beauty; the thirst stays. Tuka says: why, for the sake of what perishes, do you cut yourself off from God?
What it means
Tukaram presses the listener to look hard at the bargain they have made with the senses. He pictures the worldly person as a pack-donkey, hauling loads of sorrow for a wage that never satisfies. Each pleasure he examines turns out hollow: food tastes only on the tongue and then nothing, and the eye that feasts on beauty is never full, so craving simply renews itself. The point is not that the senses are evil but that they cannot deliver what they promise. The closing question is the sting: it makes no sense to break with God, who is lasting, for the sake of things that are guaranteed to perish.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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