Watchfulness, guarding the ripe harvest
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सेत आलें सुगी सांभाळावे चारी कोण । पिका आलें परी केलें पाहिजे जतन ॥1॥
सोंकरीं सोंकरीं विसावा तों वरा । नकोउभें आहे तों ॥ध्रु.॥
गोफणेसी गुंडा घालीं पागोयाच्या नेटें। पळती हाहाकारें अवघीं पांखरांची थाटें ॥2॥
पेटवूनि आगटी राहें जागा पालटूनि । पडिलिया मान बळ बुिद्ध व्हावीं दोनी ॥3॥
खळे दानें विश्व सुखी करीं होतां रासी । सारा सारूनियां ज्याचे भाग देई त्यासी ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे मग नाहीं आपुलें कारण । निज आलें हातां भूस सांडिलें निकण ॥5॥ ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The harvest has come; guard it on all four sides. The crop is ripe, but you must watch over it carefully. Do not rest while the grain is still standing. Load the sling and hurl the stone with full force; the whole flock of birds will flee in panic. Light your fire and keep watch through the night. When sleep threatens, let both strength and buddhi come alive in you. When the threshing is done and the world is fed from the harvest, clear the floor and give to each their rightful share. Says Tuka, once what is truly your own comes into your hands, there is nothing more to be done. The chaff has been separated and cast away.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The harvest has come; guard it on all four sides. The crop is ripe, but it must be watched with care. Do not rest while the grain is still standing. Load the sling and hurl the stone with full force, and the whole flock of birds flees in panic. Light the fire and keep watch, changing your place. When sleep comes on, let both strength and buddhi wake in you. When the threshing is done and the world is fed from the heap, clear the floor and give each one their share. Tuka says: then there is nothing more for you to do. What is truly your own has come to hand; the chaff is cast away from the grain.
What it means
Tukaram turns the farming image into counsel on the final, watchful stretch of the path. Ripeness is not safety: the crop is ready precisely when the birds come, so the seeker must stay alert on all sides and refuse to rest while the grain still stands. Strength alone is not enough; when drowsiness threatens, discernment, buddhi, must wake with it. He pictures the harvest as something shared, the world fed and each given a rightful portion, so the gain is not hoarded. The end is the separation of grain from chaff: once what is truly one's own is in hand and the husk is thrown away, the work is finished and nothing more remains to do.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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