Exhortation, why not chant Vitthal
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ऐसी जिव्हा निकी । विठ्ठल विठ्ठल कां न घोकी ॥1॥
जेणें पाविजे उद्धार । तेथें राखावें अंतर ॥ध्रु.॥
गुंपोनि चावटी । तेथें कोणा लाभें भेटी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कळा । देवाविण अमंगळा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Such a fine tongue you have; why does it not chant Vitthala, Vitthala? Where salvation is to be found, one should preserve the inner distance. By getting entangled in idle chatter, what meeting brings any gain? Says Tuka, without God, all skill is inauspicious.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You have such a fine tongue; why does it not chant Vitthal, Vitthal? Where deliverance is to be found, there keep your mind. By tangling yourself in idle chatter, what meeting gives you any gain? Tuka says: without God, all cleverness is foul.
What it means
Tukaram presses a simple question on the listener. You have been given a tongue, so why waste it on anything but the Name, Vitthal, Vitthal? He tells you to keep your attention fixed where rescue actually lies, on God, not on gossip and empty talk that lead to no worthwhile meeting. The closing line is the edge of it: skill, eloquence, talent, whatever you are proud of, is inauspicious and unclean if God is left out of it. The invitation is to redirect a good faculty toward its true use.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
More in this theme →