Discernment, three kinds of seeing
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देखण्याच्या तीन जाती । वेठी वार्ता अत्यंतीं ॥1॥
जैसा भाव तैसें फळ । स्वातीतोय एक जळ ॥ध्रु.॥
पाहे सांगे आणि जेवी । अंतर महदांतर तेवी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे हिरा । पारखियां मूढां गारा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
There are three kinds of seeing: by forced conscription, by hearsay, and by direct tasting. As is the inner disposition, so is the fruit; the rain of the Swati star is one water, yet not one result. One who sees, one who speaks, and one who partakes: the distance between them is vast beyond measure. Says Tuka, a diamond is a diamond to the jeweler; to the ignorant, it is gravel.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
There are three kinds of seeing: by forced labor, by hearsay, and by direct tasting. As the inner feeling is, so is the fruit. The rain of the Swati star is one water, yet not one result. One who only looks, one who only talks, and one who actually eats: the distance between them is vast. Tuka says: to the jeweler a diamond is a diamond; to the fool it is gravel.
What it means
Tukaram sorts knowing into ranks and asks which one we actually have. There is seeing under compulsion, seeing by mere report, and seeing by direct tasting, and only the last is real possession. His images make the point: the same Swati rain yields pearl or poison depending on what receives it, and the gap between someone who only looks or talks about a thing and someone who has truly eaten it is immense. The closing line turns it on the reader: the same diamond is treasure to the one with the eye to know it and worthless gravel to the one without, so the difference lies not in the truth but in our capacity to receive it.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
More in this theme →