Nonduality, the self must die
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जग अवघें देव । मुख्य उपदेशाची ठेव ॥1॥
आधीं आपणयां नासी । तरि उतरे ये कसीं ॥ध्रु.॥
ब्रह्मज्ञानाचें कोठार । तें हें निश्चयें उत्तर ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ते उन्मनी । नास कारया कारणीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The whole world is God: this is the essence of the highest teaching. First annihilate the self, and it will prove true on the touchstone. This is the storehouse of Brahman-knowledge; this is the final, certain answer. Says Tuka, the unmani state brings the destruction of cause and effect.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The whole world is God. This is the heart of the highest teaching. First put an end to yourself. Then it holds up on the touchstone. This is the storehouse of the knowledge of Brahman. This is the final, sure answer. Tuka says: in the unmani state, the place beyond mind, cause and effect are destroyed.
What it means
Tukaram states the whole teaching in one line: everything is God. But he names what it costs to see it. The self has to be annihilated first; only then does the claim hold up when tested, the way gold proves true on a touchstone. He calls this the storehouse of the knowledge of Brahman, the certain answer where seeking ends. In the unmani state, the silence beyond the working mind, the whole machinery of cause and effect falls away.
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