Worldly folly, fruit without tending
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बीजापोटीं पाहे फळ । विध न करितां सकळ ॥1॥
तया मूर्ख ह्मणावें वेडें । कैसें तुटेल सांकडें ॥ध्रु.॥
दावितिया वाट। वेठी धरूं पाहे चाट ॥2॥
पुढिल्या उपाया । तुका ह्मणे राखे काया ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He who seeks fruit within the seed without tending it at all: call such a one a fool, a madman. How will he ever escape his straits? He who is shown the way by a guide then tries to press that guide into forced labor. Says Tuka, for the remedy that lies ahead, keep the body whole.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He looks for the fruit inside the seed but does no work at all to tend it. Call such a one a fool, a madman. How will he ever escape his trouble? Someone shows him the road, and then he tries to force that guide into labor. Tuka says: for the help that lies ahead, keep the body whole.
What it means
Tukaram aims this at a familiar self-deception: wanting the harvest while refusing the labor that grows it. Expecting fruit from a seed you never plant or water is madness, and it leaves you stuck. Worse is the one who, when shown the way, tries to drag the very guide into doing the work for him. The point turns on us, not on contempt: do not lean on others to carry what is yours, and keep the body sound, for the real remedy and effort still lie ahead.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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