Discernment before action
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जातिविजातीची व्हावयासि भेटी । संकल्प तो पोटीं वाहों नये ॥1॥
होणार तें घडो होणाराच्या गुणें । होइल नारायणें निमिनलें तें ॥ध्रु.॥
व्याघ्राचिये भुके वधावी ते गाय । याचें नांव काय पुण्य असे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे न करी विचार पुरता । गरज्याची माता पिता खर ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One should not carry the intention of mingling the pure with the impure in one's belly. Whatever is to happen will happen by its own nature; whatever Narayana has ordained will come to pass. Should a cow be slaughtered to feed a tiger? What kind of merit is that? Says Tuka, the one who does not think things through fully is like a donkey serving as father and mother to the desperate.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not carry in your belly the intention of mixing what is fitting with what is not. Whatever is to happen will happen by its own nature. Whatever Narayana has ordained will come to pass. Should a cow be killed to feed a tiger? What kind of merit is that? Tuka says: the one who does not think a matter through fully is like a donkey serving as father and mother to the desperate.
What it means
Tukaram warns against acting from a confused intention that blends the proper with the improper. Outcomes unfold by their own nature, and what Narayana has ordained will arrive, so scheming to force things only muddies us. He drives it home with a sharp question: killing a cow to satisfy a tiger's hunger is no act of merit, however it dresses itself up. The closing image mocks the well-meaning fool who refuses to think a thing through and then exhausts himself playing both father and mother to every desperate demand. The aim is to examine our own undiscerning rush to help.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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