Moral ideal, rein the restless mind
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वाढलियां मान न मनावी नििश्चती । भूतांचिये प्रीती भूतपण ॥1॥
ह्मणऊनि मना लावावी कांचणी । इंिद्रयांचे झणी ओढी भरे ॥ध्रु.॥
एका एकपणें एकाचिये अंगीं । लागे रंग रंगीं मिळलिया ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देव निष्काम निराळा । जीवदशे चाळा चळणांचा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When honor increases, one should not take it for granted. Love for beings should grow from genuine kinship with them. Therefore, rein in the mind, lest the rush of the senses suddenly overwhelm it. Through oneness with the One, the color of the dye takes hold when one is truly immersed. Says Tuka, God is desireless and apart; the restless churning is the very nature of the jiva-condition.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When honor grows, do not take it for certain. Let your love for beings come from true kinship with them. So rein in the mind, in case the pull of the senses suddenly floods it. Through oneness with the One, in the body of the one absorbed, the dye takes its color when the colors meet. Tuka says: God is desireless and apart. The restless churning belongs to the state of the living soul.
What it means
Tukaram is setting out how a person should hold himself as he is honored and pulled by the world. Rising honor should not be trusted as secure, and love for others should grow from genuine fellow-feeling, not from advantage. The mind needs a steady rein, because the senses can surge and sweep it away in a moment. He uses the image of dye taking hold only when the cloth is truly soaked: real change of color comes only through full immersion in the One. The closing contrast is the heart of it, God is desireless and untouched, while all the restless agitation belongs to the soul caught in the living condition, so the work is to settle that agitation rather than blame God for it.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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