Moral ideal, purify the mind daily
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
या चि नांवें दोष । राहे अंतरीं कििल्मष ॥1॥
मना अंगीं पुण्य पाप । शुभ उत्तम संकल्प ॥ध्रु.॥
बिजाऐसीं फळें । उत्तम कां अमंगळें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे चित्त । शुद्ध करावें हे नित ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What is called sin is merely the impurity that lingers within. Merit and sin dwell in the mind; pure and noble thoughts are their remedy. As the seed, so the fruit: noble or inauspicious. Says Tuka, the chitta should be purified every single day.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
What we call sin is only the impurity that stays inside. Merit and sin live in the mind; pure and good resolve is where they turn. As the seed, so the fruit: good, or unwholesome. Tuka says: the mind should be made clean, every single day.
What it means
Tukaram is relocating sin from the outer act to the inner state. What we name as sin is simply the residue that lingers in the heart; merit and sin both have their home in the mind, and it is intention that decides which way a life bends. He puts it as a law of nature: the fruit can only match the seed, so a noble resolve grows noble fruit and a foul one grows the opposite. From this follows the single instruction, framed not as a one-time cleansing but as daily work: keep the mind purified every day.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
More in this theme →