Discipline, observe the rite until the mind dissolves
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वेदविहित तुह्मी आइका हो कर्में । बोलतों तीं वर्में संतांपुढे ॥1॥
चारी वर्ण जाले एकाचिये अंगीं । पापपुण्य भागीं विभागिलें ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रथम पाउलीं पावविला पंथ । आदि मध्य अंत भेद नाहीं ॥2॥
आंबे बोरी वड बाभुळा चंदन । गुणागुणें भिन्न अिग्न एक ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे मन उन्मन जों होय । तोंवरि हे सोय विधि पाळीं ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Listen, O people, to the rites ordained by the Vedas. I speak these truths before the saints. The four castes arose from one body; merit and sin were apportioned to each. From the very first step, the path was shown. There is no difference of beginning, middle, or end. Mango, jujube, banyan, thorny acacia, and sandalwood are all different, but the fire that burns them is one. Says Tuka, until the mind rises into unmana, observe the prescribed way.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Listen, all of you, to the works the Vedas ordain. I speak the heart of these things before the saints. The four castes arose from one single body; sin and merit were portioned out to each. From the very first step the path was shown; there is no real difference of beginning, middle, or end. Mango, jujube, banyan, acacia, sandalwood: different in their qualities, but the fire that burns them is one. Tuka says: until the mind passes into unmana, hold to this way, keep the prescribed rite.
What it means
Tukaram speaks here to people who would drop their prescribed duties too soon, claiming they are above the rules. He grants that the differences are real on the surface, the four castes, the many kinds of wood, the merit and sin apportioned to each, yet the underlying fire, the one source, is single. His instruction is practical: do not abandon the prescribed observances until the mind has actually dissolved into the state beyond thought that he calls unmana. The point is that oneness is the destination, not a license to skip the path; until the mind truly rests in that, the rite still holds. He names this before the saints to mark it as sober teaching, not boasting.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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