Exhortation, the closed heart
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पालथे घागरी घातलें जीवन । न धरी च जाण तें ही त्याला ॥1॥
जन्मा येउनि तेणें पतन चि साधिलें । तमोगुणें व्यापिलें जया नरा।
जळो जळो हें त्याचें ज्यालेपण । कासया हे आलें संवसारा ॥ध्रु.॥
पाषाण जीवनीं असतां कल्पवरी । पाहातां अंतरीं कोरडा तो।
कुचर मुग नये चि पाका । पाहातां सारिखा होता तैसा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे असे उपाय सकळां । न चले या खळा प्रेत्न कांहीं ।
ह्मणऊनि संग न करितां भला । धरितां अबोला सर्व हित ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Pour water into an overturned pot and it will not hold a single drop; the same is true of such a person. Having taken birth, he has accomplished nothing but his own downfall, consumed by darkness and inertia. Cursed be such a life; why did he come into this world at all? A stone may sit in water for an age and still remain dry within. A hard, green lentil never softens no matter how long it is cooked; it stays exactly as it was. Says Tuka, there are remedies for everyone, but nothing works on the truly wicked. Therefore it is best not to keep their company; maintaining silence toward them is the highest wisdom.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Pour water into an upturned pot and it holds nothing. Such a person is the same. He took birth and managed only his own fall, covered over by darkness and dullness. Cursed be such a life. Why did he come into the world at all? A stone can sit in water for an age and stay dry inside. A hard lentil never softens however long you cook it; it stays just as it was. Tuka says: there are remedies for everyone, but no effort works on the truly wicked. So it is best not to keep their company. Staying silent toward them is the whole of your good.
What it means
Tukaram describes a heart sealed against grace and asks what can be done with it. He stacks up images of refusal: the overturned pot that water runs off, the stone dry at its core after an age underwater, the hard lentil that will not soften no matter the cooking. The warning is aimed at the closed pattern, not at writing off a soul; the danger is real because such company drags you down with it. His practical counsel is restraint: where effort cannot reach, keep your distance and keep silent, and that silence guards your own good.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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