Metaphor, refuge of the weary
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चंदनाचे गांवीं सर्पांच्या वसति । भोगिते ते होती द्वीपांतरीं ॥1॥
एका ओझें एका लाभ घडे देवा । संचिताचा ठेवा वेगळाला ॥ध्रु.॥
क्षीराची वसति अशुद्ध सेवावें । जवळी तें जावें भोगें दुरी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ऐसी बुिद्ध ज्याची जड । त्याहुनि दगड बरे देवा ॥3॥
भागलों दातारा सीण जाला भारी । आतां मज तारीं शरणागता ॥ध्रु.॥
नेणतां सोसिली तयाची आटणी । नव्हतां ही कोणी कांहीं माझीं ॥2॥
वर्म नेणें दिशा हिंडती मोकट । इंिद्रयें सुनाट दाही दिशा ॥3॥
वेरझारीफेरा सिणलों सायासीं । आतां हृषीकेशी अंगिकारीं ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे मन इंिद्रयांचे सोई । धांवे यासी काई करूं आतां ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In the land of sandalwood dwell serpents, while those who enjoy its fragrance live in distant lands. One carries the burden while another reaps the gain, O God; each one's stored merit is different. Milk resides nearby yet one must consume the impure; what is close in possession may be far in enjoyment. Says Tuka, one whose intellect is so dull is worse than a stone, O God. I am exhausted, O generous Lord; the weariness has grown heavy. Now ferry me across, for I have come to You for refuge. In ignorance I endured all that suffering when nothing and no one was truly mine. Not knowing the secret, the senses roam wild in all ten directions. Worn out by this endless wandering, O Hrishikesha, please accept me now. Says Tuka, the mind conspires with the senses; what can I do now about their relentless running?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In the land of sandalwood the serpents live, while those who enjoy its fragrance live in far-off places. One carries the burden, another reaps the gain, O God; each one's stored merit is its own. Milk is near at hand, yet one must drink what is impure; what is close in owning may be far in enjoying. Tuka says: a mind so dull is worse than a stone, O God. I am worn out, generous Lord; the weariness has grown heavy; now ferry me across, for I have come to you for refuge. In my ignorance I bore all that toil when nothing and no one was truly mine. Not knowing the secret, the senses wander loose in all ten directions. Worn out by this endless going to and fro, O Hrishikesha, accept me now. Tuka says: the mind sides with the senses and runs; what can I do with it now?
What it means
Tukaram begins with the riddle that the one who holds a treasure is often not the one who enjoys it: the serpent guards the sandalwood it cannot smell, milk sits close by while a man drinks what is foul. He reads this as the working of stored karma, each soul carrying its own portion, and calls the mind that cannot grasp this duller than a stone. From the image he turns to plain prayer, exhausted by lifetimes of bearing burdens for things that were never his and chasing after senses that scatter in every direction. He asks Hrishikesha to ferry him across and simply take him in, because the mind keeps siding with the senses and running, and he can no longer manage it alone. The cry is the weary soul handing the whole struggle to God.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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