Confession, the inward double life
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अनुभवें कळों येतें पांडुरंगा । रुसावें तें कां गा तुह्मांवरी ॥1॥
आवरितां चित्त नावरे दुर्जन । घात करी मन माझें मज ॥ध्रु.॥
अंतरीं संसार भक्ति बाहएात्कार । ह्मणोनि अंतर तुझ्या पायीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे काय करूं नेणें वर्म । आलें तैसें कर्म सोसूं पुढें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Experience teaches me, O Panduranga, that I should not be angry with You. When I try to restrain my mind, it refuses to obey; my own mind plots against me. Inwardly I am tangled in worldly cares while outwardly I put on a show of devotion; that is why I remain distant from Your feet. Says Tuka, I do not know the secret remedy; I must simply endure whatever karma comes next.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Experience teaches me, Panduranga, that I should not be angry with You. When I try to hold the mind in, it will not be held, the wretch; my own mind plots my ruin. Inside there is worldly entanglement, while outside I make a show of devotion; that is why I stay far from Your feet. Tuka says: what can I do, I do not know the secret. I must endure whatever karma comes next.
What it means
Tukaram turns the complaint inward and lets himself off no hook. Experience has taught him the anger he feels toward Panduranga is misplaced; the real trouble is closer to home. His mind cannot be reined in and even works against him, plotting his own undoing. He then confesses the precise fault: inside he is tangled in worldly cares while outside he performs devotion, and this split is exactly why he remains distant from the feet he longs for. The honesty refuses easy escape. He does not know the secret remedy, so he resolves simply to bear whatever karma comes, examining his own divided heart rather than accusing God.
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