Confession, the tendencies that will not be reined in
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हागतां ही खोडी । चळण मोडवितें काडी ॥1॥
ऐसे अनावर गुण । आवरावे काय ह्मुण ॥ध्रु.॥
नाहीं जरी संग । तरी बडबडविती रंग ॥2॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Even while relieving oneself, bad habits persist; the stick keeps breaking the ankle. Such are these uncontrollable tendencies; how can they be restrained? Even without company, the senses keep up their chatter.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Even while relieving myself, the bad habit stays; the stick keeps tripping up my step. Such are these tendencies, beyond all control. How am I to rein them in? Even when there is no company, the senses keep up their chatter.
What it means
Tukaram is confessing how stubborn his own habits are, and he refuses to dress it up. He says the tendencies cling even in the most undignified moments and keep tripping him as he walks, which is his blunt way of admitting they reach into everything. He cannot find a way to hold them in check. He points to the proof: even alone, with no one to perform for, the senses go on chattering, so the fault is inward and not just a matter of bad company. The honesty is aimed at the pattern in himself, not at scorn for anyone else.
Confession and Sin
Raw, unflinching accounts of personal failure, weakness, and the weight of sin.
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