True worship, the fruit lies at the root
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाहीं देवापाशीं मोक्षाचे गांठोळें । आणूनि निराळें द्यावें हातीं ॥1॥
इंिद्रयांचा जय साधुनियां मन । निविनषय कारण असे तेथें ॥ध्रु.॥
उपास पारणीं अक्षरांची आटी । सत्कर्मां शेवटीं असे फळ ॥2॥
आदरें संकल्प वारीं अतिशय । सहज तें काय दुःख जाण ॥3॥
स्वप्नींच्या घायें विळवसी वांयां । रडे रडतियासवें मिथ्या ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे फळ आहे मूळापाशीं । शरण देवासीं जाय वेगीं ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
God does not keep bundles of liberation in a separate storeroom to hand over to you. When the senses are conquered and the mind is purified, the state of desirelessness is found right there. Fasting, feasting, and the toil of recitation bear fruit only through righteous action. Beware of excess in resolve and desire; know that whatever comes naturally is not suffering. Why waste yourself grieving over wounds received in a dream, or weeping alongside another's tears that are all illusion? Says Tuka, the fruit lies at the root. Go quickly, take refuge in God.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
God keeps no bundle of liberation in a back room to bring out and hand to you. Master the senses and still the mind, and there itself is the cause: the state where no desire remains. Fasting, breaking fasts, the toil of reciting letters: such good acts bear fruit only in the end. Watch out for piling up too much resolve and craving; know that what comes naturally is no suffering. Why ruin yourself over a wound taken in a dream, or weep along with another's weeping that is all unreal? Tuka says: the fruit is right there at the root. Go quickly, take refuge in God.
What it means
Tukaram corrects the idea that liberation is a separate object God stores up and then delivers to the deserving. It is not somewhere else: when the senses are won and the mind grows quiet, the desireless state is already present right there. He does not throw out fasting, feasting, and recitation, but he says their fruit comes only at the end and only when joined to right action, so they are not the heart of the matter. He warns that even spiritual effort can become a trap when resolve and craving are pushed too far, and he calls grief over illusory losses as foolish as weeping over a wound suffered in a dream. The whole pointing is inward and immediate: the fruit is at the root, so do not search far; take refuge in God now.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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