Metaphor, same form, different lot
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हीनसुरबुद्धीपासाीं । आकृतीसी भेद नाहीं ॥1॥
एक दांडी एक खांदी । पदीं पदीं भोगणें ॥ध्रु.॥
एकाऐसें एक नाहीं । भिन्न पाहीं प्रकृती ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे भूमी खंडे । पीक दंडे जेथें तें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Between the lowly and the divine intellect, there is no outward difference in form. Yet one carries burdens while another rides; step by step, each meets different experiences. No two are alike; each has a distinct nature. Says Tuka, the earth is divided into regions, and the harvest flourishes wherever conditions permit.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Between the low mind and the godly mind, there is no difference in outward shape. One carries the load, one rides above it; at each step they meet different fates. No two are alike; look, each nature is its own. Tuka says: the land is divided into fields, and the crop grows only where the ground allows.
What it means
Tukaram observes that the base mind and the noble mind can look exactly the same from the outside, with no visible mark to tell them apart. The difference shows only in what becomes of them: one is yoked to burdens, one is carried, and step by step their experiences diverge. Inner nature, not appearance, decides this, and no two natures are identical. His closing image is agricultural: the same earth is parcelled into fields, but the harvest rises only where the soil is fit, a quiet call to tend the ground of one's own mind rather than trust the surface.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
More in this theme →