Renunciation, refusing the old fire
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
निघालें तें अगीहूनि । आतां झणी आतळे ॥1॥
पळवा परपरतें दुरी । आतां हरी येथूनि ॥ध्रु.॥
धरिलें तैसें श्रुत करा हो । येथें आहो प्रपंचीं ॥2॥
अबोल्यानें ठेला तुका । भेउनि लोकां निराळा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What has emerged from the fire should not be touched again. Drive it far away from here, O Hari. Declare openly to all in this worldly life what you have resolved. Says Tuka, he fell silent, keeping apart from the people out of reverence.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
What has come out of the fire must not be touched again now. Drive it far, far away; keep it from here, Hari. Make plain to everyone what you have resolved: that you are done with this worldly life. Tuka says: he fell silent, and out of reverence he stayed apart from people.
What it means
Tukaram speaks of a renunciation that refuses to relapse. Whatever he has been burned by and at last escaped, he will not touch again; he begs Hari to drive it far off and keep it away. The poem urges that such a resolve be declared openly, not held in secret, so that the break with worldly life is clear. Yet the close is quiet: Tukaram himself simply falls silent and, out of reverence rather than scorn, keeps apart from the crowd.
Renunciation
The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.
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