Memento mori, the mind made alert
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जरा कर्णमूळीं सांगों आली गोष्टी । मृत्याचिये भेटी जवळी आली ॥1॥
आतां माझ्या मना होई सावधान । वोंपुण्याची जाण कार्यसिद्धी ॥ध्रु.॥
शेवटील घडी बुडतां न लगे वेळ । साधावा तो काळ जवळी आला ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे चिंतीं कुळींची देवता । वारावा भोंवता शब्द मिथ्या ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Old age has whispered a secret into my ear: the meeting with death draws near. Now, O my mind, become alert. Know that the art of offering everything is the key to accomplishing your purpose. The final moment can drown you in an instant; seize this time that has come so close. Says Tuka, contemplate your family deity and turn away the idle noise of false words.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Old age has come and whispered in my ear: the meeting with death is near. Now, O my mind, be awake. Know this: offering everything is what gets the work done. The last hour can drown you in a moment; seize this time, for it has come close. Tuka says: hold your family deity in your thoughts, and turn away the false words around you.
What it means
Tukaram hears in his own aging the warning that death is close, and he uses it to rouse his mind. Old age is the messenger; its message is to wake up while there is still time. He says the way to finish the real work is to offer everything, to hold nothing back, and to do it now, because the final moment comes without notice and can pull you under. So he tells himself to keep God in mind and to push away the idle, false talk that crowds the attention at the end.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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