Acceptance, end the brooding
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जन्मा येणें घडे पातकाचे मूळें । संचिताचें फळ आपुलिया ॥1॥
मग वांयांविण दुःख वाहों नये । रुसोनियां काय देवावरी ॥ध्रु.॥
ठाउका चि आहे संसार दुःखाचा । चित्तीं सीण याचा वाहों नये ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नाम त्याचें आठवावें । तेणें विसरावें जन्मदुःख ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Birth itself happens because of past sin; it is the fruit of one's own accumulated karma. Then why carry useless sorrow? What good does it do to blame God? This worldly existence is known to be full of suffering; one should not brood upon it with a troubled heart. Says Tuka, remember His Name; through it, forget the pain of birth.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Birth comes because of past sin. It is the fruit of what I have gathered. So I should not carry sorrow for nothing. What good is it to sulk against God? Everyone knows this worldly life is full of pain. I should not brood over it in my heart. Tuka says: remember His Name. By that, forget the pain of birth.
What it means
Tukaram is talking himself out of self-pity. He starts from the hard fact that this birth and its troubles are the ripening of one's own past acts, not an injustice handed down by God, so blaming God or sulking against Him gains nothing. Suffering in worldly life is no surprise; everyone already knows it is built that way, and chewing on it only adds a second sorrow on top of the first. He names the one thing that actually helps: remembering the Name. Held there, the very pain of being born can be set down and forgotten.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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