The mind, sole maker of bondage and release
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मन करा रे प्रसन्न । सर्व सिद्धीचें कारण । मोक्ष अथवा बंधन । सुख समाधान इच्छा ते ॥१॥
मनें प्रतिमा स्थापिली । मनें मना पूजा केली । मनें इच्छा पुरविली । मन माउली सकळांची ॥ध्रु.॥
मन गुरू आणि शिष्य । करी आपुलें चि दास्य । प्रसन्न आपआपणास । गति अथवा अधोगति ॥२॥
साधक वाचक पंडित । श्रोते वक्ते ऐका मात । नाहीं नाहीं आनुदैवत । तुका म्हणे दुसरें ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Make the mind serene, for it is the cause of all attainment. Whether it be liberation or bondage, happiness or contentment, all depends on the mind's desire. The mind installs the deity, the mind worships the mind, the mind fulfills its own wishes; the mind is the mother of all. The mind is both guru and disciple, serving itself; when pleased with itself, it leads upward, and when displeased, it leads downward. Says Tuka, hear this, O seekers, scholars, listeners, and speakers: there is no other deity besides the mind.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Make the mind glad, for it is the cause of every attainment. Liberation or bondage, happiness or peace, all of it follows the mind's wish. The mind sets up the image; the mind worships the mind; the mind grants its own desire; the mind is mother of all. The mind is both guru and disciple, serving only itself. Pleased with itself, it rises; displeased, it falls. Seekers, readers, scholars, listeners, speakers, hear this. Tuka says: there is no other deity, none, but this.
What it means
Tukaram puts the whole weight of the spiritual life on the mind itself. Liberation and bondage, joy and peace, every attainment, all of it turns on what the mind wishes, so the first instruction is simply to make the mind serene. He drives the point home by showing the mind doing every role at once: it installs the deity, it is both the worshipper and the worshipped, it grants its own desires, it is mother, guru, and disciple in one. Its own state decides its fate, rising when pleased with itself and sinking when not. The closing address to seekers and scholars carries the radical claim he refuses to soften: there is no other deity to seek but this very mind.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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