Discernment, the same outside, two fruits
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
एक तटस्थ मानसीं । एक सहज चि आळसी ॥१॥
दोन्ही दिसती सारिखीं । वर्म जाणे तो पारखी ॥ध्रु.॥
एक ध्यानीं करिती जप । एक बैसुनि घेती झोप ॥२॥
एकां भक्ति पोटासाठीं । एकां देवासवें गांठी ॥४॥
वर्म पोटीं एका । फळें दोन म्हणे तुका ॥५॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One sits poised as a witness within the mind; another is simply lazy. Both appear the same outwardly, but only a true discerner knows the difference. One does japa in deep meditation; another just sits and sleeps. For some, devotion is only for filling the belly; for others, there is a true bond with God. Says Tuka, the secret lies hidden in the belly of each; the fruits of the two are entirely different.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
One man sits still as a witness in the mind. Another is simply lazy. The two look the same. Only one who can tell true from false knows the difference. One does his japa deep in meditation. Another just sits and falls asleep. For some, devotion is only to fill the belly. For others, it is a real bond with God. Tuka says: the secret lies hidden inside each one, and the fruit of the two is wholly different.
What it means
Tukaram points at how easily the outward look of holiness hides two opposite inner states. The stillness of a true witness and plain laziness can sit in the same posture; meditation and dozing can wear the same face; and devotion done for a full belly looks much like devotion that is a genuine bond with God. From the outside they are indistinguishable, and only a real discerner can tell which is which. The whole weight rests on the inner motive, the varma hidden in the heart, because that is what decides the fruit. The poem turns the reader inward to ask which of the two is actually happening in his own sitting.
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