Discernment, knowing when enough is enough
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
शिजल्यावरी जाळ । वांयां जायाचें तें मूळ ॥1॥
ऐसा वारावा तो श्रम । अतिशयीं नाहीं काम ॥ध्रु.॥
सांभाळावें वर्म। उचिताच्या काळें धर्म ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कळे । ऐसें कारणाचे वेळे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Once the cooking is done, adding more fire is pointless and wasteful. Therefore, restrain unnecessary effort; excess serves no purpose. Guard the secret of timing; do the right thing at the right moment. Says Tuka, this becomes clear at the decisive hour.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Once the food is cooked, more fire only ruins it. So spare yourself that wasted effort; pushing past the point serves nothing. Guard the secret of the right measure; do the right thing at its proper time. Tuka says: this is understood only at the moment it is needed.
What it means
Tukaram teaches discernment with a kitchen image: heaping fire on food already cooked does not improve it, it spoils it and wastes labor. He warns against straining beyond the point where effort is fruitful, in practice as in cooking. The real skill is timing, knowing when to act and when to stop, and doing each thing in its proper season. He admits this wisdom cannot be learned in advance as a rule; it becomes clear only in the living moment when the choice is upon you.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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