Teaching, the burden one can bear
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अधिकार तैसा करूं उपदेश । साहे ओझें त्यास तें चि द्यावें ॥1॥
मुंगीवर भार गजाचें पालाण । घालितां तें कोण कार्यसिद्धी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे फांसे वाघुरा कुहाडी । प्रसंगी तों काढी पारधी तो ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Give instruction according to the capacity of the listener; give each one only the burden he can bear. Placing an elephant's saddle upon an ant accomplishes nothing. Says Tuka, the hunter brings out traps, snares, or axes as the occasion demands.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Teach a person according to what he can hold. Give him only the load he can carry. Put an elephant's saddle on an ant: what is gained by that? Nothing. Tuka says: the hunter brings out trap, snare, or axe as the moment calls for it.
What it means
Tukaram is laying down a rule for spiritual instruction: it must be fitted to the capacity of the one in front of you. Lay only the weight a person can actually bear, because pressing the whole teaching onto someone unready is as useless as strapping an elephant's saddle on an ant, it crushes rather than helps. The closing image of the hunter is not cruelty but readiness: a skilled guide, like a skilled hunter, reaches for the right instrument for each occasion. The point to take home is humility about where each learner stands, including oneself.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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