Metaphor, the irreversible inner change
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
परिसाचे अंगें सोनें जाला विळा । वाकणें या कळा हीन नेव्हे ॥1॥
अंतरीं पालट घडला कारण । मग समाधान तें चि गोड ॥ध्रु.॥
पिकली सेंद पूर्वकर्मा नये । अव्हेरु तो काय घडे मग॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आणा पंगती सुरण । पृथक ते गुण केले पाकें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When iron is touched by the philosopher's stone, it becomes gold; the bending and twisting it undergoes is not a defect. Once the inner transformation has taken place, that very contentment is sweet. A ripe fruit cannot return to its former bitterness; there is no rejecting what is done. Says Tuka, add the yam to the cooking pot; the right preparation transforms even its harsh qualities.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Touched by the philosopher's stone, the iron blade becomes gold. Its bends and twists are no longer a flaw. Once the inner change has happened, that contentment alone is sweet. A ripened fruit cannot go back to its sourness; what is done cannot be refused. Tuka says: put the yam in the cooking pot. The right cooking changes even its harsh qualities.
What it means
Tukaram describes the inner transformation of grace as a change that cannot be undone. The crooked iron blade, touched by the philosopher's stone, turns to gold, and its old bends stop being defects because the substance itself is now different. He stacks the images: a ripened fruit cannot return to being sour, and a yam, cooked rightly, loses its harsh raw bite. The point for self-examination is steadying: once God has truly changed you within, that new contentment is the only sweetness, and the old condition has no power to call you back.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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