True worship, without Rama all work is false
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
काहे लकडा घांस कटावे । खोद हि जुमीन मठ बनावे ॥1॥
देवलवासी तरवरछाया । घरघर माई खपरिबसमाया॥ध्रु.॥
कां छांडियें भार फेरे सीर भागें । मायाको दुःख मिटलिये अंगें॥2॥
कहे तुका तुम सुनो हो सिद्धा । रामबिना और झुटा कछु धंदा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Why do you chop wood and cut grass? Why do you dig the earth and build monasteries? Temples offer only the shade of a tree, while in every home there is Maya, death, and ashes. Why not cast off this burden of wandering and toil? The sorrow of Maya will dissolve from your body. Says Tuka, listen, O seekers: without Rama, everything else is a false occupation.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Why chop wood and cut grass? Why dig the earth and build monasteries? Temples give you only the shade of a tree, while in every house there is Maya, death, and ashes. Why not throw off this load of wandering and toil? Then the sorrow of Maya will leave your body. Tuka says: listen, O accomplished ones, without Rama every other business is false.
What it means
Tukaram challenges religious busyness, the labor of cutting wood and grass, digging, and raising monasteries, as missing the point. A temple gives no more than a tree's shade, and Maya, death, and ashes are waiting in every home, so outward works do not touch the real trouble. He urges the seeker to drop the whole burden of wandering and toil, promising that the grief Maya causes will then dissolve. The closing line aims squarely at the self-satisfied adept: address those who think themselves accomplished and tell them that any occupation without Rama, the Name, is a false business, however holy it looks.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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