Discernment, seize the right moment
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उचिताचा काळ । साधावया युक्तिबळ । आपलें सकळ । ते प्रसंगीं पाहिजे ॥1॥
नेम नाहीं लाभ हानि । अवचित घडती दोनी । विचारूनि मनीं । पाहिजे तें प्रयोजावें ॥ध्रु.॥
जाळ जाळा काळें । करपों नेदावें आगळें । जेवितां वेगळें । ज्याचें त्याचें तेथें तें शोभे ॥2॥
पाळी नांगर पाभारीं । तन निवडूनि सोंकरी । तुका ह्मणे धरी । सेज जमा सेवटीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One must seize the right moment with all one's strength and bring everything to bear at that occasion. There is no certainty of gain or loss, for both arise unexpectedly. One should reflect carefully in the mind and then act accordingly. Says Tuka, just as one weeds the field at the right time and separates the grain at harvest, so should one gather the final yield with care.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When the right moment comes, seize it. Put all your strength into the chance. Bring everything you have to bear, right then. There is no fixed rule for gain or loss; both come without warning. So weigh it in your mind, then act as the moment asks. Burn out the weeds at the right time; do not let the good crop scorch. At the meal, each thing looks fitting in its own place. Tend the plough and the seed-drill. Pull out the weeds and clear the ground. Tuka says: gather in the final yield at the end.
What it means
Tukaram speaks in the language of the farmer to teach timing and care. Every gain and loss comes unscheduled, so there is no formula; you have to read the moment, throw your whole strength into it, and act with judgment, not habit. The field is the image: weed at the right time, do not let the crop scorch, keep the plough and the drill working, clear out what does not belong. The point is that the harvest you finally gather depends on attentive labor moment by moment, not on luck or on waiting for certainty.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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