Renunciation, drop the schemes, be still
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नको घालूं झांसां । मना उपाधिवोळसा ॥1॥
जे जे वाहावे संकल्प । पुण्य तरी ते चि पाप ॥ध्रु.॥
उपजतो भेव । होतो कासावीस जीव ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पाहों । होइल तें निवांत राहों॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not entangle the mind in the net of worldly pursuits. Whatever intentions you carry, be they merit or sin, are ultimately the same. Fear arises and the jiva becomes distressed. Says Tuka, let us simply watch what happens and remain still.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not throw the mind into deceit. Do not tangle it in worldly burdens. Whatever plans you carry, merit as much as sin, they come to the same thing. Fear is born, and the soul is thrown into distress. Tuka says: let us watch. Whatever is to be, let us stay still in it.
What it means
Tukaram warns against the restless scheming of the mind. He puts merit and sin in the same basket: both are intentions, plans of the ego, and either way they breed fear and torment the soul. The radical claim is that even good works, when they are the mind's projects, belong to the same trap as bad ones. The release he offers is stillness: stop plotting outcomes, simply watch what unfolds, and rest quiet in whatever comes. The poem points past doing toward a settled, unanxious witnessing.
Renunciation
The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.
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