Self-revelation, the inner flaw
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
दर्पणासी बुजे । नखटें तोंड पळवी लाजे ॥1॥
गुण ज्याचे जो अंतरीं । तो चि त्यासी पीडा करी ॥ध्रु.॥
चोरा रुचे निशी। देखोनियां विटे शशी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जन । देवा असे भाग्यहीन ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
An ugly face is frightened by the mirror and turns away in shame. Whatever qualities one holds within, those very qualities torment oneself. A thief loves the night and is repelled by the sight of the moon. Says Tuka, such people, O God, are devoid of good fortune.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
An ugly face is afraid of the mirror; it turns away in shame. Whatever qualities a person holds inside, those very qualities are what torment him. A thief loves the night. When he sees the moon, he is repelled by it. Tuka says: such people, O God, are without good fortune.
What it means
Tukaram is saying that the trouble we suffer comes from inside us, not from outside. The mirror does not make the face ugly; it only shows what is already there, and that is why the ugly face flinches from it. In the same way, the qualities a person carries within are the very things that come back to torment him. The thief hates the moon not because the moon is cruel but because light exposes what he is doing in the dark. So the call is to examine yourself: what in me cannot bear to be seen is what is already harming me.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
More in this theme →